The Bryan Singer

  The man behind Days of Future Past X-Men: Days of Future Past is the 2014 superhero movie of Bryan Singers repertoire that won the Jupiter Award for ‘Best International Film’ and the first ever of the X-Men movie franchise to be nominated for an Oscar. As the seventh instalment in the X-Men film series, it was both directed and produced by Bryan Singer. Singer made his big return to the helm for the sequel after having directed the two original movies X-men (2000) and X2 (2003) eleven years prior and managed to ensembled an all-star cast, including the original members of the X-Men. The film follows Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in a dystopian era where mutants are being made extinct by robotic Sentinels. He re-joins X-Men and is sent back in time to 1973 to stop Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) from obtaining Mystique’s (Jennifer Lawrence) DNA and using it to power the Sentinels, an act that caused the mutant apocalypse, dooming both humans and mutants alike. In the past he is forced ...

  Who would have known that X-Men would become the cinematic universe franchise that it is today, with 13 films grossing over 6 billion worldwide, making it the eighth highest grossing film franchise of all time. Originally appearing as a comic book in the 1960’s the mutant world kicked off with its first movie X-Men (2000) directed by Bryan Singer . Adapting a popular comic book into a film is a big feat, having to meet the expectations of die-hard comic fans, include enough character description with an added balance of action to cement the superhero title and appease the box office. But against all odds, that is exactly what Singer did to pave the way for a 20-year run of the successful live-action film series. It you haven’t seen it (who are we kidding of course you have), it follows the story of two mutants (evolved humans with super-powers) Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who live in a world of prejudice where they are feared for their differences. They fin...

In July 2004  Bryan Singer  left behind the Marvel Universe for DC comics rendition of the much loved man of steel, directing the sixth and final instalment to the original Superman film series, Superman Returns (2006). The film was produced as a direct quasi-sequel to Superman II (1981), taking place 5 years after when the mythic embodiment of heroism that is Superman (Brandon Routh), returns to earth to find that the world didn’t necessarily miss him when he was gone. Meanwhile his old enemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is once again plotting his demise, contriving a new sinister plot to wipe out Superman along with billions of others. With the realisation that his heart throb Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life, Superman’s bittersweet return challenges him to prove himself to her and the world, embarking on an epic journey to save humanity.All together it was surprising to some that Singer bought a nostalgic, even romantic rendition of the much loved superhero...

  We go back to where it all began for Bryan Singer for his directional debut nearly two whole decades ago. The Usual Suspects (1995) was the neo-noir crime thriller that even began accumulating cult status before it hit VCR. It was on home video that fans could watch and re-watch the clues, heists and tricks which have earnt it a permanent place in the pop culture canon. The plot follows five men who concoct a robbery whilst in a New York jail line-up for suspected hi-jacking (the usual suspects); Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Spacey. The job doesn’t just go awry- I spins out of control in perhaps the finest example of misdirection ever committed to film. It remains one of the most original and intelligent thrillers of all time where the jaw-dropping finale turns the entire movie on its head with countless tiny clues hidden within plain view throughout the masterpiece. The film was shot in just 35 days and directed by Singer at just...

  Bryan Singer , the director of four X-men movies, another superhero movie- Superman Returns (2006), The Usual Suspects (1995) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)- has a different and unusual repertoire of films, one might say the common denominator is success. Overall Singers filmography is varied, even within the X-men franchise, he has made a point to make a distinctly different movie with each project- he even says so himself in an interview with Alex Billington here “There’s a lot of film directors who make the same movie over, and over, and over again. They dress it up differently but they’re always making the same movie. I’m just not like that. I always want to be doing something different. Even my Superman movie had a very different tone than my X-Men movie. And Valkyrie was a historical thriller. Apt Pupil is an adaption, more horror. Usual Suspects, crime movie. “House”, medical drama. You know, there are similarities to them. But from the palette, and the tone, and the e...

Over Bryan Singers time in the spotlight as a director and producer on Hollywood’s blockbuster movies, he has not only contributed to establishing one of the longest running film franchises but to a host of other worthy causes as a philanthropist. As would be expected, a number of charities Singer has endorsed lie within the arts and motion picture sector from which Singer has built his career. For example he has donated to the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror since 2008, a non-profit which host the yearly Saturn awards where Singer is a member of the presenting academy along with names like Spielberg and James Cameron. He has supported independent theatres in the US such as Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles and had a 7 year pledge to his school USC in support of the School of Cinematic Arts where he made his first film ‘Lions Den’ (1988) and graduated from the college in 1989. However Singers philanthropy work goes further than the movie industry to causes that span ...

  In X-Men (2000) Bryan Singer cast Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/ Logan, landing him the breakthrough role of his career, and his Hollywood debut, a move that earned him the Guinness World Record for “longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero”. The role of Wolverine had a long list of actors in consideration, Singer’s initial thought was Russell Crowe for the part and it was Crowe that recommended Jackman. Prior to X-Men, Jackman was working in the theatre industry and not particularly known in Hollywood. It was a gamble casting Jackman due to his lack of experience in film, but it paid off big time for his career and the film franchise. X-men wasn’t the biggest success at the box office compared to today’s superhero films , but it started an entire new era of superhero movies which would grow from this point forward. But for Jackman, he was made into an instant star. He went on to star in two immediate sequels- X2 (2003) and X-men: The Last Stand (2006). His portrayal of ...

Bryan Singer , director of X-Men and Superman Returns, took some time out to visit the land of the giants in Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) before getting back to his X-Men sequel. In a new epic take on the Jack and the bean stalk tail, he directs Nicholas Hault as Jack, a farmhand who must rescue a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) from the evil giants after unwittingly opening a gateway to their land in the clouds. An ancient war is rekindled, as the towering titans are once again roaming the earth and seek to reclaim the land they lost long ago. Jack sets off on an adventure with the kings guards (Ewan McGregor as Elmont, Stanley Tucci as Roderick and Eddie Marson as Crawe) to save his people and rescue the princess, summoning bravery to drive out the invading giants. Singer caught the bug to do something involving fantasy adventure when he watched the shooting of King Kong with Peter Jackson. It was a chance for him to do something completely different from his previous repertoire. In an ...

After three consecutive comic book adaptations (X-Men in 2000, its sequel in 2003 and Superman Returns in 2006), Bryan Singer was in the market for something different. Singer read the script of Valkyrie, based on a true story set in Nazi Germany in WWII. The script, co-written by his high school friend and ex-colleague Christopher McGuire who secured an academy award on his script for The Usual Suspects (1995), was an opportunity Singer couldn’t miss. McGuire was a big draw to the film for Singer, considering they used to make WWII films in his backyard when they was younger, it was a chance to revisit his past. He had touched upon the Nazi subject matter in Act pupil (1998) and X-Men, not to mention that thrillers had defined his early career in films such as The Usual Suspects (1995) , yet Valkyrie marks his first historical film. Set in 1944 Nazi Germany, the tense and compelling thriller is based on the well-known large-scale conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. It centres aro...