Tom Brennan
Screenwriter
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In the recent chat with Warner Brothers, I asked a question regarding the possibility of having “Superman II” released in the form of a Richard Donner re-cut.
For those who don’t know about the production history of “Superman II”, I suggest you head to the great Superman Cinema website here: http://supermancinema.co.uk/
There you can read all about the history of the production woes in great detail. Be sure to click on the link to the "Superman II Analysis" as it is a must read. You can also read a very informative article on the firing of Richard Donner. In the "Supeman II" seciton, another must read is the original 1977 Tom Mankiewicz script for “Superman II” which best describes what the film was supposed to be. There are a great many things on the site; too many to list here, so I suggest you head there if you are not familiar with the problems of “Superman II”.
For those who just want a brief synopsis, I’ll try my best to break it down. In short, Richard Donner was shooting “Superman: The Movie” and “Superman II” simultaneously in 1977. A decision was made to put off all remaining filming for “Superman II” until all the footage for the first film was complete.
However, upon completion of the first Superman movie, Richard Donner was fired by the film’s producers. With the firing of Richard Donner, “Superman II” took a turn for the worse. Director Richard Lester took over as director. Lester not only filmed scenes that Donner was unable to complete (The Metropolis Battle for instance), but he also re-shot many scenes that Donner had already filmed. This was mostly done on the producer’s part to prevent Donner from getting a Director credit on the film. Many key elements and scenes were changed and re-written needlessly. Perhaps the most famous of all changes, was the removal of all key scenes involving Marlon Brando. Brando would not allow his footage to be shown in “Superman II” due to legal issues which have since been settled. Brando’s scenes are so very crucial to the narrative tone of “Superman II” and the film suffers with their absence. The entire opening for “Superman II” was also re-done. The original opening; which is detailed in the 1977 Tom Mankiewicz script, is far superior to what appears now and was filmed by Richard Donner.
Another tragedy of Donner’s firing was the fact that John Williams did not return to score “Superman II” as he had done with the previous film. As a result, the soundtrack to the film suffered greatly. They were able to get away with using his music because the studio owned the music rights. Ken Thorne was hired to rearrange the Williams music, and the sound of the film sounds terrible because of it. The music in “Superman II” sounds like a high school marching band performing the score as opposed to the London Symphony Orchestra.
Gene Hackman also did not return after learning of Donner’s firing. Despite the fact that his scenes were complete for “Superman II”, he was asked back for needless re-shoots. Hackman refused, and instead they used a body double and hired a Hackman impersonator for voice over work. If Donner’s footage is fully restored, the use of the body double and impersonator wouldn’t be needed at all.
It has been determined that approximately 70% of “Superman II” was shot by Richard Donner. However, only 30% of Donner’s footage appeared in the theatrical version of the film because of the various changes and re-shoots.
Warner Bros. responded to my question about the possibility of a Donner “Superman II” by saying that it has been discussed, but that it would be very costly and time-consuming. They also stated that they would prefer not to do anything without Richard Donner's participation, which is understandable.
Richard Donner has expressed interest in re-cutting the film in various interviews. In a July issue of Entertainment Weekly, Donner stated that the door is still open for a reedited version. Donner went on to say: "Somewhere in the archives of Warner Bros. are scenes for II that are better than what are in II. Hopefully, someday we'll put them back and show the audience what they could've had."
Warner Bros. knows that the interest is there, but we need to show them just how much interest there is.
Warner, do you have any idea how profitable a Donner re-cut of “Superman II” would be? Superman fans and film fans in general want to see this film as it was originally meant to be seen. We want a Richard Donner re-cut of “Superman II”, or at the very least, a Special Edition where Richard Donner’s cut scenes can be shown in a deleted scenes section.
It would also be fantastic for the soundtrack of the film to be re-scored by John Williams. As it would greatly improve the soundtrack and take that high school marching band sound out of the film.
I would like to start a campaign to support a Richard Donner re-cut of Superman II. Let’s let Warner hear from us. Please show your support by replying to this thread.
Sincerely,
Tom Brennan
[Edited last by Tom B on October 19, 2001 at 08:39 AM]
For those who don’t know about the production history of “Superman II”, I suggest you head to the great Superman Cinema website here: http://supermancinema.co.uk/
There you can read all about the history of the production woes in great detail. Be sure to click on the link to the "Superman II Analysis" as it is a must read. You can also read a very informative article on the firing of Richard Donner. In the "Supeman II" seciton, another must read is the original 1977 Tom Mankiewicz script for “Superman II” which best describes what the film was supposed to be. There are a great many things on the site; too many to list here, so I suggest you head there if you are not familiar with the problems of “Superman II”.
For those who just want a brief synopsis, I’ll try my best to break it down. In short, Richard Donner was shooting “Superman: The Movie” and “Superman II” simultaneously in 1977. A decision was made to put off all remaining filming for “Superman II” until all the footage for the first film was complete.
However, upon completion of the first Superman movie, Richard Donner was fired by the film’s producers. With the firing of Richard Donner, “Superman II” took a turn for the worse. Director Richard Lester took over as director. Lester not only filmed scenes that Donner was unable to complete (The Metropolis Battle for instance), but he also re-shot many scenes that Donner had already filmed. This was mostly done on the producer’s part to prevent Donner from getting a Director credit on the film. Many key elements and scenes were changed and re-written needlessly. Perhaps the most famous of all changes, was the removal of all key scenes involving Marlon Brando. Brando would not allow his footage to be shown in “Superman II” due to legal issues which have since been settled. Brando’s scenes are so very crucial to the narrative tone of “Superman II” and the film suffers with their absence. The entire opening for “Superman II” was also re-done. The original opening; which is detailed in the 1977 Tom Mankiewicz script, is far superior to what appears now and was filmed by Richard Donner.
Another tragedy of Donner’s firing was the fact that John Williams did not return to score “Superman II” as he had done with the previous film. As a result, the soundtrack to the film suffered greatly. They were able to get away with using his music because the studio owned the music rights. Ken Thorne was hired to rearrange the Williams music, and the sound of the film sounds terrible because of it. The music in “Superman II” sounds like a high school marching band performing the score as opposed to the London Symphony Orchestra.
Gene Hackman also did not return after learning of Donner’s firing. Despite the fact that his scenes were complete for “Superman II”, he was asked back for needless re-shoots. Hackman refused, and instead they used a body double and hired a Hackman impersonator for voice over work. If Donner’s footage is fully restored, the use of the body double and impersonator wouldn’t be needed at all.
It has been determined that approximately 70% of “Superman II” was shot by Richard Donner. However, only 30% of Donner’s footage appeared in the theatrical version of the film because of the various changes and re-shoots.
Warner Bros. responded to my question about the possibility of a Donner “Superman II” by saying that it has been discussed, but that it would be very costly and time-consuming. They also stated that they would prefer not to do anything without Richard Donner's participation, which is understandable.
Richard Donner has expressed interest in re-cutting the film in various interviews. In a July issue of Entertainment Weekly, Donner stated that the door is still open for a reedited version. Donner went on to say: "Somewhere in the archives of Warner Bros. are scenes for II that are better than what are in II. Hopefully, someday we'll put them back and show the audience what they could've had."
Warner Bros. knows that the interest is there, but we need to show them just how much interest there is.
Warner, do you have any idea how profitable a Donner re-cut of “Superman II” would be? Superman fans and film fans in general want to see this film as it was originally meant to be seen. We want a Richard Donner re-cut of “Superman II”, or at the very least, a Special Edition where Richard Donner’s cut scenes can be shown in a deleted scenes section.
It would also be fantastic for the soundtrack of the film to be re-scored by John Williams. As it would greatly improve the soundtrack and take that high school marching band sound out of the film.
I would like to start a campaign to support a Richard Donner re-cut of Superman II. Let’s let Warner hear from us. Please show your support by replying to this thread.
Sincerely,
Tom Brennan
[Edited last by Tom B on October 19, 2001 at 08:39 AM]