While the Marvel cinematic universe rises to ever spectacular heights, the DC Universe continues its struggle to build upon its legendary bedrock of what are arguably comic’s three most iconic characters – Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. That the struggle has been so public and so inconsistent given the source material is surprising, especially when you consider that forty years ago Warner Brothers released the first of two seminal superhero films – Superman: The Movie and Superman 2.
Widely regarded as classics of the genre, the two pictures have a fascinating history and author Gary Bettinson delves into that in his book. Apart from the detailed introduction, Bettinson steers away from a standard narrative, instead delivering a series of fascinating and insightful interviews packed with juicy information. Bettinson talks to Producer Pierre Spengler, Executive Producer Ilya Salkind, Director Richard Donner, Lois Lane, the late Margot Kidder, Jimmy Olsen actor Marc McClure, young Clark Jeff East, and Ursa and Non, actress Sarah Douglas and actor Jack O’Halloran, painting a picture of the production of these two beloved films. He charts their progress from page to screen, discussing the controversial directorial change between Donner and The Three Musketeers director Richard Lester, the desire to shoot the first two films together – inspired by splitting their previous film The Three Musketeers into two movies and the commercial success that brought – and how that acrimoniously fell apart.
Mario Puzo, the writer of The Godfather, was originally tasked with writing Superman, already set to star Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, before The Omen director Richard Donner entered the frame. Keen to honour this American comic book icon, Donner set out to make the best film he could, lavishing care and attention on the production and eventually, after some protest, helped the formerly skinny but now bulked up (thanks to Dave Prowse) Christopher Reeve give us the quintessential big screen Superman / Clark Kent. The book reveals some great insight, including how Kidder and Reeve bickered like brother and sister on the film, how Jackie Cooper was a last-minute replacement for Keenan Wynne after a heart attack, almost stealing the show as Perry White, how Sarah Douglas was cast as Ursa before Margot Kidder was cast as Lois Lane and how both Richard Donner and Marc McClure were signed up for SEVEN Superman movies. How’s that for confidence?
It’s a quick read, but an engrossing and enjoyable one. With all of the production’s ructions it’s a wonder the two films got made at all, but thankfully through much adversity they did. Modern superhero fans owe these movies a great debt.
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE: THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEWS / AUTHOR: GARY BETTINSON / PUBLISHER: INTELLECT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (EBOOK), 15TH NOVEMBER (PAPERBACK)
