Superman Returns, the Screenwriter and the Fervent Fans
Superman Returns screenwriter Dan Harris discusses
the pressure he felt bringing the remake of the beloved comics icon to the silver screen.
"You don't think about the pressure while you're working on it," he said during a recent phone call. "You know, out here in L.A., the premieres are amazing because all of the super fans come out.
That's the base of your support. Their passion just radiates."
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He was still graciously accepting acclaim for his work on X-2 when the opportunity to write Superman was presented.
"I was going on vacation with Michael and Bryan to talk about doing 'X-3,'" Harris said. "We had just finished 'X-2,' and right before we left, the studio came to us with 'Superman Returns.' So instead, we spent the trip talking about 'Superman.'"
Having decided against X-3, Harris and crew focused on Superman's rebirth. He was well aware of the scrapped Superman scripts that preceded him.
"We looked at 'Superman' like it was never going to happen in the first place," he said. "There really was no better plan. You had to send him away and bring him back. There couldn't be a re-make. Previous writers tried to re-make the films and they changed things."
Harris is credited along with Dougherty for Superman's screenplay and story, which Singer has dubbed a "spiritual descendant of 'Superman: The Movie' and 'Superman II.'"
Harris said they were looking for more of an update to Superman and his surroundings rather than a re-make, and that included the addition of modern-day situations that humanize him.
"It's more of a romance than the last few were," he said. "He's indestructible. He can never be killed and he can never be beaten. He's Superman. So what are you going to do? You can still put him in awkward situations with Lois Lane."
Harris can relax: Superman Returns has already made over $84 million and was well-recieved by critics.
