It must have been fate that Bryan Singer would direct the new film Superman Returns, the fifth in the series of Superman films. Singer loved the George Reeves Superman TV series when he was young, and was a huge fan of the Dick Donner-directed films from the 70s and 80s that starred Christopher Reeves as the Man of Steel. “I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that he’s the ultimate immigrant. He has all these extraordinary powers, and he has a righteousness about him,” said Bryan.
After attending the School Of Visual Arts in New York City (but not graduating), he graduated from the USC cinema school (where, incidentally, he met John Ottman who wrote the score for Superman Returns), Singer’s first commercial success was as the producer/director of The Usual Suspects in 1995.That film saw him work with Kevin Spacey for the first time, and Singer and Spacey are re-united, again in Superman Returns, as Spacey plays arch villain Lex Luther, just out of prison and again set to rule the world.
However, it is as an adapter of comic books, bringing superheroes to life, that Singer has carved a niche for himself in the movie world.
In 2000, as writer and director, he introduced Wolverine, Magneto and the rest of the X-Men to the movie world in a hugely successful adaptation, before reprising the characters in the follow-up, X2. Singer left the X-Men franchise to develop Superman Returns and did not work on the 3rd film The Last Stand.
Now an established player in Hollywood with a number of big projects lined up for the future, who would bet against his favourite being the recently-announced sequel for Superman Returns in 2009?
Filmography
Superman Returns (2006) (producer/director/writer)
X2 (2003) (executive producer/director/writer)
X-Men (2000) (director/writer)
Apt Pupil (1998) (producer/director)
Burn (1998) (executive producer)
The Usual Suspects (1995) (producer/director)
Public Access (1993) (executive producer/director/writer)
Lion’s Den (1988) (director)
