Superman Returns New details on S2's fit in SR...

[Superman \S/]

SFX wouldnt print it if it was 'BS'. All those quotes were from Singer and the writers.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231131

Even check out blog 17#, the 2 writers mentioned only the first movie as SR's history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiUnw4RiZWE

 

[LuvSupes]

Here's a scan of that part in the article, click twice to enlarge to read:

 

[Superman \S/]

^ Thanks and welcome to the Hype.

 

[Captain Villa]

SFX wouldnt print it if it was 'BS'. All those quotes were from Singer and the writers.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231131

Even check out blog 17#, the 2 writers mentioned only the first movie as SR's history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiUnw4RiZWE

The media does it all the time.

Infact, Empire this month says completely the opposite and calls it "Superman 2.1/2"

I'm not having it, tbf after listening to Singers interviews for nigh on 2 years, to know be told this - It is BS.

 

[Kane]

What does the media have to do with Singer's own words? Was the Empire article even quoting Bryan like SFX did, or was the writer of the article just saying his own thing..

 

[itflies]

It's very confusing really, as I read a new article the other day where Bryan said that the film is, for lack of a better term, a "sequel" to Superman II. It seems like this was from the new Wizard article. I read it about 5 minutes after reading the article from Script magazine where Mike and Dan say that it's a sequel to the first film only. Then they say that doesn't mean II-IV didn't happen, but it doesn't mean they did happen either. Then, I think later that day, I read the article that is quoted in this thread's original post. I actually found it a little funny. At the beginning of all this, before Bryan even began shooting, there was the same discrepancy between his interviews. It's just interesting that it still continues today. Perhaps he's only thinking of the sexual element from Superman II when he includes it "in continuity" when giving interviews.

 

[Captain Villa]

What does the media have to do with Singer's own words? Was the Empire article even quoting Bryan like SFX did, or was the writer of the article just saying his own thing..

Part of it is during an interview with Richard Donner.......

EMPIRE: That brings us nicely to Superman. Did you go after that or was it brought to you?

DONNER: I was home on a Sunday morning, sitting on the John after a bad Saturday night. The phone rings and this guy says, "This is Alexander Salkind." I said, "What do you want? It's Sunday." He said, "Do you know who I am?" I said no. He said, "I'm one of the most important producers in the United States." Well, I'd never heard of him and I told him so. He said, "Did you see The Three Musketeers? I produced that." I said, "Oh, and you produced The Four Musketeers. I've heard of you. You didn't pay them for the second one and you tried to get away with it..." Then he asked me to direct Superman and said he'd give me a million dollars. I thought this guy had to be some nut. A million dollars was like all the tea in China. Little did I know it was going to be two pictures and take four years of my life. So he said he was going to send me the script and I wrote everything he said down on a little card: Marion Brando: 2.5 weeks; Gene Hackman: 8.5 weeks; the name of the director who'd dropped out. I put it all on a little card, which I now have framed. I got the zeroes wrong on the million because I'd never written a million before. Then, later that day, this telephone book of a script arrived, because it was two movies. God, it was so badly written. The essence was there but it was terrible. There were things like Superman flying down to look for Lex Luthor and tapping this guy on the shoulder and the guy turns around and it's Telly Savalas, who says, "Who d'ya love, baby?" It was two guys from Hungary who had a Costa Rican passport, where they had never been, and they had an English director shooting in Italy. I called my agent and said I had to do it this just to save this piece of American culture. The end result I was thrilled with. Tough shoot though.

EMPIRE: It could have been tougher, though. You were making it in the pre-internet days, before fans were discussing every decision that was made. Did you feel any kind of fan pressure?

DONNER: No, not really. Didn't get on with the producers though. It was just (creative consultant) Tom Mankiewicz and I. We didn't get on with the producers at all, wouldn't let them on the set, hence them firing me from the completion of two. We were American kids, brought up on Superman, over there doing it. I have a sign in my office which has Superman and his cape spelling out "verisimilitude", and we were trying to keep that as an ethos — how we remembered Superman, how we remembered Krypton and how we remembered Metropolis. It was our mission to keep it honest.


EMPIRE: What actually happened between you and the producers to make them fire you from Superman II? When did the animosity start?

DONNER: It started the day I met them. I wasn't going to do it and then they started imposing a lot of restrictions that weren't very bright, by my standards. By trying to save a dollar, they ended up hurting the end result and also making the end result cost more! In my eyes they were really not picture makers. They cared more about making a dollar than making a good film.


EMPIRE: How much of the film do you think you shot? I've heard anything from 50 to 80 per cent.


DONNER: I don't know. Percentages are for pollsters, but we shot a good amount of film.

EMPIRE: And what are your thoughts on Warner Bros.' plans to release 'The Richard Donner Cut' on DVD later this year?

DONNER: It's a strange feeling. It's a long time ago and I guess enough people wanted to see it so much that Warner Bros, wanted to go ahead and finish my version. Of course, a lot of it couldn't be finished because a lot of it couldn't be found and a lot of it wasn't shot.


EMPIRE: So how can they even put it together?


DONNER: What they've done is, there were a couple of wonderful scenes of disclosures of Superman to Lois Lane. They decided not to use them in the cinema release and one of them I never shot except for screen tests, one for Margot (Kidder) and one for Christopher Reeve. It was the revelation when Lois finds out that Superman is Clark Kent. But they were on screen tests and not done in any way that you would do a real shoot. They've cut them both together and they will be in the release of the DVD as a scene, with a disclaimer saying this was two screen tests that were filmed for a scene that was supposed to be in the movie but was never shot. [I believe they found the blank bullets footage but I don't believe it, nor should you until I can get confirmation. Donner, you shot the footage!]

EMPIRE: Presumably you're not involved with putting this together?


DONNER: Well, I am to this respect. They've been very respectful. I've tried to give them the best input I can, but my feeling is it's hard because I look at it and think, "Man, I wouldn't shoot it like that today." So it's hard to go back to how I did it then and why. But I have tried to help them as best I can. They've got a great editor and director, Michael Thau, and this is his cut, it's his work, and give him all the credit for it.


EMPIRE: Did you ever see the cut of Superman II that was released?


DONNER: I didn't see it. I saw part of it. I could have fought to have my name on it as a director, but I decided against it. [New information has come to light -- Lester did offer to share credit but Donner didn't want it.]


EMPIRE: Have you never been curious to see it?


DONNER: No. They chose to take a good piece of material and treat it tastelessly. [Lester treated it differently but never tasteless; Iconoclastic, folks.]



EMPIRE: And now, of course, the sequel you never finished is getting a sequel of its own with Superman Returns. Is it true that Bryan Singer came to you for your approval before he made the film?
DONNER: Bryan is a wonderful young director and a terrific kid. He did X-Men with my wife Lauren producing. She told me that Bryan and the two writers would sit in a trailer during their breaks and watch Superman and I couldn't believe it. I thought they were kidding. But these guys would quote stuff from Superman that I couldn't remember in a million years. Then I guess they went through a lot of machinations with a lot of directors who weren't right for it. There was Brett someone...


EMPIRE: You mean Brett Ratner, who made X-Men 3?

DONNER: Oh ****, you're right. (laughs) Anyway, guys who were wrong for it, who were just shooters. Then into their life came Bryan Singer, who was passionate about it. Bryan called me and said he'd had the offer and he wanted to know what I thought. And I said I thought it was going to be the best thing that had happened to Superman in the last 25 years.


EMPIRE: So you're excited to see it, as a fan?


DONNER: Bryan has just been great about it and he's a terrific director, but I want to see it as an audience member. I haven't spoken to him about it, haven't seen a frame. I just want to sit in the audience and be, "Oooh, wow!"

EMPIRE: Is there any part of you that would have liked to revisit Superman again, with all that current technology allows?

DONNER: No, I did it. This is Bryan Singer's time. He's bringing something totally fresh and new and exciting and well beyond me.

 

[explode7]

Singer probably mentioned this as a joke and people like this site took it seriously. Nothing to worry about dudes

 

[itflies]

And, then again, maybe in Singer's mind the film is a sequel to Richard Donner's unfinished Superman II, but not to Richard Lester's completed film.

 

[Kane]

Umm...those are Empire's own words...not Singer, not even Donner.

 

[Superman \S/]

Singer probably mentioned this as a joke and people like this site took it seriously. Nothing to worry about dudes

Meh, i'm not worried.

 

[explode7]

so whats with the grey hair and bald spots then

 

[Superman \S/]

LOL! Very funny.

 

[Captain Villa]

Singer probably mentioned this as a joke and people like this site took it seriously. Nothing to worry about dudes

Whilst I dont think it is a joke, I certainly think it is a mis quote as it contradicts previous stuff.

I agree with your point in principle

 

[Kane]

There is the fact that Singer is very respectful to Donner and Donner obviously wasnt pleased with how Superman II turned out....

It kinda makes sense.

 

[explode7]

A director wasn't pleased with how his own movie turned out? I wonder if this is how BS feels about SR?

 

[Captain Villa]

A director wasn't pleased with how his own movie turned out? I wonder if this is how BS feels about SR?

Learn your S2 history dude....................The film was credited to Richard Lester and key scenes of Donners were taken away and reshot and re edited.

 

[explode7]

Who's Richard Lester???

 

[Kane]

A director wasn't pleased with how his own movie turned out? I wonder if this is how BS feels about SR?

...dude, wow


It didnt end up being Donner's own movie. He got pulled off the picture (for politcal studio reasons) and some significant elements of the film were changed....making it subpar to what Donner originally wanted. Margot Kidder even said at the Toronto Con last year how upset she was that they did that to Donner and she didnt want to be involved heavily in the 3rd film. Alot of castmembers and crew were upset and fed up at this.

 

[Captain Villa]

Who's Richard Lester???

EMPIRE: What actually happened between you and the producers to make them fire you from Superman II? When did the animosity start?

DONNER: It started the day I met them. I wasn't going to do it and then they started imposing a lot of restrictions that weren't very bright, by my standards. By trying to save a dollar, they ended up hurting the end result and also making the end result cost more! In my eyes they were really not picture makers. They cared more about making a dollar than making a good film.


EMPIRE: How much of the film do you think you shot? I've heard anything from 50 to 80 per cent.


DONNER: I don't know. Percentages are for pollsters, but we shot a good amount of film.

EMPIRE: And what are your thoughts on Warner Bros.' plans to release 'The Richard Donner Cut' on DVD later this year?

DONNER: It's a strange feeling. It's a long time ago and I guess enough people wanted to see it so much that Warner Bros, wanted to go ahead and finish my version. Of course, a lot of it couldn't be finished because a lot of it couldn't be found and a lot of it wasn't shot.


EMPIRE: So how can they even put it together?


DONNER: What they've done is, there were a couple of wonderful scenes of disclosures of Superman to Lois Lane. They decided not to use them in the cinema release and one of them I never shot except for screen tests, one for Margot (Kidder) and one for Christopher Reeve. It was the revelation when Lois finds out that Superman is Clark Kent. But they were on screen tests and not done in any way that you would do a real shoot. They've cut them both together and they will be in the release of the DVD as a scene, with a disclaimer saying this was two screen tests that were filmed for a scene that was supposed to be in the movie but was never shot. [I believe they found the blank bullets footage but I don't believe it, nor should you until I can get confirmation. Donner, you shot the footage!]

EMPIRE: Presumably you're not involved with putting this together?


DONNER: Well, I am to this respect. They've been very respectful. I've tried to give them the best input I can, but my feeling is it's hard because I look at it and think, "Man, I wouldn't shoot it like that today." So it's hard to go back to how I did it then and why. But I have tried to help them as best I can. They've got a great editor and director, Michael Thau, and this is his cut, it's his work, and give him all the credit for it.


EMPIRE: Did you ever see the cut of Superman II that was released?


DONNER: I didn't see it. I saw part of it. I could have fought to have my name on it as a director, but I decided against it. [New information has come to light -- Lester did offer to share credit but Donner didn't want it.]


EMPIRE: Have you never been curious to see it?


DONNER: No. They chose to take a good piece of material and treat it tastelessly. [Lester treated it differently but never tasteless; Iconoclastic, folks.]

Read that.

 

[Nivek]

Who's Richard Lester???

I hope your kidding, because thats pretty damn embarrassing if you havn't learned about this till today.

 

[explode7]

...dude, wow


It didnt end up being Donner's own movie. He got pulled off the picture (for politcal studio reasons) and some significant elements of the film were changed....making it subpar to what Donner originally wanted. Margot Kidder even said at the Toronto Con last year how upset she was that they did that to Donner and she didnt want to be involved heavily in the 3rd film. Alot of castmembers and crew were upset and fed up at this.

So there were only one good superman movie out of the five and that was the first one then

 

[Kane]

not taking explode7 seriously again...

 

[Thunder Emperor]

singer, singer

 

[PSU442]

if S2 no longer exists, how does luther know the location of the FOS