This has got to be one of the most interesting casting decisions I have seen in awhile. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lawrence Fishburne is playing Perry White in Zach Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” his reboot/reimaging of Superman.
He’s definitely got the presence (and gravitas to spare) for the role, though I am concerned what the reaction will be by some that an African-American is playing a character that was portrayed in the comics and prior ‘Superman’ films as Caucasian.
Though Perry White was always a supporting character in the DC Universe (He’s essentially the flip side of J. Jonah Jameson, which means that he’s generally supportive of those around him, as opposed to being a douche), I wonder if some in the fan base will react with as much vitriol as when Idris Elba was cast as Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor”
“Contagion,” A new thriller from Steven Soderbergh, the director of “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” “The Girlfriend Experience,” “Bubble,” etc, revolves around a viral outbreak, that threatens not only on our central characters, but seemingly the world.
Admittedly you can’t always tell how entertaining a film will be from the trailer, though it surprises me somewhat that such a strong cast (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Lawrence Fishburne in particular) has gravitated to this project because the subject matter isn’t exactly unique (“The Andromeda Strain,” “Outbreak”) but perhaps there’s more to the project than we can tell from the trailer.
