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…
The dawn of the Digital age presents many possibilities as yet fully unexploited – the concept of ‘resurrecting’ an actor for a posthumous appearance is still in its infancy but constantly advancing. See above digital renderings of the late Christopher Reeve (by artists I only wish I could identify to give them the full credit for their incredible work) with the heft and stature of age as he would potentially appear in an animated version of ‘Superman V’.
Other artists have gone one better and put the images in motion – one can only hope in future the Movie series could be concluded in a fashion befitting of the performance emulated here and to date, unsurpassed…
The Cannon Group, Inc. is synonymous with a bygone era of cult cinema and straight-to-video trash and all the more fascinating for it –
I urge anybody with an interest in movies from the 1980’s to go here for a comprehensive and surprising list of all the pictures they were responsible for (including a plethora of projects announced but never made, among them Spider-Man, Captain America and Masters Of The Universe, Part II).
Among the many unique moments in their history is the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Manchester’s Cannon Cinema Multiplex by none-other than Christopher Reeve, in the UK for the shooting of Cannon’s Superman IV: The Quest For Peace…
Superfan Chris King is a purveyor of high-end replica props and figures – chances are you’ve seen a piece commissioned or initiated by him (especially if you’re a Star Wars fan) without even knowing it.
The above is a typical example of Chris’ unparalleled pursuit of the perfect replica to date unsurpassed by any licensed offering. Commissioned by Chris and sculpted by Philip Robinson, this chunk of solid, exquisitely cast resin was originally in six parts (body, head, hands & boots) and was clothed in a specially-tailored outfit sourced by Chris and fabricated by Philip, complete with heat-sealed emblems and vinyl belt.
There is also a Hot Toys connection in the piece lineage as the paintjob was applied by noneother than J.C. Hong – providing at least some idea of how the upcoming figure from Japan may eventually look…
