Superman on Trial
SUPERMAN RETURNS to be declared a bad movie by law… not quite, but Bryan Singer is heading to court over Superman.
Back Row Chatter. For those who arent familiar with the story, essentially the widow of Superman creator Jerry Siegel is suing the Warner empire (who hold the rights to the character through DC Comics) for 50% of both the Superman and Superboy copyright. SUPERMAN RETURNS director Bryan Singer is required to give a deposition to the court presiding over the case - some speculate this might be one of the reasons why THE MAN OF STEEL hasnt happened yet. I dont know why Singer is needed at the trial; after all hes just a hired gun working for a studio and has had no real say in the characters creation. If anything, Richard Donner should be in court as he, and the writers behind SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, are responsible for creating the contemporary Superman. Singers Superman was pretty much the same as Donners except his feinted more. This is somewhat reminiscent of the Kevin McClory Bond lawsuits that went on and on. All that ended with McClorys death last year and just like that case, I cant see the underdogs toppling the corporate behemoth. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were young and naive when they created Superman and not much older and none the wiser when they sold their stake in the character to DC. They gave over their rights so Im not sure how exactly these claims of 50% copyright ownership have any weight. If Siegels family come away victorious from this case then they can expect to receive millions in compensation and possibly get royalties from any future Superman comic, movie or TV show. source back row chatter