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Want to see the Donner cut of Superman II?

Want to see the Donner cut of Superman II?

 
Old 05-30-04, 07:11 AM
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Want to see the Donner cut of Superman II?

Not likely, I know, but Forbidden-Zone.com has started a letter writing campaign for the 25th anniversary.

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=17658

This press release obtained from Ain't It Cool News. Shoud be okay to print here since it is a press release.

WEBSITE LAUNCHES INTERNET CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE SUPERMAN II

Site Asking Warner Bros. To Grant Richard Donner a New Edit for 25th Anniversary

RALEIGH, NC TheForbidden-zone.com, a website dedicated to all things Planet of the Apes, has launched an Internet campaign to help rescue... the Man of Steel?

Long before The Matrix sequels and Lord of the Rings were shot back-to-back, so were Superman: The Movie and Superman II, which introduced Christopher Reeve as Superman. But when the production fell behind, all efforts were put into completing Superman I in time for its release date. After the film was a resounding success and redefined the superhero genre (the effect of which is still felt today), producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind thanked director Richard Donner by firing him. During production, Donner and the Salkinds were increasingly at odds over what type of film they wanted to make. Donner favored the type that Superman eventually became, while the Salkinds favored something resembling the cheesy Superman IV. They also had a falling out (over money) with Marlon Brando (Superman's father, Jor-El), who had already shot all of his scenes for Superman II.

Director Richard Lester, who had served as an intermediary between Donner and the Salkinds on Superman I when tensions reached their highest, was brought in to complete Superman II. In order to avoid paying Brando and to get Donner's name off the credits, the Salkinds had major portions of the film reshot. Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor) refused to participate in these reshoots, so they hired a body double and voice over artist to cover for him in certain scenes. Though the resulting film was a huge success, many people who are involved in the production lament the fact that Donner was not allowed to complete his film. In a recent interview (STARLOG #323), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) stated, "There's a whole other Superman II in a vault somewhere, with scenes of Chris and me that have never seen the light of day. It's far better than the one that was released."

While Superman I was given the full DVD treatment in 2001, with Warner Bros. even allowing Richard Donner to produce a Director's Cut and including several documentaries about the above situation, Superman II was only released in its theatrical form with just the film's trailers included as extras.

TheForbidden-Zone.com hopes to change that. Given that the film's 25th anniversary is approaching in 2005 (Superman II was first released in foreign markets in late 1980, then in the US during the summer of 1981), TheForbidden-Zone.com has launched a letter campaign asking Warner Bros. to let Richard Donner complete his edit of the film. This campaign has a twist, however. Rather than asking fans to send in letters over a period of time, the website is asking that they all be mailed on the same day -- June 19, the film's US release date, hoping this will make more of an impression.

"I've been a Superman fan ever since I was a little kid," said Roger Alford, webmaster of TheForbidden-Zone.com. "I spent many an afternoon with a towel around my neck and watching the TV show with George Reeves. When I first learned about what happened with Superman II, I was stunned. I wanted to see Donner's version. I wanted to do something about it. I've signed other petitions and I encouraged people to write Warner Bros. when they released Superman II on DVD in 2001. I wrote them myself and told them I would buy the first movie, but not the second without Donner's footage included in some way."

Rather than get discouraged, Alford decided to try another tactic. "I came up with the idea of sending all of the letters on the same day to get more impact. I really hope Warner Bros. gets a flood of mail in the couple of days following. I know what I'm trying is somewhat Quixotic -- Warner Bros. is well aware of the strong desire for a Donner edit, but repeatedly refuses to do anything about it. Still, I'd feel worse if I didn't try. Maybe another voice will make a difference. I've gotten things done through my website before, such as finding Joe Russo a publisher after seventeen years for his excellent book, Planet of the Apes Revisited, and encouraging The Fox Movie Channel to show the extended version of Battle for the Planet of the Apes for the first time in the US. Other sites have helped make changes at Disney, so it is possible."

The campaign is gaining some momentum. Several Superman-related websites have provided links in order to help spread the word, and the site garnered a mention in the April 9 issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Up, up, and away!

About TheForbidden-Zone.com

Founded in 1996, TheForbidden-Zone.com is one of the oldest and the most in-depth Planet of the Apes sites on the Web. It contains a host of information about the films, TV shows, comic books, and more.
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Old 05-30-04, 07:27 AM
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we can hope I suppose...
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Old 05-30-04, 08:31 AM
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So, a fanboy site wants to ask WB to release the Donner cut of Superman II.
So what is news about this?
Am I missing something?

I guess I can expect a "Do you want to see Lucas' original Star Wars post coming next?

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Old 05-30-04, 08:48 AM
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But as I recall, Donner was replaced before filming was complete. If so, many of "Donner's cuts" may not have even been filmed.
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Old 05-30-04, 02:48 PM
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Yeah I don't understand why they keep calling it the 'Donner cut',when his cut was only halfway complete.

So it should be called a 'special edition' or 'hybrid' version',since it would have to use all of Donners footage,then the rest of Lesters footage. But I suspect it would not be that good and be rather jaring. Since from what I have read,much of Donners original plans were scraped and the plot changed around abit. So I bet editing both directors footage together would not match up or make sense in a narrative sense.

I am not trying to be negative,just thinking realistically here.

The best we can hope for is a SE release which has the theatrical version,with a possibly hybrid Donner cut option,or the theatrical version on one disc..and the incomplete Donner cut on another.

This way we can at least see what Donners version may have been like,had it been allowed to be completed.
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Old 05-30-04, 03:25 PM
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Hasn't Donner repeatedly said he isn't interested in doing a "Director's Cut" of Superman II? After Superman I was released on DVD, he said (in several interviews) that Warner asked him if he wanted to re-cut Superman II and he said No.

Based on that, I'd say Warner aren't the ones holding up a re-cut, Donner is.

Maybe the petitioners should petition him instead of the company.

Andrew
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Old 05-30-04, 06:13 PM
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I seem to remember him saying that a "director's cut") if that's what you want to call it) was impossible, because the things he wanted were cut from the script and never shot. Besides, for it to work you'd have to recut part one, since they took what was to be the ending of part two and used it in part one.
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Old 05-30-04, 06:53 PM
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technology now is to the point where- if Warner were willing to bankroll it- Donner could probably do up an even better cut of the film thaen he would have been able to in 1980.

for instance- he didn't film any of the Metropolis street battle, but using a mix of long shots with body doubles (and pasting cgi recreations of the original actors heads on top) and inserting reaction shots from B roll footage (with new backgrounds) you could probably do some amazing stuff.

would have to be stroyboarded out in detail first, using what he shot and awhat is still avaiable as your 'boundary markers' but to me, it sounds like it would be an engaging, creative enterprise.

i think it would also be a better return on the money spent, with the same potential for tie-in exploitation, than bankrolling the next potential Batman & Robin (albeit in a superman costume this time).
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