Extraordinary never-before-seen images from the portfolio of ‘ParkStreetParrot’ and his close encounter with the filming of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace on the London Orbital.
From the top – Christopher Reeve confers with Gene Hackman & Jon Cryer, a wide shot of the crew and ramp rig, (to simulate the car being hoisted from beneath) Billboard set-dressing and the two cars used for the sequence (note the ‘stunt’ car held aloft by wires).
To be continued..!
Presenting the concluding part of the London Editions Super Heroes Monthly ‘Superman II Special Movie Issue’ – the article concluding nicely with an autographed image from leading lady Margot Kidder as Lois Lane.
The issue was also unique for providing a ‘clean’ version of the cover painting (by Alan Craddock) as the back cover. Still occasionally available on popular auction sites, this curio is a worthy addition to any Super-collection…
Another SUPERMANIA exclusive, courtesy of photographer ‘ParkStreetParrot’ who tells his remarkable story about discovering the cast & crew of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace on location towards the end of the shoot –
“The photos were taken on 10 October 1986, a few weeks before the M25 opened (the official opening ceremony occurred about a mile from this location between Junction 21 and 22, by Margaret Thatcher)
Its a long time ago, but I must have had a day off, I received local intelligence that this was happening (I had a relative that was involved in the M25 project ).
There was remarkably little security by today’s standards. I arrived with my trusty Canon A1 and took a couple of rolls of film. Most of these pictures have never been seen before. I may have processed the films myself, I did that with black and white films. The quality is not so good and may have been down to poor processing!
I learned a couple of lessons at this event . I wanted to supply some pictures to a local newspaper, so I called them – but they asked me where it was happening and I told them so they sent their own guy! The second lesson was that you have to hang about, even if its getting tedious and nothing is happening – I didn’t do this and went home after about 3 hours. Later in the day, maybe because the light was better later, Christopher Reeve (or the stuntman) was filmed underneath the car, pretending to fly away with it – these were the pictures that appeared in the local paper a few days later – D’oh!!
Since that time, this part of the M25 has become one of the busiest sections (if you imagine a clock face its at the 12 o’ clock position), and the motorway has just been widened to accommodate another lane each side…”
The above is a selection of never-before-seen prints reproduced here with the kind permission of the photographer with more to follow in upcoming posts…!
From Wikia.com –
The Super Heroes Monthly was a black & white monthly anthology published from September 1980 (Vol 1 number 1) to April 1982 (Vol 2 number 7) by London Editions Magazines, running 19 issues in total. It reprinted stories from a number of American DC Comics titles, with most issues including at least one Superman and/or Batman story. There were also Super Heroes Annuals published from 1982-1984. The 1983 Annual features a two page British originated text story, Wonder Woman in ‘The Eye of the Eagle’, by Kelvin Gosnell. There was also a Special published as an offshoot of the series, the card covered, full colour ‘Superman Spectacular #1′.
Distinguished by their awesome (for the time) painted covers, this UK series was let down by its dated content. Shown above is the fantastic cover and article from the ‘Superman II Special Movie Issue’ with part one of a six-page feature on the upcoming feature –
Part two to follow..!
More pages of Martin Asbury sketched action from the global clash between Superman and Nuclearman II.
Of note are omitted scenes where Superman freezes his nemesis hands with Super-Breath in defence against being clawed. The theatrical cut picks up as Nuclearman retaliates by freezing Superman into a block of ice…