What better way to spend World Superman Day than a marathon screening of the original and best Superhero Quadrilogy – still the standard by which all others are judged?
SUPERMANIA admits one and all by way of the latest addition to the collection – these super-rare Japanese tickets issued exclusively for each release. Why not watch a DVD or Blu-Ray tonight to celebrate the ever-enduring Man of Tomorrow?
And if you haven’t already look to your right and click on the all-new SUPERMANIA Scrapbook on Instagram. There you will find an archive of rare and unusual images not found on the site – this will be updated constantly so keep checking back..!
With 50 years in the business, its inevitable that you will have seen Mr. Paul Weston in numerous genre classics and most likely not even realised.
With an impressive (most impressive) resume that boasts seminal pictures like ALIEN, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Return Of The Jedi, Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves and Bond films The Living Daylights, Octopussy and Moonraker to name but a few, it should come as no surprise Paul would also lend his talents and expertise to the big screen adventures of the Man of Steel.
“I worked on Superman’s one, two and three, the veteran stuntman, co-ordinator and second – unit Director revealed to SUPERMANIA this past weekend at MCM Comic-Con –
“Chris Reeve was just lovely. He came in and he was so young – just a kid – and he was tall and broad but he had no chest, it was flat. I remember they made him up a padded suit, like the Batman ones now and he wouldn’t have it, he went straight to the gym. After a while they brought in Dave Prowse and when he was ready he looked fantastic.
When we had him up in the air the first few times he was learning how to hold himself so he was streamlined. We found that unless he pointed his toes it didn’t look right but it was hard to do, hold yourself like that. We’d be down on the ground shouting up at him ‘POINT YOUR TOES CHRIS!’ and when he did he’d got it. It became so much of a thing on set that when he eventually went home on Concorde, we had the pilot announce over the tannoy ‘Would a Mr. Christopher Reeve remember to keep his toes pointed in flight’. He loved that.
“Everything you see in the Junkyard battle in Part III that isn’t Chris himself is me. We worked really hard on that scene. There were instances where we both had to be in the same shot and they super-imposed his face over mine. In The Making Of Superman III you can see me on the swing being thrown into the car crusher.
I had Superman belt and a pair of boots – I kept them for years but eventually I just threw them away. Same with ALIEN, I had a costume, pipes on the back and everything but that was thrown too. Back then these things had no worth, its all different now. I heard the ALIEN costume would’ve fetched literally thousands but there you go…”
Obviously not one for hanging on to souvenirs, very few pictures of Paul on the Superman sets exist so he was kind enough to sign a still of his late friend Chris for SUPERMANIA (top pic) while the remainder of them are borrowed form Paul’s fantastic website – these rare pics show Paul on the Chemical Plant set (second from top), consulting with fellow Stuntman Roy Alon in Calgary for the fire hydrant crash and celebrating in the early days at Pinewood (bottom) with the news of Chris Reeve’s impending fatherhood.
Still very much active in the industry, Paul finds time to attend conventions and give talks on his fascinating career and is always happy to share stories with fans. Should you wish to catch him he has an upcoming event in December at GATA where he is hosting an evening called ‘My Life In Stunts’ which is sure to be another Super-Occasion…
Edition One of Merit Publications magazine is quite the enigma given that there were no subsequent issues and that it is arguably one of the finest pieces of vintage Superman items produced in conjunction with the movie.
Though it proclaims to showcase Warner Bros. New films, it is actually an elegant portfolio of photographs and accompanying text all from Superman: The Movie featuring the best publicity stills and some uncommon prints. Anybody seeking info on Clint Eastwood’s and Stanley Kubrick’s latest would’ve felt short-changed as coverage amounts to nothing more than ads for Every Which Way But Loose and The Shining inside the back cover.
As if the glorious layouts (above) were not enough, the centrefold is a pull-out poster of the iconic ‘Punch’ shot taken by Bob Penn in New York in 1977 – all of the above making this the ideal companion piece to the Collectors Album and SUPERMANIA’s recommendation for an inexpensive addition to the perfect Super-library…
Coming soon – The Japanese edition…
Presenting the latest piece of vintage memorabilia to be added to the SUPERMANIA archive – this unique poster magazine was released exclusively in Spain and is so rare this is the first and only copy seen in decades of collecting.
The Superman Movies have a long and rich history with this most ’80’s of collecting staples. Most big genre movies of the decade were awarded with similar colourful fold-outs which would adorn many a childhood bedroom wall until, much like cinematic events themselves, their fade into obscurity.
Whereas the foldout format would be limited to European/UK shores (with II and III upcoming in future posts) Stateside offerings would be appropriately heftier affairs with the glossy magazines for Superman III and IV by Starlog Press emerging as arguably the best tie-in’s for each picture – both of which will also appear here soon..!
By 1987 the traditional bumper advertising manual was steadily being consigned to history. Indeed, what began as a series of grand ‘Exhibitor Campaign Books‘ concluded with the above basic four-page leaflet.
SUPERMANIA gets back to good old-fashioned vintage ephemera with the fine vintage example reproduced in its entirety above. For what was a modest campaign thanks to the low-key efforts made by Cannon Films, the poster and still sets made available by the National Screen Service are of immense quality (the UK Quad arguably the best variation of the poster with its bold silver title) and form a vital part of the SUPERMANIA collection. Enjoy..!
