Bryan Singer Answers Questions

Bryan Singer Answers Questions on Facebook.

Q: If you were a mutant what kind of power would u want to have and why?
A: I would like the power of Nightcrawler or Azazel; the ability to teleport anywhere.

Q: Who is your favorite x-men character and why?
A: Professor X because he is both powerful and vulnerable.

Q: Was there a character from the old comics you would love to have seen in this movie that hasn't been in previous movies, and was not able to be put into this movie?
A:Quicksilver.

Q: What made you choose Emma Frost to play a part in "X-Men: First Class"? Overall, what do you think of her character in the movie?
A: You can't have the Hellfire Club without Emma Frost. She is sexy and scary.

Q: Does this movie fall in the category of prequel, reboot or bit of both? Nevertheless, I'm very open-minded for this movie! =)
A: Prequel

Q: What are your plans for the X-Men franchise after First Class?
A: I am just focusing on this one at the moment.

Q: Is there less pressure producing this film as opposed to directing it (like X-Men 1 and 2), or are the pressures just different - with different things expected from you?
A: I can absolutely say from my standpoint that there is less pressure. There is no position with more pressure than directing. Hats off to Matthew.

Q: What was the deciding factor on changing the origin story of the X-Men instead of going with the comic book?
A: I felt that to earn the First Class title, it was important to go back to the formation of the X-Men and the beginnings of Xavier and Magneto's relationship.

Q: What about this period in history intrigued you?
A: It is a time of socio-political upheaval in the world. The height of the cold war period. The birth of the civil rights movement. And the birth time of the X-Men comic book.

Q: Was it a conscious decision by the team to pick and choose which parts of previous movies would be canon to this movie? (White Queen already appearing in other movies, etc.)
A: We did our best to maintain continuity with the other films. But as sometimes happens for the sake of telling the most compelling story possible, we made a few concessions.


http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Dustin03Comics/news/?a=32017

Bryan Singer new interview

When Bryan Singer was sked about the new cast — or the “old” cast, given the film’s 1960s setting — he got specific about his favorites. “We have younger versions of Mystique and Beast, so I’m very excited about them and what they bring to the film. Jennifer Lawrence’s work [as Mystique] and Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Beast — these are characters that we’ve seen in the earlier films, but then these are very different portrayals and you have to bring a lot of attention to those.”

“I’m also excited about Jason Flemyng as Azazel, which is a really cool character. It’s like this sinister alter ego of Nightcrawler in a way, which again brings some of the things that we like about that character but at the same time has a different quality."

"And I really, really like [Lucas Till as] Havok, who we’re bringing in [to the continuity] at a sort of  a different time, relative to the comic book lore. It’s an extremely cool character. What’s great, too, about all of these characters is that they haven’t honed their abilities yet. Havok is a danger to himself and everyone around him. That’s where this movie is at — the recruiting of these mutants and bringing them together.”

When asked about the specific relation between Havok and Cyclops:

“Yes, the timeline is different,” Singer said. “It wouldn’t physically fit for him to be the brother of Cyclops. We take some liberties on that. There are notions, but, um, I don’t want to give away certain interrelations, but let’s just say there are some things that do adhere to the comic books and do so in a way the fans will get a kick out of. And those things can, perhaps, move forward into the future…. That’s one reason we wanted to call the film ‘First Class’ even though it isn’t the [Jeff Parker-penned story arc called] ‘First Class’ in the comics as fans know it. You couldn’t really tell that story without going even earlier and explaining how they got there and how it came to be. I liked the title, so we kept it, but this is a prelude in a way that will eventually lead to the [scenarios] that fit in more clearly with the ‘First Class’ comics and situations.”

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/02/10/x-men-first-class-bryan-singer-talks-about-azazel-havok-and-mystique/

A Report from the Set

Matthew Vaughn

“I’m at that stage where I feel like a boxer against the ropes,” the director said as his crew prepared for the next shot on a location set in Long Beach. “I’m just throwing punches and taking them as they come and making sure I don’t hit the canvas.”

“We’re filming at the moment, we’ve a lot to get done,” said a weary Vaughn. “I’ve never worked under such time pressure. The good thing about the independent world is I never even knew if I was going to get distribution. I’m used to finishing a film and then crossing your fingers that someone is going to like it. This is totally doing it the other way around. We’ve definitely got a release date and we’ve got to make it.”

Asked if he’s concerned about the glut of superhero film competition this summer — with “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Green Lantern” and  ”Thor” – Vaughn said that, if anything, it’s the other guys who should be nervous. “With ‘Green Lantern,’ I don’t know about that one, I couldn’t get my head around the trailer, to be honest … look, I will say the following: X-Men as a brand is bigger than Captain America, Thor and the Green Lantern, all put together.”

James McAvoy

“This isn’t a reboot, so I’m not replacing anyone, in which case you might want to try to be as different as possible and stay away from what had been done before,” James McAvoy said on Monday during a break from a rescue scene that required water-tank work. “This is a prequel, so I’m the same character, just younger, but the challenge for me – and for Michael — is to show the same person in a different place in their life; to show someone before they’re this bad guy, before they’re this saint. Charles wasn’t always a … monk, this selfless, sexless monk that he becomes.”

Bryan Singer

“It is an excellent cast,” Bryan Singer said. He added that no one is more aware of the high-bar set by McKellen and Stewart. “I’m very sensitive to it. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are two of the best actors working today and that was needed to fill those shoes. Short of digitally recreating Patrick and Ian in their 20s I cant think of anyone who would be more equipped for this than these two guys. The challenge of that is what attracted James, I’m sure of it. That’s why the guy who starred in ‘Atonement’ would want to play a comic-book character in the first place because it was a role established by a really fine actor.”

“The biggest challenge is introducing an audience to these characters in a different time – characters the audience is familiar with but now see played by younger actors and in a story taking place in a different time. We have to establish this universe. We had the challenge with the first ‘X-Men’ film, which came at a time when there were no comic-book movies [of this sort] and no template to launch from and yet you’ve got to do that. You have to put your characters out there and introduce them to a quizzical public that sort of recognizes them. But that very thing is the exciting part of it.”

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/01/19/x-menfirst-class-three-exclusive-photos-and-a-report-from-the-stressed-out-set/