FRIDAY 28th

LESS THAN 30 REMAINING

When the blue-box was released, a Dark Lord despatched his friends to the far
reaches of the internet where, on cue, they integrated into various
message board societies to spread the master's will: Buy Superman: The Music (1978 to 1988).

At FilmScoreMonthly, little did they know of this cunning plan: to sell out fast,
and with less than 30 copies remaining, their chance to press
another 3000 copies without delay has failed.

Now, Lukas Kendall must negotiate for another 3000 to be pressed
before a long queue of customers line up at Screen Archives demanding
their copy of this fabulous music....

WEDNESDAY 19th

FSM COVERAGE CONTINUES

Hey, guys, how's it going? I've made a slow start on the soundtrack review. These scores are actually helping me understand the way music is actually orchestrated and how it differs from composer to composer. I'm noticing the different instruments that are highlighted on each score, for instance, Ken likes the prominence of the wind instruments in the foreground if a scene calls for it. His orchestrations are very distinctive when comparing them to Williams and Courage.

FSMOnline have released their latest e-issue (subscription required). It continues their Superman coverage:

Superman "Main Title" comparison (film version vs composer's intended opening).
Wow, the original version works so much better. The flourishes are timed perfectly with the credits and animated background. I particularly like the music synching with the "Unsworth" and "Superman created by" credit. It's bloody marvellous.
The film version seems to pale in comparison now because of the pitch and the middle section doesn't sync with the animation. I'm sure there was a valid reason why they decided to swap the "Main Title" and "End Title." I've got a few theories swarming in my mind right now. I'll talk about it in the review.

There's an interview with Mike talking about the restoration of the scores. It includes new information, or should I say "Previously unreleased." ;)

STM score logs and recording sheets. Very interesting insight into what was recorded and when in a linear document.

Have a good Easter break. Adieu.

TUESDAY 11th

FINALLY!!! IT'S IN MY HANDS

I've received the blue box. Watch out for a super-duper review soon. There's too much to take in -- I'm drowning in music. This is more exciting than the DVD Ultimate Collection, as far as I'm concerned. You can see all the love dripping off this thing.

I've been ripping the music using ITUNES because CDex, which uses CDDB to download track info, can't locate the track-listings. The ITUNES MP3 ripper is not as good as others, but is quite acceptable for now.

I've included the DISC 8 material with their respective scores, for example, Superman III alternates and source cues run after the main score. I then use playlists to create a preferable listening order, one in ITUNES and one in Windows Media Player. I mostly stick to film order but with Superman I wanted the alternate "Planet Krypton" and "The Dome Opens" mixed into the film order.

Sonically speaking, Superman sounds pristine. It's like listening to a brand new score. Superman II sounds spacious and warm. Superman III sounds more aggressive than in the film -- I love the Predator-like percussion in one of the tracks. Superman IV sounds like it was scored today. I've yet to delve into the animated music.

SATURDAY 8th

BLUE BOX - LOW QUANTITY ALERT

Lukas:

There are less than 600 remaining of the 3,000-qty. blue box first edition. There WILL be a second edition but we are waiting on a few answers from our manufacturer before a final decision about whether it will be the same format as the first. Also, the second edition may not be in stock for a couple of months so you may want to purchase now to avoid the dreaded "backorder" notice.

If you liked the blue box, FSM BOX 01 -- Elmer Bernstein's Film Music Collection, in the same box-and-book format, with 12 discs -- is still on sale, but it too has less than 600 remaining out of the 2,000-qty. edition.

Thanks to the many people who have sent their nice words to us and posted comments online. We appreciate all the feedback and are happy to answer questions.

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As I was lying in bed this morning I was waiting for the "THUNK" sound downstairs. I didn't even hear the whining porch door open. I guess my blue box reached a fork and has decided to take the longest route possible to reach its destination. The agonising wait continues... :( Korngold's Don Juan is keeping me company right now and I've just talked myself into buying the Arista Star Wars Anthology soundtrack set, the one which was released before Lucas's revisionist films. I want the "original"l Jedi ending. Okay, I don't really need it. The 97 SE CDs have served me well. I might as well grab the original E.T. album as well because it features several concert versions of the main themes which are not featured on the expanded reissues.

FRIDAY 7th

ILYA CHECKS IN

Ilya Salkind says "Hi". He's received the Superman soundtrack box-set and his exact words were: "This is mindboggling. It's astounding." He was very happy for Ken Thorne.

I forgot all about Superman's 70th birthday on the 29th Feb. A bunch of celebs left birthday messages at Superman Homepage including Ilya Salkind:

"Happy Birthday to the one and only Superhero who has his birthday on a leap year, the 29th of February. Your wonderful altruistic nature that propels you to care more for others than yourself is truly an inspiration, as was proved by Chris Reeve, who had the honor of being the Man of Steel in all facets of his life. I'm confident that gradually humanity will learn from your generosity and sense of self-sacrifice. I know that you have been the one who steered my life towards the light. I now understand the values that make a true immortal hero. So, from a student to the master, Happy 70th and definitely, many, many, many returns."

Read all the messages here.

He does know of about Selutron's efforts to reimagine Superman II Donner Cut , but he doesn't have an opinion that he wishes to share at this time.

We touched upon the subject of Superboy season 2. There are still no plans to issue it. We can only encourage you to continue to write to Warner Home Video. Season 2 is really when the series shifted upwards and became a hit and should have been released along with season 1.

I think that was it.

TUESDAY 4th

SUPERMAN VS HOLLYWOOD

Hey, guys, I received "Superman vs Hollywood" last week and finished it within five days. Jake Rossen has a very progressive and smart writing style. It's a breeze to read and very addictive. I'm not a fan of the other incarnations of Superman except the "Salkind films" but it was illuminating to read about the history of the character in its various media adventures.

A lot of the book trudges in murky waters: Superman, as a demigod character, and the Faustian-type "property holders" exist in a phantom zone paradox. Consider the virtues of Superman and then contrast that with the ruthless studios who bludgeoned its creators into submission of poverty. I would love to see Ilya take on the Siegel and Shuster project, but I don't see how it could ever tip-toe through the quicksand without sinking into the hellish nightmare that the creators suffered and not alerting the ire of certain elements, which would drop lawsuits heavier than an anvil. I suspect that Ilya's project wouldn't have dealt with the bitter aftermath, though. The Salkinds were instrumental in pushing for the creators to be acknowledged.

It's nice to read someone singing the praises of Lester's Superman II. Jake is quite fair in his assessment of the sequel. I do think that Lester's film - or any other film, for that matter - can't be labelled as right or wrong (this isn't about morality or correctness) it's really about vision, or an opinion, of the material. You either agree or disagree. In many of Lester's film the auteur exhibits irony. When the villains claim to rule the world, they've only conquered a small town. It's very deliberate and falls into his sensibilities. The book suggests that Lester had final cut on Superman II, a pre-requisite before signing on; Ilya says that was not true. The producers always had final cut on every film they made, but they made sure that it was a collaborative affair.

Jack O' Halloran doesn't hold back his punches. He paints Christopher Reeve as an egotist who outgrew his red boots, but he praises him for his nobility in later life. Tom Mankiewicz provides some interesting commentary; he's much softer on Pierre than Donner is. Ilya Salkind's comments are very welcomed, giving an insight from his point of view.

The best material is clearly the Jon Peters years. This has to be the most bizarre section of Superman's film history. I'd forgotten about the various drafts that were commissioned. Remember Alex Ford? Even his story is covered. Gee, that was 8 years ago!!! I still remember the script that was sent to me. Dan Gilroy, I feel, gives a more balanced view of the indulgent producer, Jon Peters, than the extremes views of Kevin Smith, for example. Peters was very passionate about the property, that much is clear, but he evidently didn't understand what the public wanted and he was thinking primarily about toys rather than letting a film story dictate its offshoots. Maybe I'm in the minority but it would have been interesting to have a Superman who doesn't fly but could leap tall buildings. I want to see something different but I understand why fans would be reticent to such a notion. This is, perhaps, an unfair example of a radical change: I remember the vitriolic discussions and the aggressive finger-pointing when it was announced that Spider-man's intelligence was apparently being dumbed-down. In the comics Peter Parker constructed the web-shooters; it was an essential conceit of the character. When the film came out, fans accepted that the organic web-shooters didn't take-away from the story of Peter Parker. I don't see why Superman couldn't lose the power of flight, at least for one film. I see a lot of interesting stories flooding my mind by just losing one of his primary abilities. Of course he'd regain flight at some point.

Personally, I'd have gone with someone who can write in the adventure idiom but isn't a comic book fan per se. It requires someone with no baggage, that's why I have such an admiration for Nicolas Meyer. The guy wasn't into Star Trek but understood it immediately and knew what was required to steer the ship back towards its roots. There is a good reason why Star Trek 2, 4 and 6 are held in high esteem. It would have been interesting to see Tim Burton's Superman come to fruition.

Anyway, back to the book:
The only bit of trivia regarding the "new movie" that was missing was our campaign to get Donner to helm the fifth film. If you remember, 8 years ago Donner marched to Warner Bros. carrying our letters of support but he was shot down because he'd already directed a Superman film.

All the movies and TV shows are covered in detail, and if you are a comic ignoramus like me then the fascinating comic book trivia will imbue you with knowledge of how that particular industry works and what changes were occurring in the source material. In the relevant chapters the comic book material runs parallel with the film-stuff shenanigans.

I highly recommend this book.