Alberta Is Waiting For "Superman"

The last big Hollywood production to shoot in Alberta, Canada was director Christopher Nolan's "Inception", with both Fortress Mountain and Kananskis Village, in Kananaskis Country, Alberta, hosting a unit location shoot.

Now new reports indicate that Warners upcoming reboot "Superman: Man Of Steel", in association with Legendary Pictures, to be directed by Zack Snyder ("Watchmen") in Vancouver this summer, will also shoot in Alberta, for what is expected to be "Smallville" flashback scenes, picturing endless rolling fields.

According to Alberta-based newspaper, the Calgary Herald :

"...Culture minister Lindsay Blackett confirmed Wednesday that part of a $200-million Hollywood film will be shot in Alberta. He would not name the film, the director or the studio behind it, but did say that the production is expected to spend roughly $35 million in the province.

"An industry insider told the Herald that this likely means "Superman: Man of Steel", director Zack Snyder's big-budget reboot, will have a unit shoot here. Another source confirmed that producers behind "Man of Steel" have been looking at Alberta.


"I would expect there will be an announcement in the next 60 days about a significant picture, a blockbuster to be shot in Alberta," said Blackett. "There might be one that is a $200 million, but it's probably more like a $35-million Alberta spend. The details are fairly intricate right now. That's a big-budget movie for us. The success of (Warners) "Inception" and all the good comments made by the crew and actors and director go a long way. That is a movie that made a lot of money."

Premise of the new film. according to circulating casting notices, will reportedly follow 'Clark Kent' as a rookie reporter, working as a foreign correspondent in West Africa.

While in Africa, Kent is witness to violent events between two African clans, that causes him to question his alien origins and superpowers, when he returns to big city 'Metropolis' and 'The Daily Planet' newspaper.

The storyline is similar to DC Comics' "Superman: Birthright", a twelve-issue limited series published in 2003 and 2004, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, intended to be the 'ultimate' version of Superman, showcasing his origin and updating the character for the 21st Century.

"Superman: Man Of Steel" will open December 2012.

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