Brandon RouthAccording to the wonderfully catty folks at Radar's Fresh Intelligence, the gay and fanboy blogospheres have some rather surprising theories about how a total unknown landed the lead in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. According to FI's roundup, "the famously beefcake-friendly filmmaker’s decision had more to do with his libido than his director’s eye." Oh no you di'nt!

And even the mainstream press isn't really helping to dispel the rumors of a hot-boy-oriented production. For example, a Newsweek story recently reported that the main issue on the set was the size of Superman's package, and also quoted co-star Parker Posey as saying that Routh has "everyone touching him all the time. He’s lying on his stomach and he’s got five people coming up and pulling his underwear down, sticking their hands up the butt of his suit."

Oh, and it gets better - there's evidence that this wouldn't be the first time the director's casting was based on something other than (acting) talent. According to Alex Burton (who has appeared in nothing since he played Pyro in Singer's X-Men), "he was given the part after a hot-tub session with the director at a homo-heavy Hollywood party."

Cue Mr. Burns voice: Eeeeeeexcellent.