LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Young Hollywood is stepping into the superhero hall of justice to vie for parts in the comic book movie "Justice League of America."

Director George Miller flew in Saturday from his native Australia for a marathon casting session that started Sunday and continues Monday, seeing 35-40 actors test for roles in the big-budget Warner Bros. project.

Parts up for grabs include Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter.

On the roll call are Adam Brody (Fox's "The O.C."), Joseph Cross ("Running With Scissors"), D.J. Cotrona ("Windfall"), Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Grindhouse"), Michael Angarano ("Sky High"), Teresa Palmer ("Wolf Creek"), Max Thieriot ("Jumper") and chart-topping rapper Common.

The cast of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" is well-represented as well, with Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter also among those testing for parts. No costumes are involved in the tests, which are being taped as actors read script pages.

If the names feel young, it's because Miller is looking for actors to grow into their roles over the course of several movies. Sources say the man behind the "Mad Max" and "Babe" franchises is testing not only for the roles themselves but how the actors interact with one another while keeping an eye on the look of the whole group. The director is due to present his findings to the studio midweek.

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It's been a busy year for Scott Porter. The actor has an integral role on what is easily one of the best series on television these days; NBC's incredible Friday Night Lights, on which he plays former high school quarterback Jason Street, who ended up taking a job as an assistant coach after an accident left him paralyzed. On top of that, Porter just spent his summer break from Lights filming roles in two upcoming movies; a new version of Prom Night, and the highly anticipated live-action film version of Speed Racer. Speed Racer is a very big project - The film is written and directed by the Wachowski Bros (The Matrix), and stars Emile Hirsch in the title role, and a supporting cast that includes Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Porter as Speed's brother, Rex Racer.

At the recent NBC TCA (Television Critics Association) party, shortly before Porter returned to Austin, Texas to begin filming Season 2 of Friday Night Lights, I spoke to the actor for IGN. The actor graciously delayed eating his dinner for a few minutes to chat, discussing what's to come on Lights; his role in Speed Racer; and what he's been buying at the comic book store lately - Among television stars, it's hard to find a comic book fan as dedicated as Porter.

IGN TV: Friday Night Lights obviously has so much critical support. When you come to an event like this, do you feel the love?

Scott Porter: We do! All night long. It really has a lot to do with the critics that we're even back. You know, any other show that would have had our ratings last year that we are aware of might have been thrown away, but we're really proud of what we do, and the critics have found it to be a quality show, and all the nominations and the awards, they mean the world to us. They really play a part in keeping us going, and we're really proud of it.

IGN TV: Can you talk about where we find Jason Street as the season begins?

Porter: Yeah. It's eight months after the end of the first season. Coach Taylor really has left. Tami really has had a baby. Jason really is an assistant coach with the Dillon Panthers. There's a new coach that comes in, and he's really heavy handed. He's a three-time title winner from Tennessee, who comes down and tries to take them to State again. It creates a rift between Jason and his friends who are still on the team, because he tells him, "You know, you can't be buddy-buddy with your friends anymore," so that's a tough spot. At the end of the second episode, you might see Jason begin to regain some feeling in parts of his body that he hadn't, and it really sends him on what promises to be a season-long arc about whether or not it's possible, and it's sometimes going to be maddening for Jason. So it's really going to be interesting to see where he ends up.

IGN TV: [Executive Producer] Jason Katims said your character might reconnect with Lyla and Tim a bit.

Porter: Yeah, I haven't read anything yet.

IGN TV: So that was news to you?

Porter: Well, it was news to me. We usually get our scripts a couple of days before [we film], and we really don't know what's coming until kind of the last minute. And then they hit us with a dozy, and it's always well written, and we hope we execute it properly. I'm really excited to get back and do scenes with Minka [Kelly]. She's a great actress, and I really enjoyed working with her last year. And I'd like to get some longer scenes with Riggins, which was taken away from me after episode three [in Season 1].

IGN TV: What is Jason's relationship like with this tough new coach?

Porter: Jason kind of bucks up and starts being a man and says, "Look, I know these players and I know this team better than you. Here's what I think." And the coach kind of comes back at him with, "You know what? I appreciate that you think that you know what you're doing, but this is my team, and you're an assistant coach. And another thing; you need to stop being friends with all your football playing buddies, because you're a coach now and you need to be authority." So it's gonna be interesting.

IGN TV: Are you done filming Speed Racer?

Porter: I am, yeah. I wrapped about two weeks ago. [Editor's Note: This interview was conducted on July 17th]

IGN TV: How was working on that?

Porter: It was amazing. It was my first time in Europe, so that was a bonus. And the Wachowskis are just amazing visionaries. It was a pleasure to work with them. The Matrix is one of my favorite movies of all time. Just to see how they work, and to work with Susan Sarandon and John Goodman and all those fantastic actors, it was just great. They're wonderful people behind the scenes and Speed Racer is going to be that movie that blows people's minds next year.

IGN TV: We know you play Rex. Can you talk a bit about the character?

Porter: Rex Racer is Speed Racer's older brother. He's kind of the inspiration for Speed. He teaches Speed how to drive. He's a record setter. He's an amazing racer, who unfortunately, starts to see kind of the corporate corruption in the sport of racing and how they're rigging races. These possibilities come up, and he really tries to play the good guy and he ends up getting caught in some trouble.

IGN TV: Since I know you're a fellow comic book geek, what are you reading these days?

Porter: Oh wow. My girlfriend just bought me the Planet Hulk hardcover for my birthday. It was one too many crossovers for me last year. I'm really looking forward to Annihilation: Conquest, the whole thing. I thought Annihilation was possibly the best written multi-comic book kind of crossover last year. It was excellent. All the characters I'd never cared about before, I started caring about. I just read the trade paperback number nine of Fables. I've been reading a lot of trades, because I was over in Berlin [filming Speed Racer], so Countdown was the only book I was able to keep up with over there.

IGN TV: My girlfriend is a huge Fables fan and has been pushing it on me.

Porter: You've gotta read 'em, man! Read through the first two trades. They're both a lot of exposition, but it falls into this great territory. Once they set it all up, it's just amazing.

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Scott Porter ("Friday Night Lights") has landed a role in Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer," which starts lensing this month in Berlin. Porter will play Rex, the older brother to Speed Racer who fakes his death and returns as Racer X (Matthew Fox). Emile Hirsch plays the title role; cast includes John Goodman and Susan Sarandon. Andy and Larry Wachowski wrote and will direct the pic.

Porter recently completed a lead role in Screen Gems' "Prom Night" opposite Brittany Snow.

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When you think of NBC's Friday Night Lights, you probably immediately think that it is a show for football fanatics. This new drama (which despite its title airs Tuesday nights at 8 pm/ET), however, really delves into the lives of the assorted people in the community who are affected in some way by the high-school football team, from the coach's wife to the fallen quarterback who was paralyzed during the first game of the season. TV newcomer Scott Porter stars as Jason Street, the attractive and popular QB who is currently confined to his hospital bed, if not life in a wheelchair. TVGuide.com spoke with Porter, who recently costarred in the energetic off-Broadway hit Altar Boyz, to find out if Jason still has all the right moves when it comes to his cheerleader-girlfriend, Lyla.

TVGuide.com: I'm a big fan of the show even though I honestly don't know much about football.
Scott Porter: That's what we're trying to let everyone know. You don't have to be a football fan to watch the show.

TVGuide.com: When you took this part, did you know that at the end of the first episode, Jason was going to be lying in a hospital bed?
Porter: Yeah, that's kind of the big reason that I wanted it.

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