>>WEDNESDAY 27th APRIL

Superman 2 RIC - A chat with Warner Bros.

I've spoken to a gentleman at WB's anti-piracy unit and we've come to an understanding about the RIC situation. I gave my side of the story and set the record straight; it was a useful chat. We don't want to harm the chances of a legit release by continually supporting the bootleg market. I made it clear that you guys would still buy a legit release, the reason being that even RIC is only VHS quality. Despite the restoration efforts on RIC, it's not high quality, but it's the best it could be when your source is 1980s VHS recordings.

RIC is out there in limited numbers, unfortunately, most of you will probably never get a chance to see it, and if you do, expect to pay a hefty sum, something which the editor detests and goes against the intentions of the project.

WB is now actively hunting bootleggers, and not just sellers of RIC, any Superman bootleg!. If you're a seller, expect some heat. You can review it and talk about it, but don't offer to sell it.

Maria Schell passed away

Maria Schell who played Vond-Ah in STM passed away yesterday. RIP.

>>TUESDAY 19th APRIL

Misleading!!! Superman 2 RIC

People think that I was giving these DVDs away for free! I categorically deny that I was giving them away for free!
Reporters say that I produced this restored cut of the TV edit! I DID NOT produce the project; a talent individual restored the film from VHS tapes; I was merely involved in the publicity but I wasn't distributing. The editor wanted this thing out there and hopefully people could supply free copies.

It's unfortunate that the magazine and TV reporters couldn't check with me before commiting to final print.

I will be writing a FAQ to clear this up. I've removed the RIC details for the time being.

>>TUESDAY 19th APRIL

Television publicity: Celebrity Justice

We were on television in the States; an entertainment programme called Celebrity Justice:

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...a possible Superman lawsuit. That's right, the man of steel is flying back into theatres next year, but some legal Kryptonite is currently orbitting the Superman movies of 25 years ago.Omar Lugones tells us how even even "The
Godfather" is involved.

As camera roll in Sydney, Australia on the new "Superman Returns" starring newcomer Brandon Routh as Clark Kent, and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. It's "Superman II" from 1981 that's at the center of a legal battle between Warner Home Video and an overzealous fan. It all started last year when Margot Kidder was quoted in "Starlog" magazine claiming another version of "Superman II" was locked away
somewhere in a vault. Adding that it included...

"...scenes of Chris and me that never seen the light of day. It's far better than the one that was released. "

So what's the story behind lost footage? CJ has learned it never saw the light of day after a flurry of lawsuits. Including one filed against the film's producers by famed director Richard Donner. You can watch Donner in action on the "Superman - Special Edition" DVD. He was the director originally hired to shoot both "Superman" and "Superman II" simultaneously. But disagreements with the producers
he later sued, led to his firing before "Superman II" was completed.

A new director was hired, and most of Donner's "Superman II" footage was locked away and largely forgotten until Kidder's interview.

Enter the fan who runs this website. A fan who got hold of some of the lost footage, and included it in his personal recut of "Superman II." He then offered free copies on his website.

"It's definitely illegal."

Hollywood entertainment attoreny Marcy Kotch says the fan went too far.

"You can't take a movie that belongs to someone else and use it for yourself whether you're charging people or not without their permission. It's against the law."

Attornies for Warner Brothers clearly agreed blocking the fan from distributing his unauthorized version. But that may not be the end of Superman's legal saga, you see some of the lost footage included scenes with Marlon Brando.

Brando was of course legendary in "Superman," but his scenes from "Superman II" were never shown because Brando got into his own legal (unintelligable) with producers. Now nearly 25 years later published reports indicate Brando's footage may finally hit the
big screen in the new "Superman Returns."

>>SUNDAY 17th APRIL

The Entertainment Weekly blurb

Here it is:

Superman II: take 2
A fan of the original gets his hands on the action.

On the eve of a new Superman movie, is it too late to tinker with an old one? Long story short: in 1977, director Richard Donner began filming Superman and Superman II simultaneously, but after the first film premiered, Donner was let go. New director Richard Lester used some of Donner's scenes for the 1981 sequel - in which Zod and his gang of evil ABBA rejects try to take over the earth - but the movie
infuriated fans, who demanded Donner's vision be restored. Which is kind of was, in the 80's, when Warner Brothers put together an extended international TV version containing extra Donner footage.

Now - thanks to a team led by a man who refused to reveal his true identity to EW - that broadcast has been reconstructed from videotapes (collected from fans world-wide) and packaged into "Restored International Cut," a DVD available for free through
Superman Cinema (www.supermancinema.co.uk). "It's not about me, it's about the film," the remastering bandit
told us. "When you get down to it's core, it had a great story that even Richard Lester couldn't screw up."

But isn't this whole thing sort of, you know, illegal? "It's a violation of our copyright," responds an attorney for Warner Bros. Another Warner rep adds, "Warner Home Video is known for listening to it's fans. But taking somebody's property and doing what
you want to it and giving it away is not the way to go." No arguments from our mystery man. "We would all prefer to pay and get the footage properly," he says. "I'm really asking them to make my project obsolete."

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to preview the piece because I think there's an error in the article. Warner Bros. didn't put together the TV version, it was the Salkind company who offered the TV edit. To own a movie is a privilege, I don't want to come across as a fanboy who thinks I'm owed something but we need to be slightly aggressive to prove that there's a market for this product. I need to write more on this subject; I'll do that when I get some free time to compose an editorial.

>>SATURDAY 16th APRIL

Want to be in a documentary?

James Redington is beginning filming on a low budget (at the moment) Superman documentary and will be filming at the UK comic expo (www.comicexpo.net) if any superman fans are attending they should seek me at either the portent comics table
(www.portentcomics.com) or the SBC table (www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com)

Superman cast members at Comic Con

Superman cast members Sarah Douglas (Ursa), Jack O'Halloran (Non), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olson), Jeff East (Young Clark Kent), and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) will be appearing together at San Diego between July 14-17, 2005
Click here for details

Superman 2 RIC - Entertainment Weekly

We're in the magazine; it hit newsstands yesterday...I haven't read it and I had no preview of the blurb either.

>>SUNDAY 10th APRIL

MARGOT KIDDER

Got a question for Margot Kidder? Author of the forthcoming Richard Donner biography wants your questions. Please e-mail me.
Deadline is this Wednesday.

>>WEDNESDAY 6th APRIL

SUPERMAN 2: RESTORED INTERNATIONAL CUT

is no more.

just to let you know i am begining filming on a low
budget (at the moment) superman documentary and will
be filming at the UK comic expo (www.comicexpo.net) if
any superman fans are attending they should seek me at
either the portent comics table
(www.portentcomics.com) or the SBC table
(www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com)