SUPERMAN II - THE RICHARD DONNER CUT - DGA SCREENING REPORTS

INITAL REPORT
I met and got a picture with Donner. I thanked him for all his hard work, and congratulated him for the amazing accomplishment, finally finishing his film and all that. He seemed very happy all around, and was incredibly gracious.

Then there's Ilya Salkind.

We went to dinner after the screening, and he sat right across from us. We thanked him for his great work, and the man was incredibly generous and spoke to us for a very long time about the whole Superman sheebang. I mentioned I looked forward to reading part II of his interview on Superman Cinema, he said you were great, and he loved both your site and Superman Homepage.

I believe someone was interviewing him at the meal, but it could've been just a friend of his, but he looked over at us after we thanked Ilya and asked "So are you guys like real Superman fans?" We said sure, which got us the response "Ok then, name three girlfriends of Superman with the initials LL." I barely got it the question right, but with that out of the way, he certified us legit. Very jovial light hearted conversation all around. From talking with the man, I will personally attest, if he said (or shouted) anything during the screening, it was with a smile. He was laughing about the whole affair when I saw him at the screening, and of course at the dinner.

The big screen presentation was glorious, and they make an awesome Krytontini (sour apple martini). I'll then throw out comments about what was happening during the Q & A later. I was sitting 2 rows in front of Donner, Singer, and Routh, and got to see some of their reactions. I'll pass along as much as I remember.

As for the film itself? Keep your expectations low, and you should have no problem enjoying yourself. There's tons to complain about, but really no one should. There's an incredible amount of new stuff to enjoy, even for the hardcore fans. The new material is a joy to see. I count myself as a grateful fan, and I'll be putting my money where my mouth is when it hits the streets.

More later...

And here's more

Back for more, Donner's big night...part 2.

If your bothering to read this, you probably want some good dirt on what happened at the DGA screening of "Superman II: The Richard
Donner Cut." But why bother with juicy anecdotes? Thanks to the one and only Jim Bowers of "CapedWonder.com" you no longer need to imagine what happened, just head on over to his site and take a listen to the whole amazing event, minus the film of course. He's
graciously offered to host some audio recordings that were made, and needless to say, it wouldn't be CapedWonder without Superman imagery. You can catch of glimpse of the event with some exclusive pictures taken specifically for his site.

The recording isn't the best during the loud audio moments, but the voices are there, and that's all that really matters. The first part
is the introduction to the movie, with a nice moment given to the main man of the night, Donner himself. The movie begins, and some of
the clapping you're hearing is for Chris Reeve's well deserved dedication. You'll hear the opening to the film, and the credits sequence. Part 2 is the end credits, and of course the Q&A. The entire before and after presentations are complete, and unedited.

Listening to these recordings is a wonderful theater of the mind experience, so here's a few images to throw into your noggin while
listening. When Marc McClure tells his story about how he landed the role of Jimmy, Donner gets so perplexed he actually starts hopping
his chair away from him! Also, when Donner starts talking about Brandon Routh, he did indeed get emotional, and Brandon seemed quite
moved as well for the recognition. The wonderful Margot Kidder was in very raw form with some colorful comments, and one particularly rude gesture which got quite a nice laugh. The gesture itself wasn't that rude, she was simply wiping her mouth, but in the context of what she was saying...well...you'll get the idea. Oh, and Sarah Douglas has incredible legs. The pics speak for themselves.

Other bits...

When people's names were announced, they stood for their applause.
Donner himself told Singer in front of everyone exactly what his "Superman Returns" sequel should be about.
Many of the famous attendees signed autographs for people who wanted them after the show.
And finally, a mysterious bald man (Try sleeping at night buster?)with no shirt was caught tagging Donner's limo, no charges were filed out of pity.
Seeing Donner get his long overdue credit for "Superman II" was a once in a lifetime experience. Congratulations to Richard Donner, and a big thank you to Warner Brothers for making this project happen.

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