How challenging was the wire removal and colour correcting?

Colour correcting was just like the first film and there was not much wire removal, it's not challenging now, it was back then.

How much Donner footage is in the final cut?

About 80% not including end titles, I included the main titles as new footage because of the Oxford Scientific footage in the background and making it look like the original. I chose all the scientific footage.

Did you ever think about recapping the original film and intercut it with the main titles?

No, it's cheesy.

In the Lester cut, it runs for 5min 26 sec

That long, huh? Too long, ours is much shorter, 2 and a half - 3 minutes? In the original film it's too long, it just went on and on, but they had these big stars to celebrate.

CGI?

Right, the glass mask, main titles and end titles are computer generated. I'm sure you'll be surprised to know much of it was actually shot by Dick's model unit, I made a point of it to Dick today, look how good the Statue of Liberty [including explosion] and that long shot of Manhattan is, you guys did that during the shoot.
Yeah, around mid-77 October?

Yeah, something like that.

It was footage intended as part of the trailer for Dick's Superman 2.

Did Pacific Title get involved?

No, this was a process built out of post production. We produced the main titles, special effects and sound mix.

Superman slammed into the torch? I thought you lifted footage from elsewhere?

The bit where he gets off the remnants of the torch we had to paint the torch background in, we added some smoke etc. Then we had to somehow connect from the Statue to Manhattan, we took a flying shot and mirrored it. It was important to complete because it gave people a glimpse of what Dick's battle would've been like, it would've been violent and he'd have destroyed all of Manhattan. We were trying to stay true to the original film. What did you think of the battle?

I thought it was intense, no humour intercutting it.

Exactly! That's exactly what my intention was. I'm glad that it worked.

What else?

The romance subplot feels like a highlights package in the Donner cut. It cuts away too quick.

There's more in this version, the ending is all romance.

No, in the middle of the picture.

I agree with that. That was a casualty of the process.

What did you think of the screen test?

The Lester version plays sweeter.

Of course, it's professionally British.

Dick and Tom love that scene, that's why they were so adamant about having it in the film. It gives her an edge.

I guess it feels more comic bookie.

Why?

She's spunkier.

In the Lester version she's more sappy.

There were quite a few master shots used especially in the Daily Planet.

That's the way Dick shot it.

I'm not criticising it.

There wasn't any close-ups that I didn't use.

Did you ask actors to come back and reloop?

We asked Margot and she said her voice had dropped. Terence Stamp was in England.

When the phantom Zone breaks into three, was that your idea?

We came up with that because it was interesting way to release them. It kinda timed it with the music, BAM - BAM - BAM, and the blue Vortex was interesting. Most of it was shot, why did Richard Lester need to reshoot it? What to save money? Maybe the answer is that they wanted to get the Lester footage above 50%, I dunno.

Did Dick approve it?

Yeah. When I show something on Avid, if I have an idea I put a card in there, "Phantom Zone splits into three" with the music and sound effects going. And then we show him a rough animatronic.

What did you think of the pre-title sequence?
A little too long.
And?
Too long.
Too long, that's it?
Yeah, I think we should go straight into the picture. Think about it, Joe Bloggs would watch the first film and watch the second one soon after.
Yeah, but the people who buy the Christopher Reeve boxset (U.S. and Canada) will watch the Lester cut.
The Donner cut is standalone; it's a unique thing and they have to fully understand the history of it. But if you were to watch the first and then the second one, yeah you're right, the recap isn't needed.

The scene where you use the double and the voice artist says, "Lois what have you done?" couldn't you have used a line from another Superman film? It might not be the exact line but at least it'd sound authentic.

That's an interesting question. When we cut the scene, that shot wasn't in there. There was no coverage of Chris looking out of the window. And no records of anything. When I first cut it, I showed to Karen and Dick. Dick immediately said, wait a minute you got to have Chris's reaction. Dick thought he shot it; he even quoted the line to me instantly. I said, Dick, it's not in the script, but he was adamant he shot it. I never found it, and I searched high and dry for it. I don't think he shot it. He wanted that line in the film.
When we showed it at Comic Con, it got one of the biggest laughs. I tell him to this day that he was right to demand that line. You made us go and shoot it and it gets some of the big laughs. It allows the audience to laugh at the end of the tension sequence.

I thought he would've shot it because in the first film when Clark jumps out the window, you know, the set's already built might as well shoot the Superman II material. I looked for it for two months and specifically around that time period when he shot Clark jumping out of the window.

He was right about the blank bullets too, even though it's a screentest and the hair doesn't match. It makes the film better then again I don't have much of a choice [laughs], no, no, it's a great scene and I like it.

Did you go to New York?

Yeah. That was all shot but they never had Lois Lane falling down the exterior of the Daily Planet - the shot of looking down the awning when she bounces off it wasn't shot. I guess they'd have had to have the stuntwoman bounce from above the camera so I shot a green screen girl falling and bouncing. The bit where she's falling, the background was taken from the plates shot way back then where Clark jumps out of the window.

The way Dick shot the scene where Clark runs through the Planet was great, he made everyone freeze and Chris ran as fast he could and then released all the actors and the girl's skirt flies up etc.

I loved that scene.

Yeah, that's Dick's humour. And then we blurred and stylized Chris's motion.

Okay, where Clark runs out to the exterior shot and uses his x-ray vision that was a bit too long because passers by would notice it.
That's the way Dick shot the scene.
Yeah, but I thought you might have cut it down to a minute second.
It's quite quick actually. Watch it again, in the movie screen time it's nothing, you guys are picking. It's not like he's standing there for five seconds and burning that thing. I think it's 2 seconds at most. Dick had that guy react to it, like what was that? But didn't know where it came from. We didn't put that boomerang sound in when the awning drops.
The scene where her face is covered in tomatoes is classic Dick Donner humour. Everyone loves that scene. It takes you right back to the first film, nothing has changed.

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