The "newest photos" photostream on flickr had a guy in the classic "ripping open the shirt to show the superman costume" pose. I made it look more comic-bookish.
SPOILERS BELOW!
If you're a movie or comic book geek, you might know the story of Superman II's two directors. If not, here's a quick and nearly accurate recap:
Richard Donner was the director of the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie. To save money on sets and stuff, parts of Superman II were filmed at the same time. After the first movie came out, the producers fired Donner and replaced him with Richard Lester. Lester's version included a lot of Donner footage, but he shot his own stuff. Some actors refused to work with the new director, so re-scripted scenes replaced some of the original footage. Ever since then, people have talked about the "lost" version of Superman II that would have been so much better than the Lester/Donner mix that was released. This week, Warner Brothers released "The Richard Donner Cut" of the film, replacing the Lester footage with Donner footage wherever possible (even to the point of using screen test footage), and restoring as closely as possible the originally intended script.
I watched it yesterday. Here's what I thought.
GOOD:
- The "new" Brando stuff (especially when Jor-El sacrifices himself to restore Superman's powers)
- How Lois figures out Clark is Superman
- Lex Luthor given more to do, and a reason he might be useful to the Phantom Zone criminals
- Pointless new superpowers (holograms, ice sculptures, throwable plastic "S" symbols, super-amnesia kiss) GONE
- Mt. Rushmore is spared- the Washington monument bites it
- Lois jumps out a window at the planet instead of off the rail at Niagara Falls
- Some of that Lex/Miss Tessmacher dialogue could have been left on the cutting room floor
- THE WHOLE FREAKING ENDING OF THE FILM!
The Donner version of the Superman II ending is the worst of both worlds: Superman, sad that Lois will be miserable knowing that can Lois and Superman can never be together, turns back time AGAIN- all the way to the beginning of the movie! That's right: Superman, previously warned by Jor-El that he cannot interfere with human history, casually changes the lives of every single human being on the planet so the woman he likes won't be sad. LAME LAME LAME LAME LAME. I re-watched the scene with the director's commentary on to see if this was some sort of compromise ending, but they made no indication of that. So, Donner's Superman restarts the world every time he gets upset? "These eggs are overcooked! I'd better REVERSE TIME to fix them!"
A better ending than both (but closer to the Lester version than the "let's do the same thing we did in the last movie" version) would be something like this: Superman flies Lois home. They're both weepy. Lois says something about "I love you, but I wish I didn't know you were Clark- it's going to make going to work really blow." Superman says: "I can make you forget, if you want." He uses super-hypnotism (an actual established, though uncommonly used, power) to make her forget, sealing it with a final kiss. He flies off, and Lois is standing on her balcony, looking confused. The next day at the planet, things seem back to normal: Clark is a dunderhead, Lois treats him poorly. Clark goes off to get a pizza Lois has demanded. When he's gone, there's a close up of Lois' face- she cries a little- the hypnotism didn't work!. After a second or two, she smiles, wipes off the tears, and types her story. That way, Lois gets to remember what happened and gets to know that she's helping Superman by relieving his guilt, and Superman is able to sacrifice his personal feelings for the good of the world.
They shoulda called me before they filmed it.
If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
Submitted by chris.
WARNING: FUSSY EATER
Have you ever Googled your own name? How did you feel about the results?
Submitted by elen.
When I google my own name, the first three links are to me, then it switches to an Australian lawyer. When I google "dogwelder", eight of the first ten hits are either by me or about me. So, I'm fine with that.
What are you thankful for?
I am thankful for figure eleven.
Show us what a bad hair day looks like.
Submitted by Cindercone.
This was taken the day after Halloween last year.
What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Submitted by Brennan.
STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING STUFFING!
