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The producers of 1978's "Superman: The Movie" famously hired a Marlon Brando -- an Oscar-winning actor as famous for his offscreen shenanigans as for his indelible onscreen performances -- to play Superman's father Jor-El. Though Brando got top billing, his role in the film is really little more than a flashy cameo.
Still, he's a pivotal part of the movie -- leftover footage of Brando was resurrected in Bryan Singer's seriously-watch-it-again gem "Superman Returns" -- and Brando's participation in the original Superman gives some added resonance to the news, reported by Variety, that Oscar-winning Russell Crowe is currently in talks to play Jor-El in "Man of Steel," next year's Supes reboot.
Warner Bros., producer Christopher Nolan, and director Zack Snyder had no comment on the casting news, but it's worth exploring what the news might mean for the movie.
It certainly seems possible: Nolan is a particular fan of getting great actors to play supporting roles -- think of Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon -- and the small-but-pivotal role of Superman's father might appeal to Crowe, who hasn't taken a supporting role in anything in over a decade.
Given that Jor-El classically appears only in Krypton-set prologues and then as a zombie hologram, it's a role that could be shot entirely on a greenscreen, several continents away from the production.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/16/russell.crowe.superman/index.html?iref=allsearch
