I have not seen "Hollywoodland" so when I caught this on YouTube, I was momentarily captivated by the look they established for Ben Affleck (an actor I'm indifferent about) in playing the George Reeves versions of Clark Kent and Superman.

This Tom Welling fan-made isn't bad either...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIMYgl5yp8&translated=1[/youtube]

"Hollywoodland" was an interesting film. Affleck doesn't really resemble Reeves that much, but he did manage to capture some of his personality and bearing, especially in the scenes where he was playing Clark.

It's a movie I'd like to see very much, just because it deals with Reeves.

The old B&W television show was how I first discovered Superman - until I was older, I didn't read any comics except for Marvel ones, so to me as a young kid Marvel characters were the only comic book characters that "existed". Superman was exclusively a TV show for the young Simon, and it was on every morning before school.

When I was a kid, they used to air the old Superman back-to-back with Batman every weekday afternoon from 3 to 4. And when I read the end credits, "based on characters appearing in magazines published by National Periodical Publications," I realized there was another media in which I could enjoy these characters.

Well done but makes me not want him as Superman.

He'd never do it, and large chunks of fandom would throw a fit, but Affleck would probably be the actor who most closely fits the Superman I see in my head.

I liked his portrayal of George Reeves. Hollywoodland is a good watch.

There's a scene in the movie where Affleck torches the Superman costume on a barbecue. All I could think was "do you know how much that would be worth on eBay now?"

FAIL.

This is like saying you want Keanu Reeves to play Batman.

This...



Looks like Superman, to me. Handsome, strong jaw, not too "pretty boy" but not fatherly (like Reeves) or too rugged (like Russel Crowe).

Who would you pick?

Affleck just doesn't look like Superman to me. Same argument for Keanu as Batman-- tall, dark hair, good looking, etc. But he ain't no Batman.

But beyond his looks, it's his awful, awful stiff and unconvincing acting that rules him out for me. He'd be a Superman I'd want to punch.

I envision Superman as a classic film tough guy. Steve Reeves is pretty close to what I imagine--

He looks like him, but he's got that cracking, phelgmy voice that I can't help but hear when I look at him.

At least physically, I don't know what his acting is like. I thought George Reeves' demeanor and the way he carried himself were good as far as personality goes, he was just not really there physically.

Fair point. I could see the voice working for Clark, but Superman needs a bit more bass.

I don't know whom I would pick. I think the face is the most important thing, as you can exercise to get a body. Brandon Routh was hampered by a bad costume and a bad script more than by his looks, but I wasn't sold on him like I was Christopher Reeve.

You can exercise, but you can't get into Superman shape in a few months. A normal man would probably have to work out diligently for around 2 years to get into the ballpark.

Also, the perfect voice for Superman was Bud Collyer.

Superman doesn't have to have body builder muscles. He's Superman. YMMV.

No, you'd have to work out for at least 5 to even get into amateur bodybuilder range (at least on a competitive level).

Even as Curt Swan or Wayne Boring drew him, Superman was a pretty big guy with pretty big muscles. He's almost always appeared as a strongman in popular media, except when portrayed by movie actors (none of whom, IMO, have managed to capture the character).

To me, a normal sized guy in a Superman costume looks like some guy in a Superman costume and not the hero as we know him.