Superman’s mom comes to McMinnville

Hundreds of people watched the much anticipated film “Superman” at Three Star Cinema in its opening weekend. Only one also appeared on screen.

Only five days removed from walking the red carpet at a star-studded premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, Neva Howell walked into McMinnville’s Three Star Cinema for another special screening. Howell, who portrays Martha Kent - Clark Kent’s adoptive mother - in “Superman,” was the guest of honor at a private showing for her friends and family spearheaded by her niece Dana Moss Saturday afternoon. 

Moss, who lives in Dunlap, remembered hearing of Three Star Cinema, locally owned by Bob and Wanda Bassham, offering private theater rentals in 2020. She sent the theater’s Facebook page a message asking about the ability to rent a theater and mentioned a famous guest who would be coming along.

”I remembered Three Star Cinema began offering private viewings during COVID, so when I was thinking about getting everybody together to watch it with her as a group, I thought this would be the best way to do it,” Moss said. “She’s my aunt and we’re just so proud of her. This group is a lot of family and some of my friends.”

In an exclusive interview with the Main Street Journal, Howell discussed her acting journey and what led to this career-defining role.

“I’m originally from Bryant, Ala., but I’ve lived several places in my life,” Howell said. “I loved acting in school and in college. After I completed college, I auditioned for the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York, and I went to their summer intensive. After that I absolutely knew this was what I wanted to do. Ever since then it’s just been a process of getting in front of the right people.”

While Howell has had parts in several notable projects, she says playing Ma Kent in “Superman” is by far the biggest role of her career. The James Gunn film starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult is already exceeding many box office projections in its opening weekend and is the launching point for a new series of films exploring the DC Comics universe.

“Some of my favorite roles were Mrs. Crawford in ‘Ghosts of the Ozarks,’ and I loved being in ‘Greedy People,’” Howell said. “I had fun on ‘The Originals’ and enjoyed meeting Joseph Morgan and all those vampires. That was a lot of fun. And I’ve done probably two or three dozens of one- or two-line roles. You’re apt to see me anywhere. But this is absolutely the biggest.”

During the casting process, Howell didn’t immediately know just how big the role she was vying for was. As it became clear, the sense of responsibility she felt for carrying on the legacy of such an iconic character grew more daunting.

“My agent submitted me and, for whatever reason, James Gunn and his casting director John Papsidera selected me,” Howell said. “I did the first audition and did not know it was ‘Superman.’ All the names had been changed, and the name of the project was changed. The second audition, I still didn’t know. By the third one, I knew it was Ma Kent. Then the stakes got a lot higher!

“I didn’t know how passionate the fanbase was until I got online and started looking. I realized this is such an iconic role and there’s really a weight to playing her. I wanted to do her justice and I wanted to do the fans justice.”

That desire to not disappoint led to much research and work even before the cameras began to roll.

“I listened to tapes that he (Gunn) had from people who lived in Kansas and tried to capture that as best I could,” Howell said. “I found out later that he seemed to know almost instantly I fit his vision for Ma Kent. So, I didn’t really have to get a lot of direction on who she was. He mostly just directed me on things to try and play with, and that was a lot of fun.”

Of course, playing the role of Superman’s mom means screen time with the “Man of Steel” himself, and Howell had no doubt the right actor had been selected from the moment she saw Corenswet in costume.

“The first time I saw him in the suit, I had the exact same reaction that both Rachel and Nicholas talk about. I said out loud, ‘You ARE Superman!’ It was shocking to me.“

Being in possibly the biggest movie of the year presented new experiences for Howell that her extensive career had not presented before - one of those being a major Hollywood premiere, which she attended Monday.

“I can’t even describe that experience. I was NOT prepared for that,” Howell said. “I don’t think anybody can be the first time. At one point, you’re standing there and there are 30 or 40 cameras pointing at you and everyone is saying, ‘Neva! Look here! Turn this way!’ I didn’t know which way I was going. It was overwhelming!”

The inevitable question that comes after every big superhero movie had to be asked - although, understandably, Howell was unable to say much on the topic of sequels and her possible involvement.

”People have asked me that and I’m not supposed to say anything at all about that,” Howell said. “But what I will say is anything James Gunn wants me to do, I’ll be there. He’s got such a clear vision of what he wants that it makes you comfortable on set. You can just relax and enjoy doing what you’re doing. That’s rare. I think he’s rare in a lot of respects and I would relish the opportunity to do that again. I think he’s on the right track with the new DC Universe.”

Howell is proud to be a part of Gunn’s new vision for the DCU and thinks it is something that is sorely needed in today’s world.

“To me, this is a light, humorous, good-hearted film,” Howell said. “I love all of that about it. I guess it just depends on what you like, but I enjoy hope, love, family and all the qualities that are important in my own life. I love to see those played out on the big screen, especially in today’s world where you don’t have much of that. I think James said in one of his interviews that love and kindness is something we’ve lost, and I think David was just perfect in portraying that goodness in the face of unfairness and uncertainty about who you are but hanging on to that goodness at your core.”