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>>MONDAY 31st SUPERMAN II DONNER CUT INTERVIEWS AND A LOOK AT THE FILM The IESB had the chance to talk with legendary Director Richard Donner, editor and producer Michael Thau, actor Marc McClure and quietest villain this side of Krypton, actor Jack O’Halloran. Click here to see the interviews. If you have problems watching the Michael Thau interview, you can download it here. (Right click and save as) A forum user at comic book resources has seen a lot of the film, so if you want to stay spoiler-free then don't read any further.
The opening of the movie (before the credits) is mostly made up of scenes from the first film, but with new shots and dialogue scattered throughout. The film opens with Zod's trial on Krypton, with nothing changed that I noticed. Not until the Phantom Zone disc appears, where we see some extended and slightly disturbing shots of the criminals' bodies being twisted around and stretched out inside the Zone. We see baby Kal's trip through space juxtaposed with the P-Zone disc drifting aimlessly. At one point the disc actually seems to split into three, before ultimately merging again into one. There's some new Brando voiceover heard within the ship, specifically mentioning Kal's red, yellow, and blue blankets. We also see the spaceship crash-landing and opening up from a new angle. Various more scenes from the first movie, ending with Superman catching Lex Luthor's missile and throwing it into space. My guess is that this is the second missile (the one that killed Lois before Superman went back in time), although it looked to me to be the same footage from the first movie of him catching the first missile (whew!). Well, whatever, hopefully it'll make more sense when there's time to sit back and enjoy it. Anyway, it's this missile that collides with the Phantom Zone prison and destroys it. No French terrorist plot here. The criminals are freed and Zod flies toward the camera, bellowing, "FREE!" Cue the credit sequence, which is entirely redone to looks just like the opening credits of the first film. The genuine Williams score plays over it, not the weird synthesized version of it that was there previously. Brando's name is of course added (with Chris getting top-billing this time), and it ends on Donner's sole director's credit. Next is the footage that was apparently shown in San Diego, with Perry congratulating Lois for her story on Luthor's imprisonment. Then Clark walks in, lovably bumbling as ever, and it gave me such a thrill to see basically "new" Chris Reeve footage. What follows is a pretty funny scene with Lois, pen in hand, looking back and forth between Clark and the picture of Superman in the paper. Genius reporter Lane draws little glasses on the picture of Superman and, guess what: secret's out. Easy as that. Perry White sends Lois and Clark on the honeymoon hotel scam story, and all the while Lois teases Clark about the fact that she's figured it out. She's SO sure, she leaps out of Perry's office window. Clark runs down to the street faster than the eye can see, keeps Lois afloat with super-breath, then knocks down a sidewalk cover to bounce her none-too-gently into a fruit stand. Thatll show the bitch. Lois' suspicions are later confirmed when Superman saves the child at Niagra Falls, leading to the scene where she proves Clark is Superman. Anyone who's seen the screen tests on the first Superman DVD will recognize this, and it's a lot funnier and cuter than the "hand in the fire" thing. Unfortunately, they're unable to HIDE the fact that it's screen test footage. It looks like a Clark Kent from five in the past has walked into the room. I skipped over much of the middle and didn't see anything new until Brando reappears. Basically, holographic Jor-el takes the place of holographic Lara. I did notice that at least some of the "Zod vs. rednecks" scene is there, but hopefully not more than is necessary. People will likely be glad to hear the "super-kiss" is gone. They'll likely be less glad to hear how Superman makes Lois forget: he flys around the Earth to turn back time. Yeeeeees, again. This actually serves two purposes. Besides making Lois forget, it also deposits the Kryptonians right back in the Phantom Zone. Truth be told, I'd almost prefer the super kiss. The time travel stunt worked for me in the first movie because he was THAT determined to save Lois, and it led to him rejecting Jor-el's teachings for Jonathan's. Here, it just seems like business as usual. I didn't watch much after that, but there is a final scene in the Daily Planet, different from the goofy orange-juice-squeezing scene.
>>FRIDAY 28th NO 14 DISC SET? NOT QUITE, THE SAGA CONTINUES... From The Digital Bits: Okay... after making my Superman box set post earlier this afternoon, I've received even MORE confused e-mails. So I decided to go right to the source to help you all understand what's really happening with the whole 8-disc vs. 14-disc thing (just forget what I said earlier - in fact, I've deleted it from the post). I contacted Warner Home Video today about the whole Superman box set issue, and here's the real skinny: Basically Warner sort-of announced earlier in 2006 that they were going to be releasing a massive 14-disc Superman Legacy Collection box set with all the films and other materials... and then at Comic-Con the studio finally announced only an 8-disc Christopher Reeve Superman Collection box set. So people were left to wonder, what happened to the 14-disc set? Was it cancelled? Did the plans change and is the 8-disc set all we're getting now? The latter is what we had, in fact, been told by a number of sources and it was the logical conclusion to make. But according to the Warner Home Video representative I contacted this afternoon, there MAY still be a larger Legacy Collection release. However, it's not certain to happen, it's not yet officially announced and there are some issues that have to be resolved before it can come to fruition. Hopefully, things will play out such that we'll know more sooner rather than later. In the meantime, however, what IS for sure is that the 8-disc Christopher Reeve Superman Collection box set will street on 11/28, along with a separate release of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. As for Superman Returns, it will be officially announced in the weeks ahead. So to summarize, you're getting 8 discs plus the Donner DVD for sure, along with Superman Returns (TBA, but likely due out by the end of the year), and there MAY still be an even more elaborate Superman DVD box set in 2006 or 2007, which hopefully we'll know about soon. And that's official. Sort of. It's at least as much as can be officially confirmed as of now. CAPEDWONDER CLOSES ITS DOORS CapedWonder.com has closed its curtains. Suffice to say that I'm moving on to more new and exciting life endeavors...let's leave it at that. As a fellow Superman fan recently wrote, "Well, for Bowers it is mission accomplished. All that man ever wanted was a Donner cut of Superman II." That's right on, but it was so much more. My goals were many, but mostly I wanted to share my collection of images and feelings about Christopher Reeve and his Superman films. I feel I've done a pretty darn good job...it was very satisfying. It was a great flight indeed. Lots of fun creating cool imagery and meeting fans from around the world. I will be forever grateful to all of you for your heartfelt support and incredible contributions...thank you. Superman will always be a big part of my life, and Christopher Reeve will always be remembered in my heart. It was one hell of a site -- good luck, Jim.
>>THURSDAY 27th NO 14 DISC SET According to The Digital Bits: By the way, a lot of you have been e-mailing to ask us what ever became of the 14-disc Superman DVD box set that Warner had talked about earlier in the year. Basically, what happened is that 14 discs in one box set became 11 - 8 in the Christopher Reeve box set, and 3 available separately (1 for the Superman II: Donner Cut, and an as-yet-to-be-announced 2-disc Superman Returns DVD release). So there will be no 14-disc set - the plan simply changed as production moved forward. It happens like that sometimes. Just so you know. I hope that's an end to the speculation.
DVD NEWS ROUND-UP Let's take stock: 14 disc Ultimate Edition is still on the cards but details yet to be finalised. Release Date unknown. Superman 2 Richard Donner cut is not part of the Christopher Reeve boxset, you have to buy it separately! As for Richard Donner's involvement, Digital Bits posted this: Donner himself has stated in many interviews that he did not intend to be personally involved with the cutting of the new version. That's true, however he did give his permission to Warner Home Video for the cut to be done. What's more, I'm told that when he was later shown progress edits of the new cut of the film, he began suggesting additional tweaks, edits and changes... suggestions which were accommodated by the studio. In effect, he had final say on the film's editing and special effects, so the reality is that he DID eventually become involved. We hope that eases your concerns. The ending of the Donner cut is the time reversal. Listening to the Comic Con coverage again, Thau interrupted Donner from giving away the ending. According to the details I have here, that's the ending. Listening to the Comic Con audio of the Donner opening, the release of the villains sounds terrifying, Zod sounds like a monster in this one. According to the specs for Supergirl, they've only carried over the Anchor Bay commentary track. Not worth upgrading if that is it!
>>TUESDAY 25th COUNT'EM, THREE SUPER CLIPS ON IESB Oh my GOD! The Daily Planet material looks absolutely amazing, it feels so organically connected to the original. The Unsworth photography -- the compositions are outta this world! Looks so cinematic. The relationship between these actors is so dynamic, so Hollywood 1940s. I can't stop grinning. Can we have a glimpse of the Brando material, please???????? Check out the three clips here. I need to see more of the battle footage before commenting on it. Some interesting observations in this thread.
>>MONDAY 24th SUPERMAN RETURNS - FIGHTBACK M Blackburn: Regarding that article about Pirates vs Superman I think you guys over at Superman Cinema have really
gotten it wrong so far. Superman Returns was everything that I could have
ever hoped for in a An anonymous fan: In Defense of Superman Returns – Certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion concerning the movie. Here’s mine: I LOVED THE MOVIE! Of all the reviews I’ve read, the negative ones center around: A.) Brandon Routh is not Chris Reeve
Come on! Look, those of us who grew up with Chris
Reeve were spoiled! He was in my mind Superman forever (not to mention
he actually became Superman after his accident). For nearly 20 years since
Super IV hit and crashed on the big screen, we’ve only had Supes
I-IV to entertain us (tv doesn’t I’m sure those kids who grew up in the 1950s saw George Reeves as THEIR Superman, and Chris just an imitation at best. And yes, when I fandangoed my ticket and saw it, I could not help but compare Chris and Brandon. But… I got over it quickly. Why? A couple things. A
new Superman had to be cast. Singer is a good enough director to spot
quality in his actors (Spacey, B.) This I have to agree on. There were at least three definite instances when I spotted Superman as definitely CG. Other than that… A man flew. I believed he was burning up upon reentry
towards the later of the film. I believed he was lifting the island into
the sky! And I was on C.) Too young and lack charisma? This I didn’t understand as well. Yes, this
movie is a direct sequel to Supes I and II, so the actors should have
been the same age. Even Singer As for charisma, that I don’t understand either.
When Lois and Supes first met up on top of the Daily Planet, and she chewed
him out for leaving, I And Routh…man, he did a great, charismatic
job. Just his eyes after the bank scene (well, right after the bad guy
did what all bad guys do…shoot 30 cal D.) This is in response to the RIC’s review. Now sir, please don’t think I’m just
pointing you out, I respect you and what you have done to help get the
Donner cut, but this is just a mention on Realize people this movie is about an alien being
from another planet who looks human but thanks to the yellow sun can fly
at super speeds shoot E.) Yes, Donner’s Superman was the best. Ever. Not X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman Begins, no other superhero movie comes close to the awe and wonder and majesty of Donner’s…well, epic. I remember when in the nineties they were going
through all these directors with horrid ideas on how to bring Supes back
to the cinemas. I actually Then I watched the X-Men movies, 1 and 2. I enjoyed
them. Singer directed them well. And he was a Superman fan! When they
were taking breaks from And Singer’s vision is pretty much the only
way one could bring Supes back. He stayed true to the Donner beginning.
Donner had the origin story, And I say this because the movie cost 260 million
to make. Now, Singer was unfairly burdened with about 40 million dollars
in development costs to try I suppose what I am saying boils down to this.
There had to be a new cast, and it is hard not to compare films or the
principals. But if you can accept And finally... This e-mail is in response to the reviews you
have posted on your site. I hope you will post this as a sort of rebuttal.
First though let me state up front that I am one of the biggest fans of
Superman The Movie and Superman II. Christopher Reeve was my Superman
and will always be. Now as for the music, it is not flat and unmemorable.
Composer John Ottman, though not John Williams, did a very good job incorporating
old themes and creating new ones. To the naysayers I have to say that
though the music would have been different it is the same thing John Williams
would have done a la Star Wars. The themes are relevant to making the
film feel present day and not 1978. And if 2 and half hours wasn't long enough, there's a petition for an extended version, click here.
>>SATURDAY 22nd SUPERMAN DOESN'T TURN BACK THE WORLD? At yesterday's Comic Con, it was alluded to that 'turning back the world will not be used', and Michael actually came up with a NEW ending. I'm happy to be wrong if this ending is not used, my guess is that there could be an option to watch the multiple endings and Turning back the World could be one of them, but that's just speculation. Four different sources told me the same thing, they're using the Time Travel ending, which is why I went with it - I don't get it. 14 DISC SCRAPPED??? By the looks of it, the 14 disc set has been scrapped. I'm not sure where this leaves the big documentary, where even the kitchen sink was interviewed, will appear. So now we have a 8 disc set, which doesn't feature the Richard Donner Cut, you have to buy it separately!!! A cynical ploy to hurt your pockets but can hardly complain, I guess. At least I don't have to own that Bryan Singer's movie of the week travesty...phew. ACCESS HOLLYWOOD FOOTAGE AND COMIC CON Access Hollywood showed clips from the Donner cut, if you haven't seen it click here. Just seeing the Daily Planet opening brings tears to my eyes, the cinematography, the shot compositions and acting are tremendous. The chemistry is dynamic and both actors ooze confidence. The Metropolis Battle seems to have an edge to it from the minute clips I've seen, my friend picked up on something: I think Thau's done a bit of an Ed
Steenbeck with the Metropolis battle. I think a lot of the footage
shown was made up of rotoscoped Lester and Donner footage, combined with
body doubles, and some CG work.
When I first watched the footage, the first thing that popped in my head was that inital campaign in the late 90s, Jon Hoyle, Bill Williams, Hiphats, Indo77, Tom Brennen and the other guys, the little guys who really pushed the letter campaign and their analytical articles on Superman 2. Hometheaterforum can take all the credit if they want but it was those guys that really were the foundation of everything - you really deserve this project. Capedwonder has audio and picture from the Donner and Thau panel.
>>FRIDAY 21st SUPERMAN DVD BREAKOUT The heat is picking up, here's the first news report with new details on the boxset. Once things settle, I'll start editing the specs page to reflect the new information. No mention of the 14 disc set but there will be a Christopher Reeve boxset featuring 8 discs. Superman The Movie will be four discs. The proposed 14 disc set will house more goodies but I'd rather wait and see what Warner Bros. say at Comic Con - it's all a bit confusing at this moment in time. Here's a report from Yahoo. Access Hollywood will show clips from Donner's Superman 2 today, so stay tuned to your sets and someone please post the footage. If you've only seen the first part then you haven't seen the best part...
>>WEDNESDAY 19th SUPERMAN II DONNER CUT - FIRST LOOK -- SPOILERS This weekend's Comicon convention in San Diego, California will feature a presentation on Superman that will include a preview of Superman II: The Donner Cut. A full report will be forthcoming, but the following has been learned from an inside source who has seen the picture. SPOILERS!!
• The film opens with a lengthy recap of the events of Superman:
The Movie, and the release of the villains, preceding the opening credits. I'm hoping the insider will divulge his review soon.
>>MONDAY 17th BRYAN SINGER CAUGHT 20 MINUTES OF DONNER'S S2 Thanks to Avilos for this: SINGER: That I don’t know. I just watched the first 20 minutes or so. They did want to want to borrow a prop at one point, but I don’t know if that was used. iF: If they borrowed a prop, then they must have been shooting stuff? SINGER: They did -- they shot certain things. They shot and reconstructed certain things. It isn’t for a massive release I don’t believe or anything, but they did shoot additional elements. They really went back to Richard Donner’s original intention of the film before he left it. Read the rest here
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR AND MILTON KEYNES Hey guys, What an adventure! The taxi was late, so the driver raced at 60mph to get me there, it was like a scene from one of my favourite films, To Live and Die in L.A. The scene where the protaganist is being chased on the freeway - I was crapping myself. I stood outside the studio, but I didn't take in my surroundings, I asked the security guard, "Where's the BBC?", "You're standing in front of it.", He laughed with his friend, yeah laugh up it, I sheepishly waddled to the door. The security guard led me to the booth, "Ah, I see, they've put you in the small one, must be last minute." The booth was big as 2 telephone booths. I ploped on the seat and waited and waited. I revised my page and a half of notes and trigger words. 11:45pm was the suggested time, but by the time they finished with the tabloid crap, it was five to midnight and then we got to the good stuff, I was finally introduced. Click Here to listen to it, thanks to Luke on the message board. Yeah, I didn't like the film at all, I'll explain why at a later date but one of the reasons why: Bryan Singer didn't choose the right people for the job, he chose his friends - the film is the most important and its best served by choosing the right people for the job. Friends understand, egotistical people spit their dummies out. The film looks like a hangover from the TV movie, X-Men 2! For all that expense, they [BBC] quizzed me twice. I was gonna talk Donner's S2! Give some exclusive news as well! Ah well, save it for the site. Then I was gonna thank the fans. They said it would be 10 min! That's showbiz. Colin Chilvers was a gent and diplomatic about the film - I was gonna praise him and ask him a question about the helicopter scene. I really sounded cynical as well. All in all, it was an interesting insight into radio. To quote Donner after being fired from Superman 2, "I wanted to do more." After the show I headed outside and waited for a cab...for nearly an hour. It was reasonably warm during the day, but at night, it was freezing! Yep, I was wearing summer clothes. Yeah, I got a summer cold so I couldn't go to the Milton Keynes meet. You can see some of the pictures here! If all goes well, I should be posting some exclusives on the Donner cut this week to coincide with Comic Con.
NEVER BEFORE SEEN SUPERMAN III INTERVIEW This is a terrific interview and it can be viewed here
WHY PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN RANSACKED SUPERMAN RETURNS Here's an eloquently written piece by Jonathan Woodliff. Check out the spoiler thread here for more reviews. He is a symbol of truth, justice, and the American way. More importantly; he is a symbol of hope and of morality. He is a hero who has captured the hearts and imaginations of young and old alike for many decades since his debut in Action Comics in 1938. It’s the ultimate fantasy. Everyone; at one time or another, has dreamed of flying. People need a symbol of hope in these trying times that we live in today, just as they needed him back in the days of World War II. It’s an escape from reality into a place where the World has a guardian who will always be there when disaster strikes. It’s a symbol of hope that gives people the feeling that things will get better. This symbol of hope; of course, is Superman. Lois Lane and countless other young women and girls have swooned over him, little boys dream of being him, every man would kind of like to be him, and there are many times where people in this World wish he were real. To many children and devoted fans, however; he is real.
When a person sits down to watch a Superman film; they usually expect something. They expect wonder, fantasy, beautiful scenery, brightly lit sets, action, adventure, romanticism; and most of all, magic. People also expect a character of high moral standards when it comes to Superman. They expect a character that is a good example for their children to follow. However; lately, we’ve seen a totally different scenario. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” has been the major hit of the summer. One may wonder why it’s the hit of the summer when a Superman movie also came out this year. The answer as to why is very obvious if you see both films. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” is a better planned and better written film; although there is no end to it and there is a cliffhanger leading to the next film. It’s a film that transports you to a fantasy world of wonders and adventure. It has an endearing quality that the new Superman film; “Superman Returns”, sadly lacks. That endearing quality is known as magic. The X-MEN styled, rather dark, and Tim Burton-like approach to Superman that Bryan Singer has is rather disturbing. Everything in the film is rather dark. The sets are dark in color, clothing and costumes are dark, and scenes were often shadowy in places. It had a rather spooky, Gotham City/ Batman type feel to it in places rather than a Superman-type feel. The feeling of the whole film was entirely off-base, and wrong. It just didn’t seem like a REAL Superman story.
The thing that sticks out the most is Superman’s apparent loss of moral standards. You expect “Captain Jack Sparrow” to have loose moral standards and except things that aren’t morally right because he is a pirate. Pirates are just that way. On the other hand; Superman is an entirely different story. Superman is a symbol of what is right and is supposed to be a symbol of morality itself. Yet; this symbol of morality suddenly discovers that he’s the father of Lois Lane’s child and he isn’t married to Lois in the story and never was. That’s right; incase you haven’t already heard, Superman has an ill-legitimate child. He’s now just another dead-beat Dad who’s been out of the picture for five years, letting another man raise his child. That very type of thing goes against Superman’s very meaning. It goes against Superman’s moral code. The idea of Superman and Lois having a love child from some sleepover is completely wrong and should have never even been considered. People always bring up the scene where Lois and Superman sleep together in “Superman II” when I mention this. Wait until you hear Margot Kidder’s opinion on the matter before you make your judgment. Margot Kidder (the original Lois from the Superman films who starred opposite Christopher Reeve); has a very strong opinion about the sex scene in “Superman II”. Margot now says that they should have never done that scene. She has stated that she thought that Lois having a sleepover with Superman in the “Fortress of Solitude” was just wrong and should have never been done. Other people agree with her on this matter as well. I agree with her whole heartedly myself. She stated that if she could go back and do it over again; she would advise against doing that scene. The one-million dollar question here is; should we be showing our kids that it’s okay to have an ill-legitimate child? Superman is supposed to set an example. People tell their children not to mess around before they’re married and have a child out of wedlock. They say this either because they were raised to believe so, or they did that very thing themselves and don’t want their children to make the same mistake that they made. They tell their children this, take them to see Superman, and Superman does the very thing that they told their children not to do. What kind of an example is that? I’m sad to say that this new Superman film sets no type of moral example whatsoever. Sadly; Spiderman now sets a better example for children than Superman. What has the World come to when a Superman film is rather dark in nature and shows Superman and Lois having an ill-legitimate, love child?
In my opinion; a Superman film should have a completely different feel to it. Superman is supposed to be positive and up-beat. The sets are supposed to be well lit, the scenery is supposed to be brighter and more colorful, and Superman’s costume is supposed to have a brighter color red on it. Everything should have a more positive feel to it; right down to the storyline. “Superman Returns” reminds me of a bunch of children playing pretend and going way over-board with the story they’re making up. The story is very sloppily done and appears to have been thrown together. It looks as if they designed all of the visual effects first and then attempted to build a story around the visual effects. Bryan Singer’s dark style (which worked well with X-MEN); just doesn’t work at all with Superman. Superman is a different breed from the X-MEN. The Superman Returns storyline appears as if it’s somebody’s crazy brainstorm. The pacing for the film is entirely wrong and the story is completely against any Superman storyline ever done.
It lacks the same mystical feel and magic spell that the first Superman film in 1978 had. After “Superman: The Movie” debuted in theatres; it was a smash hit from day one. It was the talk of the Country and the talk of Hollywood. Everybody was talking about the new Superman film. Christopher Reeve’s performance was hailed as a “pure delight”. The film was said to be enchanting from start to finish. “Superman Returns” has received no such reviews and hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as “Pirates of the Caribbean”. The first two Christopher Reeve Superman films had a completely different feel to them from the new Superman movie. Many of the sets were brightly lit; Chris’ costume was brighter, more colorful, and more authentic, and the entire storyline in the first film was very positive. You felt like you were floating on the clouds when watching the first Superman film; whereas, you feel like you’re in some sort of dark and creepy parallel dimension while watching “Superman Returns”. It’s just not the same experience by any stretch of the imagination. Superman is supposed to have a positive, up-beat feel to it. Superman is also supposed to represent high morale. “Superman Returns” has none of these qualities in it. Another question is; what do they do with his child? As many have already stated; nobody wants to see a “Son of Superman” story because nobody believes it would actually work. I am one of those people. It just will not work.
Superman has suffered some bad ideas and scripts over the years. One proposed movie had Lex Luther being a Kryptonian with the same powers as Superman. Another film that was under way had Nicholas Cage as Superman in “Superman Lives”. Cage made a terrible Superman as you would suspect and they weren’t even going to use flying effects in the film. The project was dropped eventually with Cage walking off of the set and quitting. Then there was the proposed Superman verses Batman film which hasn’t flown yet. When “Superman Returns” was announced; the Superman community let out a pre-mature sigh of relief I’m afraid. While this Superman film was superior to other proposed Superman projects; it still is highly lacking in the quality you would expect from a Superman film. Superman is held to a higher standard and the filmmakers working on a Superman project should try to meet or exceed that standard. The only reason “Superman Returns” made any decent amount of money is because it was Superman. This new film isn’t the greatest example of a Superman story. Too many things were altered. As Richard Donner (director of Superman: The Movie”) once stated; “Superman is Americana. It’s apple pie. Nobody should try to change apple pie.” I believe that Bryan Singer tried to use lemons instead of apples in the pie when making “Superman Returns”.
Bryan Singer stated that he did not want to do an origin story of Superman because it had already been done so many times and thought it would never work again. I believe he was entirely wrong. He didn’t consider the odds of the entire situation as it is today. Superman has been out of the picture as far as main stream media is concerned for twelve to thirteen years with “Lois and Clark” being the last new Superman show produced for television. Superman has been out of the movies for nearly twenty years as well.
The common tradition has been to start the story all over again every time a new Superman is cast and a new cast is assembled. That makes a lot of sense as each new cast needs their own story and origin. Bryan Singer also wasn’t considering the fact that Superman has been out of the spotlight for so long; that millions of children, teenagers, and young adults alike; have no idea where Superman came from or anything about him. If you surveyed most high school kids; you would find that a majority of them know a lot more about Spiderman than they ever did Superman Most of them know nothing about Superman when the truth is revealed. Millions of young children have no idea where Superman came from; yet they know all about Spiderman. That would be because of the incredible accuracy, detail, and time spent to make the Spiderman films as accurate to the original story of the comic books as possible and the fact that they wanted to stick to the story and not add anything outlandish. Another contributing factor is the quality of the script for Spiderman and its acting. After all; you don’t see Peter Parker and Mary Jane having an ill-legitimate, love child. Spiderman is ahead of the game because of the quality of the Spiderman films and the dedication to accuracy and detail. It’s a sad World where kids know all about Spiderman and other heroes, but barely know anything about the first superhero in history; Superman. These children of the World who know nothing about Superman’s origins need to be introduced to him with a new film about his history. The World needs to be re-introduced to Superman.
With all of the other superheroes getting great blockbuster films and storylines; you wonder why nobody can do superman the right way. It could still be done the right way. If a Superman film was done the right way; it would be a smash hit. People would come in droves to see a “good” Superman film. A fantastic/magical storyline along with the wonderful feel that you’re supposed to get while watching a Superman film and some good special effects to go along with it would blow people into the back of the seats! People would eat it up! They would love it! Why hasn’t Hollywood caught onto that? It’s been nearly 27 years since the original Superman movie. It’s safe to say that an origin story would definitely work again today. It’s time the legend of Superman be re-told.
Even the comic books have gotten way out of touch of what Superman really should be. As you read the modern comic books; you often find Superman in some weird dimension fighting strange creatures and you never see him defending Metropolis from super criminals like Lex Luther. You never see Lois Lane getting into a jam anymore with her usual forward nature and Superman bailing her out. You barely see Lois; who Superman is now married to in the comic books. Modern day Superman comic books make no sense whatsoever when somebody tries to read them. The storylines are often outlandish and barely make sense at times. There is basically nowhere else the writers can go in the Superman comic books at all anymore. Not only is it time they start the Superman story all over again in the movies, but in the comics as well. The Superman comic book series should be started completely over again.
Superman is Americana and he’s a symbol of all that is right. He’s a symbol of hope in the darkness. He’s an escape from the gripping sorrows of reality. Watching Superman transports people into a place of fantasy, adventure, and pure magic. Superman will always be ingrained into our popular culture as the ideal hero and the original Superhero. For years to come children will be putting towels around there necks, jumping off of beds and couches, and running around the room making flying noises. Superman is a great fictional role model for any child because he always insists on doing the right thing. Superman has been plagued by bad story ideas and bad scripts. His morality has even been desecrated in the new film “Superman Returns” by showing him to have a love child with Lois. Superman’s popularity isn’t what it used to be. The man of steel needs our help!! Fans should give an outcry. Superman has saved many people from many disasters over the years in his countless adventures. Now it’s time for us to SAVE SUPERMAN. Hollywood needs to put aside all new ideas and weird political statements and stick to the true and original storyline, concept, and tradition of Superman. It’s time Hollywood made us believe that a man can fly all over again. Jonathan Woodliff
>>WEDNESDAY 12th I'M TALKING SUPERMAN MOVIES ON 5 LIVE Hey guys, I’ve been invited to talk about the Superman films on the wireless -- BBC Radio 5 Live, it’s a national U.K. radio station, so it’s big. On the agenda, the new picture, the classic Christopher Reeve films, Ilya Salkind, the 14 disc DVD set, especially the Richard Donner cut – I might spill some new details on that, see how it pans out... Colin Chilvers will be also participating, the genius behind the miniatures [not legoland] and physical effects on the Salkind Superman films.
I should be on air around 11:30pm U.K. time this Friday, 14th - I hope you guys listen in because I want to thank you all on air if an opportunity arises. Click Here to
listen via the web
THE CURSE OF SUPERMAN ON UK TV Saturday 15 July - 10:00pm-11:05pm Channel 4 - The Curse of Superman
>>SATURDAY 8th SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT AT COMIC CON This year's Comic con is going to be mega because of this: Friday 21st July, 1:00-2:00 Warner Home Video's
Superman Through The Ages Anybody going? Need reports. Wish I could be there! Thanks to Jacob for the info.
>>FRIDAY 7th SR SENDS SUPERMAN DVDS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE AND SUPERMAN CINEMA REACHES NEW HEIGHTS A dramatic headline for sure...but STM and S2 currently sit at 8 and 17 in the Amazon rankings! Earlier in the week STM was ranked 5 and S2, 11! For a 28 year old picture that's been shown on television a million times...that's pretty amazing, but what's even more cool is that some of these Joe Bloggs will witness Unsworth's stunning cinematography in panavision anamorphic 2.35:1 for the first time! Been studying the website stats, an estimated 83% hike in visits and the site's shifting over 30 gigabytes of data a month! The forthcoming DVD Set, the Ilya Salkind interviews and the new picture are having a tremendous effect. Thanks to you guys for sticking with the site. Some of you guys have been with the site since the early days, we're almost like family.
>>TUESDAY 4th THE U.K. MILTON KEYNES MEET - JULY 15th We need the final numbers by end of Thursday so Oliver can sort out the cinema passes. The meeting place is Milton Keynes train station around 11:30am If you're coming, you need to confirm here. Ilya Salkind isn't attending this meet, not enough time to prepare - we've got other ideas...could be cool if it works out.
TOM SCIACCA TAKES A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE SUPERMAN RETURNS--JUST IN TIME! Excerpt from the Danbury CT News Times Look up in the sky! Superman, the Man of Steel, is back in theaters
June 28, just in time to save the world and the summer box-office. Since that fiasco ( a two hour plus film edited down to 90 minutes),Superman flourished on the small screen in three versions, a syndicated " Superboy " series starring John Haymes Newton,and later Gerard Christopher(with whom I attended High School) from 1988-92, "Smallville" starring Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent, from 2001 onward, and a successful animated series on the WB network. My own relationship with Superman began in the late 1950s, on a state
of the art Dumont black and white T.V.,watching "The Adventures of Fast forward to 1977. I'm working as an editorial assistant at DC Comics
in New York City. I get to see the script for blockbuster new Superman
film to be directed by Richard Donner ("The Omen") It's written
by Mario Puzo, of "The Godfather", and a massive tome, almost
500 pages,which actually encompasses the first two Superman films. The
cast is set, including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, but still
no Superman is cast. Many actors were tested, including Slyvester Stallone(I
actually saw the photo,kind of silly in the costume) One day early in
1977, late in the afternoon, a tall, thin young man entered the offices
of Sol Harrison, then the President of DC Comics. That was Christopher
Reeve, who now was being told he was the choice for the Man of Steel.
I had the pleasure to have a long conversation with him as we both left
the offices at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. He was late going on an audition
for a television commercial. I asked him why he was bothering to, since
he was just chosen as Superman in the biggest budgeted film in movie history
up to that time. He told me that "You never know what will happen
in this business." We waved goodbye at the 6th Ave D train.
JON HOYLE'S SR REVIEW - SPOILERS!!! Jon Hoyle has helped me put together a few thigns for the site in the past so I wanted to share his thoughts on SR: Pre-Movie Timeline This film pays sincere homage to Superman the Movie and is consistent
with it with few exceptions (see Continuity Differences below). As the movie opens, we are told that astronomers had discovered the remains
of Krypton, and Superman leaves to find out if anything is left. Although
cut from the theatrical release, we see in one of the movie trailers how
Superman's ship flies through the dead remains of his homeworld. In the
film, we see Superman's ship crash landing back to Smallville; the ship
appears to be based on the star-shaped one that brought him to Earth as
a baby in Superman I. The length of time he is gone is not stated exactly,
but it can be estimated to be between 5-6 years. We estimate this based
upon the fact that Luthor Clark is happy to be home back on Earth in Smallville, and there is a
nice scene of a young Clark running in the corn fields at Continuity Differences The only big difference between Superman the Movie and Superman Returns has to do with how Krypton dies. In Superman the Movie, you visually see Krypton's sun go supernova, taking out Krypton in an explosion as well. In Superman Returns, the sun implodes, presumably into a black hole (although possibly only into a dark neutron star), and the wave of the implosion rocks and breaks Krypton apart. Massive chunks of the planet fly off (whence kryptonite comes), but much of the broken up planet remains in place. As stated above, Supermans III & IV are not part of this movie's
continuity. Lex appears to have remained in jail the whole time between
the end of Superman II and Superman's return (so no Lenny Luthor adventure).
Furthermore, Martha Kent is still alive in Superman Returns, whereas she
had died by the time Superman III took place. Speaking of Martha Kent,
there is a nice picture of Glenn Ford on her mantle as a reminder of the
late Jonathan Kent. In one of the trailers, she is shown spending time
with a man (who is supposed to be Ben Hubbard), but this scene does not
make it into the Other small continuity problems exist, but they are nitpicks. For example, in StM, Krypton is said to exist in another galaxy, so it would have been impossible for astronomers in SR to have found the remains of Krypton. The light from the explosion of an extragalactic star would take at least tens of thousands of years to get to Earth. Things like that. Also, the timeframe was necessarily updated, so that SR takes place in 2006, not in the 1970's. Luthor steals a meteorite from a museum containing kryptonite; this rock is labelled (amusingly enough) "Addis Ababa, 1978". If we continue with the assumption that kryptonite took 3 years to arrive on Earth (perhaps through the wake of Kal-El's ship?), then Krypton was destroyed no later than 1975, making Superman no less than 31 years of age. Other Remarks Superman Returns has numerous little references and similarities to Superman the Movie. The opening credits in blue coming out at you is similar, as is the reuse of John William's music. Marlon Brando's voice of Jor-El is also heard throughout the movie. Some exact lines, used just a little differently, really made it enjoyable. Brandon Routh really does a good Christopher Reeve replacement, especially as Clark Kent. Kate Bosworth plays Lois Lane a bit differently than Margot Kidder, but I think she pulled it off well. And words cannot express how fantastic Kevin Spacey is. Bryan Singer is truly respectful of the original film and it shows. This movie is also very much more on character development and relationships than I expected. Of course, there is action...after all, it is a Superman movie. But much more emphasis is placed on the fractured love relationship and Superman's need to feel apart of his world than in previous films. Overall, how does it compare? Well, no, it's not as good as the original. However, it is still a great film, and I am having a tough time deciding whether I prefer Superman Returns to Superman II (right now, I'd still give the edge to Superman II). Irrespective of that, Superman Returns is a wonderful and worthy addition to the movie franchise, and I can now happily ignore Supes III & IV as aberrations from the "true" continuity established.
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