Bab 393: Chapter 393: The Background Music Comes with Her
"The truth is simple..."
Switching to a joking tone, Murphy made a throat-slitting gesture and said, "With Wonder Woman's setup, how could she allow the likes of Lex Luthor and Joker to get away with their antics, over and over again, without ever dying?"
Gal Gadot and Nicholas Cage laughed, and Chris Evans, realizing the joke a bit later, added, "So, they would have been killed off."
While it's an oversimplification and just a jest from Murphy, it does reflect a certain truth—Wonder Woman is arguably more uncompromising than Superman and Batman.
Wonder Woman is a pacifist but also carries another identity—that of a warrior goddess.
When it comes to fighting and killing, she acts with more decisiveness and ruthlessness than Superman and Batman. Perhaps it could also be said that Wonder Woman is not as constrained by the same rules and frameworks that bind them.
However, Wonder Woman is just a cameo in the film, which mainly revolves around Superman and includes several action scenes. The film is primarily about Superman's journey.
As filming approached its end, although the movie depicted the origins of Superman, Murphy chose not to shoot any scenes about Krypton. Clark Kent, before becoming Superman, is consistently portrayed as rugged and somewhat disheveled.
This approach by Murphy aimed to integrate Superman's story into a more realistic setting, emphasizing the impact of his earthly upbringing over his alien heritage. This contrast lies in portraying an alien child who grows up on Earth, adapting human ways to handle alien abilities, rather than a god-like entity arriving on Earth.
In essence, this is a story of how Clark Kent becomes "Superman," shaped by humanity, admired by some and feared or despised by others.
This portrayal allows Superman to appear more human, complex, and nuanced.
After the crew celebrated the New Year of 2007, Murphy's shooting entered its final stages. All principal photography was completed, with only bystander reactions left to shoot.
Despite these scenes lacking main characters, Murphy maintained high standards. Even the greatest heroes need the contrast of ordinary humans.
With concurrent responsibilities for the demanding visual effects, the remaining scenes were not completed until mid-January.
"Yes, all filming for 'Man of Steel' has finally wrapped up."
On the day the shooting wrapped, Murphy participated in a promotional interview arranged by Warner Bros., where he was asked why the movie was titled 'Man of Steel' instead of 'Superman.'
Speaking into a microphone for 'Empire' magazine, Murphy explained, "We decided to not call it 'Superman' after much deliberation. I chose 'Man of Steel' because I wanted to draw a clear line between the old and the new Superman. We knew we could utilize the Superman symbol and imagery, but we wanted 'Man of Steel' to represent a new image we were creating. First and foremost, he's a man, not made of flesh and blood but of steel, and that's why we chose this name."
Murphy's explanation was straightforward, marking the first time the crew publicly acknowledged that 'Man of Steel' was a completely different film from previous Superman movies, with a Superman who, despite bearing the familiar 'S' symbol, represented a different meaning.
Soon after shooting ended, Murphy joined Jody Griffiths and the editing team, along with the special effects, sound effects, and color grading departments, to begin post-production.
Since some scenes had already been assembled during shooting, the rough cut was relatively straightforward. Beyond establishing the main plot, Murphy also aimed to define a unique world view for this series.
Unlike typical films, 'Man of Steel' was the opening chapter of a whole Justice League series. Having signed a contract, Murphy was committed to laying groundwork for future films. Aside from Wonder Woman's cameo and brief shots of the Wayne Enterprises logo, particularly in the collapsing Metropolis building during the final battle, he avoided introducing other superheroes.
Murphy learned from the overloaded 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' and limited references to other superheroes in 'Man of Steel.'
The rough cut, therefore, focused on presenting a new, unique world of Superman.
In older Superman films, there was a phenomenon: Superman arrives, saves people and the Earth, and everyone naturally accepts his presence without doubt or fear.
But is this logical? Clearly not. Human history shows a natural fear of the unknown, and people would not easily trust a powerful stranger with superhuman abilities. This is where 'Man of Steel' starkly differs from older Superman films and highlights its darkest aspect.
To humans, Superman is not a hero but a monster, an uncontrollable and incomprehensible force. The general public's perception is simple: "I don't know you, you scare me, you don't belong here!"
'Man of Steel' assumes a realistic worldview, imagining how people in the real world would react to an indestructible being made of steel—and an alien at that.
Murphy's intention was to depict Superman enduring the
film amid human skepticism and fear.
After completing the rough cut, the next major task was to add various special effects, particularly action effects.
The Christopher Reeve Superman series, though iconic, belonged to the 1970s and 1980s and could not be blamed for its dated film technology and awkward fight scenes.
The 2006 'Superman Returns,' despite using IMAX 3D technology, suffered from weak villains and unimpressive fight effects, contributing to its criticism.
IMAX and 3D technology had been around for years but hadn't been widely adopted. Although suggested, Murphy didn't use IMAX due to the scarcity of IMAX theaters.
As for 3D, it would be impractical to use in a dark-toned film due to its significant impact on brightness.
Murphy's style, with its predominantly dark blue tones, was not suited for 3D. Although 'Man of Steel' is a commercial film, he ensured that the film's major scenes were set in daylight, not in indecipherable darkness.
Particularly for action scenes, all were shot during the day.
For the editing and effects of these action scenes, Murphy also added digital doubles for Superman and Wonder Woman.
Stunt doubles are common in the film industry for dangerous or rear shots, but digital doubles are used for unshootable scenes or specific settings.
In 'Man of Steel,' nearly all medium and long action shots used digital doubles, and even some non-combat close-ups of Superman or Wonder Woman were not filmed with actual actors.
As for the soundtrack, at Murphy's request, Warner Bros. enlisted Hans Zimmer, a maestro more suited for blockbuster productions than John Williams, known for his electronic symphonic music which perfectly matched the tone of 'Man of Steel.'
Murphy specifically asked Zimmer to compose a unique background theme for Wonder Woman, ensuring that whenever Diana Prince appeared as Wonder Woman, her entrance would come with its own background music.
This work continued into February. Due to the incomplete post-production, 'Man of Steel' missed the Super Bowl advertising slot, but marketing efforts continued with Warner Bros. allocating a massive $150 million promotional budget.
By the end of February, post-production paused briefly. Murphy handed the fine cutting over to Jody Griffiths and joined Gal Gadot at Universal Studios to begin shooting for a film directed by Seth Rogen.
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