I think he was talking Christopher Reeve... but I would still have to disagree. When Byrne did his reboot, he basically all but modelled his Superman on Christopher Reeve's Superman. Although with a far bulkier physique.
I do hope they go more of a Lois and Clark route with the next Superman whereas Clark is less inept, 'nerdy' and bumbling. I know the Silver Age sorta did that partially because there was always some dizzy dame like Lois or Lana nipping at both of their heels and kept trying to put two and two together. So Clark HAD to be a bit of a bumbler because after all "Superman would never spill hot coffee on Lois's lap!"
Now, in many ways Routh did look a LOT like Reeve, BUT I agree though about Routh being a "pretty boy playing dress up". I think part of it had to do with them basically telling him to just "stand there and look godly" which in turn made Superman almost like some kind of Adonis or something. Women and gay men probably liked it, but... still other than a few moments, I didn't feel like I was watching Superman. Routh's Superman didn't have the same cool relaxed strength that say a more Bryne era Superman would have had. Lois and Clark, for as much as people bitch, did get a number of the concepts and execution right. Clark used his powers for mundane things too. Heating up a pot of water, using his fingers to drive nails into the wall, use his flight abilities to compensate for not having a bed, flew from one end of the country/globe to get something in a blink of an eye. He had fun with his abilities when he wasn't saving the world, he was still responsible with them, but he didn't turn into a complete bumbling nerd that dresses in plaid when he didn't have his blues and reds on.
I think they need to hire someone who's got a fairly strong physique, someone who looks sort of like a football player - in the Byrne continuity he was the "Star quarterback" so yeah a guy who was a quarterback and an athlete should have some measure of meat on his bones. Superman is NOT a frakking towel boy! Secondly, I think if they pick up the story later on, I have nothing against a Superman that IS NOT in his 20s. As cute as the Superman Returns Lois was, she was far far far far far too young. I mean my gosh, she was like 25 in that movie! So what she fucked Supes when she was out of high school? I mean sure that may work for Smallville, but let's get honest here. And if she was "playing 30" she really really didn't look it.
You don't need a "kid" in the role just because he's a "hot property" or because you're going after the squealing teen girl demographic. Look at RDJr, he's what? In his 40s now. But he was enough to get many a lassie moist in the skirt area. I've heard teenager girls all the way up to their moms and older get hot over him. And I would hardly call him a "teen hearthrob" but that's the magic of finding the right actor, at the right age, with the right amount of charisma and masculinity - which frankly sometimes you just don't get in a 20 something actor. I want SuperMAN not SuperBOY. If we were doing a Superboy movie, then Routh would have been great. But not as SuperMAN.
