World's Finest (2004)

Director:

Sandy Collora

Writers:

Sandy Collora (writer)
Bob Kane (character)

Genre:

Action | Short

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Perry White | Based On Comic Book | Based On Comic | Batman | DC Comics

Cast

Michael Antonik	...	Two-Face
Clark Bartram	...	Batman
Kurt Carley	...	Lex Luthor
Joseph Collora	...	Perry White
Andrew Decker	...	Jimmy Olsen
Nina Kaczorowski	...	Lois Lane
Blaze Khounsamnane	...	Thug
Jerry Kokich	...	Thug
Luke LaFontaine	...	Thug
Scott Leva	...	Thug
Michael O'Hearn	...	Clark Kent / Superman
Mark Pacella	...	Secret Serviceman #1
Damion Poitier	...	Secret Serviceman #2
Glenn Takakjian	...	Thug

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Trivia:

The line "It's just another building, Clark. A few more guards, a few more locks." is taken from the comic "JLA: Truth and Justice" by Paul Dini and Alex Ross.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The U.S. flag in Lex's poster is not hanging in accordance with U.S. Army regulations. When the flag is hanging downward, the union (blue field with white stars) is supposed to be facing toward the left, not the right.

Quotes:

Clark Kent: You're going to break-in the White House?
Batman: It's just another building, Clark. A few more guards, a few more locks.

Movie Connections:

References Batman Forever (1995)

Sandy Collora does it again!

Let me make one thing clear….for the most part, the mentality of those who run the show in Hollywood frankly p*sses me right off in general and even more specifically in relation to its treatment of much loved, iconic characters from the pages of comic books. Why? Well let's take a typical Hollywood executive board meeting scenario to illustrate shall we…..

Executive no.1 'Hey there's lots of dollars to be gleaned from superhero flicks these days.'

Executive no.2 'Good point, let's make one with haste then! – We'll do a lucky dip in a hat and pick out a superhero at random to base a film upon!' (The dip takes place and a famous superheroes name is pulled out)

Executive no.1 'Great! Now who can we get to play the part?'

Executive no.2 'Who's a big box office star at the moment?'

Executive no.1 '*name of big actor* is the in thing this week.'

Executive no.2 'But does he really suit the role? I mean he doesn't resemble the character whatsoever.'

Executive no.1 'Who cares?! He's a big name; We'll make the film with him in it anyway.'

Executive no.2 'You're quite right! And besides we'll fill the entire film so chock full of glitzy special effects to appease the moronic masses that no one will ever question it anyway!'

The above scenario clearly illustrates one of the reasons I generally loath most modern superhero movies. All style, no substance and simply pathetic casting of the iconic leads. Of course to be equitable, there are exceptions to the above rule; when Hollywood does get it right – take the casting of the original (and still easily the best!) Superman; Christopher Reeve and more recently Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen in the X-Men films.

But back to the general negative traits displayed by Hollywood today…..wouldn't it be wonderful if our studio executives were to ALWAYS choose actors who actually suited the roles? Well in this less than ideal world, one filmmaker does just this believe it or not, by casting actors based upon their genuine resemblance to their comic book counterparts. His name is Sandy Collora. Sadly (but typically) Hollywood has not as of yet allowed Collora to direct a full length film but luckily for us, he has given us tantalizing glimpses of what the finished outcome would likely look like in the form of two (as of yet) famous super hero short features. One is the superb Batman:Dead End and the other is this mock trailer for an entirely fictitious film called Worlds Finest.

Well, let's not mince our words here – this is absolutely awesome stuff!

The casting of Mr. Universe winner and male model Michael O'Hearn, (who looked similarly awesome but was utterly wasted in the lackluster Barbarian) makes for the most perfect choice to play the iconic man of steel. In fact, in terms of physical resemblance, there has undoubtedly never been a closer approximation to the comic character.

Added to this Clark Bartram is back fresh from his splendid portrayal as the Dark Knight in Batman:Dead End; Again, yet another hugely judicious piece of casting!

What can I say? – If only this was indeed a real, full length film! Hollywood studio executives – take note! THIS is how it should be done!

As a final note, I am once again intrigued by the vastly split reactions this short film has evoked from fans. Tellingly, the most acerbic and vehemently adverse reactions against it clearly come once more (as similarly with Batman: Dead End) from a younger, less cinematically experienced audience; a fact betrayed by their somewhat grammatically primitive rants and liberal usage of base diction. Such an unfortunate state of closed mindedness is indeed a sad phenomenon albeit one that our aforementioned studio executives in Hollywood, will no doubt derive great satisfaction from. After all, these very same misguided individuals are in all probability the exact same sort of CGI addicted, popcorn stuffing imbeciles that revel in the majority of crap that Hollywood churns out by the deluge these days.