Rare global press coverage from the shooting of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, the first (and last) of the series to be made entirely on location in England.
The cast & crew had assembled in the sports grounds of the Woughton campus of the Sir Frank Markham School in Milton Keynes, England. in late 1986 to shoot the closing moments of the picture under the direction of Sidney J. Furie. The facility had apparently been chosen due to the school being one of the few with American Football on the curriculum and used in return for a new set of kit for the team.
Ironically, the scene was excised entirely from the final cut of the film and thought lost until its final discovery and release (in workprint form) in the Deluxe Edition DVD from 2006. From the top – article from Weekend magazine UK, double-page spread from Spain, oversized article from the Australasian Post and Japanese pictorial.
Thanks to SuperFan Chris King for the assembly of these scans of my original articles! Click on images for larger size…
The penultimate part set for the oversize vintage Superman poster from BRAVO magazine –
The final two parts to complete the collage will feature in a future post along with some BRAVO magazine covers – Look out for it to finish your set!
In continuation of this post documenting the original Superman costume exhibited in Planet Hollywood, Orlando, the images above show that by 2002 the display had been removed from its flying pose the ceiling of the Downtown Disney seating area and relocated to the restaurant lobby.
Having presumably accumulated years of dust and dirt from its years suspended in the open, the costume was in all probability cleaned before being remounted on an unsuitably thin silver mannequin looking worn and considerably faded. While the new display was given an optimum position in the walkway, the new surround (a broken brick wall diorama and chains) lacked the impact of its former home and its plexiglass tube made it almost impossible to photograph. The sign was also changed from the classic Planet Hollywood tag to a garish one mounted at the mannequin’s feet.
As we now know, this costume was the former property of Producer Ilya Salkind, who, retaining it after production of Superman III had used it to audition John Haymes Newton as Superboy as well as in the series itself (also filmed in Orlando) before donating it to the Planet Hollywood chain when it opened in 1994. As was customary in PH restaurants, the memorabilia on display was circulated throughout the sites to keep the decor fresh. Most of the items on show were originals, however some (in the case of Stallone’s props from Demolition Man and Schwarzennegger’s Terminator) were produced in limited numbers just for display. Many of the props and costumes would also be retired if the were damaged or became tatty.
For example, when Planet Hollywood reopened in the newly-renamed Disney Springs in 2017, the Superman costume was given its own gallery space at the top of the entrance stairwell, but was noticeably different than before – in fact it had been replaced by a replica and passed off as the real thing – something the chain was becoming more prone to after standards slipped since its bankruptcy in 2000.
As for the fate of the original Salkind costume, its whereabouts was a mystery for years until fans recently spotted it featuring in the Planet Hollywood Resort, Las Vegas – in the appropriately named ‘Superman Penthouse Suite’ on the 28th floor where it remains to this day…
Pictured above is the vital first component I managed to secure that would initiate my pursuit of the perfect replica Superman costume –
As most fan-made efforts throughout the nineties would demonstrate, the lack of correct belt and buckle would be the undoing of the most valiant attempts, but after a long search a small set of perfect resin casts taken from one of Christopher Reeve’s original belts finally found me. Developing a matching belt would be almost as difficult a proposition in my research stage as at the time the only reference was a clip from TV documentary ‘The Making Of Superman’. From that footage I ascertained the belt itself was a fabric-backed vinyl, however locating such a thing in mustard yellow proved impossible.
Instead I sought to improvise and so in true prop style I concocted a belt made from kitchen lino covered in yellow sticky-back plastic. While the results were good the plastic would eventually weaken and split due to its inflexibility. Many attempts later I came across more pliable plastic and have made numerous belts since then for fans and professionals alike, chances are you’ve seen one of my belts on display on many a full-size replica either online or in-person.
Pictured above are two of the last belts I have – a ‘Hero’ version made from genuine Patent leather and a ‘Stunt’ version built using my method. Over the years costumiers and fans have caught up and developed credible versions of their own but for such a minor accessory, there is no substitute for the genuine buckle cast to complete a replica. Further information on the real costume belts and how they were constructed can be found here
Further selections from the Superman novel back-catalogue include possibly the finest of them all – from top – ‘The Making Of Superman: The Movie’ by David Michael Petrou is a disarmingly honest account of the largest and most expensive production of its day. Aside from the thorough coverage of everything from casting to Special Effects, Petrou manages also to convey the sheer excitement and magic of bringing the Man of Steel to life.
Despite its fun tagline ‘Once upon a time-warp’ the novelization of Supergirl by Norma Fox Mazer is standard Movie Tie-In fare built almost word for word around the screenplay by David Odell (made even less appealing by its lack of picture gallery in the centre!)
Before its shoe-in as the novelization of Superman: The Movie (offered among the glut of other glossy offerings from Warner Books) Elliot S! Maggin’s origin story ‘Last Son of Krypton’ was first published by Arrow in 1978. As the events depicted within (although well-executed) bear little resemblance to the final film the comic-book style cover was far more appropriate.
Lastly, the ‘Man of Steel’ by Andrew Helfer was released in 1983 under the banner of the popular ‘Super Powers’ toy line by Kenner. This ‘which way’ book (where the reader has the option to choose the story’s outcome as he reads) was popular in the ’80’s and is written in the style of pure comic-book fodder…
