Supersize my Superman

Warner Brothers and the IMAX Corporation have made a joint announcement stating that the forthcoming Superman movie, Superman Returns, will be released in normal cinemas and IMAX screens on June 30th in the US. This follows a very successful run for Batman Begins in IMAX screens this summer. A spokesperson summarised the movie:

"Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth in the epic action-adventure Superman Returns, a soaring new chapter in the saga of one of the world's most beloved superheroes. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman's bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space."

The film has been the subject of much discussion by both fans and movie industry observers, not just because of the story and the attempt to resurrect the franchise of the Man of Steel years after the late Chris Reeve's popular portrayal but because of the ever-inflating costs - some observers are now estimating the budget at some $250 million and re-shoots and script changes were recently required after a hiatus. This compares with Peter Jackson's King Kong movie which film press sources are estimating to be around the $207 million mark - and these figures don't include marketing! Perhaps the Superman shield should be modified to look more like a dollar bill:

On other movie-TV news, ICV2 reports that Aardman Animation, home of Wallace and Gromit, are to produce a batch of new animated shows for both US and UK TV. Chop Socky Chooks is being partly co-produced with Cartoon network for the States and features Kung-fu chickens while a new version of the excellent Creature Comforts is to be made for the US market. The UK can expect a series based around W&G character Shaun the Sheep.