Silver Surfer Movie?

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serak_the_preparer

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Would still like a Silver Surfer movie.<br /><br />Careful what you wish for...?<br /><br />FF2 plot synopsis! by Mike Sampson (JoBlo.com)<br /><br /><i>. . . Marvel?s first family of superheroes, The Fantastic Four, meets their greatest challenge yet in FANTASTIC FOUR AND THE SILVER SURFER as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost...</i><br /><br />Good idea? Bad idea? Depends, I suppose, on how you feel about the first Fantastic Four movie.<br /><br />While I don't know how you feel about that movie, I do know how some people felt about it last year:<br /><br /><br />'<i>Light, brisk, fun, daring, then an awesome bridge crash scene! Then it's down hill from there. Still, just barely above average.</i>'<br /><br />-- Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card<br /><br /><br />'<i>Take the movie on its own light-hearted terms and, chances are, you'll be taken in.</i>'<br /><br />-- Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution<br /><br /><br />'<i>A not-so-bad mindless bit of camp escapism that doesn't try to eclipse its dime-store comic book roots.</i>'<br /><br />-- Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail<br /><br /><br />'<i>Aquí lo que cuenta es tener una buena bolsa de palomitas y dejarse llevar por la nostalgia del cuarteto más famoso del mundo después de Los Beatles. Sólo eso.</i>'<br /><br />- Jorge Avila Andrade, Moviola<br /><br /><br />Those were <i>positive</i> reviews from the Fantastic Four Tomatometer. Forced to resort to reviews in other languages for positi
 
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drwayne

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I wonder if the Surfer's time has passed...<br /><br />Though the concept of a being who makes a noble sacrifice to save something (in this case his planet) would seem timeless.<br /><br />I loved the SS character from the time I first saw him - admittedly in the 60's.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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Yes, I think you're right that the Silver Surfer's time has passed. The best he can hope for is either a guest shot in a Fantastic Four sequel...or to be overlooked by modern film completely. Hard to say which is to be hoped for more.<br /><br />Anyone remember Point Break? Perhaps the last silver screen gasp of the surfer subculture. The character of the Silver Surfer obviously has roots running back to the surfer era. Today he would be the Silver Snowboarder.<br /><br />But I also agree that his struggle is timeless. Superman's origin and mission leads inevitably to Judeo-Christian parallels and themes. Superman as Moses or Christ. But the Surfer's mission makes him potentially more interesting. To me, at least. Darker, certainly. His quest becomes one of defiance, of standing against divine authority itself, where What Is Willed Must Be. He is Prometheus, and in our era his myth has particular relevance. But it's not just his surfer status which ties him to the '60s, it's also his role as the rebel turning on his master. The early 21st century is not about rebellion, but acquiescence - today's culture prefers security to freedom. What place for the Surfer in such a world? Where would he be at home? China? Russia? America? No superpower culture, current, former or up-and-coming would suit him, so who or what would he represent and defend?<br /><br />Still, that debate itself is worth portraying, even if the hero is on the losing side. Which could make for an interesting - though, as stated already - dark story. Maybe people would pay to see it?
 
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drwayne

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Of course, one aspect of the Surfer's story - a creature of space imprisoned on Earth, with creatures he considers more than a little crazy - might carry over well to these times.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>- a creature of space imprisoned on Earth, with creatures he considers more than a little crazy -</i><br /><br />Know anyone who fits the description?
 
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drwayne

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Why me - of course.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>Why me - of course.</i><br /><br />I see what you mean. That description applies to so many of us.<br /><br />But not to Vin Diesel:<br /><br />Silver Surfer Revelation by Stax (IGN)<br /><br />July 5, 2006<br /><br /><i>...</i>[Tim]<i> Story categorically denied speculation online that Vin Diesel, who recently ditched the actioner <b>Black Water Transit</b>, would portray the Surfer. Diesel is an oft-mentioned fan fave for the role, seemingly for no other reason than he is bald and muscular.<br /><br />The director revealed how Galactus' cosmic herald will be presented onscreen. "The Surfer will be a new CGI design being developed especially for the movie. It's going to be incredible," Story informed Moviehole...</i><br /><br />But they still need an Andy Serkis to model and voice the character. Who better to apply than someone already stranded here on the Pale Blue Dot?<br /><br />Other Famous Aliens
 
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drwayne

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I have doubts about the ability of even todays graphics to convey the power of Galactus.<br /><br />Hmmm, Vin Diesel on the other hand just popped into my head as a good pick to be "The Watcher".<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>I have doubts about the ability of even todays graphics to convey the power of Galactus.</i><br /><br />Well, though I don't really know, I'm not sure if Galactus even appears in the forthcoming movie. If he does, then I suspect it comes at the end; that is, if those behind the film are looking to make a third <i>FF</i> installment. My reason for believing this is the working title, which features the Silver Surfer. This movie seems to mainly be about the FF running up against the Herald of Galactus.<br /><br />Meanwhile, what about our Surfer? There is some news on this front:<br /><br />Bruce James Up For Silver Surfer? by Garth Franklin (Dark Horizons)<br /><br />July 10th, 2006<br /><br /><i>. . . IGN FilmForce has received a tip that Canadian actor-model Bruce James ("Snakes on a Plane", TV's "Dead Like Me", "Tru Calling" and "The L Word") may be the frontrunner to play the part.</i><br /><br />Check it out: if you use the IGN link, you learn the actor's real name is - get this - Bruce (James) Lee. Thus the title of this article: Bruce Lee As the Silver Surfer? (Cinematical).<br /><br />The director is offering updates online. For example: Tim Story Updates on Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer (CanMag). Whence comes this quote: 'What I'm really excited about is the Fantasticar. It's coming guys in all it's glory. Wait until you see it. It's going to split in pieces and all that. Johnny and Ben fight over who should fly it. All the fun you expect.' Sounds excited about the project, so maybe there's some cause for hope here.<br /><br />If the <i>FF</i> sequel goes well, not only could there be a third movie featuring Galactus, but something else cool
 
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drwayne

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"Diesel as the Watcher?"<br /><br />If you are going to have a Silver Surfer / Galactus comes to Earth set of stories, you have to have the enigmatic character of the Watcher.<br /><br />Of course, they could change the canon story all around, but if they follow canon, then the Watcher is needed to defeat Galactus.<br /><br />Though here is one to ponder. On a later trip to Earth, Big G battled the FF, the Avengers, the Defenders, heck, the whole kitchen sink, and Galactus was defeated by Dr. Strange, with a single spell. Do you remember than one?<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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drwayne

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I wonder if the Fantasticar will be the old "flying bathtub"?<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>If you are going to have a Silver Surfer / Galactus comes to Earth set of stories, you have to have the enigmatic character of the Watcher. <br /><br />Of course, they could change the canon story all around, but if they follow canon, then the Watcher is needed to defeat Galactus.</i><br /><br />I guess I disagree. The Watcher seems to me to be an extraneous - though interesting - character who is not necessary to the advancement of the plot. The pivot point for the plot is (for me, anyway) the Surfer. Still, I like the idea of a remote mentor figure, vainly attempting neutrality and then abandoning it to provide the needed McGuffin, deus ex machina, etc.<br /><br />The movies seem to respect canon to a certain degree without being religious about it (e.g., Jean Grey/Phoenix).<br /><br /><i>On a later trip to Earth, Big G battled the FF, the Avengers, the Defenders, heck, the whole kitchen sink, and Galactus was defeated by Dr. Strange, with a single spell. Do you remember than one?</i><br /><br />No, but my memory isn't what it should be. Unless that story involves Firelord, whom I vaguely recall battling Earth's superheroes. Was Ego, the Living Planet, somehow involved?<br /><br />As for the Galactus effects, I'm not worried. Jackson's <i>Lord of the Rings</i> was able to do justice to Tolkien's mythos, so Galactus should be possible. In fact, I see Galactus resembling somewhat the armored Dark Lord on the battlefield at the beginning of <i>Fellowship</i>. I suppose it depends on who is hired to handle the special effects.
 
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vagueship

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There's a post somewhere around here where I mentioned a Silver Surfer movie. <br /><br />Make the movie about his origin on his home planet and<br />maybe an exploit before hitting earth in a different movie.<br /><br />Reed Richards needs to be recast. I don't remember him like the movie at all in the comic. He was in charge in the comic.
 
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drwayne

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As I recall (I may be wrong), Terrax the Tamer had just recently been "fired" from his job as hearald. I beleive, at the end of the story I refer to, was where Johnny's girlfriend, who had become a second human Torch (she was related to Dr. Phineas Horton) - volunteered to become Galactus' herald, and became "Nova"<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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drwayne

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I think they overdid the befuddled element of Reed. He could come across that way from time to time in the books, but it was nowhere near where they put it.<br /><br />I also was not fond of how they changed the history of Doom either.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>There's a post somewhere around here where I mentioned a Silver Surfer movie.</i><br /><br />VagueShip,<br /><br />See the opening post which begins this thread. The link to the post you mention is its very first line.<br /><br />The profusion of threads usually disinclines me from starting new ones. But since I wanted to move from a discussion about the Iron Man movie to the Surfer's arrival on the silver screen, I decided to make a new start here.<br /><br />Thanks, by the way, for providing the jumping-off point for a conversation about the Silver Surfer.<br /><br /><i>Make the movie about his origin on his home planet and maybe an exploit before hitting earth in a different movie.</i><br /><br />That could certainly be interesting, but the Silver Surfer is not quite in the same league as Superman and Spiderman. I suspect he needs to be introduced in a larger context. If that charges up enough interest in him and his story, an origin flick could always come later.<br /><br />Besides, <i>in media res</i> sometimes works out better. Starting the story in the middle can be a good thing.
 
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serak_the_preparer

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Doc, thanks, and keep 'em coming. Your knowledge on this subject is deep and impressive, and I'm afraid I'll always be an amateur.
 
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vagueship

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Thanks for the kudos Serak.<br /><br />Trivia: And by the way...did anyone notice that there is one frame in the Fantastic Four movie where Jessica Alba is topless. Reed opens the door to the bathroom and if you freeze the picture you can see a blurred view.<br />(Might be more than one frame. My computer is old.)
 
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drwayne

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I used to read heavily, through college and graduate school. I have fallen hopelessly behind the power curve.<br /><br />It was funny/cool that there was a fight in the movie "Crimson Tide" about who's Silver Surfer was the definitive one.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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drwayne

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I'll have to check for that. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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serak_the_preparer

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<i>I used to read heavily, through college and graduate school.</i><br /><br />At one time, I had five obsessions: girls, writing, comics, hiking and camping, wargaming. College did me in. Expecting it to be harder than high school, I put aside writing, hiking, comics and wargaming. And even girls (temporarily). Later, when I learned the truth about university life, I would eventually purchase a comic again and resume (for awhile) wargaming, but it just wasn't the same. You can't always go home again.<br /><br /><i>It was funny/cool that there was a fight in the movie "Crimson Tide" about who's Silver Surfer was the definitive one.</i><br /><br />Missed that, but it sounds good.<br /><br />By the way, that rumor about Bruce James? Old news already. Here's the latest rumor:<br /><br />Abe Sapien, the Silver Surfer? by Scott Collura (Now Playing Magazine)<br /><br />17 July 2006<br /><br /><i>Word broke this weekend on the Web that Doug Jones, who played Abe Sapien in <b>Hellboy</b>, will be providing the motion-capture performance for the Silver Surfer in the soon-to-be-shooting <b>Fantastic Four 2</b>. And now, that info seems to have been confirmed....</i><br /><br />While he may provide the body-movements of the Surfer, there's still no word on whether he - or someone else - will provide the voice. That may be the most important decision of all when it comes to the Herald from Zenn-La.<br /><br />Thanks for the wikipedia link, by the way. Started out reading Fantastic Four and Thor comics untold ages ago, but in the end migrated to Spider-Man. Thor was not conflicted enough, while Spider-Man may have played Hamlet one time too often. Still fond of both of them, of course. But the Surfer seemed to strike the right balance between the poles defined by those two heroes. His past is dark, his present is dark. And his future...?<br /><br />That is the question he must try to answer. As must we al
 
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serak_the_preparer

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VagueShip,<br /><br />Thanks. You've given me a reason to go rent <i>The Fantastic Four</i>! (And <i>Sin City</i>, too, come to think of it.)
 
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drwayne

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I was into the the classics:<br /><br />Fantastic 4<br />Avengers<br />Defenders<br />Spiderman<br />Dr. Strange<br />Iron Man<br /><br />I never really got into the X-men that much, though many of the cool folks I knew loved them.<br /><br />On the subject of the Surfer, I remember one book in which he and the Hulk were on his board, and he absorbed the gamma radiation from the hulk, and with that additional charge, he was able to breach the barrier around Earth. The gamma charge spent, he saw Bruce Banner plunging to Earth, so he returned across the barrier, and saved Banner, but was imprisoned again. <br /><br />Wayne<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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lampblack

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I don't get to see many movies these days -- but managed to rent the Fantastic 4.<br /><br />There was a fantabulous scene in which they more or less discover their super powers while handling an outrageous wreck involving about 50 million vehicles (including a fire engine) on the Brooklyn Bridge.<br /><br />And I have to admit -- I got a kick out of seeing Susie Storm Richards running around naked. Even if she <i>was</i> invisible. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <br /><br />But yes... getting back to the thread's main theme: the Silver Surfer ruled. Lonely watchdog of justice -- part California surfer boy, part vigilante, lone warrior, keeper of the flame. Back a lifetime or so ago, I <i>loved</i> that comic. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>
 
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