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Help Restore Superman II!
WARNER BROS. RESPONDS!
Several people who sent their letters in via e-mail have received this response
from Jim Cardwell, President of Warner Home Video:
"Warner Home Video is supportive of an extended version of Superman II on
DVD. However, there are complex legal and creative issues that need to be
resolved before the film can be re-released. Warner Home Video is presently
addressing these issues."
This sounds very positive. I knew there were all sorts of issues surrounding
a Donner version, and it's wonderful to hear that they are addressing them. I
think this helps them realize that it will definitely be worth the effort.
Many thanks to everyone who joined our Superman II
campaign. Again,
thanks to everyone who sent their letters in.
"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."
-- Margot Kidder, STARLOG #323, currently on news stands |
Superman II Countdown Clock
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Next year, 2005, marks the 25-year anniversary of Superman II*. What
better gift to Superman fans than a special 25th Anniversary DVD release of
a Richard Donner cut?
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Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder in a missing Donner scene from Superman II.
Click the image to view a
QuickTime
clip (2.2 MB), courtesy of Donner's Superman. |
For those of you unfamiliar with Superman II's checkered past, a little
history. Superman and Superman II were
originally conceived as one film project. The films were, at the start,
shot simultaneously and worked as parts One and Two of the same story.
When Superman hurled the nuclear missle into space at the end of the first
film, THAT's what released the villains from the Phantom Zone to come back
in the second film. For a complete description of what the films should
have been and what went wrong, visit the excellent Superman Cinema
site or
Donner's Superman.
Superman says good-bye to Lois in another of
Donner's missing scenes.
Click the image to view a
QuickTime
clip (1.39 MB), courtesy of Donner's Superman. |
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Unfortunately, during production, the whole project was falling behind schedule and
it was decided to concentrate all efforts on completing Superman I in
order to make the release date. Plus, there was all sorts of bad blood,
backstabbing, and politics going on behind the scenes, thanks to Alexander
and Ilya Salkind, the producers. When it came time to complete Superman II,
director Richard Donner was replaced by Richard Lester.
In order to get Donner's name off the credits, lots of changes were made, such as how the villains
escaped, how Lois figures out Clark is Superman, and how she sets out to prove
it. There's some real jewels in the vaults at the WB, such as Lois jumping out
of a window at the Daily Planet to
prove that Clark is Superman, and all of Brando's scenes from Superman II.
That's right, Brando. All of it was shot by Donner, but none of it was ever used
due to a contract dispute. Much of what Donner had already shot was rewritten and reshot. And this only scratches the
surface of what happened. Two years ago, Warner Bros. thankfully let Donner create his own
Director's Cut of Superman I for the DVD release. But they only did half the
job. The superb extras talked all about the above situation with Superman II,
but for some odd reason WB didn't take the next logical step and let Donner
finally create a Director's Cut of that film, too. We want to see that film.
"I think it’s appalling when you cut out a major actor like Brando so you
don’t have to pay him the gross... In my view the way 'Superman II' was produced
is the lowest you can go without actually cheating."
-- Christopher Reeve, TIMEOUT, April 1980 |
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN ON JUNE 19 TO RESTORE SUPERMAN II!
So, what's the plan? Write to WB and let our voices be heard! Here at The
Forbidden Zone, we tried this once before with the DVD release of "the
collection," but this time we've decided to get more organized. We want to
bombard the WB with letters all mailed on the same day: June 19, 2004*,
in honor of the film's original release date in the US. While we're planning a
snail mail campaign (more impact), feel free to send e-mails, too.
Please join us in our campaign, and tell all your friends. Below, we've
provided the addresses for the heads of Time Warner and Warner Home Video. We've
also provided a sample letter for you to use, which you can modify it to your
own tastes. If you do, please be polite.
Address all correspondence to:
Mr. Barry Meyer
Chairman and CEO
Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
818-954-6000
barry.meyer @ warnerbros.com
Download sample letter |
Mr. Alan Horn
President and COO
Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
818-954-6000
alan.horn @ warnerbros.com
Download sample letter |
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Mr. Jim Cardwell
President
Warner Home Video
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
818-954-6000
jim.cardwell @ warnerbros.com
Download sample letter |
Note: If you choose to send email,
please remember to ONLY send them on June 19, 2004. |
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Read our Press Release
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Banner Ad:
To put the Campaign banner on your website, just right-click (or Control-click
on the Mac) on the image above and save it to your hard drive. When you set up your link,
point to:
www.theforbidden-zone.com/supermanii. * In yet
another odd turn for a story that has many, Superman II was actually released
first in France, Norway, and Spain in December of 1980. It wasn't released in
the US until June 19, 1981. For some bizarre reason, the Salkinds felt that
releasing the sequel to a hugely successful film overseas first would help build
momentum.
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