Star-Ledger writer Stephen Whitty, the chair of the NY Film Critics Circle, suggested last week that MGM still wasn't serious about pushing Valkyrie for awards season despite moving its release up to Dec. 25. it was a better date than that Feb. 13, 2009, dump job planned before Paula Wagner's departure, but the release date was less important to critics than when they could see it for their own awards consideration.

And with the first official press screenings taking place after Whitty's organization votes, that can only mean one thing: MGM and United Artists have no faith in their $90 million Tom Cruise Nazi epic. Of course! Isn't that what you derived from that strategy?

Us neither. In fact, MGM has been screening Valkyrie informally for media on both coasts since at least September, and either way, the film was an awards-season write-off for months among many of the same newspaper and online critics whose senses of entitlement are now somehow offended. MGM can't win for losing, though its beleaguered marketing VP Mike Vollman can at least send along another spirited defense:

When did a december release date mean that a film exists first and foremost for award consideration? And when did film criticism become a competitive sport, with deadlines, rankings, winners and losers.? We want valkyrie to be judged on it's [sic] own, not as one of a cramped herd of dissimilar artistic endeavours lumped together unfairly due to the vagaries of the calendar and the marketplace. Valkyrie is eligible for every guild honor, from ampas to ves, and will be on every single nomination ballot. If members of the entertainment community wish to honor it, they will be able to do so. We hope they do as the work is excellent and deserves recognition.

Fine — they can sort it out themselves. And anyway, who cares? We're all really just waiting for Ben Lyons's take, anyway.

• `Valkyrie' surrenders [Star-Ledger]

• `Valkyrie' fires back [Star-Ledger]

KEVIN SPACEY shocked revellers at a wild party in Croatia when he pulled a male pal’s trousers down and groped his buttocks.

The American Beauty star was snapped on holiday in Hvar getting to grips with the bare butt as his friend lay across his lap.

An onlooker said: “Kevin looked like he was a having a brilliant time.

“Most of his friends were laughing, but I couldn’t see the face of the man whose butt it was.”

A mystery! Could it have been the shirtless Ryan Gosling lookalike Spacey's recently been sighted with in Sarajevo? A penitent Bryan Singer, apologizing for the impending, possibly Spacey-less Superman reboot? Or, somehow, was it Spacey spanking himself, and the clues were there all along? Though logistically unlikely, we wouldn't put anything past the former Keyser Söze. After all, as Benicio Del Toro's Fenster would say, "Mmmfmfmsmmahhh."

[Photo Credit: Bauer-Griffin]

• A Bum Deal for Kevin Spacey [The Sun]

This week's installment also includes: Katherine Heigl, Anthony Michael Hall, Bryan Singer, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Louie Anderson, Tatyana Ali, Gordon Ramsey, Catherine Keener, Bradley Cooper, Victor Garber and more!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9
· Saw KATHERINE HEIGL at Cliff's Edge in Silverlake. My parents were in town and we wanted to take them someplace nice. We were sitting up in the outside covered area when Heigl and her entourage (which included her mother) were seated next to us. Alas, she decided that she didn't want to sit there (I heard her say something about not being able to smoke. Dead serious.), so they moved to a very secluded corner. Or, she may not have wanted to sit by us because when she came in, my sister nudged me and I totally turned around in my seat to look at who or what prompted the nudge ... perhaps she thought I was a super-fan who would lose my shit if she sat next to us. She would have been safe as I am not. Also, her voice is pretty annoying in person —way crackier than it is in movies.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13
· Saw ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL at Farmer's Market on Wednesday Aug 13th with Fiona Forbes (she's a Canadian tv host who no one in LA would reconize but i did!) He's still a little geeky.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16
· Fiesta Cantina, The 'Ho: Fighting my way through the gay-os to secure one last 2-for-1 drink special, I spotted BRYAN SINGER jauntily hopping to the music as he entered. He looked fresh and young but not as fresh and young looking as the A&F wearing tyke he was with.
· JERRY O'CONNELL stopped by the 12 Shiny Nickels comedy show in Hollywood on Saturday night to see Carpoolers co-star TJ Miller perform. Seemed to have a delightful time.

MONDAY, AUGUST 18
· Around 11:30ish, saw PUFF DADDY trying to de-puff himself with some light cardio at Equinox West Hollywood. Take that, take that!
· LOUIE ANDERSON in front of Susina on Beverly.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19
· Saw twice in one night: the beautiful TATYANA ALI at Gingergrass and Hyperion Tavern with some friends.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20
· Had two good sightings in one night along the douchey Sunset Strip. First, outside of Ketchup, chef GORDON RAMSEY and his family. He was laid back and non-shouty, his kids looked happy and content and not snobby and privileged (I always look at the kids to see if they look miserable!). Then, later that night, outside of BLD Craft we see CATHERINE KEENER in the valet area. I spot her as we walk up and just as we pass her I said in a dorky voice "Catherine Keener, I love you". It cracked up the valet but she looked utterly confused and surprised (but awesome).
· Mini-Alias nonreunion in the Arclight lobby: BRADLEY COOPER exited with hipster friends; one minute later, VICTOR GARBER entered.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22
· KIEFER SUTHERLAND must like the sandwiches at Dan Subs. Because he was there in Woodland Hills, on Ventura Blvd, again. This time, he was with GARY OLDMAN a Gary Oldman lookalike. Kiefer did not look so good — he looked exhausted. But he seemed to be enjoying his sub, but not nearly as much as the two stunning brunettes that were with them.

Fans have been clamoring all over the web—and on this blog—for a complete reboot. And within the halls of Warner Bros. the same debate rages on.

They too believe that the last movie didn't break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. Today I was told that it is a priority at the studio to find the right direction and if Bryan Singer is willing to do that, fine, but if he gets in the way, he may not stay on the project. There are no writers working on a Superman script now. The studio wants to figure it out. "It might be better to start from scratch," one exec admitted.

It's an intimidating creative dilemma for Warners. Were it only as easy as one commenter's suggestion that they "make it more darker and not commerciallize [sic].. just like THE DARK KNIGHT the writer and the director make some risk to the movie and look what happen??" Indeed, look what happen. But the addition of a mutilated, lip-licking villain and surgically-implanted detonation devices won't necessarily guarantee that audiences seeking a jolt of unabashed and patriotic optimism will warm to a cynically repackaged Rottenguy: The Shadowy Kryptonian Prince Returns.

• Superman Status Update [Variety]

Warner Bros. has acquired Capeshooters, a comic book adaptation that will be produced by Bryan Singer's WB-based Bad Hat Harry banner.

Singer, who has directed films about virtuous superheroes with the first two X-Men, X2 and Superman Returns, is interested in exploring the darker side of the subject. He will only be producer on the project.

In Capeshooters, two slackers become paparazzi who specialize in shooting covert videos of superheroes find themselves on the run after they stumble onto evidence that a revered superhero is actually a villain.

The competition for titles is such that Capeshooters isn't even a written comic book yet; ex-Marvel artist Rob Liefield is still developing the property for his own Image Comics, leaving Singer to twist in Valkyrie's wind a little longer while his return to form takes shape. No rush, Liefield — just as long as it can be made for $200 million and pushed back six months to a year, Singer can hit it out of the park.

• Warner Bros. acquires 'Capeshooters' [Variety]
• Comics-Based Movies Keep on Comin' [Wired]

Meet Mark Millar. He's the dude who wrote the comic that Wanted was based on (along with several other good books too!), and since Wanted has proven itself to be a box office success, he now has a little bit of street cred in this town. Well, his lifelong dream has been to make a Superman movie, and he may just use that cred to do so.

As Millar says in an interview with the Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record:

"Since I was a kid I've always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century. I've been planning this my entire life. I've got my director and producer set up, and it'll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think. The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie lost $200 million, but in 2011 we're hoping to restart it. Sadly I can't say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas."

Whoa, slow down there, Mark. I thought Bryan Singer was talking about restarting the Superman franchise himself, and making it more action oriented/less-sucky. And if so, who's this director Millar is referring to? Naturally the geekier regions of the Internet were up in arms about this, so Millar decided to clarify in the comments section over at slashfilm.com.

Millar writes:

" That Superman news is interesting, isn't it? In the interests of clarity (because I'm sure this will be picked up somewhere) a very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached me and asked me to team up with he and his producer to make a pitch for this. We've been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we'll know by Christmas. He has huge pull at WB so fingers crossed. But this is nothing more than a huge US name pulling me into his fold and making me part of a package."

So, there you have it, folks. The Superman franchise may or may not be restarted and either Bryan Singer or Mark Millar or both or neither will be in charge of it. Glad we could clear that up for you, fanboys.

• Mark Millar Has "Big Name Action Director" For a Superman Returns Revamp? Announcing at Xmas? Madness. [/Film]

Although the film has yet to be completed, several people I trust have seen Valkyrie and testify that it's a superb thriller. "Bryan Singer is back in form," says one source, referring to the Valkyrie director whose last film was Superman Returns.

Cruise will be shooting three scenes in North Africa within the next three weeks. In one, his character, Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, is badly injured but survives, a key moment in the film's first act.

It gets really good from there, with 130 comments and counting by everyone from a disgruntled Joseph Stalin to a contrarian Adolf Hitler, who claims, "There is no way that someone so short as Tom Cruise nearly assassinated me. This film is a farce." Look for Hollywood's original blogger Army Archerd to crack the Rolodex and have a fully reported follow up by noon.

• Tom Cruise Dons His Eye Patch and Starts Shooting Again [PeterBart.com]

Originally made for TV, the German Valkyrie features The Lives of Others/Black Book actor Sebastian Koch as the eyepatched, would-be Hitler killer Col. Claus von Stauffenberg — also Cruise's role in the American version. Cruise, meanwhile, stars opposite Carice van Houten — Koch's Black Book co-star and real-life love interest. If Harvey has the balls (and/or the cash) to release Operation Valkyrie theatrically, especially before Singer's Valkyrie emerges from hiding, look forward to the most spectacularly awkward Tom Cruise premiere ever.

• TWC buys up German 'Valkyrie' [Variety via Lou Lumenick]

Mr. Cruise, his partners at United Artists and the Valkyrie filmmakers are bracing for what will likely be a nine-month fight to prove their critics wrong. "We will not be daunted," Paula Wagner, chief executive of United Artists, said last week.

During a 90-minute interview at the company's headquarters in a Century City office tower, Ms. Wagner said she and her fellow executives were intent on overcoming negative reactions that she saw as rooted in ignorance of the process of building movie production companies.

"Anybody trying to dismiss us or write us off doesn't understand the business," Ms. Wagner said. She added: "Nothing is going to stop us. We are determined to make this work."

OK, we admit it: We don't understand the business. Like the second release-date shift out of Oscar season and into the dramatic dumping ground of February? That's apparently totally normal. That whole thing about Mary Parent showing up on the scene and reportedly getting a base salary of $5 to $6 million to remake MGM on her own, non-UA terms? Totally coincidental — nothing to do with UA's flailing! MGM chief Harry Sloan's vague defense of UA? A ringing endorsement! That public lunch date between Cruise and Sumner Redstone? Nothing to do with movies! Redstone probably just wanted recommendations for Suri's birthday gift — preferably an action franchise installment under $125 million.

Or maybe we understand the business just enough to know we've seen this before. To paraphrase Paul Sunday in There Will Be Blood, "We'd like it better if you didn't think we were stupid." It's not like we want to see UA fail, but come on. Even Roger Friedman can see this one coming.

• The Nazi Plot That's Haunting Tom Cruise and United Artists [NYT]

We assumed when MGM first pushed back the July 4th release date of Valkyrie, the historical bore-ama directed by Bryan Singer, it was because they came to their senses about releasing a Nazi film on our country's most patriotic day. But the new date, October 3rd, was just so predictable. After all, that's when all the good dramas start coming out. And MGM wants no part of that crowd. After the days of damaged footage, injured extras, and endless re-shoots, the best thing for Valkyrie would surely be to push its release once more, right?

"When an opening became available for President's Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity," said president of domestic distribution Clark Woods (who presumably won his job in an MGM executive poker game by being the best bluffer). "Moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move." Oh, you mean the big holiday weekend that has seen such historical masterpieces as Jumper, Ghost Rider and Eight Below top the box office over the last three years? Thank god the film that was holding that coveted weekend - The Wolf Man, with Benicio Del Toro as a half-man/half-werewolf - got moved so Singer could hop in there with his magnum opus .... And just in time for Oscar season!

• MGM delays 'Valkyrie' release again

[Josh] Brolin will play Dan White, the rival politician and supervisor who shot Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to death at City Hall.

[Emile] Hirsch has been cast as gay rights activist Cleve Jones, an intern and close ally of Milk's, who went on to found the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. [James] Franco will play Scott Smith, Milk's lover and campaign manager.

To clarify, it appears Brolin will be taking over from Matt Damon in the Twinkie-defense-pleading pivotal role of assassin White, Sean Penn remains intact as Milk, while Bryan Singer's take on the story, The Mayor of Castro Street, remains in "active development," according to The Studio System, with assassinated gay municipal politicians currently taking a back seat to Nazi resistance fighters and Kryptonian samaritans who accidentally get their girlfriends pregnant before disappearing from the planet for about 5 years.

• Hirsch, Franco, Brolin got 'Milk' [THR]

· Last celeb DUI of the year: Mike Tyson takes the current trend of mug shot flippancy to its logical conclusion. Either that, or he was so coked out, he was chewing on his own tongue.
· Oh come off it, Ryan Seacrest. We know who you really want to kiss.
· TVGasm's J-Unit weighs the pros and cons of your two stay-at-home New Year's Eve options.
· Julia Roberts is pregnant. Thank God—we were concerned her twins would grow up as only children.
· Bryan Singer is nothing if not a hands-on director.
· You don't want to scare Tyrone.
· Sometimes, it's difficult to see the obvious signs that your relationship isn't working out. This short film might help.

In today's episode: Bryan Singer; Jake Gyllenhaal; Clint Eastwood; Orlando Bloom; Oliver Stone; Lindsay Lohan and Monica Keena; Drew Barrymore; Rosario Dawson; Sandra Bullock and Jesse James; Patrick Dempsey; Kanye West; Thom Yorke; Bill Maher; Danny Masterson, Santino Rice; DJ AM and Nicole Richie; Tori Spelling; Ian Somerhalder; Anderson Cooper; Bryce Dallas Howard; Vincent Gallo; BJ Novak; Diedrich Bader; Jesse Spencer; Zelda Rubinstein; Marcellas Reynolds and Mr. And Miss Jay.

· Thursday, October 26 at about 11am
-Bryan Singer with a cadre of barely legal looking, skinny, baggy pants and t-shirted boys at Hugos in West Hollywood. I swear to God, there were a couple of them who didn't look a DAY over 15. It didn't make sense; as far as I know it IS a school day.

-Just as Singer was arriving with the boy caravan, Jake Gyllenhaal was just finishing up breakfast at Hugos. Not sure if they greeted each other.

· Tuesday, October 24th at Orso. Clint Eastwood in the back corner of the patio dining with a producer type. Very low key. Very classy. When a couple came up to him after he had finished his meal, he was very gracious, took time to talk to them and even gave them an autograph. Even my typically unimpressed boyfriend was slightly ga-ga over this sighting.

· Thursday night late @ Little Door on 3rd in Hollywood. Love this restaurant it's cute. So it must have been date night. Jake Gyllenhaal was seated next to a short sexy brunette @ a big table of friends. The two of them talked all night and were the last to leave. Marcellas Reynolds came in and joined a big table and made out all through dinner with an older German guy. My wife and I could tell he was German because all night long they spoke German and French @ the table while laughing and taking tons of pics.

· As I was leaving the Decemberists show at The Wiltern (10/21), I passed by a crowd of guys mostly in black, I kind of recognized one of them so I kept staring hoping one of them would look familiar. And lo and be hold I recognized the short greasy one: Orlando Bloom. He was wearing a fedora and chatting with some brunette, he looked pretty much the same as he does when he's 14 feet tall(minus the height).

· Just saw Oliver Stone on my elevator in non-descript building in Santa Monica. Looked typically rumpled in a "mad professor" kind of way—sport coat and glasses perched on his head. Couldn't tell if he was working on any conspiracy theories about the floors the elevator stopped on...

· Minding my own beeswax on Saturday afternoon, trying to work off the work out with a pomegranate margatini, I noticed Lindsay Lohan (dark hair, back from fashion week, apparently) and Monica Keena sitting on the patio at Basix. At the same table (not at the same table as me).

· saw drew barrymore at fred 62 in los feliz on sunday, rosario dawson sitting outside of the restaurant on monday.

· Watching the Ducks embarrass the Kings yesterday afternoon at Staples (10/22) we got to see Sandra Bullock and Jesse James smooching on the jumbotron during the famous "Kiss Cam" moment. Their on-screen kiss was tame, but once the cameras were off Bullock was in Jesse's lap for more romance.

· While on my daily commute from Santa Monica to Studio City, at about 8:45 am on Oct. 26, I merged from the 405 onto the 101 next to Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) driving alone in his McDreamy silver sports car. He looked well put together in baseball cap, white button-down shirt and dark sweater vest. My wife and I (we were carpooling) followed him all the way down the 101, jockeying for a better view, which we got repeatedly (the wife has a giant crush on McDreamy; mine is only slightly less giant). He was talking and laughing on a cell phone most of the way. I don't know if he was headed into work or not, but he seemed blissfully unconcerned about any impending rendezvous with McChokey.

· Walking around The Grove today (10/22) I expected to see some celebrity sightings. I didn't go there for that reason, I just wanted to waste a Sunday afternoon and check out all the beautiful women that the warm weather would surely bring out. I was not disappointed on both accounts. Not long after I got there I spotted Kanye West on his way out. I'm 6' tall and of course expected him to be a bit taller but he was just an inch or two shorter than me. He walked past me with a friend of his and after he passed I did a 180 and sort of followed him, just to make sure it was him. When I caught up to him he was taking cell phone pics with some kids that recognized him. Seeing that he's from the South Side of Chicago and I had my White Sox baseball jersey on I thought he might give me some mad caucasian props but I was sorely mistaken. I didn't feel like approaching him like any other fan so I just looked at him, he looked at me and continued on. He got his Mercedes (McLaren SLR) from the Valet and zoomed off. Maybe next time I'll say something to him, and maybe next year my White Sox will make the playoffs.

· I don't know if this counts because I'm not sure that the celebrity in question is lame enough to be included in this. But, my husband and I had lunch at this hole-in-the-wall trattoria in Florence on 10/21. After about twenty minutes, I look up and realize that Thom Yorke from Radiohead is at the next table. He was with a British woman and a small girl. I assume that it was his partner and daughter because the little girl looked just like him. He seemed to be a pretty friendly, down-to-earth guy. We felt really bad because we had been eyeing their food trying to figure out what they had ordered before we even realized he was at the table! (Well, it looked good and it IS Italy, after all!) He must have thought we were staring at him the whole time. No one else in the place seemed to have any idea who he was, except for a few of the younger waiters, who shook his hand on the way out. . . .And for those of you who are wondering, he is just as googley-eyed in person.

· went to see 'The Departed' last Saturday night in Culver City. we were told that it was a sold out show, and there weren't many seats left. as we walked into the theater, i saw Bill Maher walking out. guess he didn't want to sit in the front seats. he had a beautiful African-American lady with him. not sure if it was a date, or a 'date'. was kind of surprised to see him in Culver City. maybe that's where his 'lady friend' lives? and even though i know he's on the short side, still surprised by his shortness.

· Danny Masterson, Santino Rice, and DJ AM and Nicole Richie on opposite sides of the room at Mickey Avalon's free show at Dragonfly Monday night, around 12:30am

I saw Tori Spelling coming out of A Pea In The Pod one block off of Rodeo Drive, with her husband looking one step away from K-Fed style greasiness. She also looked totally pregnant, and was totally showing it off in a cute maternity top. (10/19)

· Ian Somerhalder at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market last Sunday. He is sporting Boone's newer, longer hair 'do and he has extremely skinny legs. He was walking around with a regular-looking female and seemed to go unnoticed.

· Even though this sighting was in LA it's kind of more Gawker/Wonkette but I'll go for it — this morning at breakfast at the Peninsula hotel (how fancy am I?) saw ambiguously handsome Anderson Cooper. He had on a green t-shirt, jeans and boots and his shockingly gray hair was perfect. He's really cute, not that tall and was asking the front desk for something. I told the Belvedere hostess that we wanted to sit with him and she just gave me a blank stare. No sense of humor there but since their entire staff is on the National Enquirer payroll she was probably mad that I recognized him and was going to give the scoop to defamer first.

· A very pregnant Bryce Dallas Howard. at last Friday's 8:30 showing of "Flags of Our Fathers" at the Arclight.

· While waiting for a table at Hirozen on Monday night I saw Tyne Daly (but not Sharon Gless, sadly) with a table of much younger and more attractive people. Apparently I was the only one in the restaurant whose interest was remotely piqued by the thought of Det. Mary Beth Lacey (I admit I had to look that up on IMDB) chowing down on raw fish.

· Vincent Gallo ordering a Pink Berry frozen yogurt in West Hollywood/Huntly Drive - Saturday, Oct 21st. In jeans and a tank top t-shirt. Had scruffy hair and beard. Don't get why he can't seem to find the time to do a little grooming. About 5ft 10in. with pasty thin arms. The guy could use a little color.He's definitely got the "New York" guy type of body and not a California or certainly not a West Hollywood build. Don't really want to pick on him. He seemed a little alone and believe it or not...a bit lonely looking. I know that it's not a description that's normally applied to him. He was very low key. Okay..okay...I know the guy is off his rocker but for about two minutes I have to say he did appear vulnerable. Alright for fuck sake..once the drugs wear off I'm sure my perception will clear up.

· Tuesday, 10/17 at Taiyo (the little sushi restaurant on that section of Franklin Ave west of Bronson), BJ Novak (writer and co-star of the fabulous show The Office) dining with friends. He looked up at me as I walked by with the same deer-in-the-headlights expression that his character Ryan so often wears.

· Saturday, 10/21 at Whole Foods at 3rd and Fairfax, Diedrich Bader (I know he did something post-Drew Carey, but I can't think of it just now) with his son in the freezer section. The boy, blonde and adorable, was searching through the ice cream section for his mom's favorite flavor.

· Jesse Spencer at the CD/album release part for the "Evil Bong" soundtrack at Boardners last night. The cover gave me nightmares all night.

· Saw Zelda Rubenstein, on a booster seat, in my favorite Hollywood lunch spot, The Good Neighbor on Cahuenga West, on Wednesday the 25th. I've gotten twenty five years older, but she looks exactly the same.

· Due to its proximity to The Vivid Production Centre, I'm sure there are oodles of porn queens there all the time, but didn't seem to be any that day, not that I would know...

· Shopping @ the Beverly Center on Friday afternoon and who walks by but Marcellas Reynoldss and the 2 Jay's from America's Next Top Model. Marcellas was laughing with Miss Jay but Mr. Jay didn't seem to friendly.

"He's a madman, crazy and mean. But he has a beautiful heart. [...]

Mindy Peters also talked about the side of Peters that few get to see, such as his generosity. He donated money to the family of a deputy sheriff slain in the line of duty and paid for a terminally ill girl from the Pacific Northwest to come to L.A. for a week to visit Disneyland and other theme parks.

She said he also wakes up sweating, unable to breathe because of a recurring nightmare: "Jon is sitting on a curb waiting for his dad to come home and as he runs up to the car, the car pulls away."

Anyone with even the most cursory of dream-interpretation skills would assume Peters' recurring nightmare was rooted in a childhood trauma involving an affection-withholding father figure. Of course, they'd be wrong: Further analysis revealed the "dream" was merely a confused recollection of Peters' own favorite slow-day activity, in which he would push his assistant out of his BMW on Wilshire Blvd., then giggle uncontrollably as the underling tried unsuccessfully to catch up to his boss.

• Look, up in the credits, it's Peters [LAT]

[Image: Back cover of today's Variety, helpfully pointed out and scanned by a reader offended on Singer's behalf.]

• DAILY BOX OFFICE [Box Office Mojo]

Bryan Singer was at the 10pm show of S R at Grauman's last night, filling two rows with his entourage. People were screaming his name throughout the movie.

He and his crew got there early, which seemed kind of weird. They were sitting there for a few minutes. Once the fan boys realized Singer was in the audience, he got mobbed by autograph seekers. He ended up leaving the theater for a bit until right before the movie started.

Luckily, he was able see the end result of his work, the collection of middle-aged adolescents in Superman costumes pretend to fly and run up the aisle, only to get winded before they reached the top.

One even had a light saber.

The other report follows after the jump:

just got back from seeing superman at the chinese...bryan singer sat in the row in front of me, and graciously signed autographs and chatted up the fans before the movie. word quickly spread of his presence and the director high-tailed it out to the sounds of polite applause, which paled in comparison to the thunderous ovation he received during the opening credits.

also sighted: Samm Levine, one of the Aquaman fanboys from Entourage. guess he's just making the rounds.

• Brett Ratner Impresses Famous Chicks With His Handiwork [Defamer]

• separated at birth [Smrtmnky]