Continuing world-renowned storyboard artist Martin Asbury’s illustrations for the action sequences of Superman IV, depicting the sequence of shots for the erupting Volcano in Italy and subsequent plug with a mountaintop sheared off with Superman’s heat vision…
SUPERMANIA is proud to present the splendid result of a personal project by SuperFan Alexei Lambley-Steel of christopherreeve.co.uk to perfectly replicate Clark Kent’s tie from Superman: The Movie. See the pics above for the obvious dedication to detail for this most complex of patterns and coolest of tributes. As Alexei wanted to offer a short run to fans he asked me to write a short promo –
Presenting a very unique opportunity to own a replica of the necktie as worn by Christopher Reeve in his defining role as Clark Kent in 1978’s Superman: The Movie. Digitally reproduced using the highest-quality photographs, this fantastic vintage design in Silver, Black, Red and Blue is handmade in the UK from 100% woven silk with Polyester lining and 146cm long and is a fully wearable/displayable prop from the Classic Movie! Special offer price of £25 + shipping for a very limited one time run of 35!
I’m pleased to report that the item in-hand is fantastic quality, not only a great prop but quite the fashionable wardrobe addition for the City Beat. While the run is almost at an end, should you wish to purchase one of the last few remaining go here for more details – see you at the Planet office, and don’t call me Chief…
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…