Smallville….Recreating a Classic Movie Moment?

At the recent Comic Con, speculation began to swirl that producers were trying to get Michael Rosenbaum to reprise his Lex Luthor character later in the season, but as yet there are still no confirmations aside from Welling’s own admission that he has asked his friend to return for the  resolution of the series. Fans can only hope that there will be some confirmation closer to the end of the year if he finally agrees, despite most reports saying that he has ruled out returning to Smallville.

Here’s a brief glimpse of the new season from the CW.

For now we can look at the latest set pics that see Tom Welling and co-star Erica Durance filming what looks to be a big action scene.

These behind-the-scenes images show the preparation of setting up the helicopter in the morning, then the run throughs with the actors by the stunt crew and later the actual filming. Visible are the green screens on the left for digitally compositing the cityscape later, the camera is mounted on a crane to get those swooping shots that will make it look spectacular. It’s likely that the building will be extended considerably with FX as the helicopter has the Daily Planet insignia which indicates that it’s in this predicament through either a bad take off or some other calamity on top of a building in Metropolis. In these pics  snapped on the set in early September, it’s from an upcoming episode that will air towards the middle of the season. The cast can be seen going up and down via a giant lift to the roof-top. Tom Welling is alongside his stunt double / coordinator who’s dressed in the same clothes and is showing him how he will simulate lifting the helicopter.

It’s good to see a full size action piece of this size being used these days rather than a shoddy ‘CG for TV’ effect, but seeing it’s the final season,  the CW are obviously pulling out all the stops with a big dollar effect that will be a pivotal moment and will surely add to the realism of the scene.

Though fans of Superman will also see what looks to be a recreation of the defining moment from the original movie that set a new standard in visual effects and the superhero genre back in 1978.

Before digital compositing the only option was blue screen via optical printing or in-camera front projection. Zoran Perisic developed a system which had the rear image plate and the camera in direct alignment on a motion control rig that would give the illusion of 360 degree flying shots without the need for cables.

The scene shown here from Superman: The Movie is a classic moment in cinema and for the character of Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve)  who finally emerges and shows his alter ego to the world in an auspicious debut saving the irrepressible Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). It should be noted that at the time this was an extremely complex sequence to shoot that took more than six months to complete and was shot in two different countries.

Perhaps using this action reference in Smallville will work in a similar way or pay an homage to the classic film, until it airs we can only speculate.

[jwplayer config=”movie_wide” mediaid=”1452″]Property of Warner Bros

Did you know?

Originally in this scene Superman would only save Lois from falling, though during production director Richard Donner decided to have the helicopter drop and the modified sequence was later referred to as The Double Jeopardy Scene.

Smallville: The Final Season kicks off  Sept 24^th on the CW.