Superman II - WTF Happened To This Movie?

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I want you to hit me as hard as you can before superhero movies came out every other month making a film based on a comic book was considered juvenile and impossible then came Superman the movie proving that superheroes could be done on the silver screen was not only thrilling sequences and fantastic effects but with grace and sincerity but with Superman - a lesson in Hollywood hubris was given but not learned egos and superheroes loyalties and royalties doomed a franchise just as of a gun to fly begging the question what stuff tap into this movie in 1974 European producer Alexander Salkind and his son Illya purchased the film rights to Superman the salkinds reputation in the film industry was notorious to give you an idea of their less than reputable business practices in 1973 they produced a four-hour version of The Three Musketeers directed by Richard Lester the film was too long to be put into theaters and the salkinds decided to cut the film in two and released the four musketeers a year later however they only paid the cast and crew for one film leading to an onslaught of lawsuits but the salkinds were nothing if not ambitious spurred by the enormous success of Jaws they knew blockbusters were the future and their ticket to the big time was Superman outside of the many Zorro films and the campy Batman movie in 1966 a big-budget serious take on a comic book had never been done before and no Superman and the mole men doesn't count and from the very start the salkinds envisions Superman as a to film epic to Warner Brothers that was a huge risk to give the Salkin his credit they saw I guess the future and making a film out of Superman which nobody did Warner's actually owned DC Comics they could have made it any time they wanted to nobody thought that this would make a very good picture Warner Brothers gave the salkinds a negative pick up deal which meant the salkinds had to make the entire film themselves and once it was completed Warner Brothers would pay them back this allowed Warner Brothers to shoulder the blame the salkinds if the film turned out to be a complete turd the salkinds were off to the races approaching every a list writer and director in Hollywood that would sit down with him their first win was Godfather writers Mario Puzo who delivered a table breaking 500 page script then after people like Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg turned down directing duties the salkinds booked for time James Bond director guy Hamilton next it was on to casting in the beginning of 1975 the Salkind scored a meeting with Marlon Brando he demanded a record-breaking 3.7 million to star as jor-el and an insane 11% of the box-office gross the salkinds didn't care because with Brando's name attached the film had clout Marlon was the crystal that made this the crystal like in the film that made this happen okay because the moment Marlon Brando said yes Gene Hackman wants to be in the picture Warner Brothers very quickly said we want the picture for you United States pickup guarantee and that was the picture was only that she was born the salkinds hit their first snag when determining which country would be the cheapest to shoot in at first it was set for Italy but Brando couldn't film there since he had a warrant for his arrest because of the rape scene from Last Tango in Paris if production moved to England it would save them millions but Hamilton couldn't direct because he fled the country to avoid paying taxes a real classy group these guys the salkinds chose Brando over Hamilton and moved production to the legendary Pinewood Studios in England the search for a new director began while Robert Benton with husband and wife duo David and Leslie Newman were hired for rewrites bringing the script down to a still massive 400 pages in January 1977 the salkinds chose Richard Donner to direct Superman after enjoying his hit film The Omen a sitting on the toilet on a Sunday morning and the phone rang and this strange Hungarian voice said this is Alexander so honey I'm making Superman I said well that's great I would like you to direct him he said it's two pictures he said I'll pay you a million dollars I said hey Toria you know where do you live and how do I see it and so overnight my life turned around because Brando had an unmovable shooting date Donner had only 11 weeks to prepare despite that he decided to completely overhaul the two pictures he immediately ditched the script with his overly goofy tone as he felt it didn't respect the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Donner believed that Superman was a true piece of Americana and he deserved to be treated like the American icon he was Donner enlisted his friend and five-time James Bond scribe Tom mankiewicz to help rewrite the script Donner instructed mankiewicz to make the love story work then everything else would fall into place though he rewrote most of the script the Writers Guild refused to credit mankiewicz so Donner gave him a creative consultant credit the salkinds still wanted a big star for Clark Kent but with Brando and Hackman fully on board this allowed Donner some freedom he maintained that the audience wouldn't believe someone like Robert Redford flying around as the Man of Steel in came the unknown six-foot-five theatre actor Christopher Reeve they screen-tested Reeve in February of 1977 in the suit he was a skinny hundred and seventy pounds and was sweating like crazy but the moment he came on-screen Donner and the rest instantly knew it had to be him Reeve trained with body builder and Darth Vader himself David Prowse to put on 40 pounds of muscle by the time they started shooting Reeve was Superman production began in March of 1977 and immediately it was clear how much Donner had on his plate since they were doing two films at once they would film on one set every scene they needed for Superman 1 and 2 before moving on to the next location filming was exhausting and keeping the continuity straight was a mental jigsaw puzzle throughout Donner kept morale up with jokes and pranks and always making time on set fun Donner's most difficult task was getting the audience to believe that Superman could fly all the tests that were done prior to coming on which apparently cost the salkinds millions were laughable dummies being shot out of cannons gliders shaped like soups and even traditional animation it took a year and a half to get it right but they figured it out with a combination of advanced wire rigs and a complicated front projection system both invented for the film it worked so well the whole marketing campaign was designed around the phrase you will believe a man can fly quickly the salkinds returned to their corner-cutting ways the two of them and producer Pierre Spangler hassled Donner on a daily basis saying he was behind schedule and over budget but Donner said he never got a budget during his entire time on the project Warner Brothers loved what they were seeing in the dailies so when the salkinds came to them about running out of money the two parties negotiated TV rights and international distribution the salkinds whole MO was to make cash cows out of their productions and the more money Warner Brothers gave them the more they lost control and royalties they took these frustrations out on Donner who in turn grew to hate the salkinds and especially Spangler it got so bad I just I couldn't talk to them I just I couldn't stand the sight of them quite honestly you know stay away from me say you off the goddamn set in July the salkinds brought in director Richard luster to be a go-between Donner and the producers Lester was still mid lawsuit with the salkinds over not receiving full compensation for his work on the musketeer films rumored Lee he made some devil's bargain with the salkinds help production on Superman in return he would be paid the money he was owed but the salkinds have since admitted that they deliberately wanted someone in place in the event that they did fire Donner or he quit this obviously created anxiety on the set at any point Donner could be gone while his actors and main creative crew rallied around him as they all had grown very close he hid the conflicts from them it was a lonely period it was a long period it was tiring it was exhausting but I had taken on the project of making Superman and damn it nothing was gonna stop me as production moved into 1978 they realized they could possibly release part one in June just in time for the 40th anniversary of Action Comics number one the first appearance of Superman but the money was actually starting to run out it was decided to focus solely on one film because if the first film was a bomb they would never be able to finish the second production lasted 19 months ending in October of 1978 at that point Donner had completed part 1 and had 75% of Part 2 in the can the planned ending of part 1 was Superman throwing the nuke into space which explodes releasing Zod and his minions from their prison they begin flying towards Earth cut to black roll credits but what if they teased a sequel that no one wanted the original ending of Part two was Lois Lane's death followed by Superman reversing time since most of the effects were completed for the sequence and it cost so much to do they decided to place this finale into part one just in case part two didn't happen the salkinds never let Donner preview the film for a test audience so the first showing was its / meaner with President Jimmy Carter in attendance Siegel and Shuster were invited to the premiere and at the end of the premiere they both came over and just thanked me profusely I was crying and I got caught up in it it was the most moving moment I think I've ever had in the business and will ever have on December 15 1978 the most expensive film ever made Superman the movie hit theaters and it took the world by storm while today's audience will find the film a bit of a bore and most of the effects have not aged well at the time Superman was delightfully inspiring and a sight to behold and to this day John Williams iconic score is synonymous with the superhero it was number one at the box office for 13 straight weeks making a total of a hundred and thirty-four million in the United States adjusted for inflation it's still the highest grossing Superman film and it won an Oscar for those visual effects by the way even now the film is widely considered the blueprint to how to make a superhero origin film I was very very very proud of the picture not in its size and the fact that it was the number 1 for 1 or Sony and that's up the fact that we pulled this all off that an audience sat in that theater and they got the same charge I did when I sat in dailies I saw Christopher Reeve fly from one end of the stage to the other and people went oh I just sucked in their breath in the early part of 1979 as Superman continued its box office domination the salkinds began prepping for Superman to Donner and Mako wits came up with a new ending for the film and even had ideas for sequels however the feud between Donna and the salkinds had spilled into the public Variety ran an article saying that Donner would not return at Pierre Spangler remained a producer he also attacked the salkinds decision to remove Brando entirely from part two to avoid paying his 11 percent of the grosses despite all the money and accolades Superman won earned the salkinds chose Spangler over Donner I mean I was ready to go and I get a telegram one day it says your services will no longer been here Richard Lester shaking over the salkinds ultimate gamble finally came to fruition with Donner gone Lester could finish part two with minimal fuss nobody disliked Richard Lester I mean Richard Lester's like a wonderful director but the point was that Richard Lester came in to do a very complicated gig he knew we were all in love with Richard Donner the Sorkin's had chosen him because they knew that he was an economic director could bring things in on budget most of the creative team did not return cinematographer Jeffery Unsworth unfortunately died shortly before Superman won had come out as did production designer John Barry the following year mankiewicz was asked to return but didn't add a respect for Donner requiring the salkinds to bring back David and Leslie Newman for rewrites the duo had to create a new beginning and ending adding the Eiffel Tower terrorist attack and Superman's memory-wiping kiss 75% of Part two had already been completed by Donner but for Lester to receive full directing credit he had to have shot 50% so when production started up again in September of 1979 Lester had two goals finished the scenes not yet filmed such as the villains arrival in the Midwest and the climactic battle in Metropolis and reshoot sequences so he could earn his directing credit the Newman's as Margot Kidder put it hastily rewrote the Niagara fall scenes for this purpose including how Louis tests Clark then ultimately discovering his secret with Brando out his scenes were replaced with Superman's mother and Hackman declined returning for pickups forcing Lester to use a body and voice double for Lex Luthor Lester also didn't share Donna's vision for a mythical epic stating that he preferred quirky and silly hence why the movie is chock-full of jokes and sight gags he also added all those random-ass powers Superman has like the saran wrap and that kiss Lester went as far as shooting inserts into Donner scenes so he could hit his 50% all of this made a bit awkward and workman like you know dick with dick donger you find things you know there's there's a family to it Richard Lester came in there was nothing close to a family atmosphere production finished in March of 1980 the final edit of the movie preserves about 30 to 40 percent of Donner's original footage warner brothers attempted to get Donner co-directing credit but he simply replied I don't share credit John Williams came back to discuss scoring the film but when the salkinds left him and Lester and a room together they got into a fight Williams walked out saying he could not get along with this man ken Thorne replaced him Superman 2 released on December 4th 1980 back then it received great reviews some calling it better than the first even Reeve himself now the behind-the-scenes drama highlights the issues of the film with most considering an inferior to the original the film still did well making a hundred and eight million in the United States but its international release struggled a bit thanks to the competition of Raiders of the Lost Ark over two decades after its initial release editor Michael foe was working on the restoration of Superman the movie for the DVD release in 2001 during the project he discovered hours of lost footage from both films inside the warner brothers fault for years warner brothers received thousands of letters and were hounded by multiple fan sites asking them to release a Donner cut of Superman to sound familiar though began floating the idea of having Donna recut the film to Warner Brothers who were interested however legal issues kept it from being a reality five years later Bryan Singer worked with Brando's estate to use the unused footage of the actor to be placed in Superman Returns using some CG trickery this opened the door for Warner Brothers to ask about using his discarded scenes for the Donner cut as thou said if that footage couldn't be used it wasn't worth doing the prod luckily they said yes in the tail end of 2005 found started working on the new version but it took nearly six months to get Donner to join the project along with Mako wit's they provided feedback as that went along when we did find the footage and it took months and months and months dick came over and saw all the scenes he also didn't want to deal too much with the Lester scenes that needed to be left in to make a complete story but I realized after a while that he had been familiar with those scenes and they heard him I think that that was always a sore spot a lot of the editing by foul involved a painstaking process of uncut original negatives to reconstruct the film they also completed nearly two hundred effect shots deliberately made to look like the late 70s reconstructing this film is not only rare but it's probably unique in film history the Donner cut removes most of Lester's slapstick moments and contains multiple scenes never before seen the original opening with Lois figuring out Clark's identity by drawing on a picture of Superman then jumping out of a window hoping he proved her right and everything with Brando which gives Supes decision to become human so much more wait Donner and though even used a screen test where Lois uses a gun on Clark because the scene was never shot you realize of course if you'd been wrong Clark Kent would have been killed the one thing they didn't have was an ending it was either Lester's hypno kiss or returned to the scripts original ending of Superman turning back time they went with the latter and it's clearly less polished and a sore spot for this version Superman to the Richard Donner cut released on November 28th 2006 on DVD undoing a nearly three decades old mistake in the Sultan's short-sighted plan of choosing money over quality they sabotaged the very franchise they wanted to build thankfully Warner Brothers gave Richard Donner second chance at Superman allowing closure for him and the millions of his fans that questioned what if since then Superman the patron saint of comic books has been treated with the utmost care and respect that I can't even finish the sentence [Music] you

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Channel: JoBlo Videos

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Rating: 4.8321075 out of 5

Keywords: joblo, joblo videos, joblo movie trailers, superman, superman II, superman 2, richard donner, christopher reeve, margot kidder, 1980, gene hackman, ned beatty, jackie cooper, terence stamp, wtf happened to this movie, wtf, the donner cut, behind the scenes, superman 2 behind the scenes, movie, joblo what happened, donner cut, superman debacle

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Length: 19min 57sec (1197 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 15 2019

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