INTRODUCTION

For any film project that goes into production, the major element that is critical to its completion is the film's screenplay. The screenplay serves as a blueprint to what the final product will become, and during filming the screenwriter, director, or even the actors can suggest creative enhancements to improve the flow of the story, from minor changes such as line removals or reversals, to major overhauls in key sequences due to excessive budget costs or business decisions from studio heads attempting to determine what the audience wants to see on screen. In many cases story meetings are necessary to improve or revise the story to strengthen character motivation to a natural flow. The relationship between screenwriter and director must be symbiotic, in order for the integrity of the material to be maintained throughout filming, post-production, and editing. With many writer-directors such as George Lucas, James Cameron, Woody Allen, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Townsend, Nicholas Meyer, and Spike Lee assuming both responsibilities, the creative decisions in writing fall solely on their shoulders.

When Alexander and Ilya Salkind bought the film rights to "Superman" in 1973-74, their concern was to produce a feature film whose story honored its comic-book origins yet brought then-contemporary audiences a new spin on a classic legend. This led to many meetings with DC Comics and their parent owner Warner Communications, who had creative control over the Superman property. Stated Ilya Salkind, "...we telephoned our initial overtures from Paris, and, not surprisingly, they didn't take us very seriously. But Alex isn't discouraged easily, and we made a few more phone calls and soon they started listening. Obviously the impact of ("The Three Musketeers" and its ready-made sequel "The Four Musketeers") was working in our favor."  Added Pierre Spengler, line producer of the first three films in the series, "It was the mechanics of preserving the 'Superman' character that made it all so intricate, because neither side wanted to give up too much control. Having veto power over selection of the screenwriter... lists of names were submitted."
But the elder Salkind held his position with Warner Bros., and the success of the "Musketeers" movies gave him that bargaining power with Warner Bros. "When Ilya mentioned it, I started reading all the stuff about it, and I believed it could be very good as a major film," stated Salkind, "if it would be done right."

Initially Ilya Salkind approached William Goldman, one of the most successful screenwriters of the 1970's, to write a first-draft screenplay. Despite his interest in the project, he was unclear as to what treatment the Salkinds wanted, so he politely declined. They turned their attention to Mario Puzo. The acclaimed writer of "The Godfather" had just scored a dual success with his magnum opus being adapted by Francis Ford Coppola into two highly successful Academy Award-winning films in 1972 and 1974, when he desired to pursue a new story of a different magnitude. The timing couldn't have been better. It seemed like the perfect combination: the mythic nature of the Man of Steel and Puzo's commitment to strong storytelling, plot, and character development. And with Puzo's name recognition in Hollywood, thanks to the success of the "Godfather" films, his vision of Superman would be equally epic in nature.

Through three separate film treatments the story of both "Superman" and "Superman II" presented a challenge not only to Puzo but also to his successors who would mold and re-mold his story into the final product we all know and love. This series of articles will chronicle the evolution of the "Superman" films from the screenplay's point of view, from initial concept to rewrite, to shooting script, to final product.

But along the way something from the treatments got excised. What survived into the final film and what didn't? How do the scripts compare and contrast to the final product? And why were such revisions in the script necessary? To look at such changes and revisions and excisions, one need only look at where it all began, the story of "Superman"...

Come with me now, my readers, as we break through the bonds of our written confinement, traveling through time and space, to the beginning of the story of "Superman"...

PART 2 - The PUZO Treatment