“Highly creative people have a hard time getting their movies made. Full stop. That’s all it is. Because they bring stuff that blows everyone away, and as much as the claim is they want something original, they’re terrified of it. That’s what happens. So, you don’t see those movies because they scare everybody up the chain of command.”
That quote sums up the failure of acclaimed Director Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage, fresh off an Oscar win, to make the ultimate Superman film, “Superman Lives!”
Now there’s a terrific documentary that tells the whole, fascinating story – with tons of behind-the-scenes footage – and almost everyone participates!
First, check out the trailer:
Documentary Filmmaker Jon Schnepp tells the story, and while the trailer shows too much of his on-camera antics, he’s not obtrusive in the film – the documentary itself is beautifully made, and Schnepp got a ton of great on-camera interviews with everyone involved!
Kevin Smith’s Hilarious Anecdotes!
Kevin Smith is laugh-out-loud funny as he recounts his role in this saga. He tells hilarious stories about developing the screenplay – and getting forced out when Tim Burton came on board.
What makes this documentary so compelling is a brand new, INDEPTH and CANDID interview with Director Tim Burton, who explains how the entire project fell apart just weeks before filming was to begin.
The documentary has a ton of behind-the-scenes footage, and a long and very funny interview with legendary Producer Jon Peters, plus Warner Brothers Executives, special effects artists, costume designers – and Kevin Smith has a funny story about being asked to come up with a Giant Spider for Superman to fight!
The Giant Spider Battle!
The documentary has some real fun as Smith tells the giant spider story, intercutting various people contradicting Kevin, who has a lot of fun remembering the spider! It really shows how the collaborative effort can be upstaged by ego.
Here is a fun fact: Kevin Smith directed some episodes of the second season of Supergirl (2015), the first titled “Supergirl Lives” as a reference to the film. Smith joked he expected Supergirl to fight a giant spider as in the infamous battle scene proposed for this film.
As I said, just weeks before filming was set to begin, the entire film fell apart. As one Graphic Artist Sylvian Despretz says in the film:
“Highly creative people have a hard time getting their movies made. Full stop. That’s all it is. Because they bring stuff that blows everyone away, and as much as the claim is they want something original, they’re terrified of it. That’s what happens. So, you don’t see those movies because they scare everybody up the chain of command.”
This is a great film, and there is a website that has much more detail – check it out here:
You can't take the Scotland out of a girl... Reel entertainment reviews and more from that Darlin Husband’s Scottish, square-eyed and film-mad wife living in Finland.
johnrieber 
I am old enough to remember Superman on TV!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes indeed Pete!
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