Due to copyright issues with Warner Bros. and DC Comics, the film was retitled Hollywoodland and released to generally positive reviews with high praise for Affleck's performance.

In June 1959, Louis Simo, a sleazy Los Angeles private investigator, is spying on the wife of a man named Chester Sinclair to learn if she is having an affair.

On a visit to his own ex-wife Laurie, Simo learns that his son is upset over the recent death of actor George Reeves, having been found dead inside his Beverly Hills home with a gunshot wound to the head, which the police ruled as a suicide.

Sensing the potential for making a name for himself, Simo begins investigating and notes several apparent conflicts with the official version of Reeves' death.

Eight-years earlier, Reeves, whose acting career has stalled since appearing in Gone with the Wind, catches the eye of a beautiful woman and they end the night in each other's arms.

Each of the scenes imagined by Simo begins with Reeves playing a guitar and singing "Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)" in Spanish for his house guests.

Focus Features acquired a spec script written by Paul Bernbaum in December 2001 titled Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

They courted Michael and Mark Polish to direct,[2] with Diane Lane attached to costar,[3] but Focus placed the film in turnaround in June 2002.

Kyle MacLachlan was in the running to play George Reeves, after an audition and having worked with the Polish brothers on Northfork,[5] while Hugh Jackman, Colin Firth and Mark Ruffalo were reportedly the top contenders.

Ben Affleck, Dennis Quaid and Viggo Mortensen were added to the list of actors under consideration for George Reeves, alongside Sharon Stone and Annette Bening for Toni Mannix.

[9] The film was finally greenlit when the project moved back to Focus Features in 2005, and Howard Korder was brought on to do an uncredited rewrite of Bernbaum's script.

[12] During its production, Hollywoodland went through many rounds of getting clearance from Warner Bros. Pictures to use different aspects of Reeves' Superman persona to reflect the actual nature of his career.

The website's critics consensus reads, "More than a movie star murder mystery, Hollywoodland takes it slow in order to reveal the intriguing details of the rise and fall of superstar fame.

[19] He was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, but lost to Eddie Murphy for his performance in Dreamgirls.

Critics at The Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair called Hollywoodland a possible Academy Award contender, but the film received no Oscar nominations.