Q1. When Superman III went into production were you again Lester's first choice?
A. I'm sure there were discussions regarding the music as there would have been in all other areas of the movie. "SM2" had been a happy experience which probably had something to do with the decision to give me this assignment. When I first sat through the movie in a Pinewood viewing theatre I was disappointed. The premise of a drunken Superman didn't appeal to me at all, and the comedic elements seemed forced and unfunny. However, I very much wanted to work with Richard Lester and his crew again so I took it on. It proved to be a really tough job!

Q2. This film was not going to be reworking of the original score, did you find it refreshing to add some of own magic to the film?
A. Yes, I was glad to have more of a free hand. The John Williams' Superman march was still thought to be essential to the character, as was some other material, and I always worked with this in mind. Giorgio Moroder also contributed songs for the movie but in the end they were not used.

Q3. Was the same orchestra used?
A. Yes, pretty much the same lineup and the same studio.

Q4. Where you given more time to score the film?
A. Yes, this time I was "in" on the film earlier than I had been on "SM2."

Q5. Do you prefer to use a smaller orchestra than the typical larger LSO?
A. The only difference in size lies in the violins, violas, and basses. Here again the acoustics of the studio play an important part in choosing numbers. I used three flutes, but only two oboes. then again, three clarinets, but only two bassoons. The brass and percussion etc. were full strength.

Q6. How did you come up with the theme opening theme to Superman III?
A. The opening sequence was written so as to set the comedic tone of the picture, and I used the Superman theme in an abbreviated form for the rescue of the drowning man in the car.

Q7. Why didn't Lester start the film with the credits in space with the classic theme tune?
A. I'm sure he wanted to get away from a format that had already been done twice.

Q8. All the Superman fans favourite music from the film has to be when Superman enters the canyon and gets shot at from different directions from the super computer, the piece never turned up on the soundtrack which was very disappointing, how did you come up with this fantastic score for this scene?
A. In the same way that wagner used the 'leit motiv' to represent a character in his operas, it always seemed to me to be appropriate to use that John Williams' key musical phrase when we are watching Superman the hero in action - That is the basis for this cue overlaid with dramatic orchestration to enhance the visual.

Q9. Did you enjoy coming up with the Gus Gorman theme? I have noticed that some of cues have appeared in some of your earlier work.
A. The Gus Gorman theme was really secondary. It wasn't enjoyable and gave me no pleasure.

Q10. You mention Moroder earlier, did he have much input in the overall design of the "pop music?", what was his overall motif to the films music?
A. To the best of my knowledge he was engaged to write songs for the film but in the end it appeared they were not used. I have no idea who originally brought up the notion of songs....it always seemed an odd idea to me!

Q11. Do you like Henry Mancini, because your the only other composer to have scored a Pink Panther film, and the style is written all over S3?
A. I knew, and highly respected, Hank. In fact, when I was conducting for Andy Williams back in the seventies, he was doing the first half of the show with us at "Caesar's Palace" in Las Vegas! He was a great guy and a great talent and he really was the inventor of "the song score," where, in a movie, a theme song is used orchestrally in various ways as the background score.

Q12. When the Superman theme kicks in, you tend to use build up notes for each time he appears, which I think is great, Williams blended the theme in with the background notes, but you concentrated on the main theme as whole, why did you make that decision when scoring the film? Example (drops the ice slate on the chemical plant)
A. I felt that the "buildup notes" were exciting, and a perfect way of introducing the march at that moment, but in other parts of the score the march theme itself is varied quite a bit both melodically and rhythmically.

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