Despite rumors of on-set tension with several producers and cast
members, director Bryan Singer seems to have maintained the support
of Twentieth Century Fox now that “X2″ is set to hit
the big screen.
Singer, whose previous films include “The Usual
Suspects” and “Apt Pupil,” will likely see his
second installment of the X-Men franchise opening on more than
3,700 U.S. screens this weekend, surpassing last year’s
box-office heavyweights “Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets” and “Spider-man” to make it the largest
release in history for a Hollywood film.
But the process was not necessarily a seamless one. Reports that
Singer had been abusing prescription painkillers during filming in
British Columbia surfaced last December. The New York Post reported
that the alleged substance abuse had led to a split between Singer
and longtime friend and executive producer Tom DeSanto.
Halle Berry, who reprises her role as the powerful mutant Storm,
was also rumored to have butted heads with Singer, according to
imdb.com. Berry has since intimated that she would not return for a
third film. She didn’t do any press for “X2.”
Singer remains diplomatic about the situation.
“There’s never been a conflict of ego on any film
I’ve ever made,” Singer said.
“X2″ reunites the entire principal cast of
“X-Men,” including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh
Jackman, Famke Janssen and Anna Paquin. Singer believes the
ensemble nature of the cast was an asset.
“There is also something about an ensemble film that
diminishes ego,” Singer said. “I think sometimes ego
comes from frustration and fear that someone’s career is on
the line. I think that there is trust in me, but it’s also
that no one’s bearing the full burden of the movie so they
can enjoy the process more and just focus on their
characters.”
Many of the actors cited Singer’s involvement in the
sequel as one of the chief reasons they decided to reprise their
roles.
“As an actor, I probably have more trust in him in the
final result than many directors I’ve worked with,”
said Jackman. “He’s got a great bullshit detector. I
think he’s kind of a genius. He’s one of the more
versatile directors around.”
“We also thought that even if it does completely suck,
people will go see it the first weekend,” joked James
Marsden, who plays Cyclops in the film.
New to the cast is veteran actor Brian Cox, who plays William
Stryker, a human whose family history has led him on a crusade to
demolish everything that Xavier has worked to build. Other new
characters include Pyro (Aaron Stanford), who can control fire,
Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu), Wolverine’s menacing foil, and
Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), a blue-skinned, German-born mutant
with the ability to teleport himself through walls.
The success of the first film, “X-Men,” which earned
a hefty $54.5 million on its opening weekend in July 2000, made the
likelihood that the film’s producers would plan to make a
second film almost inevitable. The longevity of the Marvel comic
book series on which the films are based, spanning over 40 years,
means there will be more than enough material to make more films
after this one. Whether Singer will helm any subsequent X-Men
projects remains to be seen.
“Obviously, we’d love to stay with Bryan because he
created it, he’s got a distinctive style and tone, and does
know the audience,” said producer Lauren Shuler Donner.
“If for some reason he couldn’t do it, then we’d
have to move on. There are other directors.”