>>MONDAY 18th OCTOBER

DVD REVIEW UK

The latest issue of DVD REVIEW is now on U.K. newstands. It's all about Donner's Superman 2, included are some of my quotes plus capedwonder and SupermanHomepage.

Donner cancelled all his engagements last week; according to a friend, he's absolutely devastated
:( I hope we'll hear something from the great man soon.

>>WEDNESDAY 13th OCTOBER

RETROVISION BACK ISSUE

Ed Gross:
A couple of years ago we did an issue that featured my 51-page retrospective of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, with another 20-pages devoted to the history of the character in comics.

While we've been offering this back issue for sale since its publication (I believe we have two cases left), I wanted to spread the word that in tribute to Christopher Reeve, we want to donate 50% of the proceeds from each issue sold to the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

the magazine's url is www.retrovisionmag.com.

THANKS

I've received so many emails, that it's impossible to reply to all, but I thank everyone for their contribution. Nice to see the old gang back on the message board, feels like 2000 again, just unfortunate current circumstances :(

>>SUNDAY 3rd OCTOBER

DVD REVIEW MAGAZINE UNCUT QUOTES

I was asked to go on the record for the DVD REVIEW article [see last month's news] on the campaign to re-release a Donner cut of Superman 2. The editor picked up a few quotes from my lengthy responses; here are my uncut answers to the questions.

Questions by author: James Christie.

1) Why is it so important to see this version of Superman II?
A lot of people worked their asses off on these films; it would be a nice tribute to their efforts that their work on the sequel was not in vain. Show the audience that the story wouldn't have lost its sense of self-importance in the sequel. Unfortunately, the current Superman 2 picture loses its importance, it really lacks a big heart, and a passion for the material is not there. With all due respect to Lester, who is an excellent director, his interest in the film was more to do with getting his lost earnings. I've never read a Superman comic; I don't read comic books period, but when a character like Superman has such a huge following you don't mess around by giving new powers. Still, Lester did a good job; he had no experiencing directing a film like Superman, but delivered a decent product under pressure.
Another reason: When you have Marlon Brando, one of the iconic actors of the 20th century starring in a comic book film, you simply don't throw away the negatives. Jor-El sacrifices his life in order for Superman to return is a pivotal scene in the Superman series and completes the circle: father becomes the son, the son becomes the father. Finally, it would be a fitting closure to the Superman saga for Donner.

2) Can fan power really make a difference?
Yes, to a certain extent; WB were not even considering a Superman 2 Special Edition until they asked Hometheaterforum.com to conducted a survey to see which films fans wanted to see released as Special Edition DVD set; Superman 2 came tops. Would it have come tops a year ago? Maybe not, but more and more are being educated that there's a such convoluted history to the making of the sequel that virtually every film fan who partake on the various DVD forum sites wants to see what Donner and Mankiewicz had originally lined up.
Recently, the president of WB Home Video finally said that they were interested in a Superman 2 DVD but had to overcome the legal hurdles. In this instance, fan power has made a difference, but it has taken a few years to get to this position. I'll only give up pursuing when the final decision is made by Warner Bros.

3) What do you think the major stumbling blocks have been before now, and why?

Donner's uncertainty has been rather odd, one day he's interested, and the other he wants nothing to do with it. This has been going on since the DVD release in 2001. I can understand his reluctance at times, those years were a huge burden on him, and maybe he didn't really recover from that experience.
The major stumbling block are legal the entanglements, a few hands were dipped into making the picture; who actually owns the footage? Pueblo film, which I believe has connections to the Salkind Company; if you remember they tried to file a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in 2001 for releasing a different cut of Superman the Movie without their permission, in my opinion an inferior version. Then we have Brando, although passed away; does his estate have an interest? I don't think so, but you can never be sure in the film business, there's always someone waiting in the shadows to strike.
And finally, does the footage exist? Was it destroyed; well it looks like it has survived, currently stored in Pinewood Studios. It's vital that someone makes sure that all the footage is accounted for at an early stage. Warner Bros. should do that now.
4) What would be the dream final outcome to this campaign for you and your website readers?
A 2 disc DVD set, theatrical cut re-mastered and in 5.1. The 2nd disc featuring all the Donner footage including the material used in the Lester cut; maybe have cards for the missing scenes. A commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz would be terrific. I think everyone would be happy with that outcome. Once that this done, I can finally move onto new projects and leave the website dormant. All this work has taken up a lot of my time, I just want it to end, and I can only do that once the Superman 2 saga comes full circle.

4) To the best of your knowledge, have there been any similar precedents to this campaign to lobby Warners?
Probably have, but don't recall any recent lobbying which has had such large backing from all areas of the film fan network on the internet.