The bumper 80 Page May 1981 issue of the elaborately titled “The New Photoplay – Movies & Video, The Cinema & Home Screen Monthly” was a real treat for Superman fans.
Shown above is the cover and part one of the feature devoted to the theatrical release of Superman II in the UK with full page photographs (The main colour portrait revealing itself decades later to be taken from a deleted scene shot by Richard Donner) and reference to a (not particularly insightful) review. Part two of the article to follow with more pics and a candid interview with leading lady Margot Kidder…
Expanding on this revised post charting the history of the aborted fifth and final Superman Movie starring Christopher Reeve, presented below for the first time anywhere is transcript from a Q&A (video above) at the 1994 Atlanta Dixie Trek Convention where the man himself responds to the question; “How true is it that Superman V was in Pre-Production..?”
I don’t know – It was going to be made…In Orlando, Florida at the…Universal had got new studios opening down there. And the good news would’ve been, that Ilya Salkind and Alexander Salkind who had made the first movie and the second movie would be back – they had bought the rights back from Golan-Globus which I think is good news.
But what happened was, they basically, I think started to hire some technical people and were talking to directors…and got a script written but never…came to me…ahead of time. And I had been so bruised by the really…everything about Superman IV, I mean I’m just so apologetic and…what can I tell you folks, you know its really sad that that happened…Superman IV. I think…Superman IV had the potential to be a very good movie but it needed to be told on an epic scale – it need to be big-time movie-making, and it wasn’t. I’ll give you one example of what I mean by big-time movie-making versus not. I had basically worked on the story with Konner and Rosenthal who wrote the script – we planned the story out together and they wrote a screenplay and we talked one time about a scene – and of course – this was 1986 and the Nuclear race was still important and Reagan had failed with Gorbachev at a summit meeting in Geneva, the Nuclear threat was still very much alive, the Russians had been referred to as an evil empire, already if you remember back in those days, and so the idea of Superman getting rid of Nuclear weapons seemed like a reasonable thing to do, after all, Superman had been used in World War II to sell War bonds, y’know, if this is something they didn’t know, you could get in sight with real world, when it needs to be…good…quality.
So, we had envisioned a scene where Superman has decided- after spending time at the Fortress of Solitude- that he will intervene in this arms race, and that he was going to land on 42nd street, on the double yellow line right in the middle of the street and then walk down the street to the United Nations which is the end of the street, on the East river and he was going to give a speech to several nations of the world. And of course people will be pouring out of buildings, and buses and it would be like the Pied Piper, y’know, thousands of people walking down the street, and I had the idea of him walking rather than flying actually from watching Jimmy Carter get out of his motorcade in his inauguration in Washington, I thought it was a very inspiring moment, meeting people.
So, anyway, we had all this and we were really excited about it and to make a long story short, when the moment came in the actual filming of Superman IV, where he talks to the United Nations, it was shot in an industrial park in the British midlands in the rain in November with twenty extras and a few pigeons thrown in for atmosphere. And then they wondered why they can’t make the movies take off. All the thinking was like that to be very honest with you, because Golan-Globus – great deal makers, they went around and bought a lot of stuff, they bought Masters of the Universe, they bought Captain America, they bought this one that one and the other one, thinking, well, you just, y’know, it’s Saturday morning cartoon kiddies stuff, we can just throw it out there and be fine, in my opinion not respecting the audience. Not respecting what the audience…deserves to see, and…they paid a big price for it…So…
This is the thing, truthfully, I would’ve done Superman V, contrary to anything you read in the papers or will read, but I’ll tell you the truth here and now, if they’d showed me – this is back to the Salkinds again a few years ago – if they’d showed me a brilliant script for Superman V, and a commitment that they were gonna spend in today’s dollars the kind of money that was spent for the talent we had on Superman I, I would’ve been the first person to sign up. In the absence of that I thought it’s better to stay home, and that’s really what happened…”
Photos courtesy of Jim Bowers. For More on Reeve’s appearance at Dixie Trek, read the article on Capedwonder.com
While I really wish the above were a new figure announcement from Hot Toys, it is in fact a fabulous piece of art illustrating what arguably should’ve been part of an abandoned DX release already.
Courtesy of SuperFan Michael Stribling comes this pitch-perfect manip of the MMS 152 Superman figure into Christopher Reeve’s bespectacled alter-ego in tailored Navy blue 3-piece pinstripe suit, screen accurate tie and horn-rimmed glasses. Accessories besides those pictured would possibly include briefcase, raincoat, alternate ‘shirt-ripping’ hands, one open hand (with caught bullet), copy of the Daily Planet with ‘Caped Wonder Stuns City‘ headline and best of all, Superman costume tunic under the shirt so the figure can be posed in ‘reveal’ mode.
Take this clear and simple brief, multiply by fan demand and there must be only one question remaining – Why haven’t Hot Toys made this yet…? Lets ask…!!!
Featured in the newest site of The London Film museum, Covent Garden is currently playing host to a treasure trove of cinematic artifacts including a rare opportunity to see the above as part of the Magnum On Set collection.
Originally on loan from the Propstore of London, this incredible exhibit was first unveiled in the County Hall site on the South Bank in 2010 (see my archived post) before being withdrawn some months later.
In the intervening years, however, there has been a curious revision that prompted a trip to view the display up close once again. Whereas the costume in County Hall was successfully screen-matched to specific scenes of both Superman: The Movie and Superman II, it was evident the costume tunic had been switched out for one arguably more instantly recognisable.
To clarify, all the Superman costumes were handmade and therefore share particular quirks as none were 100% the same. This costume, however, can be matched to a specific scene in Luthor’s Lair in Superman: The Movie and is clearly identifiable (despite two differing tunics being used in the same scene!) besides being used in promotional material (most notably in the Topps trading card sets as shown in the comparison above. The key identifier is the unique shape of the yellow triangle at the base of the chest shield giving the bottom curve of the \S/ its shape.
Quite why the top has been switched out is a mystery (as this is clearly a much older piece rightly showing its age and not a colour match to the tights) and there has clearly been amendments to the mannequin’s padding, making the body visibly more slender than before. The rest of the exhibit attributes (cape, boots, belt, etc.) appear unchanged.
The exhibition is in its closing weeks now so if you have an opportunity to go and see this genuine piece of Movie history I can’t recommend it highly enough. Vintage Superman costumes are becoming more rare in the public domain and it is unlikely we will ever see their kind (with such accurate provenance) again.
Further reading about the specifics of Christopher Reeve’s Superman costume will be available in the coming weeks with a updated version of my detailed analysis featured on the incomparable capedwonder.com where an extensive gallery of both the Propstore displays can be found…
UPDATE 12/09: Official Propstore feature on this piece here
(comparison pic courtesy of capedwonder.com & Chris King)
Sold only days ago by the Propstore Of London, the unique item shown above is not your typical example of movie memorabilia, nor is it a hand-me-down from a market-stall trader –
Gifted to ‘John’ for Christmas 1977, this coat is actually one of Christopher Reeve’s on-set casual jackets worn between takes both to cover his Superman costume and offer warmth against freezing nights on the Pinewood lot.
Watch any Superman ‘Making of’ documentary on Blu-ray/DVD to see Chris in a variety of coveralls during his tenure between takes – (pictured bottom is a similar jacket worn during the shooting of Superman II) consisting of coats and more often than not, a bright red dressing gown.
This particular offering is made all the more poignant by the accompanying handwritten letter on Superman production stationary by Reeve himself reading;
“Dear John –
This is by way of a present because
I don’t really know what you need and
I hate to give useless things –
Anyway Merry Christmas and
thank you for being a friend.
Yours,
Chris.”
With such great provenance the jacket sold within hours of being listed, possibly not on the strength of the item (fine example though it is) but by the story behind it proving that even Superman needs a friend…
