Bryan Singer, director of Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, was a no-show at the star-studded world premiere of the film, which took place yesterday in New York at the Javits’ Convention Center. Singer and Fox are undoubtedly hoping to avoid any negative press affecting the movie’s box office numbers, since Singer has had two lawsuits filed against him recently , accusing him of sexually assaulting teenage boys.
The large X-Men cast, who were no doubt prepped on how best to respond to questions about Singer, were able to deftly deflect questions regarding the accusations about the director and, as Variety describes it, vaguely defended him.
“Well, he is a visionary,” said Patrick Stewart, who plays Professor X. “He is a serious filmmaker. He knows the craft inside out. He knows what he wants, although sometimes it could be a roundabout process to get there.”
The stars instead chose to praise Bryan’s ambitiousness with the film’s plot. “I think reading the script we were just like, ‘Wow this is so ambitious,’ but you just knew he was going to pull it off because he has such a vision and is so meticulous and so assured,” Ellen Page told The Hollywood Reporter . “You watch him work, and it’s a little bit mind-boggling how he manages to handle it all.”
When questioned about whether or not Singer would be returning to direct the next X-Men film, both stars and the film’s writer were unsure.
The cast and crew all seemed confident that Singer would be great returning to the director’s chair. “To have Bryan coming back for this incarnation meant everything because he has always had the content of the movie at heart as well as the spectacle,” said Stewart.
So far, Singer has vehemently denied all of the allegations against him, with his lawyer Marty Singer, who is not related to the director, stating that they are confident he will eventually be cleared of everything.
Bryan Singer had announced previously he would be bowing out of all press events for the film.
While having its director absent may have seemed odd, there’s no shortage of people to fill in for interviews. With two actors portraying several X-Men characters in the film (one young, one old), the movie joined together the cast of Singer’s previous X-Men films with the more recent X-Men: First Class , which was produced by Singer.
Have the accusations against Bryan Singer affected your opinion of the X-Men film? Will you still be seeing the movie when it is released on May 23?