A recent viewing of the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II prompted a dusting off of my original script, (originally belonging to Production Illustrator Reg Hill) where I was reminded of the intended opening shown above.
These pages are the only evidence of the scene’s existence, however, as apparently it was never shot. The lack of the Fox Hunting scene among others accounts for Superman’s late appearance in his own movie, highlighting the fundamental problem with the Donner Cut insofar as expectations could never be met by what is, essentially, a series of unfinished scenes with Richard Lester footage as glue. Despite a valiant effort by editor Michael Thau to achieve coherence with this, it ultimately best viewed as a flawed but nonetheless groundbreaking experiment – and possibly the greatest DVD extra ever conceived.
Its also fascinating to think what potential use the above scene may have been put to in a campaign to ban foxhunting by people who shared Superman’s sentiment – a law that was passed by the UK Government decades later…
Presenting rare images taken from the shooting of Superman II in New York City during 1977 depicting Lois leap of faith from Perry White’s office window at the Daily Planet in an effort to expose Clark Kent.
Director Richard Donner and Cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth position Margot Kidder on the fruit stand for her close-ups after Clark breaks her fall using his Super-Breath. Actress/Stuntwoman Ellen Bry (seen conferring with Kidder, third pic) would go on to land her own superhero later that year with an appearance in the Amazing Spider-Man TV series starring Nicholas Hammond.
This excised opening scene was only recently restored for the DVD release of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, (Screencapture bottom pic), a product of decades of fan campaigning that I never thought would see the light of day…
All obtained in person by me at various conventions – Helen Slater was a rare treat and was very sweet and quite shy. Margot Kidder was fantastic and outrageous and very funny. Sarah Douglas was bolshy and fabulous while Jack O’ Halloran was a gentle giant.
So privileged to have met some of the performers that made this movie series so great..!
The first of many posts to come showcasing Superman props displayed in Planet Hollywood restaurants around the world. Above is one of the late Derek Meddings’ intricately detailed Special Effects flying miniatures currently exhibited in the London site. The resin figure is approx. 8″ long, sporting a cloth cape (complete with hand-drawn yellow shield!). These models were often ‘flown’ on invisible thread by way of a channel bore straight through the body and would have been utilized in long-distance shots and the aerial battle in Superman II…
