Q: While a large part of me is happy to see Mr. Singer's career going
so well (I have high hopes for Superman, now), the selfish part of me is
more than saddened by his departure. Assuming you are still contractually
obligated to play Magneto, do you feel any sort of concern over how the
story might be treated, now that Bryan has left the X-Men family?
A: I am not contracted to play Magneto again , although I hope to
be involved in the forthcoming X-Men3 which will film later in the
year in Vancouver. Our loss is Superman's gain but there is now an
opening for another director to make his mark on what I continue to
believe is the most important of all the superhero franchises.
ONCE AND FUTURE KING v. LORD OF THE RINGS
From: Adrienne
Q: One of the things that struck me when I saw "X-Men 2" was the
inclusion of TH White's Once and Future King as a prop. The Once and
Future King has been one of my favorite books for a long time, and I was
delighted to find that it seemed to encapsulate the positions and
philosophies of Magneto and Xavier in its explorations of the characters
of Mordred and Arthur. Whose idea was it to put Once and Future King into
the movie?
A: It was I'm almost certain Bryan Singer's idea that Magneto
should be reading one of Bryan's favourite books, for the reasons you
give. I wanted Magneto to be reading one of my favourite books Lord of
the Rings but that was thought to be a joke too far.
MY OLD FRIEND
From: sylvia
Q: Ian, I found it quite funny that Magneto/Eric had said to Professor
Xavier something about "My old friend" in the first X-MEN movie, almost
exactly that same way you said it to Bilbo Baggins! I'm not sure if anyone
had also noticed, but right when you said it, my mind flashed right to the
scene in LOTR!!
A: I hadn't noticed the similarity till you pointed it out. But
there are old friends all over the place and have been from Middle-earth
onwards.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS
From: Greg Wdowiak
Q: What in the world did you mean by a "Polish concentration
camp" ? Anyone who knows the basics of the European history does know
about the German/Nazi concetration camps, and yes, some of them were
located on the territory of the occupied Poland. I strongly
object to the use of the term "Polish concentration camp" that is
misleadin and reflects lack of basic historical knowledge. For your
information, these camps were place of suffering of -- mostly -- the Jews,
but the victims also included many Poles and other nationals, many of them
imprisoned for helping the Jews.
A: "Polish concentration camps" can
mean (as I intended) "camps that are in Poland" as opposed to "camps being
run by Poland" but you have a point. So do I, when I correct the
impression you give that Jews are separate from Poles. What about
Polish Jews?
MAGNETO JEWISH?
From: Jessie
Q: After seeing you in the X-men and now X-men2 my mother asks if you
are Jewish? I told her I did not think you were, but she keeps asking me
to ask you. You see some of my famly is Jewish, and some are not. My
mother is. She wants to know what you draw on for Magneto's belief system?
A: It is pretty clear that Magneto's family are Jewish and I
think there may even be the confirming glimpse of a yellow star on his
father's arm in the first scene of X-Men. But nothing was made of
Magneto's religion or race in the subsequent story, so I didn't have to
think myself into that territory.
