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James Gunn has spoken, on more than one occasion, about his affectionate, but complicated, relationship with his Superman star David Corenswet—going so far, in one interview, as to compare him to the film’s uncontrollable super-dog, Krypto. (In the past, Gunn has noted that he’s used to working with more straightforward, “Get it done” actors, and was less accustomed to Corenswet’s need to question and analyze the emotional validity of pretty much every line that comes out of his mouth.) Now, Gunn has gone a little further and posted video proof of how the two men’s different approaches produced some of Superman‘s best moments, releasing on social media this weekend footage of him and his star getting into a complicated, emotionally charged on-set back-and-forth about the film’s big philosophical climax.
Edited together as part of a 60-minute making-of feature, the seven-minute video shows Gunn walking Corenswet through Superman’s big final confrontation with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, and specifically the moment when the Man Of Steel reminds Luthor he’s just as human as the rest of us. What plays out on screen is fascinating: You can watch Corenswet working to hit the beats his director is asking him to nail, playing the moment angry, and a little defiant. But then, in Gunn’s words, “David stops, and I’m like, oh no, David’s doing his thing.” Corenswet specifically questions whether the moment negates one of the scenes at the movie’s heart, a conversation between Clark and Pa Kent. (“I feel weak with me yelling at him,” Corenswet remarks of the Luthor fight.) Gunn notes that the whole argument was taking place while the two men were 50 feet away from each other, on a crowded set—until Corenswet walked off set to talk to his director directly, a moment also captured by the behind-the-scenes cameras.
It’s genuinely riveting stuff: No obvious anger or ego, just two guys trying to talk their way through the emotional makeup of one of the movie’s biggest scenes together. It even has a classic Hollywood climax: Gunns’ directives suddenly click for Corenswet, and he strides back onto the set, nailing the monologue with a mixture of strength and vulnerability. Gunn notes that Corenswet wrote him a note later that night saying, “I think that was my favorite day ever on set with a director,” with Gunn wholeheartedly agreeing.
Superman has now landed on VOD; the hour-long Adventures In Making Superman is reportedly available to purchasers on a number of digital platforms.
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