FRIDAY 22nd

GUS THREW A SPANNER IN THE WORKS :)

Guys, I'm sorry you had such difficulties ordering yesterday. I think most people appreciated that these things can happen. As you know, the soundtrack market is unpredictable therefore FSM (me included), couldn't have predicted the surge. 120 dollars is a lot of money to spend in one go and it's too difficult to judge how many people would buy it. I'm glad that the interest was extremely high. It's unclear how many have sold but I'm sure that if you want one then you'll get one. It's premature to suggest another pressing, though; Lukas will issue a statement on the situation when it's time.

I think if they didn't announce the date we wouldn't have had the problems, unfortunately some people decided to leak information which forced an announcement. Some people can't keep a secret. As for the idea of pre-orders, I'm not in position to speculate on their business practices. One thing is for sure, I wholly support FSM, and I think Lukas and Mike (you guys picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue) deserve praises for handling this unwielding project. It was an enormous task to bring this beauty out into the market. Thanks also to Jim Bowers for the wonderful imagery included in the book and finally to the fans, thanks for being patient.

Here's Lukas (from the SA BLOG) on the nutty day:

From Lukas regarding the blue screwup...
Friends,

We tried to have an orderly and fair Super-launch. What can we say? We tried, and failed. The server crashed, and continued to crash despite our
efforts to handle the bandwidth. Finally, SAE stripped the site back to its basics, leaving only the Superman ordering up for now and that seemed to work. As demand subsides, we'll turn the other stuff back on.

If you order anytime in the next day or so, you should be fine and you'll have your copy in a regular amount of time (they are presently on their way to us from the manufacturer). We will post updates, too.

While things have vastly improved since later this afternoon, please accept our apologies. The overload was just too much.

And yes, the 50 signed copies are all gone -- if you got one, consider yourself very very lucky.

Thanks!

LK

If you ordered from Moviemusic, then you'll get one. Here's the webmaster's message:
"Everyone who has ordered a copy of this box via MovieMusic.com will get their box. Please be confident this will happen. I am hearing the word is spreading that MM isn't getting any copies and the whole box set is sold out. This is false, and very frustrating."

I've been constantly listening to the sound-clips on FSM today (I'm so weak) and doesn't it sound wonderful, even in crappy, compressed real player format? The animated music sounds amazing. I didn't know the quality of music Ron Jones composed would be so good. The score befits a movie not an animated TV show!

I like how Alexander Courage has used the Superman theme, relying on the "B" theme more than the "A" theme. AH!!! There's so much to take in!

Stay tuned, the interview will be available in a few days and I'll keep you updated on the situation.

WEDNESDAY 20th

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Hey, guys, I thought I'd chime with a few 'bits and pieces'. I'll post the soundtrack FAQ tomorrow. I think there might be alternative online stores (based in England) holding copies of the CD SET, but I do not know what their prices will be. I'll let you know as soon as I know.

FSM feature an interview with Ken Thorne - can't reprint it because it's for subscribers only - and he Ken relates some interesting tidbits, for example, and maybe Ilya can confirm this, Richard Lester had final cut on Superman 2 - a stipulation that the auteur director demanded before signing on.

FSM also lists the complete score-log for Superman 2 and Superman 3, which, if anyone doubted, must mean that the complete scores will be available on CD.

I heard some of it in 2006 - and I did write my thoughts on the music back then. I'll post that up this weekend. I'm looking forward to the sound-clips, which will be posted at Screen Archives tomorrow, and I can't wait! Jim Bowers has posted some of his thoughts. He's had the music for a couple of weeks. Check out Capedwonder.

THE STORM AFTER THE CALM

Thanks for the feedback on my Pinewood article. Let me reinforce what I wrote about Selutron's efforts, this project MUST have the backing of Donner and Mankiewicz and, maybe this isn't a view shared by many, I would like to hear what Ilya Salkind* has to say about it. Some quarters will cry "heretic" and "disrespectful". Sometimes we must bury our differences to forge ahead, or forever struggle to progress, in mind and in spirit. Sure, the relationship will always be tenuous at best, I understand that, but knowing Ilya as I do, he's more than happy to reconcile any differences. We've spent countless hours talking about Superman 1 and 2, and this suggests to me that there is unfinished business, so let's finish it.

Let me say this about Richard Lester, Warners tried to contact him for the Ultimate Edition box-set, and Michael Thau tried too. Richard Lester is not interested in Superman, so it's safe to say that his permission isn't required, but it's the "grown-up" thing to do.

Selutron wants a degree of secrecy surrounding this project for obvious reasons. This is legitimate and requires a professional approach. Think about it. Why would he lay out all his plans? He'd severely compromise his good intentions and the fresh anticipation. I guess one has to conform to the Studio's way of working. I think he has been generous with his time and energy. He's released plenty of material already to satisfy folks. I think, in this moment in time, it's safe to say that it's the "possibilities" that make this endeavour exciting. It's not just the ending, it's more than that.

Is it going to happen? There are no portentous signals suggesting anything is imminent - it really isn't - but what I will say is that Warners have signalled interest in Selutron's work. It doesn't mean that Selutron is going to cut anything, or even be involved. We don't know where this will take us. Superman is a big money-spinner for the studio.

Selutron had to convince me. It took several months to come around, and then the "Pinewood meet" nailed it for me. I didn't wake up one morning and say "Hallelujah, God has given me sight, insight!. I praise the shepherd and I shall follow his shadow over yonder, where the disciples graze, and be led to the fiery gates…" *AHEM* It's definitely not impulsive. I was quite content watching the "official" Donner Cut, and I watched it on Christmas Eve as part the double bill. It's not perfect, but I just love the way the Donner scenes are lit and shot.

It doesn't matter what Selutron does, there will be two sides. You can't please everybody, which is why I think Selutron has to please himself and, being the level-headed person that he is, I think he will make the right choices. I don't think he can evaluate everyone's fan cuts. You can't have a consensus on this, because, as I said, you can't please everyone. It's his vision he needs to believe in, and I hope Donner and Mankiewicz believe it too, because it's their film he wants to bring to a higher level, which they, and everyone else, can be proud of. I certainly have nothing against Michael Thau. I'm sure he had something else in mind...

As for neglecting to evaluate other fan cuts, well, I'm no father figure for the Superman movies, I'm just offering my opinion. There are a lot of people who are grateful that some fans have taken it upon themselves to re-cut the film. But it's not my thing, and I certainly don't "piss" and "moan" in fan cut threads about it. I still believe that the author's intent is paramount; it's their thesis, their viewpoint of the world. I can agree, be on the fence or dismiss it.

* Ilya is producing Stephen Brooks's The Director, which is being prepped for shooting this spring.

On a lighter note, check out these two Indian clips:

Clip 1

Clip 2