Inside 'Hollywoodland': The Story of TV’s Superman Is a Long Way From Metropolis
By Scott Huver, Hollywood.com Staff
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Ben Affleck stars in Hollywoodland |
As the star of TV’s The Adventures of Superman, George Reeves was the ultimate hero to millions of young children across America throughout the 1950s, even though few of them actually knew his real name. To them he was, simply, Superman. But in 1959 it appeared that the Man of Steel may have had feet of clay, when the 45-year-old actor’s life was cut short by a single speeding bullet to the head in his Benedict Canyon home—a gunshot that the police ultimately deemed self-inflicted, given Reeves’ behind-the-scenes troubles with women, booze and unfulfilled dreams of major Hollywood stardom.
Suicide was the official decree, but from the very beginning a confluence of mysteries surrounding his death suggested that perhaps someone else in Reeves’ circle had decided to take Superman out of the skies. Indeed, it seemed Reeves—always considered an affable, light-hearted charmer as well as the victim of some bad career breaks—had enough potential enemies to give his TV alter ego a run for his money, and none of the invulnerability.
Today, after his earliest fans and a few generations to follow grew to adulthood and gained an appreciation for his talent and charisma as well as a fascination with his notorious demise, Reeves has finally emerged as the star of his own film--at least, a film that explores the intriguing ambiguity of his demise: Hollywoodland, which casts Ben Affleck—himself no stranger to scandal thwarted Tinseltown dreams—as the frustrated star who was nevertheless the idol of millions. Hollywood.com has your inside look at Reeves’ tale through the eyes of Affleck, Diane Lane and director Allen Coulter, along with a look at the real-life scandal.
Ben Affleck |
Ben Affleck Interview
Ben Affleck sat down with Hollywood.com to discuss the film and how he first succumbed to and ultimately survived his exposure to a particular brand of celebrity kryptonite... Read Interview
Diane Lane |
Diane Lane Interview
It’s the interplay of dark and light that gets you: At 41, Diane Lane remains a classic film beauty, one of the most exquisite to appear on the screen, yet there’s something more in her face that aesthetically pleasing features—flawless and flawed, timeless but not ageless, it conveys a sense of a life lived, with the spoils and tolls of all of her daily triumphs and tragedies there for the world to see... Read Interview
Allen Coulter |
Allen Coulter Interview
Whether its helming the inter-family agita of The Sopranos, staging the oversexed antics of Sex & the City or crafting the moments of death-obsessed dysfunction of Six Feet Under, director Allen Coulter has been responsible for his fair share of iconic television. And for Hollywoodland, his first foray into feature films... Read Interview
View 'Hollywoodland' Premiere Photo Gallery
George Reeves |
The George Reeves True Crime Story
The noir-seeped film Hollywoodland dramatizes the shadowy mysteries surrounding George Reeves' demise. But as artfully crafted as it is, the film aspires to be neither a biopic nor a documentary. Hollywood.com takes a look at the prevailing theories and discovers a tangled web of intrigue that would have given even a Superman pause. Read Story
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Photo(s) by Hollywood.com Staff- © 2006- Hollywood.com Staff- All Rights Reserved