title: Ken Shamrock

text: At Bellator 145, it was announced that Shamrock would face rival Royce Gracie in a trilogy fight on February 19, 2016, at , almost 21 years after their most recent fight. Gracie won the bout via TKO in round one after taking Shamrock down and battering him with hammerfists. Though there was controversy, as replays showed Gracie kneeing Shamrock in the groin before taking him down. On March 11, 2016, it was revealed by Texas Combat Sports commission that Shamrock had failed his pre-fight drug test. His licence to fight was revoked.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock has been criticized by some in the MMA media for fighting too far past his prime. Jeremy Botter of Heavy.com wrote: "Ken Shamrock used to be the baddest man on the planet. In the early days of mixed martial arts, it was tough to find anybody who inspired more fear than Shamrock. His muscled and ripped frame...his intensity was unequaled in the sport at the time, and his bag of submissions made him a very real threat to any opponent he faced during those early years. But those early years were a long time ago, and Shamrock is no longer even a shell of the man he once was."


title: Ken Shamrock

text: After the "Impact FC 2" show, Dave Meltzer wrote: "Impact Fighting Championship's pay-per-view show from Sydney was a sad reminder of what the future may hold for many of today's top stars. Ken Shamrock, Carlos Newton, Murilo Bustamante, Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett were all at various points either UFC champions or groomed to be top stars. But there they were, on the other side of the world, fighting before quiet, small crowds in an atmosphere that hardly felt like they were part of a booming sport."


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Dana White said in 2008; "Ken Shamrock was in a beef with us over his contract. We thought he retired, he was claiming he didn't and still had one fight. And my attitude was, I'd rather pay Ken Shamrock to not fight. I'd rather pay him to not fight and just say, "stay home, Ken". Ken is "way" past his prime, it gets to the point where it's dangerous for that guy to still be fighting." WWE announcer Jim Ross said before Shamrock's scheduled fight with Bobby Lashley in early 2009; "There was a time that I could see the veteran, 45-year-old Shamrock, a former WWE superstar, schooling the MMA rookie Lashley but that ship has long since sailed. I have great respect for Ken but he's outstayed his welcome in the octagon, cage, whatever and needs to teach and coach and stop fighting...Kenny is fighting for one more pay day while Lashley is fighting to help establish what he hopes will be a long term, lucrative, MMA career."


title: Ken Shamrock

text: In Dan Wetzel's eulogy for Kimbo Slice, he described Slice's opponent Shamrock as a "tomato can" in their scheduled October 2008 fight.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock's fighting style has varied over the course of his career. During Shamrock's prime, he was known as an explosive grappler with speed, power, agility, and physical strength. Fighter Mike Ciesnolevicz called Shamrock "out of this world strong", and added "I was in awe of his strength, it was definitely something I will not forget." Bob Shamrock, who ran a troubled boys youth home and eventually adopted Ken as his son, said, "I have had over 900 young men live with me in the past 30 years and I have never seen anyone with (Ken's) athletic ability." Shamrock learned the art of shoot wrestling primarily from Masakatsu Funaki in Japan and used this style during his fights in the 1990s.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: In 2000, after Shamrock's three-year absence from MMA while he was participating in professional wrestling with the WWF, Shamrock returned to MMA showcasing a vastly different style of fighting. Shamrock sustained a large amount of injuries during his WWF career, including a serious neck injury and several knee injuries. Shamrock has stated that his knee injuries caused him difficulty in shooting and taking people down, which caused him to shift his style towards striking and abandon his grappling pedigree.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: In July 2019, Shamrock announced he would be beginning his own bare-knuckle boxing promotion called "Valor". The inaugural bare-knuckle event was held in New Town, North Dakota on September 21, 2019, featuring several UFC veterans.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock and his adopted brother Frank Shamrock had an estranged relationship. Ken has claimed that Frank mistreated their foster father Bob, while Frank claims that the real reason for the fallout with Ken is due to his feeling that Ken was trying to keep Frank's career down. Frank asserts that he and Ken have never been close and that his attempts to mend their relationship were rejected by Ken. As noted in Frank's documentary, "Bound by Blood," Ken and Frank have reconciled.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock has been married twice. His first marriage to Tina Ramirez ended in divorce in early 2004. Together they have four children: Ryan Robert (born November 24, 1988), Connor Kenneth (born September 26, 1991), Sean Garret (born June 15, 1993) and one daughter, Fallon Marie (born July 12, 1996). In 2005, Shamrock married a woman named Tonya whom he had known since childhood. He is now stepfather to her three children. In total, Shamrock has seven children and ten grandchildren.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: On January 14, 2010, Frank and Ken Shamrock's adoptive father, Bob Shamrock, died due to health complications from diabetes.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: In August 2012, Shamrock was investigated for allegedly assaulting a woman at a mall in Modesto, California. According to a report, Shamrock intervened when he saw two people involved in a fight, and when he went to break it up, a female jumped on Shamrock's back and attempted to choke him. Shamrock then proceeded to throw her off and followed up with strikes that knocked her unconscious. According to Shamrock, he mistook her for a male, and claims if he realized she was a female, he wouldn't have followed up with strikes. No charges were filed as the Modesto police determined Shamrock acted in self defense.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock had appeared in numerous video games: "WCW vs. the World", "WWF War Zone", "WWF Attitude", "WWF WrestleMania 2000", "WWF SmackDown!", "" (Hidden character), "WWF No Mercy", "", "", "EA Sports MMA", "WWE '13" and "WWE 2K16".


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock was later the star of a low-budget martial arts film in 1997 called "Champions" alongside Danny Trejo.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: Shamrock also appeared in episode 15 of the first season of "That '70s Show" as a professional wrestler, alongside fellow WWE wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.


title: Ken Shamrock

text: As part of the UFC, he appeared as a cage fighter in the 1995 movie "Virtuosity", starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A notable aspect of gameplay is the permanent death of characters in battle, removing them from the rest of the game when they are defeated. In newer games, from "" onwards, players get to choose between Classic Mode, in which fallen characters remain dead, or Casual Mode, in which fallen characters are revived for the next battle. The series title refers to the "Fire Emblem", a recurring element in the series that is usually portrayed as a royal weapon or shield representing the power of war and dragons. The development of the first game began as a dōjin project by Shouzou Kaga and three other developers. Its success prompted the development of further games in the series. Kaga headed the development of each entry until the release of "," when he left Intelligent Systems and founded his game studio to develop "Tear Ring Saga".


title: Fire Emblem

text: No games in the series were released outside of Japan until two characters, Marth and Roy, were included as playable characters in the 2001 fighting game "Super Smash Bros. Melee". Their popularity, as well as the international success of the similarly turn-based "Advance Wars", eventually convinced Nintendo to release future games in Western territories, starting with the seventh game "" under the title "Fire Emblem" in 2003. Many games in the series have sold well despite a decline during the 2000s, which resulted in the series' near-cancellation, a fate that was reversed with the unprecedented critical and commercial success of "Fire Emblem Awakening" (2012). Individual entries have generally been praised, the series as a whole has been lauded for its gameplay, and it is frequently cited as the seminal series in the tactical role-playing genre, codifying various gameplay elements that would come to define the genre. Characters from across the series have also been included in crossovers with other video game franchises, including the aforementioned "Super Smash Bros." series.


title: Fire Emblem

text: There are currently sixteen games in the core "Fire Emblem" series, of which thirteen have been original games and three have been remakes.


title: Fire Emblem

text: The first entry in the series, "", was released in 1990 for the Japanese Famicom. A second game for the Famicom, "Fire Emblem Gaiden", was released in 1992. It is known for having unusual mechanics compared to the rest of the series, such as dungeon exploration. It takes place in a similar timeframe as "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light", but on a different continent. In 1994, "" was released for the Super Famicom, containing both a remake of "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" and a sequel of the first game. Two more games were released for the Super Famicom in 1996 and 1999 respectively: "" and "".


title: Fire Emblem

text: The next entry released was "" in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. A prequel to "The Binding Blade", "", was released for the Game Boy Advance the following year. It was released overseas under the title "Fire Emblem" in 2003 in North America and 2004 in Europe, becoming the first official release of the "Fire Emblem" series in these regions. The final entry for the Game Boy Advance, "", was released in 2004 in Japan, and in 2005 in North America and Europe.


title: Fire Emblem

text: The ninth installment in the series, "", was released worldwide on the GameCube in 2005. It was the first "Fire Emblem" game to feature 3D graphics, voice acting, and full-motion animated cutscenes. A direct sequel to "Path of Radiance", "" was released for the Wii in 2007 in Japan and North America, and 2008 in Europe.


title: Fire Emblem

text: In 2008, the series returned to handheld systems with two releases for the Nintendo DS. "", an expanded remake of the first game, was released in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and 2009 in North America. "Shadow Dragon" makes use of unique DS features unavailable to the Famicom and introduced new characters, added additional story elements, revamped mechanics, and modernized graphics. A Japanese-only entry, "", was released in 2010 for the DS as an expanded remake of "Mystery of the Emblem".


title: Fire Emblem

text: The series moved to the Nintendo 3DS with "Fire Emblem Awakening", the thirteenth game in the series, released in 2012 in Japan and 2013 in North America and Europe. "Awakening" was a major critical and commercial success, and is credited for revitalizing the franchise. The second entry for the Nintendo 3DS, "Fates", was released in June 2015 in Japan, February 2016 in North America, and in May 2016 for Europe and Australia. "Fates" comes in three versions: two physical versions titled "Birthright" and "Conquest", and a third route titled "Revelation" released as downloadable content. "Fates" was later re-released as a special version with all three versions included. A third entry, "", was released on the Nintendo 3DS in April 2017 in Japan and in North America and Europe the following month. "Echoes" is an enhanced remake of "Gaiden", maintaining many of the unique features of "Gaiden" while revamping the graphics and script, and adding several ease-of-play improvements.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A "Fire Emblem" game was announced for the Nintendo Switch during a Fire Emblem focused Nintendo Direct in January 2017. The game was officially revealed as "" during the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018, and was released in July 2019. "Fire Emblem Engage", a second entry for Nintendo Switch, was announced during a September 2022 Nintendo Direct and set for a January 2023 release.


title: Fire Emblem

text: In 1997, an episodic prequel to "Mystery of the Emblem" titled "" was released through Satellaview. The events of "Archanea Senki" were included in the remake of "Mystery of the Emblem". "BS Fire Emblem" is considered an official part of the series by some developers, but not generally by fans. A crossover with the "Shin Megami Tensei" series, "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE", was released in December 2015 in Japan and worldwide in June 2016 for the Wii U. "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE" was developed by Atlus rather than Intelligent Systems and combines gameplay, narrative, and aesthetic elements from both the "Fire Emblem" and "Shin Megami Tensei" series. On January 17, 2020, an enhanced version titled "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore" was released on Nintendo Switch. "Fire Emblem Heroes" is a spin-off gacha game for Android and iOS, and was released in February 2017 for mobile devices. "Heroes" is a crossover of characters from across the "Fire Emblem" series, rather than with another series, and also introduced original characters not seen in any other "Fire Emblem" game. A crossover with the "Dynasty Warriors" series, "Fire Emblem Warriors", was released for the New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch in 2017. It was developed by Omega Force and Team Ninja. A second "Warriors" game, based on "Three Houses," and titled "" was announced in a Nintendo Direct on February 9, 2022 and released on June 24, 2022.


title: Fire Emblem

text: Characters from the "Fire Emblem" series have appeared in a number of other games as cameos or as part of crossovers. This includes multiple entries in the "Super Smash Bros." series, beginning with protagonists Marth and Roy in "Super Smash Bros. Melee". Characters from the series also appeared in Intelligent Systems' strategy game "" as optional characters unlocked via amiibo.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A "Fire Emblem" game was initially in development for the Nintendo 64 and its peripheral 64DD. Originally codenamed "Fire Emblem 64", it was first revealed by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1997. Ultimately, due to poor sales for the 64DD and internal structural changes at Intelligent Systems, "Fire Emblem 64" was cancelled in 2000 and development shifted to what would become "Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade". Work done for "Fire Emblem 64" was incorporated into "The Binding Blade".


title: Fire Emblem

text: An additional RTS-based game for the Wii was planned and would have been released after "Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn", but after trial and error and an unfocused development schedule, the project was cancelled. Intelligent Systems never planned a "Fire Emblem" game for the Wii U. Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami said such a game would need to sell 700,000 copies to be profitable. Rumors of an unreleased "Fire Emblem" remake for the Nintendo 3DS was cancelled following AlphaDream's bankruptcy surfaced in late 2019. According to the reports, it was one of the many video games that had been in development, but were ultimately scrapped for the platform, with many speculating those projects could be moved to the Nintendo Switch.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A short, two episode original video animation series based on "Mystery of the Emblem" was produced in 1996. These anime episodes were released in North America six years before "The Blazing Blade" was localized, making them the first official "Fire Emblem" media to be released in the region. Nintendo produced Amiibo figures of several "Fire Emblem" characters; they are compatible with "Fates", "Echoes: Shadows of Valentia", "Three Houses", "Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.," "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate." Manga based on the games have also been produced, including "The Binding Blade" and "Awakening". Two trading card games have been made with the "Fire Emblem" franchise: "Fire Emblem: Trading Card Game", which was released from 2001–2006, and "Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)", which was released in 2015 and was discontinued in late 2020 with the twenty second expansion pack being the last one.


title: Fire Emblem

text: The "Fire Emblem" games take place across multiple unrelated settings within a Medieval or Renaissance-themed time period, with the main protagonist, being either royalty or a mercenary, caught in the conflict of two or more countries across a continent and fighting for their cause. The continents of Archanea and Valentia are the settings of "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light", "Gaiden", "Mystery of the Emblem," and "Awakening", and the planned setting for "Fire Emblem 64". "Genealogy of the Holy War" and "Thracia 776" are set in Jugdral, distantly connected with Archanea and Valentia, while "The Blazing Blade" and "The Binding Blade" take place in Elibe. "The Sacred Stones" is set in Magvel and "Path of Radiance" and "Radiant Dawn" are set on the continent Tellius. "Fates" is set on an unnamed continent, with the story instead focusing on the two powers fighting over its territory. "Three Houses" takes place on the continent of Fódlan.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A recurring element in the series is the titular artifact known as the "Fire Emblem". In "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" and other games set in Archanea, it is a shield inset with five magical gems. Its name derives from its connection to dragons and weapons of war, being the "emblem of flame". It also appears as a family crest in "Genealogy of the Holy War", a family seal in the world of "The Binding Blade", a magic gemstone in "The Sacred Stones", a bronze medallion holding a goddess of chaos in "Path of Radiance" and "Radiant Dawn", a sword in "Fates", and hereditary magical sigils in "Three Houses". Other magical elements, including feuding gods and mystical species such as dragons and shapeshifters, are also recurring elements in the series.


title: Fire Emblem

text: "Fire Emblem"s developers have described it as an "RPG simulation", combining tactical simulation gameplay with the plot and character development of a role-playing game, creating a sense of connection with characters not present in previous tactical games. Battles in the "Fire Emblem" series play out on a grid-based map, with the player controlling a set number of characters across maps tied to both the game's story and optional side stories. Each character has a specific character class, giving them set abilities and affecting how far they can move across the field. Some character classes have innate skills unique to them, and each character has their own stats. Depending on the series installments, a character's class can be changed or upgraded, sometimes with the requirement of special items. During a battle, each character gains experience points by performing actions, such as attacking an enemy, healing an ally, or slaying a foe (which typically offers the most experience points). When a certain level is reached, the character levels up, and new skill points are awarded randomly to a character's attributes, such as the character's health, agility, or strength. The more a character is used in battle, the more experience that character gains.


title: Fire Emblem

text: A key element in combat since "Genealogy of the Holy War" is the Weapon Triangle, a system governing the strengths and weaknesses that certain weapons and types of magic have against each other in a rock–paper–scissors fashion. For weapons, lances are stronger than swords, swords are stronger than axes, and axes are stronger than lances. In the magic system, fire is stronger than wind, wind is stronger than thunder, and thunder is stronger than fire. From "The Binding Blade" through "Radiant Dawn", these three elements are collectively known as anima magic. Anima is stronger than light, light stronger than darkness, and darkness stronger than anima. In "Fates", the Weapon Triangle relationships add other weapons: swords and tomes are stronger than axes and bows, axes and bows are stronger than lances and shurikens, and lances and shurikens are stronger than swords and tomes. Most games use a Weapon Durability system: after being used a certain number of times, a character's weapon will break. Different installments have various systems related to weapons: in "Genealogy of the Holy War", weapons can be repaired at special shops; in "Path of Radiance" and future games, weapons can be bought and upgraded, while "Fates" replaces the durability system with a system where more powerful weapons weaken some of their wielder's stats.


title: Fire Emblem

text: Character relationships can be developed using support affinity both inside and outside of battle, which increases certain battle abilities. A feature introduced in "Genealogy of the Holy War" and also used in later installments was introduced, where characters who fall in love can have a child who inherits certain skills and stats from them. One of the recurring features in the series is permanent death, a function in which units defeated in battle are permanently removed from the party, with very few exceptions (one exception being the main character, whose death results in a Game Over). "Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem" introduced Casual Mode, in which dead characters were revived at the end of a battle. "Fates" added Phoenix Mode, in which defeated characters are revived on the player's next turn. Another inclusion from "Fates" is 'My Castle', a customizable castle that serves as the player's base of operations throughout the game.


title: Fire Emblem

text: The first "Fire Emblem" game, "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light", was originally never intended as a commercial game, defined by creator Shouzou Kaga as a dōjin project with three other job-holding students. However, the game's unexpected commercial success prompted the development of more games in the series. The game was developed at Intelligent Systems, whose previous notable game was the strategy game "Famicom Wars". Kaga worked on the "Fire Emblem" series until "Thracia 776", when he left Nintendo and began development on "Tear Ring Saga" for the PlayStation. After "Thracia 776", the "Fire Emblem" series had several releases on portable devices. In 2001, Marth and Roy, from "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" and "The Binding Blade" respectively, appeared as playable characters in "Super Smash Bros. Melee", prompting western interest in the "Fire Emblem" series. The positive reception of the characters led to Nintendo's decision to localize "The Blazing Blade" for Western regions under the title "Fire Emblem". Due to its success overseas, it was decided to return the series to home consoles for "Path of Radiance" for the GameCube. Despite it arriving late in the GameCube's life cycle, it provided a late boost to sales, reaffirming Nintendo's faith in the series. By 2010, the series was suffering from declining sales and Nintendo told Intelligent Systems that if their next "Fire Emblem" failed to sell above 250,000 units, the series would be canceled. This prompted Intelligent Systems to include many features new to the series with the intention of making it the culmination of the entire series up to that point. The game's reception and sales ended up saving the series from cancellation, convincing Nintendo to continue production.


title: Fire Emblem

text: The series' original music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko. As the only music composer at Intelligent Systems when "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" was in production, she acted as both composer and sound director, up until "Thracia 776", when she left the company to become a freelancer after completing the score for "Paper Mario". She has worked on later "Fire Emblem" games, alongside other composers including Saki Kasuga, Hiroki Morishita, and Rei Kondoh. The series includes several other notable staff members: Tohru Narihiro, who was involved in every "Fire Emblem" since the original; Masahiro Higuchi, who began as a graphics designer for "Genealogy of the Holy War"; and Kouhei Maeda, who wrote the scenarios for every game since "The Blazing Blade" and became a director for "Awakening".


title: Fire Emblem

text: Multiple artists are associated with the series. The characters of "Mystery of the Emblem" and "Genealogy of the Holy War" were designed by Katsuyoshi Koya, who later worked on designs for the "Fire Emblem" Trading Card Game. Katsuyoshi, who was unsatisfied with his work on the series, stepped down for "Thracia 776". The designer for "Thracia 776" was Mayumi Hirota, whose brief tenure with the series ended when she left Intelligent Systems with Kaga after the game's completion. Nevertheless, her art for the series was described by Kaga as his favorite up to that point. Other artists involved in later games are Eiji Kaneda ("The Binding Blade"), Sachiko Wada ("The Sacred Stones") and Senri Kita ("Path of Radiance", "Radiant Dawn"). For "Shadow Dragon", the character artwork was remade by "Ghost in the Shell" artist Masamune Shirow. The in-game portraits were instead designed by longtime contributor Daisuke Izuka, who returned as character designer for the remake of "Mystery of the Emblem". For "Awakening", art director Toshiyuki Kusakihara worked with character designer Yūsuke Kozaki, who was brought in to give a new look to the series. Kozaki later returned as character designer for "Fates" and "Heroes". For "Echoes: Shadows of Valentia", illustrator Hidari was hired to revise classic "Gaiden" designs in addition to creating new ones. To depict a "glamorous, aristocratic society" in "Three Houses", Intelligent Systems contracted character designer Chinatsu Kurahana, best known for her work on "otome" games such as "Uta no Prince-sama", while freelance artist Kazuma Koda provided the concept art. Kurahana returned to design protagonist Shez, Arval, and the house leaders in its spin-off, "Warriors: Three Hopes", with Kusakihara filling in for the rest of the cast.


title: Fire Emblem

text: Sales in Japan were the highest with "Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light" but progressively declined with future games, which sold 329,087; 324,699; 776,338; 498,216 and 106,108 copies respectively. As of 2002, total sales had reached over two million copies. "Awakening" topped the total sales of both "Radiant Dawn" and the "Mystery of the Emblem" remake in its first week. It went on to sell 1.79 million copies worldwide and become the best-selling "Fire Emblem" game in Western territories at the time.


title: Fire Emblem

text: In 2007, a Japanese public poll named "Mystery of the Emblem" as one of the country's All Time Top 100 video games. Speaking to "USGamer", "Massive Chalice" creator Brad Muir commented on how "Fire Emblem" had influenced the game, referring to it as "[a] venerable strategy series", making positive reference to its gameplay and character relationships. In her review of "Awakening", "IGN"'s Audrey Drake said that "Far too few people have played the "Fire Emblem" series", calling it "[a] darling of the hardcore strategy RPG crowd - and one of the shining gems of the genre".


title: Fire Emblem

text: Several journalistic sites have cited its low notoriety in the west as an effect of Nintendo's sporadic localization efforts, along with its place in a niche game genre. At the same time, they have praised the series' gameplay, regularly noting its high difficulty and relationship mechanics. The series has been cited as an inspiration for later tactical role-playing games, with "Gamasutra" naming "", "Final Fantasy Tactics" and the "Disgaea" series as being influenced by its design. In 2014, "Destructoid" writer Chris Carter praised the series' mechanics, and at the same time chose "Mystery of the Emblem", "Path of Radiance", and "Awakening" in his list of the five best games in the series. "Awakening" is generally cited as having brought the series more publicity and player attention outside of Japan.


title: Fire Emblem

text: After Kaga left Nintendo, he founded a studio called Tirnanog and began development on a game titled "Emblem Saga", a strategy role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game bore multiple similarities to the "Fire Emblem" series, and Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Tirnanog for copyright infringement. The first suit failed, and the court ruled in Tirnanog's favor. Nintendo filed a second lawsuit, and this time was awarded a cash settlement of ¥76 million. Nevertheless, Tirnanog and publisher Enterbrain were still allowed to publish the entry, though they changed its name to ""Tear Ring Saga"", and eventually developed a sequel. Nintendo attempted taking a third lawsuit to the Japanese Supreme Court in 2005, but the second ruling was upheld.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Ocean's Thirteen (stylized as Ocean's 13) is a 2007 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. It is the final installment in the "Ocean's" film trilogy and the sequel to "Ocean's Twelve" (2004). The film features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, and Elliott Gould.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Filming began in July 2006 in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The film was screened as an Out of Competition presentation at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2007, and was released theatrically in the United States on June 8, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $311.7 million worldwide.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Reuben Tishkoff builds a hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip; against advice from his friend and erstwhile criminal partner, Danny Ocean, he involves himself with investor and casino mogul Willy Bank, whose thugs strongarm Reuben into signing over his ownership stake. Tishkoff suffers a heart attack and becomes bedridden. Ocean offers Bank a chance to set things right, given his long history in Las Vegas and the fact that he "shook Sinatra's hand", but Bank refuses and completes construction of the hotel, renamed "The Bank". To avenge Tishkoff, Ocean gathers his crew and plans to ruin Bank on the opening night of the hotel.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: To disrupt the Greco, they plan to use a magnetron disguised as a cell phone as a gift to Bank. They also obtain the drilling machine used to bore the Channel Tunnel to simulate an earthquake under the casino, ensuring that Bank will evacuate the premises. Their plan on opening night is to have Bank inadvertently disrupt the Greco by using his new phone, initiate their rigged machines as well as dealers on their payroll, and then simulate the earthquake to force the evacuation, and have players leave with their winnings.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Shortly before opening night, the drill breaks down. The team is forced to ask Terry Benedict, their previous target, for funds to buy a replacement. Benedict offers the funds for a portion of his share of the take since he dislikes Bank, and demands that Ocean steal Bank's private diamond collection in celebration of his Five Diamond Awards. The jewels are secured in a case at the top of the casino. Ocean has Linus Caldwell get romantically close to Bank's assistant, Abigail Sponder, to gain access to the case. Secretly, Benedict contracts master thief François "The Night Fox" Toulour to intercept the diamonds.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Ocean institutes the final part of the plan by having FBI agents on his payroll arrive at the hotel and arrest Livingston Dell on suspicion of rigging the card-shuffling machines, allowing them to be replaced with actual rigged ones. Another FBI agent arrests Linus for switching the diamonds with fakes. The agent takes Linus away and he turns out to be Linus' father Robert, whom Ocean enlisted. They try to evacuate from the roof but are intercepted by Toulour, who takes the diamonds and parachutes off the roof after tricking Linus with an unloaded pistol. However, Ocean anticipated this and never had Linus make the switch. Linus and his father escape in a helicopter piloted by Basher, tearing the case of diamonds from the roof.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: The earthquake is triggered and the players evacuate with millions of dollars in winnings. Ocean tells Bank he is the mastermind behind everything and that they did it for Reuben. Ocean also reminds Bank that he cannot get revenge, since Danny knows all of Bank's associates and they prefer him over Bank. Also, Bank cannot go to the police due to Bank's illegal activities. With their share of the winnings, Ocean's crew buy property on the Strip for Reuben to build his own casino. Ocean donates Benedict's $72 million portion of the take to charity in Benedict's name, forcing him to admit his philanthropy on broadcast television.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: As Ocean, Rusty, and Linus depart from the airport, Rusty rigs one of the slot machines to allow the real Diamond reviewer to win $11 million as compensation for how they treated him.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: In January 2006, it was reported that producers were in discussions about setting and shooting most of the film at the Wynn Las Vegas. Clooney had previously hoped to film it at his then-upcoming Las Ramblas Resort in Las Vegas, although the project would not have been ready in time for production. In March 2006, it was reported that the film would be shot in a fake casino that would be constructed on five Warner Bros. sound stages. Filming was expected to begin in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in July 2006. Al Pacino joined the cast in April 2006.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Location scouting took place in Las Vegas in mid-July 2006, with the Bellagio confirmed as a filming location, which was also used for scenes in "Ocean's Eleven". Filming in Las Vegas began on August 7, 2006, with scenes shot at McCarran International Airport and at a heliport. The following day, filming moved to the Palazzo resort, which was under construction at the time. Filming in Las Vegas concluded on August 9, 2006, after scenes involving Clooney, Pitt, Damon, and García were shot in an office at the back of the Bellagio. At that time, Clooney and producer Jerry Weintraub were considering premiering the film in Las Vegas. Another Las Vegas shoot was scheduled for September 2006, including additional filming at the Bellagio.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones did not appear in their respective roles as Tess Ocean and Isabel Lahiri, due to the actresses not wanting to participate in the movie without a significant part in the plot, which the script would not accommodate. This is referenced early in the movie when Ocean mentions it's 'not their fight' when questioned as to their absence by others in the group. Topher Grace, who cameoed in the previous two films as a heavily fictionalized version of himself, was unable to return due to reshoots on "Spider-Man 3": he recalls that his planned cameo would have involved him having a conversation with Rusty while holding an Asian baby and never addressing where the baby came from.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: The film did well on its first weekend, reaching the top spot at the North American box office. Despite opening in 250 more theaters than "Ocean's Twelve", it had a slightly weaker opening weekend than the former, pulling in $36 million, compared with "Twelve" $39 million. "Ocean's Thirteen" had generated $117.1 million in box office domestically, and $311.7 million worldwide.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Ocean's Thirteen" reverts to the formula of the first installment, and the result is another slick and entertaining heist film." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: In his review for "New York", David Edelstein wrote, "As the plotting gets knottier, [Soderbergh]'s technique gets more fluid—the editing jazzier, the colors more luscious, the whip-pans more whizbang. It's all anchored by Clooney, looking impudent, roguish, almost laughably handsome." Manohla Dargis, in her review for "The New York Times", wrote, "Playing inside the box and out, <nowiki>[</nowiki>Soderbergh<nowiki>]</nowiki> has learned to go against the grain while also going with the flow. In "Ocean's Thirteen" he proves that in spades by using color like Kandinsky and hanging a funny mustache on Mr. Clooney's luscious mug, having become a genius of the system he so often resists."


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: In his review for the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing ""Ocean's Thirteen" proceeds with insouciant dialogue, studied casualness, and a lotta stuff happening, none of which I cared much about because the movie doesn't pause to develop the characters, who are forced to make do with their movie-star personas." Peter Bradshaw, in his review for "The Guardian", wrote, "Sometimes we go to split-screen, and sometimes — whooaaa! — two of the split-screen frames are funkily showing the same thing. It is all quite meaningless. As if in an experimental novel by B. S. Johnson, the scenes could be reshuffled and shown in any order and it would amount to the same thing. There is no human motivation and no romance."


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: A sequel to "Ocean's Thirteen" had been discussed as a possibility, up until the death of Bernie Mac. However, in June 2021, Don Cheadle revealed that Steven Soderbergh had been working on the concept of a sequel film. In July of the same year, Matt Damon also expressed interest in returning to the franchise, while stating that the project is up to Soderbergh.


title: Ocean's Thirteen

text: "Ocean's 8", a spin-off of the "Ocean's Trilogy" films, was directed by Gary Ross and released in 2018. Sandra Bullock starred as Debbie Ocean, Danny Ocean's sister, opposite Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna Fenty, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, and Nora "Awkwafina" Lum, as a team who took part in a heist at the Met Gala.


title: Dean Winters

text: Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama "Oz" and had roles in TV series" Rescue Me", "30 Rock", "Sex and the City" and "", as well as portraying "Mayhem" in a series of Allstate Insurance commercials. He co-starred in one season of the CBS Network cop drama series "Battle Creek" and had a recurring role as “The Vulture” on the comedy series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine".


title: Dean Winters

text: Dean Gerard Winters was born in New York City on July 20, 1964. He was raised on Long Island. He is of Irish and Italian descent, and speaks fluent Italian. He has two brothers, actor Scott and writer Bradford, and a sister, Blair. Winters spent his teenage years in Scottsdale, Arizona. He attended Chaparral High School and graduated from Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit school in Phoenix, in 1982, and from Colorado College in 1986.


title: Dean Winters

text: Winters has appeared in two of the "Law & Order" television series: "", where he was a regular in the first season, and as a guest star in the "" episode "". He also made an appearance in Season 2 of the television series "Sex and the City" as John McFadden. More than ten years after his final appearance on SVU, he again portrayed Detective Brian Cassidy in the 13th-season finale "Rhodium Nights", became a recurring character in the 14th season and, in the 15th season, also became Captain Olivia Benson's love interest. He has also made guest appearances on "", "Third Watch", "NYPD Blue", "" and as Dennis Duffy in "30 Rock" as well as previously having an accompanying role in "Rescue Me".


title: Dean Winters

text: He starred in the 1999 romantic comedy "Undercover Angel" with Yasmine Bleeth and the 2002 direct-to-video horror film "Hellraiser: Hellseeker". He played Tom in "PS, I Love You". Winters played Detective Sam Tyler's father in the US version of "Life On Mars". He also played Charley Dixon, 's love interest, in "".


title: Dean Winters

text: Winters performed stand-up comedy at Catch a Rising Star, The Comic Strip, and the Comedy Cellar alongside notable comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, and Chris Rock. An HBO comedy special led him to the role he portrayed on "OZ", the HBO-produced prison drama.


title: Dean Winters

text: Winters was cast in the ABC drama pilot "Happy Town," from the creators of "October Road", but was replaced by Steven Weber after shooting the pilot.


title: Dean Winters

text: Winters was away from acting until 2010, when Tina Fey brought him back to "30 Rock". Also that year, Winters was introduced as "Mayhem", a recurring character in a television and radio advertising campaign for Allstate Insurance created by the advertising agency Leo Burnett Chicago. In 2019, Fey joined Winters in a series of "Mayhem" commercials.


title: Dean Winters

text: Winters played Avi in "John Wick". Winters co-starred in one season of the CBS Network cop drama series "Battle Creek", playing a small-town police force detective opposite Josh Duhamel, the FBI resident agent assigned to the town. The series was canceled in May 2015. Most recently, he reprised his role on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as The Vulture and had a supporting role as a divorce attorney on the HBO series "Divorce". In 2018, he was cast as Mr. Town in the second season of Starz "American Gods".


title: Dean Winters

text: In June 2009, Winters contracted a bacterial infection and collapsed upon arrival at his doctor's office. While being transported across Central Park in an ambulance, he went into cardiac arrest for over two minutes. Paramedics were able to revive him and he was hospitalized in intensive care for three weeks. Over the course of the next year, he developed gangrene, requiring the amputation of two toes and half of one thumb, and ten subsequent operations including a skin graft.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Field of Dreams is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel "Shoeless Joe". The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends, including Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) and the Chicago Black Sox. Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, and Burt Lancaster (in his final film role) also star. It was theatrically released on May 5, 1989.


title: Field of Dreams

text: The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Field of Dreams

text: Ray Kinsella lives with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karin, on their Dyersville, Iowa, corn farm. Troubled by his broken relationship with his late father, John Kinsella, a devoted baseball fan, he fears growing old without achieving anything.


title: Field of Dreams

text: While walking through his cornfield one evening, he hears a voice whispering, "If you build it, he will come." He sees a vision of a baseball diamond in the cornfield and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (who in real-life died in 1951) standing in the middle. Believing in him, Annie lets him plow under part of their corn crop to build a baseball field, at risk of financial hardship.


title: Field of Dreams

text: As Ray builds the field, he tells Karin about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Several months pass, and just as Ray is beginning to doubt himself, Shoeless Joe reappears, asking if others can play, and returns with the seven other Black Sox players. Annie's brother, Mark, can't see the players. He warns the couple they are going bankrupt and offers to buy their land. The voice, meanwhile, urges Ray to "ease his pain."


title: Field of Dreams

text: Ray and Annie attend a PTA meeting, where she argues against someone who is trying to ban books by Terence Mann, a controversial author and activist from the 1960s. Ray deduces the voice was referring to Mann, who had named one of his characters "John Kinsella" and had once professed a childhood dream of playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When Ray and Annie have identical dreams about Ray and Mann attending a game at Fenway Park, Ray finds Mann in Boston. Mann, who has become a disenchanted recluse, agrees to attend one game. There Ray hears the voice urging him to "go the distance", seeing statistics on the scoreboard for Archie "Moonlight" Graham, who played in one game for the New York Giants in 1922 but never got to bat. Mann also admits to hearing the voice and seeing the scoreboard.


title: Field of Dreams

text: They drive to Minnesota, learning that Graham, who was a physician, had died years earlier. Ray finds himself in 1972, encountering an elderly Graham, who says he happily left baseball for a satisfying medical career. During the drive back to Iowa, Ray picks up young hitchhiker Archie Graham, who is looking for a baseball team to join. Ray later tells Mann that his father dreamed of being a baseball player then tried to make him pick up the sport instead. At 14, after reading one of Mann's books, Ray stopped playing catch with his father, and they became estranged after he mocked John for having "a hero who was a criminal." Ray admits that his greatest regret is that his father died before they could reconcile. Arriving at the farm, they see various all-star players have arrived, fielding a second team. A game is played and Graham finally gets his turn at bat.


title: Field of Dreams

text: The next morning, Mark returns, demanding that Ray sell the farm or the bank will foreclose on him. Karin insists that people will pay to watch the ballgames. Mann agrees, saying that "people will come" to relive their childhood innocence. Ray and Mark scuffle, accidentally knocking Karin off the bleachers. despite knowing he will be unable to return after stepping off the saves her. Having become old Doc Graham again, he reassures Ray that he has no regrets. As he heads back toward the cornfield, he is commended by the other players, and before he can disappear into the corn, Shoeless Joe calls out, "Hey, rookie!" Graham stops and turns to Shoeless Joe, who deliberately tells him, "You were good." Doc Graham's eyes shine with tears before he smiles, turns back toward the corn, and disappears into it. Suddenly, Mark too can see the players and urges Ray to keep the farm.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Shoeless Joe invites Mann to enter the corn, and Mann disappears into it. Ray is angry at not being invited but Joe rebukes him, glancing towards the catcher at home plate, saying, "If you build it, "he" will come." When the catcher removes his mask, Ray recognizes him as his father as a young man. Ray realizes "ease his pain" referred to his own regrets.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Ray introduces John to his wife and daughter, initially without referring to him as his father. As John begins to head towards the cornfield, Ray, calling him "Dad", asks if he wants to have a catch. John gladly accepts as hundreds of cars are seen approaching the field, fulfilling the prophecy that people will come to watch baseball.


title: Field of Dreams

text: In addition, Anne Seymour, who died four months before the film's release, makes her final film appearance as the kindly Chisholm publisher who helps Ray and Mann. The identity of the actor who provided "The Voice", who speaks to Ray throughout the film, has remained unconfirmed since the film's release. Some believe it is Costner or Liotta, but the book's author W. P. Kinsella said he was told it was Ed Harris (Madigan's husband). Then-teenagers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were extras in the Fenway Park scene.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Phil Alden Robinson read "Shoeless Joe" in 1981 and liked it so much that he brought it to producers Lawrence and Charles Gordon. Lawrence Gordon worked for 20th Century Fox, part of the time as its president, and repeatedly mentioned that the book should be adapted into a film, but the studio always turned down the suggestion because they felt the project was too esoteric and noncommercial. Meanwhile, Robinson went ahead with his script, frequently consulting Kinsella for advice on the adaptation. Lawrence Gordon left Fox in 1986 and started pitching the adaptation to other studios. Universal Pictures accepted the project in 1987 and hired USC coach Rod Dedeaux as baseball advisor. Dedeaux brought along World Series champion and USC alumnus Don Buford to coach the actors.


title: Field of Dreams

text: The film was shot using the novel's title; eventually, an executive decision was made to rename it "Field of Dreams." Robinson did not like the name, saying he loved "Shoeless Joe," and that the new title was better suited for one about dreams deferred. Kinsella told Robinson after the fact that his original title for the book had been "The Dream Field" and that the publisher had imposed the title "Shoeless Joe".


title: Field of Dreams

text: Robinson and the producers did not originally consider Kevin Costner for the part of Ray Kinsella because they did not think that he would want to follow "Bull Durham" with another baseball film. The role of Ray was first offered to Tom Hanks but he turned it down. He did, however, end up reading the script and became interested in the project, stating that he felt it would be "this generation's "It's a Wonderful Life"". Since Robinson's directing debut "In the Mood" had been a commercial failure, Costner also said that he would help him with the production. Amy Madigan, a fan of the book, joined the cast as Ray's wife, Annie. In the book, the writer Ray seeks out its real-life author J.D. Salinger. When Salinger threatened the production with a lawsuit if his name was used, Robinson decided to rewrite the character as reclusive Terence Mann. He wrote with James Earl Jones in mind because he thought it would be fun to see Ray trying to kidnap such a big man. Robinson had originally envisioned Shoeless Joe Jackson as being played by an actor in his 40s, someone who would be older than Costner and who could thereby act as a father surrogate. Ray Liotta did not fit that criterion, but Robinson thought he would be a better fit for the part because he had the "sense of danger" and ambiguity which Robinson wanted in the character. The role of Moonlight Graham was offered to James Stewart but he turned it down. Burt Lancaster had originally turned down the part of Moonlight Graham, but changed his mind after a friend, who was also a baseball fan, told him that he had to work on the film.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Filming began on May 25, 1988. The shooting schedule was built around Costner's availability because he would be leaving in August to film "Revenge". Except for some weather delays and other time constraints, production rolled six days a week. The interior scenes were the first ones shot because the cornfield planted by the filmmakers was taking too long to grow. Irrigation had to be used to quickly grow the corn to Costner's height. Primary shot locations were in Dubuque County, Iowa; a farm near Dyersville was used for the Kinsella home; an empty warehouse in Dubuque was used to build various interior sets. Galena, Illinois, served as Moonlight Graham's Chisholm, Minnesota. One week was spent on location shots in Boston, most notably Fenway Park.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Robinson, despite having a sufficient budget as well as the cast and crew he wanted, constantly felt tense and depressed during filming. He felt that he was under too much pressure to create an outstanding film, and that he was not doing justice to the original novel. Lawrence Gordon convinced him that the end product would be effective.


title: Field of Dreams

text: During a lunch with the Iowa Chamber of Commerce, Robinson broached his idea of a final scene in which headlights could be seen for miles along the horizon. The Chamber folks replied that it could be done and the shooting of the final scene became a community event. The film crew was hidden on the farm to make sure the aerial shots did not reveal them. A production assistant drove from the set into town and measured the distance between, deducing it would require 1,500 cars to fill the shot. Dyersville was then blacked out and local extras drove their vehicles to the field. In order to give the illusion of movement, the drivers were instructed to continuously switch between their low and high beams.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Scenes of the Kinsella farm were taken on the property of Don Lansing in Dyersville, Iowa; some of the baseball field scenes were shot on the neighboring farm of Al Ameskamp. Because the shooting schedule was too short for grass to naturally grow, the experts on sod laying responsible for Dodger Stadium and the Rose Bowl were hired to create the baseball field. Part of the process involved painting the turf green.


title: Field of Dreams

text: After shooting, Ameskamp again grew corn on his property; Lansing maintained his as a tourist destination. He did not charge for admission or parking, deriving revenue solely from the souvenir shop. By the film's twentieth anniversary, approximately 65,000 people visited annually. In July 2010, the farm containing the "Field" was listed as for sale. It was sold on October 31, 2011, to Go The Distance Baseball, LLC, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around $5.4 million.


title: Field of Dreams

text: In 2019, Major League Baseball announced that it would hold a special neutral-site regular season game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees at the Dyersville site on August 13, 2020, playing on an 8,000-seat field constructed adjacent to the original, with a pathway connecting the two. The field would be modeled upon the White Sox's former field, Comiskey Park (which was used from 1910 to 1990). As of July 1, 2020, the game was to still be played on August 13, 2020, but because of the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the White Sox would play the St. Louis Cardinals. On August 3, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that the game was cancelled due to logistical difficulties. It was later postponed to 2021.


title: Field of Dreams

text: The game was eventually held on the field on August 12, 2021, with the originally announced matchup of the White Sox and Yankees. In the pre-game show, Kevin Costner emerged from the cornfield onto the outfield, followed by the players and managers from both teams. At the old-fashioned microphone in the diamond, Costner said, "Is this heaven? Yes, it is." The White Sox beat the Yankees 9–8, following a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning by Tim Anderson, after the Yankees had scored four runs in the top of the inning to take an 8–7 lead.


title: Field of Dreams

text: A second Field of Dreams game was played during the 2022 season on August 11 with the Cincinnati Reds – who beat the White Sox in the 1919 World Series that was marred by the Black Sox Scandal – facing the Chicago Cubs, with the Cubs winning 4–2. This time, the movie was referenced in the pregame ceremonies by Ken Griffey Jr. asking his father Ken Griffey Sr. if he wanted to play catch. Both Griffeys – who played for the Reds and also played together for the Seattle Mariners – were joined first by fathers and sons (and daughters) also playing catch. The Cubs and Reds then also entered from the cornfield beyond centerfield along with multiple National Baseball Hall of Fame members representing both teams – catcher Johnny Bench and shortstop Barry Larkin for the Reds along with second baseman Ryne Sandberg, outfielder Andre Dawson, pitcher Ferguson Jenkins and left fielder Billy Williams for the Cubs. Jenkins also threw the ceremonial first pitch to Bench.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Leonard Bernstein was the first choice to compose the score for the film but he was overbooked. At first, James Horner was unsure if he could work on the film due to scheduling restrictions until he watched a rough cut and was so moved that he accepted the job of scoring it. Robinson had created a temp track which was disliked by Universal executives. When the announcement of Horner as composer was made, the executives felt more positive because they expected a big orchestral score, similar to Horner's work for "An American Tail". Horner, in contrast, liked the temporary score, finding it "quiet and kind of ghostly". He decided to follow the idea of the temp track, creating an atmospheric soundtrack which would "focus on the emotions". The score was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score but lost to the Alan Menken score for "The Little Mermaid". In addition to Horner's score, portions of several pop songs are heard during the film. They are listed in the following order in the closing credits:


title: Field of Dreams

text: The character played by Burt Lancaster and Frank Whaley, Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, is based on an actual baseball player with the same name. His character is largely true to life except for a few factual liberties taken for artistic reasons. For instance, the real Graham's lone major league game occurred in June 1905, rather than on the final day of the 1922 season. The real Graham died in 1965, as opposed to 1972 as the film depicts. In the film, Terence Mann interviews a number of people about Graham. The DVD special points out that the facts they gave him were taken from articles written about the real man.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Universal scheduled "Field of Dreams" to open in the U.S. on April 21, 1989. The film debuted in just a few theaters and was gradually released to more screens so that it would have a spot among the summer blockbusters. It ended up playing until December. The film was released in the Philippines by Eastern Films on November 1, 1989.


title: Field of Dreams

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10. The website's critics consensus reads: ""Field of Dreams" is sentimental, but in the best way; it's a mix of fairy tale, baseball, and family togetherness." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on scale of A+ to F.


title: Field of Dreams

text: Roger Ebert awarded the film a perfect 4 stars, admiring its ambition: "This is the kind of movie Frank Capra might have directed, and James Stewart might have starred in—a movie about dreams." Caryn James of "The New York Times" wrote: "A work so smartly written, so beautifully filmed, so perfectly acted, that it does the almost impossible trick of turning sentimentality into true emotion." Duane Byrge of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised Costner for his performance, writing that it was his "eye-on-the-ball exuberance that carries "Dreams" past its often mechanical aesthetic paces."


title: Field of Dreams

text: "Variety" magazine gave the film a mixed review: "In spite of a script hobbled with cloying aphorisms and shameless sentimentality, Field of Dreams sustains a dreamy mood in which the idea of baseball is distilled to its purest essence." Peter Travers at "Rolling Stone" magazine panned the film and wrote: "To be honest, I started hearing things, too. Just when Jones was delivering an inexcusably sappy speech about baseball being "a symbol of all that was once good in America," I heard the words "If he keeps talking, I'm walking.""


title: Field of Dreams

text: The film was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1990: Best Picture (Gordon & Gordon), Best Adapted Screenplay (Robinson), and Best Original Score (Horner). It did not win in any category.


title: Field of Dreams

text: In 2017, the US Library of Congress selected "Field of Dreams" as one of its 25 annual additions to the National Film Registry. The announcement quotes film critic Leonard Maltin, who called the film "a story of redemption and faith, in the tradition of the best Hollywood fantasies with moments of pure magic."


title: Field of Dreams

text: In June 2008, after having polled over 1,500 people in the creative community, AFI revealed its "Ten Top Ten" — the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres. The film was acknowledged as the sixth best one in the fantasy genre.


title: Field of Dreams

text: "Field of Dreams" was released on VHS in 1989. The film was later released on DVD on April 29, 1998. It was released on Blu-ray on March 13, 2011. It was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on May 14, 2019, for the film's 30th anniversary.


title: Field of Dreams

text: In August 2021, it was announced the film was being remade as a television series for Peacock. Michael Schur will write the series. In June 2022, it was revealed it was no longer moving forward at Peacock and Universal Television had begun shopping the project elsewhere.


title: Superman in film

text: Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, DC Comics' Superman has appeared in various films almost since his inception. He debuted in cinemas in a series of animated shorts beginning in 1941, subsequently starring in two movie serials in 1948 and 1950. An independent studio, Lippert Pictures, released the first Superman feature film, "Superman and the Mole Men", starring George Reeves, in 1951. In 1974, the film rights to the Superman character were purchased by Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind, and Pierre Spengler. After numerous scripts, Richard Donner was hired as their director, filming "Superman" (1978) and "Superman II" (1980) simultaneously. Donner had already shot eighty percent of "Superman II" with Christopher Reeve before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after "Superman"s release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish "Superman II". Lester also returned for "Superman III" (1983), and the Salkinds further produced the related 1984 spin-off "Supergirl" before selling the rights to Cannon Films, resulting in the poorly reviewed "" (1987). Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth "Superman" script before Warner Bros acquired the rights entirely in 1993.


title: Superman in film

text: Over the course of 11 years, Warner Bros would develop and then cancel Tim Burton's "Superman Lives", which would have starred Nicolas Cage; Wolfgang Petersen's "Batman vs. Superman"; and the J. J. Abrams scripted "Superman: Flyby", which went between directors Joseph "McG" Nichols and Brett Ratner. The studio hired Bryan Singer to take over the films in 2004, releasing "Superman Returns" in 2006, which starred newcomer Brandon Routh. Donner's was also released that year. Despite positive reviews, Warner Bros was disappointed with the financial performance of "Superman Returns", and canceled Singer's proposed sequel. The studio nearly went into production of a Justice League film with George Miller directing and D. J. Cotrona as Superman, but it was shelved in 2008.


title: Superman in film

text: The film series was rebooted in 2013 with "Man of Steel", directed by Zack Snyder with Henry Cavill starring as Superman. "Man of Steel" also launched what became known as the DC Extended Universe, a cinematic franchise intended to rival the highly-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cavill has since then appeared as Superman in the DCEU films "" (2016) and "Justice League" (2017), both again directed by Snyder, as well as the director's cut of "Justice League", "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021), before making his final appearance in the mid-credits scene of "Black Adam" (2022). A new film starring the character is currently in development, written by James Gunn as part of a rebooted DCEU co-produced by him and Peter Safran.


title: Superman in film

text: The DC Universe Animated Original Movies is a direct-to-video animated film series that often features Superman in a leading or supporting role.


title: Superman in film

text: Superman first appeared in cinemas in a 17-part series of theatrical animated shorts, between 1941 and 1943. They were released by Paramount Pictures. Of those 17 shorts, 9 were produced by Fleischer Studios, and the further 8 by its successor, Famous Studios.


title: Superman in film

text: The first appearance of Superman in live-action film was in "Superman" (1948), a 15-part film serial from Columbia Pictures, starring Kirk Alyn as the titular character (uncredited), Noel Neill as Lois Lane, and Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen.


title: Superman in film

text: The 1948 "Superman" was followed up by "Atom Man vs. Superman", another 15-part serial from Columbia Pictures, the first installment of which was released in 1950. The serial featured the same main cast including Kirk Alyn as Superman, with the addition of Lyle Talbot as Lex Luthor, also known as the "Atom Man".


title: Superman in film

text: Shot on a low budget, Lee Sholem's "Superman and the Mole Men" (1951) served as a trial run for the syndicated TV series "Adventures of Superman" (airing 1952–58), for which the 1951 film became a two-part pilot episode titled "The Unknown People".


title: Superman in film

text: Both the film and the subsequent TV series starred George Reeves as Superman. Lois Lane, on the other hand, was played by Phyllis Coates in the film and the first season of the show, but was re-cast in later seasons with Noel Neill (who also played the character in the previous Kirk Alyn films). The film was produced by Barney Sarecky with the original screenplay by Richard Fielding (a pseudonym for Robert Maxwell and Whitney Ellsworth).


title: Superman in film

text: In 1954, the short film "Stamp Day for Superman" was produced for the U.S. Treasury to promote "Stamp Day", featuring Reeves and Neill.


title: Superman in film

text: In 1973, producer Ilya Salkind convinced his father Alexander to buy the rights to Superman. They hired Mario Puzo to pen a two-film script, and negotiated with Steven Spielberg to direct, though Alexander eventually landed on someone else. "Superman" (1978) and "Superman II" (1980) were shot simultaneously.


title: Superman in film

text: Guy Hamilton was hired as the director, with Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman signing on to play Jor-El and Lex Luthor, respectively. With pre-production taking place in Rome, complication arose when it was discovered that Brando could not film in Italy as he faced an obscenity lawsuit over "Last Tango in Paris" (1972). As result, production would subsequently move to England in late 1976. However, Hamilton was unable to shoot in England as he had violated his tax payments. To take Hamilton's place to direct the film, the Salkinds hired Richard Donner, who hired Tom Mankiewicz to polish the script, giving it a serious feel with Christ-like overtones.


title: Superman in film

text: There was a lengthy search for a lead actor, and a number of famous figures turned down the role, including Robert Redford and Burt Reynolds. Eventually Christopher Reeve was cast as Superman, and underwent an exercise regimen to gain muscle for the role, gaining before filming. Also, Margot Kidder was cast as Lois Lane.


title: Superman in film

text: With a budget of US$55 million, the 1978 "Superman" was the most expensive film made up to that point. It was a success both critically and commercially.


title: Superman in film

text: Despite the success of 1978's "Superman", director Richard Donner did not return to finish its sequel. Evidently, the production of both films was marred by Donner's bad relationship with the Salkinds, for which Richard Lester acted as mediator.


title: Superman in film

text: With the film going over budget, the filmmakers decided to temporarily cease production of "Superman" "II" altogether, moving its climax into the first film. Eventually, the film was completed with Lester, who gave it a more tongue-in-cheek tone relative to the first film. Nonetheless, "Superman II" was another financial and critical success, despite stiff competition with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the same year.


title: Superman in film

text: In 2006, after receiving many requests for his own version of "Superman II", Donner and producer Michael Thau produced their own cut of the film and released it on November 28 that year. The received positive response from critics as well as from the stars of the original film; according to the studio, the cut made Donner "the first director in history to be able to complete a film he left during production with nearly all his footage in the can."


title: Superman in film

text: For the third installment, Ilya Salkind wrote a treatment that expanded the film's scope to a cosmic scale, introducing the villains Brainiac and Mister Mxyzptlk, as well as Supergirl. Warner Brothers, however, rejected it and retooled the script into their own "Superman III" film, trimming Brainiac down into the film's evil "ultimate computer". The final version co-starred comedian Richard Pryor as computer wizard Gus Gorman, who—under the manipulation of a millionaire magnate—creates a form of Kryptonite that turns Superman into an evil self.


title: Superman in film

text: Despite its success, fans were disappointed with the film, in particular with Pryor's performance diluting the serious tone of the previous films, as well as controversy over the depiction of the evil Superman. Salkind's rejected proposal was eventually released online in 2007.


title: Superman in film

text: Along with gaining the film rights to Superman"," Alexander and Ilya Salkind also purchased the rights to the character of Superman's cousin, Supergirl.


title: Superman in film

text: "Supergirl" was released in 1984 as a spin-off of the Reeve films; Reeve was slated to have a cameo but he ultimately backed out of the production, though his likeness appears in a photo. It stars Helen Slater in her first motion picture in the title role, with Faye Dunaway (who received top billing) playing the primary villain, Selena, along with Marc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen.


title: Superman in film

text: Though the film performed poorly at the box office, Slater was nominated for a Saturn Award for her performance.


title: Superman in film

text: Cannon Films picked up an option for a fourth Superman film, directed by Sidney J. Furie, with Christopher Reeve reprising the role due to his interest in the film's topic regarding nuclear weapons. Several other actors from the film series reprised their roles as well, including Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) and Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor). However, Cannon decided to cut the budget, resulting in poor special effects and heavy re-editing, which contributed to the film's poor reception.


title: Superman in film

text: Though the film was a minor financial success, Warner Brothers decided to end the series, following the negative reception of the last two Superman films.


title: Superman in film

text: Following several unsuccessful attempts to reboot the franchise, Bryan Singer, who was said to be a childhood fan of the 1978 film, was approached by Warner Brothers to direct a new Superman film. He accepted, abandoning two films already in pre-production, "" (which would come to be directed by Brett Ratner) and a remake of "Logan's Run". To work on the film, Singer brought his entire crew from "X2".


title: Superman in film

text: For the lead role, Brandon Routh was chosen in part because of his resemblance to Christopher Reeve; in fact, Routh had been signed by his manager several years earlier due to this resemblance. Singer followed Richard Donner's lead in casting a relatively unknown actor as the titular character and more high-profile actors in supporting roles, such as Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Through digitally-enhanced archive footage, Marlon Brando, who had died in 2004, appears in the film as Jor-El.


title: Superman in film

text: As backstory, the film uses the events of the 1978 film and "Superman II", while disregarding the events of "Superman III" and "" and its spin-off "Supergirl". Singer's story tells of Superman's return to Earth following a 5-year search for survivors of Krypton. He discovers that, in his absence, Lois Lane has given birth to a son and become engaged.


title: Superman in film

text: In June 2008, Warner Bros. took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters and directors on how to restart the "Superman" film series. During story discussions for "The Dark Knight Rises" in 2008, David S. Goyer, aware that Warner Bros. was planning a "Superman" reboot, told Christopher Nolan his idea on how to present Superman in a modern context. Impressed with Goyer's concept, Nolan pitched the idea to the studio in February 2010, who hired Nolan to produce and Goyer to write based on the financial and critical success of "The Dark Knight". Nolan admired Singer's work on "Superman Returns" for its connection to Richard Donner's version, and previously used the 1978 film as casting inspiration for "Batman Begins". Zack Snyder was hired as the film's director in October 2010. Principal photography started in August 2011 in West Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Vancouver and Plano, Illinois. The film stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El. The film was released in June 2013.


title: Superman in film

text: David S. Goyer and Zack Snyder respectively wrote and directed "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016), the sequel to "Man of Steel" and the 2nd film in the DC Extended Universe. Christopher Nolan returned as producer, albeit in a lesser role than he had in the first film. Goyer stated at the Superman 75th Anniversary Panel at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International that Batman and Superman would battle, and titles under consideration were "Superman Vs Batman" and "Batman Vs Superman". Over the next six months, Ben Affleck (as Batman), Gal Gadot (as Wonder Woman), Jesse Eisenberg (as Lex Luthor) and Jeremy Irons (as Alfred Pennyworth) were added to the cast. All have since appeared in other DCEU movies as well.


title: Superman in film

text: The film was released in March 25, 2016; initially was slated to July 2015, but was delayed in order to give the filmmakers "time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story".


title: Superman in film

text: Shortly after filming had finished for "Man of Steel", Warner Bros hired Will Beall to script a new "Justice League" film in June 2012. With the release of "Man of Steel" in June 2013, Goyer was hired to write a new "Justice League" script, with the Beall draft being scrapped. In April 2014, it was announced that Zack Snyder would also be directing Goyer's "Justice League" script. Warner Bros. was reportedly courting Chris Terrio to rewrite "Justice League" the following July, after having been impressed with his rewrite of "Batman v Superman". During post-production of the film, Zack Snyder left the film due to the death of his daughter. Joss Whedon took over the project and wrote and directed reshoots.


title: Superman in film

text: The divisive reaction toward the theatrical cut of "Justice League", with Zack Snyder leaving directorial duties and the theatrical cut of the film in the hands of Joss Whedon, led to an argument comparing the situation to the one experienced by the film "Superman II". Both "Justice League" and "Superman II" had a director who was replaced before the completion of the film (for different reasons), which led to a second director coming in and making substantial changes to the tone of the film. Richard Donner was able to complete his cut of in 2005. In the belief that Snyder had shot enough material for a finished film, a campaign for a "Snyder Cut" began online, to allow Snyder to receive a similar treatment to Donner. Arguments were made that Snyder's vision would be more cohesive to the previous films than the actual theatrical cut, which Snyder has not yet seen. Warner Bros. initially remained silent regarding any intention of making a "Snyder Cut".


title: Superman in film

text: In March 2019, Snyder confirmed his original cut did exist, and stated that it was up to Warner Bros. to release it. In November 2019, "Variety" reported that Warner Bros. was unlikely to release Snyder's version of "Justice League" in theaters or on HBO Max, calling it a "pipe dream". In December, however, Snyder posted a photo on his Vero account, which showed boxes with tapes labeled "Z.S. J.L Director's cut", and with the caption "Is it real? Does it exist? Of course it does." On May 20, 2020, Snyder officially announced that HBO Max would be releasing his cut of "Justice League" on their service in 2021. The cut cost $70+ million to complete the special effects, musical score, editing, and additional shooting. Initially the cut was planned to be a four part miniseries, but it was instead eventually released as a four-hour movie. Snyder has stated that this version is non-canonical to DC Extended Universe continuity, existing in a slightly alternate universe. However, Jason Momoa said that James Wan's "Aquaman" (2018) takes place after "Zack Snyder's Justice League" rather than Whedon's version. Similarly, "Wonder Woman" (2017) director Patty Jenkins said that no DC director considers Whedon's "Justice League" canonical, and that she had worked with Snyder to ensure "Wonder Woman" maintained continuity with his film.


title: Superman in film

text: In December 2022 following the hiring of James Gunn and Peter Safran to serve as co-chairmen of the newly restructured and christened DC Studios, it was announced that Gunn had begun writing a new "Superman" film unassociated with "Man of Steel" (2013), that would reboot the character within the new continuity of the DCEU under development. Gunn himself would reveal that the new film would eschew depicting the origin story in favor of focusing on a younger Clark Kent, having already been active as Superman for some time, while also being recently hired as a fledgling "Daily Planet" journalist who has established relationships with key characters like Lois Lane. Alongside the announcement, actor Henry Cavill seperately confirmed that he would no longer portray Superman in the film due to its dissociation from his version of the character in spite of his previously planned return to the role.


title: Superman in film

text: In February 2021, Ta-Nehisi Coates was revealed to be writing a new Superman film for the DCEU that was in early development. J. J. Abrams was set as producer alongside Hannah Minghella, with no director or actors attached to the project yet. The film was expected to feature a black actor portraying Superman, with potential for Michael B. Jordan to take on the role. Coates said he was looking forward to "meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero", while Abrams said the film would tell a "new, powerful and moving Superman story". This was reported by outlets as being a reboot of the franchise, but Richard Newby of "The Hollywood Reporter" felt the film starring a black actor could indicate a new version of Superman that could exist alongside Cavill's portrayal within the DC Multiverse. Newby also noted that Coates' history as a non-fiction author and journalist focusing on African-American issues would give him "the insight and experience to delve further into the [Superman] mythos in a way never seen on screen".


title: Superman in film

text: The studio was in the early process of finding a director for the film at that point, and had committed to hiring a black filmmaker for the project. They had met with potential directors by early May, working from a list that included Steven Caple Jr., Ryan Coogler, J. D. Dillard, Regina King, and Shaka King. Coates was not expected to deliver his script for the film until mid-December, and was believed to be introducing a new version of Kal-El / Superman in what was potentially a 20th century period piece. The film was expected to be set in a separate universe from the DCEU at that point.


title: Superman in film

text: Jordan stated in April that he was not interested in starring the film. He later clarified that this was because the film was planned to portray Kal-El himself as black, rather than use an alternate version of Superman, such as Calvin Ellis or Val-Zod, who had already appeared as black in the comic books, which would give rise to charges of racebending. Instead, Jordan began developing a Val-Zod limited series for HBO Max. As of December 2022, the project is being produced in tandem with a new "Superman" film written by James Gunn.


title: Superman in film

text: Before the failure of "", Cannon Films considered producing a fifth film with Albert Pyun as director. Cannon's bankruptcy resulted in the film rights reverting to Ilya and Alexander Salkind. The story had Superman dying and resurrecting in the shrunken, bottled Krypton city of Kandor. The premise of Superman's death and rebirth coincidentally predated 1992 "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline.


title: Superman in film

text: With the success of "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline, Warner Brothers purchased the film rights of Superman from the Salkinds in 1993, and hired producer Jon Peters to develop a new Superman film. Peters in turn hired Jonathan Lemkin to write a new script. Major toy companies insisted on seeing Lemkin's screenplay before the deadline of the 1993 American International Toy Fair.


title: Superman in film

text: Lemkin's script in March 1995, titled "Superman Reborn", featured Lois Lane and Clark Kent with relationship troubles, and Superman's battle with Doomsday. When Superman professes his love to Lois, his life force jumps between them just as he dies, giving Lois a virgin birth. Their child, who grows 21-years-old in three weeks, becomes the resurrected Superman and saves the world. Warner Brothers did not like the script because of the similar underlying themes with Bruce Wayne's obligations of heroism found in "Batman Forever" (1995).


title: Superman in film

text: To rewrite Lemkin's text, Peters hired Gregory Poirier, whose December 1995 script had Brainiac creating Doomsday, infused with "Kryptonite blood." In Poirier's script, Superman has romance problems with Lois Lane and visits a psychiatrist before he is killed by Doomsday. An alien named Cadmus, a victim of Brainiac, steals his corpse. Superman is resurrected and teams with Cadmus to defeat Brainiac. Powerless, Superman wears a robotic suit until his powers—which, according to the script, are a mental discipline called "Phin-yar"—return. At Peters' request, Poirier had Superman wear an all-black suit at the end of the script. Other villains included Parasite and Silver Banshee. Though Poirier's script impressed Warner Brothers, Kevin Smith was hired to rewrite; Smith thought that Poirier's script did not respect the Superman mythos properly.


title: Superman in film

text: Kevin Smith pitched Jon Peters his story outline in late 1996, and he was allowed to write the screenplay under certain conditions:


title: Superman in film

text: Smith accepted the terms, realizing that he was being hired to execute a preordained idea. Peters would go on to insist further additions:


title: Superman in film

text: Smith's script, titled Superman Lives, had Brainiac sending Doomsday to kill Superman, as well as blocking out the sun to make Superman powerless, as Superman is fueled by sunlight. Brainiac teams up with Lex Luthor, but Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian robot, the Eradicator. Brainiac wishes to possess the Eradicator and its technology. Powerless, the resurrected Superman is sheathed in a robotic suit formed from the Eradicator itself until his powers return, courtesy of sunbeams, and defeats Brainiac. Smith's casting choices included Ben Affleck as Clark Kent/Superman, Linda Fiorentino as Lois Lane, Jack Nicholson as Lex Luthor, Famke Janssen as Mercy Graves, John Mahoney as Perry White, David Hyde Pierce as the Eradicator, Jason Lee as Brainiac, and Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen. Affleck would go on to portray Superman actor George Reeves in the 2006 film "Hollywoodland", and Batman in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with "" in 2016.


title: Superman in film

text: Robert Rodriguez was offered the chance to direct, but turned down the offer due to his commitment on "The Faculty" (1998), despite liking Smith's script.


title: Superman in film

text: Smith originally suggested Tim Burton to direct his script, and Burton signed on with a pay-or-play contract of $5 million. Warner Brothers originally planned on a theatrical release date for summer 1998, the 60th anniversary of the character's debut in "Action Comics". Nicolas Cage, a comic book fan, signed on as Superman with a $20 million pay-or-play contract, believing he could "reconceive the character." Peters also felt Cage could "convince audiences he [Superman] came from outer space." Burton explained Cage's casting would be "the first time you would believe that nobody could recognize Clark Kent as Superman, he [Cage] could physically change his persona." Kevin Spacey was approached for the role of Lex Luthor, while Christopher Walken was Burton's choice for Brainiac, a role also considered for Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman. Sandra Bullock, Courteney Cox and Julianne Moore had been approached for Lois Lane, while Chris Rock was cast as Jimmy Olsen. Michael Keaton confirmed his involvement, but when asked if he would be reprising his role as Batman from Burton's "Batman" films, he would only reply, "Not exactly."


title: Superman in film

text: In the summer of 1997, "Superman Lives" entered pre-production, with an art department employed under production designer Rick Heinrichs. Burton hired Wesley Strick to rewrite Smith's script, which disappointed Smith, who stated:The studio was happy with what I was doing. Then Tim Burton got involved, and when he signed his pay-or-play deal, he turned around and said he wanted to do his version of Superman. So who is Warner Bros. going back to? The guy who made "Clerks", or the guy who made them half a billion dollars on" Batman"?When Strick read Smith's script, he was annoyed with the fact that "Superman was accompanied/shadowed by someone/something called the Eradicator." He also felt that "Brainiac's evil plot of launching a disk in space to block out the sun and make Superman powerless was reminiscent of an episode of "The Simpsons", with Mr. Burns doing the Brainiac role." However, after reading "The Death and Return of Superman", Strick was able to understand some of the elements of Smith's script. Strick's rewrite featured Superman as an existentialist, thinking of himself to be an outsider on Earth. Superman is threatened by Brainiac and Lex Luthor, who later amalgamate into "Lexiac," described by Strick as "a schizo/scary mega-villain." Superman is later resurrected by the power of 'K,' a natural force representing the spirit of Krypton, as he defeats Lexiac.


title: Superman in film

text: Art designer Sylvain Despretz claimed the art department was assigned to create something that had little or nothing to do with the Superman comic book, and also explained that Peters "would bring kids in, who would rate the drawings on the wall as if they were evaluating the toy possibilities. It was basically a toy show." Peters saw a cover of "National Geographic", containing a picture of a skull, going to art department workers, telling them he wanted the design for Brainiac's spaceship to have the same image. Burton gave Despretz a concept drawing for Brainiac, which Despretz claims was "a cone with a round ball on top, and something that looked like an emaciated skull inside. Imagine you take Merlin's hat, and you stick a fish bowl on top, with a skull in it." Concept artist Rolf Mohr said in an interview he designed a suit for the Eradicator for a planned scene in which it transforms into a flying vehicle.


title: Superman in film

text: Burton chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as his primary filming location for Metropolis, while start dates for filming were pushed back. A minor piece of the Krypton set was constructed but then destroyed, and Cage had even attended a costume fitting.


title: Superman in film

text: The studio was also considering changing the title "Superman Lives" back to Superman Reborn. Deeming Wesley Strick's script too expensive, Warner Bros enlisted the help of Dan Gilroy to rewrite it into something more economically feasible. Gilroy lowered the $190 million budget set by Strick's draft to $100 million. However, the studio was still less willing to fast track production, due to financial reasons with other film properties, having Gilroy turn in two drafts.


title: Superman in film

text: In April 1998, Warner Bros ultimately chose to put the film on hold; at this point in production, the studio had spent $30 million on developing the film. Burton, having left to direct "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), cited various differences with Peters and the studio: "I basically wasted a year. A year is a long time to be working with somebody that you don't really want to be working with."


title: Superman in film

text: Disappointed by the lack of progress on the film's production, aspiring screenwriter/comic book fan Alex Ford was able to have a script of his (titled Superman: The Man of Steel) accepted at the studio's offices in September 1998. Ford pitched his idea for a film series consisting of seven installments, and his approach impressed Warner Bros. and Peters, though he was later given a farewell due to creative differences. Ford said,I can tell you they don't know much about comics. Their audience isn't you and me who pay $7.00. It's for the parents who spend $60 on toys and lunchboxes. It is a business, and what's more important, the $150 million at the box office or the $600 million in merchandising?With Gilroy's script, Peters offered the director's position to Michael Bay, Shekhar Kapur and Martin Campbell though they all turned down the offer. Brett Ratner turned down the option in favor of "The Family Man". Simon West and Stephen Norrington were reportedly top contenders as well. In June 1999, William Wisher Jr. was hired to write a new script, and Cage assisted on story elements. Cage dropped out of the project in June 2000, while Wisher turned in a new script in August 2000, reported to have contained similar elements with "The Matrix". Oliver Stone was then approached to direct Wisher's script, but declined. Peters offered Will Smith the role of Superman, but the actor turned it down over concerns his ethnicity could result in him facing retaliation from the film industry for taking the role.


title: Superman in film

text: The film's backstory was covered in the 2015 documentary film "". Kevin Smith would go on to direct the ninth episode of the second season of "Supergirl", which was titled "Supergirl Lives" as homage to "Superman Lives".


title: Superman in film

text: In November 2016, Kevin Smith said that he was open to having the "Superman Lives" script be adapted as an animated film, with Nicolas Cage voicing Superman and Michael Rooker voicing Lex Luthor. In October 2017, "Batman vs. Two-Face" writer Michael Jelenic stated that he originally pitched an animated film based on Smith's "Superman Lives" script, saying that Warner Bros seriously considered it for a long time. According to Jelenic, Cage would have loved to voice Superman in the film, but the idea never materialized and his pitch was abandoned.


title: Superman in film

text: Cage was ultimately cast to voice Superman in the animated film "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies", based on the "Teen Titans Go!" cartoon show, which was released on July 27, 2018. In October 2019, Cage was approached to play Superman, in live-action form, by Marc Guggenheim and the producers of the Arrowverse five-part crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", which aired from December 2019 to January 2020. However, Cage's inclusion was ultimately dropped for unknown reasons.


title: Superman in film

text: In the early 2000s, Warner Brothers wanted to reboot the Superman film series with an origin story and ignore the "Death of Superman" storyline that had been stuck in development limbo through the late 1990s.


title: Superman in film

text: In 2001, screenwriter Paul Attanasio was almost signed to pen a new script for producer Jon Peters; although McG being widely reported as attached to Attanasio's "Superman" script, which was greenlit, he dropped out in favor of "" (2003). Ultimately, Andrew Kevin Walker was hired in August that year after pitching Warner Bros an idea titled Batman vs. Superman, attaching Wolfgang Petersen as director.


title: Superman in film

text: In February 2002, filmmaker J. J. Abrams was hired to write a new screenplay for a stand-alone Superman film, going under the title of "Superman: Flyby", again approaching Petersen to direct. In July, Abrams turned in his script, designed to be the first of a trilogy. However, Lorenzo di Bonaventura—Warner Bros' executive vice president for worldwide motion pictures—though liking Abrams' script, nonetheless planned to release "Batman vs Superman" first. Abrams' script was thereby put on hold in favor of Walker's "Batman vs. Superman" idea.


title: Superman in film

text: Walker's draft was thought of as too dark by the studio, who hired Akiva Goldsman to do a rewrite, which was codenamed Asylum. Goldsman's draft, dated June 21, 2002, introduced Bruce Wayne attempting to shake all of the demons in his life after his 5-year retirement from crime-fighting. Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, and Commissioner Gordon are all dead. Meanwhile, Clark Kent is down on his luck and in despair after his divorce from Lois Lane. Clark serves as Bruce's best man at his wedding to the beautiful and lovely Elizabeth Miller. After Elizabeth is killed by the Joker at the honeymoon, Bruce is forced to don the Batsuit once more, tangling a plot which involves Lex Luthor, while Clark begins a romance with Lana Lang in Smallville and tries to pull Bruce back. In return, Bruce blames Clark for her death, and the two go against one another, prodded on by Lex Luthor. After Batman decides not to succumb to his rage, The two team up,stop Luthor in his Mechanized Suit and an incoming meteor storm.


title: Superman in film

text: Christian Bale, who was being considered for the lead in Darren Aronofsky's "" adaptation at the time (another cancelled film), was simultaneously approached by Peterson for the Superman role. Peterson confirmed in a 2010 interview that the only other actor he approached for Superman was Josh Hartnett. Warner Bros canceled development to focus on individual Superman and Batman projects after Abrams submitted another draft for "Superman: Flyby". Christopher Nolan cast Bale as Batman the following year in "Batman Begins".


title: Superman in film

text: In the opening scene of "I Am Legend", a large banner displays the Superman symbol within the Batman symbol in Times Square. It is meant as an in-joke by writer Goldsman, who wrote the scripts for both "Batman vs. Superman" and "I Am Legend".


title: Superman in film

text: Turning in his script in July 2002, J. J. Abrams' Superman: Flyby was an origin story that included Krypton besieged by a civil war between Jor-El and his corrupt brother Kata-Zor. Before Kata-Zor sentences Jor-El to prison, Kal-El is launched to Earth to fulfill a prophecy. Adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, he forms a romance with Lois Lane in the "Daily Planet". However, Lois is more concerned with exposing Lex Luthor, written as a government agent obsessed with UFO phenomena. Clark reveals himself to the world as Superman, bringing Kata-Zor's son, Ty-Zor, and three other Kryptonians to Earth. Superman is defeated and killed, and visits Jor-El (who committed suicide on Krypton while in prison) in Kryptonian heaven. Resurrected, he returns to Earth and defeats the four Kryptonians. The script ends with Superman flying off to Krypton in a spaceship.


title: Superman in film

text: Brett Ratner was hired to direct in September 2002, originally expressing an interest in casting an unknown for the lead role, while filming was to start sometime in late 2003. Christopher Reeve joined as project consultant, citing Tom Welling, who portrayed the teenage Clark Kent in "Smallville", as an ideal candidate. Reeve added "the character is more important than the actor who plays him, because it is an enduring mythology. It definitely should be an unknown." Ratner approached Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Paul Walker and Brendan Fraser for Superman, but conceded that finding a famous actor for the title role had proven difficult because of contractual obligations to appear in sequels. "No star wants to sign that, but as much as I've told Jude and Josh my vision for the movie, I've warned them of the consequences of being Superman. They'll live this character for 10 years because I'm telling one story over three movies and plan to direct all three if the first is as successful as everyone suspects." Hartnett in particular was offered $100 million for a three-picture deal. Walker explained that "I could have made a gazillion dollars on that franchise. I could probably have bought my own fleet of jets or my own island. You know what? I don't need it." David Boreanaz, Victor Webster and Ashton Kutcher auditioned, along with Keri Russell as Lois Lane, but Kutcher decided not to pursue the role, citing scheduling conflicts with "That '70s Show", the Superman curse and fear of typecasting, while Boreanaz had to back out due to obligations with "Angel". James Marsden stated in a 2006 interview that at one point he was approached by Ratner. Although it was never formally announced, Matt Bomer confirmed he was in the running for the lead role, being Ratner's preferred choice at the time. Bomer would later voice the character in the 2013 animated film "". Amy Adams had also auditioned for Lois Lane, and would eventually win the role eight years later when she was cast in "Man of Steel".