1. Look... man 1: Up in the sky.Copy !req
2. Man 2: It's a bird.
It's a plane.Copy !req
3. It's, it's...Copy !req
4. - Superman.
- Superman.Copy !req
5. - Superman?
- Superman.Copy !req
6. Superman!Copy !req
7. You wanted to see me?Copy !req
8. He was the world's
first comic-book superhero.Copy !req
9. The fearless man
in blue tights with a red cape...Copy !req
10. And an s stretched
boldly across his chest.Copy !req
11. My dad would give a dime to buy
every new issue of Superman.Copy !req
12. Superman made
a big impact on me...Copy !req
13. And I guess on most of the people
who read them.Copy !req
14. For more than 60 years,
Superman has been everything.Copy !req
15. From a comic book to a cartoon,
to a movie starCopy !req
16. - oh!
- Easy, miss, I've got you.Copy !req
17. Everybody when they talk about
Superman as part of their childhood...Copy !req
18. Glows about why it's
such a great character.Copy !req
19. Look, Superman. Yay!Copy !req
20. I first saw Superman on television...Copy !req
21. The George Reeves' TV series.Copy !req
22. I just loved it.Copy !req
23. I guess it was the idea of flying.Copy !req
24. George Reeves would run up
and bounce out the window.Copy !req
25. I would try to mimic that.
I mean who didn't?Copy !req
26. Some have seen Superman
as a mythic symbol of hope...Copy !req
27. Strength and moral certainty...Copy !req
28. While others would simply call him
a pop-culture phenomenon.Copy !req
29. - It's not like I asked to be famous.
- Yeah, well, it's the price you pay.Copy !req
30. Throughout his history, he's found
himself in touch with the times.Copy !req
31. And occasionally out of fashion.Copy !req
32. Forget it, Superman,
you just do your thing.Copy !req
33. Right on.Copy !req
34. Lois is in danger.
I'm gonna split.Copy !req
35. But Superman continues to endure...Copy !req
36. As generation after generation
have come to know him.Copy !req
37. I watched the justice league
cartoon on television.Copy !req
38. That was really my exposure
to Superman.Copy !req
39. Thank you for flying
Superman airlines.Copy !req
40. And with each new generation...Copy !req
41. Ouperman continues to challenge...Copy !req
42. Our collective notion
of what it means to be a hero.Copy !req
43. There's always a time for heroes.Copy !req
44. It's the spirit of Superman.Copy !req
45. Someone that people
can aspire to be.Copy !req
46. The guy down the street
wanted to be a sports jock.Copy !req
47. Ah!Copy !req
48. I wanted to save Metropolis.Copy !req
49. It's about having a hero
who swoops down and saves you...Copy !req
50. Who looks pretty good too.Copy !req
51. He enables you to do
everything humanly possible...Copy !req
52. That we all wanted to do.Copy !req
53. It's the greatest fantasy in the world.Copy !req
54. According to the comic books...Copy !req
55. Ouperman began life as baby Kal-El.Copy !req
56. Born on the distant planet of Krypton.Copy !req
57. But Superman
was actually conceived...Copy !req
58. In the imaginations
of two teenage boys...Copy !req
59. Trom Cleveland, Ohio.Copy !req
60. Jerry Siegel and Joe shuster...Copy !req
61. Both the sons
of Jewish immigrants.Copy !req
62. When they met at
glenville high school in 1931...Copy !req
63. The two teenagers were shy loners
with a shared interest.Copy !req
64. In adventure,
science-fiction pulp magazines...Copy !req
65. And comic strips.Copy !req
66. Jerry wrote articles
for his school newspaper.Copy !req
67. Joe was an artist who enjoyed
illustrating Jerry's work.Copy !req
68. A powerful partnership was forged.Copy !req
69. They were about 16 years old.Copy !req
70. They just connected
and came up with this idea.Copy !req
71. Jerry would write stories,
Joe would draw themCopy !req
72. and they would try to make it
as comic-strip guys.Copy !req
73. Comic artists at that time were
celebrities and millionaires.Copy !req
74. But Jerry and Joe's dreams
of fame and fortune collided.Copy !req
75. With the economic despair and political
uncertainty of the great depression.Copy !req
76. A time when Americans
questioned...Copy !req
77. Whether their way of life
could even survive.Copy !req
78. In 1932 Jerry and Joe
created a mail-order periodical...Copy !req
79. They called science fiction.Copy !req
80. It was just a little mimeographed
periodical about eight or 10 pages.Copy !req
81. And inside it was the story called
reign of the Superman.Copy !req
82. Appearing in January of 1933...Copy !req
83. The reign of the Superman
told the story...Copy !req
84. Of a bald madman
who tries to use.Copy !req
85. His telepathic abilities
to conquer the world.Copy !req
86. The character's name came
from the word coined.Copy !req
87. By German philosopher friedrich
Nietzsche some 50 years earlier.Copy !req
88. Jerry Siegel began to rethink
the concept.Copy !req
89. What if the Superman
he and Joe had created.Copy !req
90. Was a force for good
instead of evil?Copy !req
91. And instead of telepathic abilities,
what if his powers were physical...Copy !req
92. Just like Hercules, Samson and all
of the other legendary strongmen...Copy !req
93. They had read about
and tried to emulate.Copy !req
94. Wouldn't this character be perfect to
star in a daily newspaper comic strip?Copy !req
95. They did it in a night in Cleveland.Copy !req
96. They kept running to each other's
houses that hot night in Cleveland.Copy !req
97. Neither could sleep.
Joe shuster would draw pictures...Copy !req
98. As Jerry came up with ideas.Copy !req
99. Over the next few weeks.Copy !req
100. Djerry and Joe
continued to refine their concept.Copy !req
101. They made Superman a refugee
from a distant planet.Copy !req
102. Clothed him in the muscle-defining
outfit of a circus acrobatCopy !req
103. and gave him a secret identity...Copy !req
104. As a mild-mannered newspaper
reporter named Clark Kent.Copy !req
105. Superman had the dual identity.
You know Zorro had had itCopy !req
106. the Scarlet pimpernel had it.Copy !req
107. It was important to
the whole Superman mythos.Copy !req
108. Him working as a newspaper reporter so
that he can know what was going on...Copy !req
109. And where his abilities were needed.Copy !req
110. Drawing from both
pop culture and myth...Copy !req
111. Jerry and Joe created something
original, even visionary.Copy !req
112. And every major newspaper
editor and publisher...Copy !req
113. Wasted no time in rejecting ft.Copy !req
114. The editors mostly said things
like, "it looks too juvenile."Copy !req
115. Who wants to read about this guy
in tights and a cape...Copy !req
116. By 1935, Jerry and Joe
managed to find steady work...Copy !req
117. In the new medium
of comic books.Copy !req
118. Which expanded on many
of the characters and situations found.Copy !req
119. In the shorter
daily newspaper strips.Copy !req
120. They churned out hundreds of routine
tales featuring swashbucklers...Copy !req
121. Vampire-hunters, and private eyes.Copy !req
122. All for a fledgling company
called national allied publishing...Copy !req
123. 1ater to be known simply as DC...Copy !req
124. After one of its early successes,
detective comics.Copy !req
125. By 1938, DC was preparing
a new anthology comic book...Copy !req
126. Fortunately for Jerry and Joe...Copy !req
127. The company decided
to take a chance on Superman.Copy !req
128. That spring, action comics #17
hit the hews stand.Copy !req
129. It featured a full-color coverCopy !req
130. boasted 68 pages of content
and sold for a dime.Copy !req
131. At a time when an average American
worker made less than $25 a week.Copy !req
132. In that first issue,
Superman didn't fly.Copy !req
133. Instead, he leaped
from skyscraper to skyscraper.Copy !req
134. He was also not as strong
as he would later become.Copy !req
135. But what he lacked in powers,
he more than made up for in attitude.Copy !req
136. Tackling problems ripped from
depression-era headlines.Copy !req
137. In 1938, we're a nation
on the verge of war...Copy !req
138. We are a nation
that is new to this whole concept...Copy !req
139. Of urbanization and of urban crime.Copy !req
140. And Superman was originally
a social crusader.Copy !req
141. He was beating up mine owners
who were mistreating their employees.Copy !req
142. He was razing
defective buildings in Metropolis.Copy !req
143. Action comics was a success.Copy !req
144. And over the next years, Superman
developed a large and loyal following.Copy !req
145. But as much as he resonated
with the public, so did his alter ego...Copy !req
146. The timid reporter, Clark Kent.Copy !req
147. It's not der ubermenschCopy !req
148. it's not the germanic idea
of the Superman...Copy !req
149. The superior man of Nietzsche.Copy !req
150. This is the greatness
of the meek, the mild.Copy !req
151. Superman established
the idea of somebody...Copy !req
152. Wwho seems to be a meek, ordinary,
average person...Copy !req
153. And is really a superhero.Copy !req
154. And it was a formula that virtually every
superhero owes a debt to even today.Copy !req
155. In January, 1939...Copy !req
156. Ouperman made the leap from comic
book to newspaper comic strip.Copy !req
157. And soon 20 million Americans
thrilled to his adventures every day.Copy !req
158. That summer, DC took an even bolder
marketing strategy with the character...Copy !req
159. By featuring their superhero
in his very own comic book.Copy !req
160. Superman became so popular
that they said:Copy !req
161. "Why don't we create a comic book
just about that character?"Copy !req
162. Which back then was very unusual.Copy !req
163. Superman #171 sold more
than a million copies.Copy !req
164. And by the end of the year,
the man of steel was everywhere.Copy !req
165. He was at the New York world's fair
played by actor ray middleton.Copy !req
166. And he was at
the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade...Copy !req
167. Impersonated by a balloon.Copy !req
168. Now seen as a symbol of hope
to a struggling nation...Copy !req
169. Ouperman was bigger
and more powerful...Copy !req
170. Than even his creators
could have imagined.Copy !req
171. Man 1: Look, up in the sky.Copy !req
172. Man 2: It's a bird.
Man 3: It's a plane.Copy !req
173. Man 4: It's Superman.Copy !req
174. On February 12, 1940...Copy !req
175. The adventures of Superman debuted
oh radio stations across America.Copy !req
176. Radio narrator:
Yes, it's Superman.Copy !req
177. Today, as we begin
the man of steel's new adventure.Copy !req
178. A cunning trap is being set
for the girl reporter, Lois Lane.Copy !req
179. Within the year...Copy !req
180. An estimated 20 million listeners
were tuning in.Copy !req
181. Now, for the first time,
comic book fans could hearCopy !req
182. what a Superman story
sounded like.Copy !req
183. We didn't have television
but, boy...Copy !req
184. You'd stare at that atwater Kent,
or that little dial, and you were there.Copy !req
185. I mean, it's the theater of the mind.Copy !req
186. Hey! That roof's gonna fall in a second!Copy !req
187. I'll just wrap my cape
around these two like this...Copy !req
188. Uh-oh. Here comes that roof.Copy !req
189. The dual role
of Superman and Clark Kent...Copy !req
190. Was played by
Clayton "bud" collyer...Copy !req
191. Who would perform the characters
in over 2,000 programs.Copy !req
192. He got the concept of doing
Clark up in sort of his tenor voice:Copy !req
193. "This looks like a job...Copy !req
194. For Superman.”Copy !req
195. This is a job for Superman.Copy !req
196. The radio-show writers
added plot devices...Copy !req
197. That became part
of the DC universe.Copy !req
198. Superman didn't just leap
over buildings, he flew.Copy !req
199. Up, up and away.Copy !req
200. The writers also changed the name...Copy !req
201. Of the dally star
to the daily planet...Copy !req
202. And the name of editor
George Taylor to Perry white.Copy !req
203. Mr. White, I'd like to thank you.
Let it go, Kent.Copy !req
204. You get a story
and you get a job.Copy !req
205. They made copy boy
Jimmy Olsen a key member...Copy !req
206. Of Superman's supporting cast.Copy !req
207. And get this, miss Lane...Copy !req
208. Mr. White gave me
all the buried treasure.Copy !req
209. It comes to almost 10,000 dollars.Copy !req
210. And it was on radio
that kryptonite was introduced...Copy !req
211. As the only substance powerful enough
to harm the man of steelCopy !req
212. radio narrator:
Superman discovered to his horror...Copy !req
213. That if he approached within a distance
of 10 feet of the green glowing meteor...Copy !req
214. He lost all his strength.Copy !req
215. The 1940 radio show
also fueled interest.Copy !req
216. In a shower
of Superman merchandise...Copy !req
217. That exploded onto the marketplace.Copy !req
218. There are probably only two characters
on the planet...Copy !req
219. That you could peg its popularity
to its merchandising.Copy !req
220. And that's Mickey mouse
and Superman.Copy !req
221. More precious
than a Superman toy was membership...Copy !req
222. In the Superman of America club
founded in 1939Copy !req
223. You had to send in coupons...Copy !req
224. Cut from action comics
until you got this patch.Copy !req
225. You see it says action comics.Copy !req
226. This is from the very first year.Copy !req
227. And there were very, very few samples
of this particular patch known.Copy !req
228. As Americans questioned
whether to get involved...Copy !req
229. In the escalating world war overseas,
Superman became...Copy !req
230. Even more of a symbol of moral
goodness and social responsibility.Copy !req
231. In later years, the radio show even took
on the controversial topic of racism...Copy !req
232. By having Superman fight
the ku klux klan.Copy !req
233. Clan member:
We're a great secret society...Copy !req
234. Pledged to purify America.Copy !req
235. One race, one religion, one color.Copy !req
236. I don't get it. America's got
all kinds of religions and colors.Copy !req
237. Superman's appeal
transcended nationality.Copy !req
238. After all, in many ways, Superman
was the ultimate American immigrant.Copy !req
239. Irish kids, Hungarian kids, German kids,
Italian kids, black kids, Jewish kids...Copy !req
240. Were connecting to Superman.Copy !req
241. Superman became every kid's fantasy.Copy !req
242. I came to America at about 81/2 years
of age. I wasn't born here.Copy !req
243. I was born in IsraelCopy !req
244. Superman was the great longing
of these immigrants to fit into society...Copy !req
245. And to aspire to greatness.Copy !req
246. Man 1: Up in the sky. Look.Copy !req
247. It's a bird.
Man 2: It's a plane.Copy !req
248. Man 3: It's Superman.Copy !req
249. Just three years
after his debut in the comics.Copy !req
250. Ouperman also became
a movie starCopy !req
251. in 1941, the fleischer studios...Copy !req
252. Famous for their popeye
and Betty boop cartoons...Copy !req
253. Produced the first of 17
animated theatrical shorts.Copy !req
254. I don't believe it. He isn't human.Copy !req
255. For the first time ever,
audiences could now see Superman fly.Copy !req
256. Once again, bud collyer provided
the voice of the man of steel.Copy !req
257. This is a job for Superman.Copy !req
258. While radio actress Joan Alexander
played feisty girl reporter Lois Lane.Copy !req
259. What have you done with the jewels?Copy !req
260. You'll read about it
in tomorrow's paper.Copy !req
261. Lois was one of
the really strong female characters...Copy !req
262. Where she would go out
and do whatever to get at the truth...Copy !req
263. And nothing stopped her.Copy !req
264. - City editor.
- Look, chief, the panic's on.Copy !req
265. The thing's gone haywire.Copy !req
266. Using a process called rotoscoping...Copy !req
267. In which live-action models
were traced one frame at a time.Copy !req
268. The Superman cartoons set
a new standard for excellence.Copy !req
269. And were even rewarded
with an Oscar homination.Copy !req
270. But as moviegoers thrilled
to Superman's animated adventures...Copy !req
271. A deadly force was preparing
fo attack America.Copy !req
272. And not even the man of steel
could stop it.Copy !req
273. December 7, 1941.Copy !req
274. A date which will live in infamy.Copy !req
275. With the United States'
entry into world war I...Copy !req
276. Comic-book villainy gave way to a
real-life battle between good and evil.Copy !req
277. As American men and women
left their families to fight overseas...Copy !req
278. DC comics struggled
to find a way for Superman...Copy !req
279. To provide moral support
for the allies.Copy !req
280. There were some cool covers.Copy !req
281. The story almost never touched
on the war.Copy !req
282. In Superman stories where he
solves the world's problem...Copy !req
283. The problem's still there
the next morning.Copy !req
284. It was a wise choice by DC.
Sending Superman overseas...Copy !req
285. Could wipe out the Nazi menace
in an afternoon.Copy !req
286. But it was viewed as disrespectful
to the honest, genuine effort...Copy !req
287. That was being made
over there by the allies...Copy !req
288. To have a costumed character run in
and just fix everything.Copy !req
289. During the war, Superman
was often featured in the comics.Copy !req
290. Dealing body blows
to Hitler and hirohito.Copy !req
291. It was a time of moral certainty.Copy !req
292. One in which enemies of the day
were depicted as two-dimensional...Copy !req
293. In more ways than one.Copy !req
294. America's favorite superhero
cheered on the troops...Copy !req
295. And urged folks to buy war bonds
and recycle scrap paper.Copy !req
296. Ironically, this recycling campaign
helped make vintage Superman comics...Copy !req
297. A rare and valuable commodity.Copy !req
298. Would Mark a new chapter...Copy !req
299. In the evolution of the man of steelCopy !req
300. like the country that created him,
Superman now seemed invincible.Copy !req
301. Stronger even than the invention
that ended the war, the atomic bomb.Copy !req
302. As gi's came home
and began raising families...Copy !req
303. DC readers could also follow
the character's teenage adventures...Copy !req
304. As superboy, the obedient, adopted
son of loving earth parents, the kents...Copy !req
305. Who live in the idyllic town
of SmallvilleCopy !req
306. this chapter in Superman's history had
also been chronicled in a 1942 novel.Copy !req
307. Written by George lowther,
a key contributor to the radio show.Copy !req
308. It's a very conservative era.
It's very respectful of authority.Copy !req
309. And Superman therefore went
from being a crusader of social causes...Copy !req
310. To a symbol of the social order.Copy !req
311. He became the quintessential
big blue boy scout.Copy !req
312. On movie screens,
the man of steel got a fresh makeover...Copy !req
313. In a 15-chapter serial
produced by Columbia pictures.Copy !req
314. That track flier races through here
and she's loaded to the hilt.Copy !req
315. This looks like a job for Superman.Copy !req
316. The fiims were made
on a shoestring budget...Copy !req
317. And were intended to entertain
children during Saturday matinees.Copy !req
318. Former movie cowboy kirk alyn
was an exuberant man of steel...Copy !req
319. Get that man to the police.Copy !req
320. Turn the reducer ray over to proper
authorities and I'll round up the others.Copy !req
321. And a very mild-mannered Clark Kent.Copy !req
322. - I'm going out for a while.
- But things may pop here.Copy !req
323. I'll be back in time.Copy !req
324. I just wanna get the reaction of the man
on the street when the news is flashed.Copy !req
325. Actress Noel neill became the screen's.Copy !req
326. First flesh-and-blood [ois I ane.Copy !req
327. Lois! Yes?Copy !req
328. - It's Jimmy, can I come in?
- It's, "may I come in"...Copy !req
329. And the answer is yes, you're in.Copy !req
330. My dad was this newspaperman.Copy !req
331. He said, "I never see anybody going
around with a pad, pencil or anything.Copy !req
332. He's running, getting
in trouble and it"Copy !req
333. You're wanted.
What goes on here?Copy !req
334. - Hello, miss Lane.
- It's Dr. hackett, he's on the hot list.Copy !req
335. Can you identify him? Yes.Copy !req
336. Good enough for me.Copy !req
337. The serial inspired...Copy !req
338. An equally successful sequel
atom man vs. Superman.Copy !req
339. Here, audiences were introduced
to the villainous I. Uthor.Copy !req
340. Hot yet Lex Luthor,
played by Lyle Talbot.Copy !req
341. They think I'm bluffing.
I'l show them.Copy !req
342. I'll destroy the bridge
and then all of Metropolis.Copy !req
343. Luthor had become
well known to comic-book readers.Copy !req
344. As the man of steel's archenemy.Copy !req
345. The mad scientist was
a fitting boogyman for an age...Copy !req
346. Living under the threat of
atomic annihilation.Copy !req
347. In the kirk alyn Superman serials...Copy !req
348. You don't actually see him fly.
It's animation.Copy !req
349. Up, up and away.Copy !req
350. I have talked to people who to this day
remember being disappointed...Copy !req
351. That they didn't really see Superman
fly and that it was a cartoon.Copy !req
352. Return to your office.Copy !req
353. By the end of the 1940s,
Superman had become an American icon.Copy !req
354. And after triumphing in everything
from comic books and radio dramasCopy !req
355. to merchandising and movies, the
man of steel was about to conquer...Copy !req
356. The most exciting new technology
of the day.Copy !req
357. In November of 19561, the feature
film Superman and the mole-men...Copy !req
358. Premiered in theaters
across America.Copy !req
359. The low-budget movie starred
a new Superman, George Reeves...Copy !req
360. Who was joined
by Phyllis coates as Lois Lane.Copy !req
361. Now listen to me, all of you. You don't
know anything about these creatures.Copy !req
362. What they are or where they're from.
But here's the man that can tell you.Copy !req
363. The story concerned the fear...Copy !req
364. That infects a small town...Copy !req
365. Whose inhabitants
come face-to-faceCopy !req
366. with gnome-like visitors
from the depths of the earth.Copy !req
367. As Superman comes
to the creature's rescue.Copy !req
368. The audience is given
a lesson in toleranceCopy !req
369. a timely theme during
the politically paranoid 1950s.Copy !req
370. You're not going to shoot
those little creatures.Copy !req
371. In the first place,
they haven't done you any harm.Copy !req
372. In the second place,
they may be radioactive.Copy !req
373. If they fall in the reservoir,
they may contaminate the water supply.Copy !req
374. Save your time and ammunition,
Benson.Copy !req
375. Shot on a dusty backlot...Copy !req
376. In culver city, California,
in just 12 days...Copy !req
377. The movie was a box-office success.Copy !req
378. It also helped launch a bigger project
already in production.Copy !req
379. A Superman series
for the young medium of television.Copy !req
380. Faster than a speeding bullet.Copy !req
381. More powerful than a locomotive.Copy !req
382. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.Copy !req
383. Man 1: Look, up in the sky.
Man 2: It's a bird.Copy !req
384. It's a plane.
Man 3: It's Superman.Copy !req
385. In the adventures of Superman...Copy !req
386. George Reeves returned
as the man of steel.Copy !req
387. And so did Phyllis coates
as Lois I ane.Copy !req
388. Largest Ruby in the world, stolen three
years ago from the London museum.Copy !req
389. What a story.
Thanks to Kent here.Copy !req
390. And to Superman.Copy !req
391. Like I always say, two heads
are better than one.Copy !req
392. Classically trained
at the Pasadena playhouse...Copy !req
393. Reeves first came to the attention
of movie audiences in 1939Copy !req
394. when he appeared as one of the
tarleton twins in the epic production...Copy !req
395. Of gone with the wind.Copy !req
396. But after world war il, Reeves' career
had come to a virtual standstill.Copy !req
397. The 38-year-old
shared his frustration.Copy !req
398. With fellow Superman actor
Jack Larson, cast as Jimmy Olsen.Copy !req
399. The first time George and I met,
I said how good he was...Copy !req
400. In so proudly we halll...Copy !req
401. Which was a star-making role,
and he said, "yes.Copy !req
402. And if the director, Mark sandrich,
who was a mentor to me, hadn't died...Copy !req
403. While I was away in the army...Copy !req
404. I wouldn't be sitting here
in this monkey suit today."Copy !req
405. That's the only time ever I heard him
say anything negative...Copy !req
406. About being Superman.Copy !req
407. As I understand it.Copy !req
408. You wanna go on the roller coaster?Copy !req
409. And the merry-go-round,
and the Ferris wheelCopy !req
410. all right.Copy !req
411. Targeted mainly at children...Copy !req
412. The adventures of Superman
premiered in syndication...Copy !req
413. On September 19, 1952,
and became an instant hit.Copy !req
414. But I don't understand.
Why did he do this?Copy !req
415. There's a deposit of hydrozite in that
cave. I just learned this in Washington.Copy !req
416. What is this hy...? Hydro...?Copy !req
417. Hydrozite, it's a rare mineral
used in making the hydrogen bomb.Copy !req
418. Oh.Copy !req
419. I first saw Superman on television,
the George Reeves TV series.Copy !req
420. And I just went mad for it.
I just loved it.Copy !req
421. Superman, you're wonderful.
How did you know we were in trouble?Copy !req
422. A little bird told me.Copy !req
423. I bet you the little bird's name
was Clark Kent.Copy !req
424. Before the show started, I would
immediately run into the bathroom...Copy !req
425. And grab the largest towel
and wrap it around my neck.Copy !req
426. And when he flew through the air...Copy !req
427. George Reeves,
I dove off my bed just like him.Copy !req
428. I was first exposed to Superman
when I was about 2 or 3 years old...Copy !req
429. Through the
George Reeves television series.Copy !req
430. Superman was a huge influence
on why I wanted to be an actor.Copy !req
431. I just loved that television series
so much.Copy !req
432. Jimmy, are you all right?Copy !req
433. Yeah, I guess so, my legs
are a little weak, that's all.Copy !req
434. That was a close one.Copy !req
435. Jim, a word of advice:Copy !req
436. After this, keep out of peoples' safes.
You bet.Copy !req
437. He was a terrific guy
and a totally accomplished actor.Copy !req
438. His Clark Kent was wonderfully reviewed
in the New York times.Copy !req
439. They said how the depth
of his performance...Copy !req
440. Had a bit of sadness, loneliness,
mystery as Clark Kent.Copy !req
441. Most of the lighter moments...Copy !req
442. Came from Jack Larson's
appealing performance as Jimmy Olsen.Copy !req
443. - Oh, my ankle.
- Let me give you a hand.Copy !req
444. I was waiting on the pier
for miss LaneCopy !req
445. to interview Denise darrieux,
the French movie star.Copy !req
446. Sorry you missed her.
They say she's very pretty.Copy !req
447. Right now you're prettier to me
than all the movie stars in the world.Copy !req
448. Larson's popularity
even led to a new DC comic bookCopy !req
449. ouperman's pal Jimmy Olsen.Copy !req
450. It was followed by a book
starring Lois Lane.Copy !req
451. DC looked at Jimmy Olsen
and Lois Lane to appeal...Copy !req
452. To young boys and young qirls.Copy !req
453. They could see themselves
not as Superman...Copy !req
454. But they thought of themselves
as Superman's friend.Copy !req
455. But not everyone
loved the man of steelCopy !req
456. in fact, one outspoken psychiatrist,
dr fredric wertham.Copy !req
457. Considered Superman un-American.Copy !req
458. In his 1954 book,
seduction of the innocent.Copy !req
459. Wertham waged an incendiary war
oh comic booksCopy !req
460. and called
the man of steel a fascistCopy !req
461. wertham was a star witness
at the senate investigation...Copy !req
462. Into popular media...Copy !req
463. And its alleged responsibility
for juvenile delinquency...Copy !req
464. Which was on the rise
across America.Copy !req
465. Wertham's message, echoed
by other witnesses, sent shock waves...Copy !req
466. Through the anxious
comic-book industry...Copy !req
467. And threatened its very existence.Copy !req
468. Fortunately, wertham's attack
on Superman...Copy !req
469. Bounced off the man of steel
like so many bullets.Copy !req
470. Here was a hero
who represented all people...Copy !req
471. Not white, not black,
not women, not men. Everybody.Copy !req
472. The adventures of Superman...Copy !req
473. Soared into its third season.Copy !req
474. It benefited from a bigger budget.Copy !req
475. One that allowed for the series
to be filmed in colorCopy !req
476. inspector, you'll find a lot of missing
people in the basement of that house.Copy !req
477. - Where's Clark?
- Yes, where is he?Copy !req
478. Where he usually is.Copy !req
479. By now,
there was also a new Lois I ane.Copy !req
480. In the person of Noel nelll...Copy !req
481. Who'd been a favorite with audiences
in the kirk alyn serials.Copy !req
482. I'm tired Clark.
Think I'll rest here a minute.Copy !req
483. That's a good idea, Lois.
I'll go ahead and scout around a bit.Copy !req
484. - You wait right here.
- Okay, don't get lost.Copy !req
485. I always got from the kids:Copy !req
486. "Why don't you know
that Clark and Superman...Copy !req
487. They're the same person
wearing a pair of those darn eyeglasses."Copy !req
488. And I said,
"I don't want to lose my job."Copy !req
489. The TV series, like the franchise...Copy !req
490. Fell under the watchful eye
of DC comics editorial director.Copy !req
491. Whitney ellsworth.Copy !req
492. Ellsworth crafted a code of conduct
for all of DC's heroesCopy !req
493. including a ban against killing
and excessive violence.Copy !req
494. It was a move designed to protect DC
from further attacks by critics.Copy !req
495. For the TV series, ellsworth collaborated
with the show's sponsor, kellogg's...Copy !req
496. To make sure the program was
on budget and patently inoffensive.Copy !req
497. Get these better-than-ever
puffs of wheat.Copy !req
498. They're sugar toasted
and candy sweet.Copy !req
499. Kellogg's are selling cereals for children
so they wanted to keep our show "nice."Copy !req
500. Ellsworth also vetoed
the idea of letting Noel neill appear...Copy !req
501. In kellogg's commercials
that featured her fellow cast members.Copy !req
502. Enjoying a hearty breakfast.Copy !req
503. And I kept saying,
"aren't I gonna do any?"Copy !req
504. And they said, "oh, well, we don't
feel that you should be sitting...Copy !req
505. At a breakfast table having cereal
with Jimmy Olsen or Clark Kent...Copy !req
506. Because that's just wrong."Copy !req
507. Ironically, the idea of Clark and Jimmy...Copy !req
508. Waking up to breakfast together...Copy !req
509. Didn't seem to raise any eyebrows.Copy !req
510. Oh, good, you're both here. Now,
we have an important assignment and I...Copy !req
511. Chief, can't it wait till after breakfast?Copy !req
512. News can't wait, Kent, you know that.Copy !req
513. - Now then...
- Not even for new sugar smacks, chief?Copy !req
514. Now, I say we have this important...Copy !req
515. Why, yes, don't mind if I do.Copy !req
516. Over the next five years...Copy !req
517. The popularity of
the adventures of Superman...Copy !req
518. Continued undiminished.Copy !req
519. Ms. Lane, will you please release Jimmy
and the good professor, here.Copy !req
520. I have to go catch those crooks.Copy !req
521. The props might have been
on the flimsy side.Copy !req
522. And some of the situations
may have been a bit bizarre.Copy !req
523. But it didn't matter. Kids around
the world couldn't get enough.Copy !req
524. And much of the credit
belonged to George Reeves...Copy !req
525. Who anchored the often outlandish
stories with his natural charm.Copy !req
526. What was that?Copy !req
527. Oh, just the usual hired thugs
in the usual powerful black sedan.Copy !req
528. But never mind, I'll get them.Copy !req
529. - Are you all right?
- I'm all right.Copy !req
530. What's going on here?Copy !req
531. I was cruising by in my car
and heard the shooting.Copy !req
532. It's quite all right, inspector.
Miss Lane is unharmed.Copy !req
533. I looked up to him as a kid.
So many other people did.Copy !req
534. George Reeves
would have made a great dad.Copy !req
535. You wanted to help people and that's
what I call being real super, Bobby.Copy !req
536. George was a noble...Copy !req
537. - Person.
- Southern gentleman.Copy !req
538. - He was a gentleman.
- He was wonderfulCopy !req
539. and he always had a sign up
on his dressing room:Copy !req
540. "Honest George,
the people's friend."Copy !req
541. Reeves gave every episode his all...Copy !req
542. Especially when it came
to his character's famous entrances.Copy !req
543. - Superman!
- Am I glad to see you.Copy !req
544. Golly, Superman, you could have
come in through the door.Copy !req
545. This seemed more spectacular.Copy !req
546. George took the walls very seriously.Copy !req
547. He liked to come through, and he liked
them to pop out everywhere.Copy !req
548. My word, it's Superman.Copy !req
549. George made the entrances he did...Copy !req
550. Because he fell once.Copy !req
551. In one of the very first shows,
they were flying him in like Peter Pan...Copy !req
552. And the wire broke, and he fell
and he said, "that's it.Copy !req
553. Peter Pan flies, my Superman
doesn't fly on wires."Copy !req
554. And when he would do his entrances,
there would be a bar.Copy !req
555. And George would jump,
grab the bar and come in.Copy !req
556. Did you find it?
Did you find karborium-x?Copy !req
557. I hope so, professor.Copy !req
558. Special effects were quite primitive,
but his entrances and exits are boffo.Copy !req
559. That moment in the end of the episode...Copy !req
560. Where Lois would be
criticizing Clark...Copy !req
561. And George would look to us and say,
"well, I did my best, Lois.Copy !req
562. After all, you can't expect me
to be a Superman.”Copy !req
563. Well, all I can say is, if it weren't
for Superman, I wouldn't be here.Copy !req
564. And it was like breaking
the fourth wall. Ooh, we know.Copy !req
565. Nobody else knows, just us.Copy !req
566. And when I tell you to look, you look.Copy !req
567. You're gonna see
your favorite television star.Copy !req
568. Look, Superman. Yay!Copy !req
569. But Lois Lane wasn't
the only redhead in Superman's life.Copy !req
570. In 1957,
George Reeves guest-starred...Copy !req
571. On America's number one
prime-time show, I love Lucy.Copy !req
572. Well, Superman, that was
a wonderful thing you did.Copy !req
573. Oh, Ricky, it was my pleasure.
I'm only sorry I didn't get to meet Lucy.Copy !req
574. - I've heard so much about her.
- Yeah, well I don't know.Copy !req
575. Where is Lucy, Ethel?Copy !req
576. Oh, she'll be here in a minute.
She's out on the ledge.Copy !req
577. Out on the ledge!Copy !req
578. By the end of the 1980s,
Reeves was desperate to move on...Copy !req
579. From the role that had made him
a household name.Copy !req
580. Of all the crazy things that you've done
in the 15 years that we've been married.Copy !req
581. Ricardo, you mean to say that
you've been married to her for 15 years.Copy !req
582. Yeah, 15 years.Copy !req
583. And they call me Superman.Copy !req
584. George was typed playing Superman
and he couldn't get another job...Copy !req
585. Except on / love Lucy
playing Superman.Copy !req
586. And it was awful for him.Copy !req
587. Reeves was also frustrated
by Superman's...Copy !req
588. Unorthodox production schedule...Copy !req
589. Which had the actors waiting months
or even a year between episodes.Copy !req
590. But in may of 1989,
the actors seemed upbeat...Copy !req
591. When told that cast and crew
would be reunited.Copy !req
592. To film a seventh season.Copy !req
593. George was happy as a bug
and looking forward to working.Copy !req
594. "Noel," he said,
"I'm gonna try directing...Copy !req
595. Because I'm getting a little old
to be running around in my underwear."Copy !req
596. Well, three days later,
this girl called and said:Copy !req
597. "Did you hear
what happened to George?"Copy !req
598. On the morning of June 16, 1959...Copy !req
599. A nation awoke
to read a shocking headline.Copy !req
600. Superman had killed himself.Copy !req
601. I was in Europe at the time...Copy !req
602. And there were headlines
from all over the world.Copy !req
603. People sent me all this stuff
saying George had committed suicide.Copy !req
604. I believed it. I still believe it.Copy !req
605. I said, "oh, no, no, no."
And I called Mr. ellsworth immediately.Copy !req
606. And he said, "well, he's dead."Copy !req
607. The headline said,
"Superman kills self."Copy !req
608. How? Why? You know,
we've seen him in so many episodes.Copy !req
609. The bullets bounce off him.Copy !req
610. At that age, you're trying
to figure out death...Copy !req
611. What does it mean?
I didn't know anybody who died.Copy !req
612. It was just wrenching beyond belief.Copy !req
613. The story I'd heard
was that he was murdered.Copy !req
614. Shot or something.
And then the story changed.Copy !req
615. And I'd heard that he tried to fly one day
and flew out the window and then died.Copy !req
616. On the day he died,
Reeves had been drinking heavily.Copy !req
617. But according to reports,
no fingerprints...Copy !req
618. Hot even his own,
were found on the gun.Copy !req
619. Throughout the decades
that followed.Copy !req
620. The circumstances
of the 45-year-old actor's death...Copy !req
621. Have remained one of Hollywood's
most morbid mysteries.Copy !req
622. Nevertheless, one detail was certain.Copy !req
623. For millions of fans,
Superman was dead.Copy !req
624. With the death of George Reeves,
the fate of the entire Superman empire...Copy !req
625. Seemed at risk
for the first time in its history.Copy !req
626. A new series focusing
on Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen...Copy !req
627. Was considered, but abandoned.Copy !req
628. Producer Whitney ellsworth
also tried to create a kid-friendly...Copy !req
629. And actor-safe spinoff in the form of
the adventures of superpup.Copy !req
630. TV narrator:
Faster than the speediest jet.Copy !req
631. More powerful
than the mightiest rocket.Copy !req
632. Able to fly around the world faster
than you can say "superpup.”Copy !req
633. And only you and I know
that superpup is really bark bent.Copy !req
634. Star reporter for the daily bugle.Copy !req
635. Filmed on the sets
of the George Reeves series...Copy !req
636. This strange premise
featured the Superman characters...Copy !req
637. As dogs and other animals
played by little people wearing masks.Copy !req
638. I just wanted to tell you what a fine
job I think you and Pamela did...Copy !req
639. In helping the police
put professor sheepdip in jail.Copy !req
640. We could never have done it
without the help of superpup.Copy !req
641. Oh, it was nothing.Copy !req
642. Why are you taking the bow...Copy !req
643. - If you think you're no superpup?
- Me?Copy !req
644. Well, anyway, it'll be a long time before
professor sheepdip gets out of jail.Copy !req
645. Not surprisingly, the concept...Copy !req
646. Never got beyond
this rarely-seen pilot...Copy !req
647. Which was never broadcast.Copy !req
648. Take one. - Hello there.Copy !req
649. A superboy pilot
starring John Rockwell...Copy !req
650. As the teenage Clark Kent...Copy !req
651. Was also attempted
but never found a sponsor.Copy !req
652. B1 take two.Copy !req
653. You know, it's a funny thing.Copy !req
654. Whenever you're around,
Clark seems to, well, vanish.Copy !req
655. What's funny about that?
I guess he's got problems of his own.Copy !req
656. And I don't suppose
it's remotely possible...Copy !req
657. That there could be any close
connection between you and Mr. Kent.Copy !req
658. Look, Lana, if you wanna persist
in some ridiculous ideaCopy !req
659. that I'm Clark Kent,
well, that's your business.Copy !req
660. Now, I don't have time to discuss it.Copy !req
661. Now will you or won't you
do as I ask?Copy !req
662. Of course I will, superboy.Copy !req
663. Fortunately for DC comics,
the death of George Reeves...Copy !req
664. Had little impact
on Superman's comic-book sales...Copy !req
665. Partly because the comics were
different from the television show.Copy !req
666. Thank god for the
comic books. I kept reading them.Copy !req
667. I still had Superman.Copy !req
668. I just didn't have this flesh-and-blood
guy I could look up to anymore.Copy !req
669. Throughout the 1950s,
DC editor mort weisinger and his staff...Copy !req
670. Began creating a vast mythology
for the man of steelCopy !req
671. by 1958, there were seven
different Superman titles...Copy !req
672. Collectively selling
nearly four million copies a month.Copy !req
673. Mort weisinger really built
the breadth of the mythology.Copy !req
674. He was the one who wanted us to know
stories about Superman's robot...Copy !req
675. Stories about the return
to Krypton...Copy !req
676. So you would learn
Superman's ancestors.Copy !req
677. Readers learned of Kryptonian villains...Copy !req
678. Released from the phantom zone.Copy !req
679. The Kryptonian city of Kandor,
shrunken by the alien brainiac.Copy !req
680. And the cube-shaped planet
of the bizarros.Copy !req
681. There was beppo, the super-monkey.Copy !req
682. Comet, the super-horse,
krypto, the super-dog.Copy !req
683. It seemed like every month or so...Copy !req
684. There were just new concepts
being introduced.Copy !req
685. Green kryptonite. Red kryptonite.Copy !req
686. Blue, white, Jewel kryptonite.Copy !req
687. There was Superman's
mermaid ex-girlfriend...Copy !req
688. And even a teenage cousin,
Supergirl.Copy !req
689. "Great guns, it's a flying girl.
It must be an illusion."Copy !req
690. "No, Superman, it's me,
and I have all your powers."Copy !req
691. Action comics #252Copy !req
692. In the comics,
Superman was now so all-powerful...Copy !req
693. So invincible that writers struggled
to create stories for him.Copy !req
694. I mean, at one point, he blew out a star
like you blow out a candle.Copy !req
695. Well, if a guy can do that...Copy !req
696. How are you going to get conflict
into the story, exactly?Copy !req
697. One solution
was to make Superman's conflicts...Copy !req
698. Less physical
and more emotional.Copy !req
699. O'Toole: Can you get married?
Can you have children?Copy !req
700. Can you have any kind of normal life?Copy !req
701. It just breaks my heart to think
that the guy who saves everybody...Copy !req
702. Can't enjoy his life.Copy !req
703. But no matter
what conflicts he faced.Copy !req
704. Ouperman reflected the same
unwavering optimism of his readers.Copy !req
705. And as the 1960s dawned
Superman seemed completely in-tune...Copy !req
706. With a hopeful new decade...Copy !req
707. Symbolized by the election
of a vigorous...Copy !req
708. Young president who promised a future
of space exploration and social justice.Copy !req
709. We choose to go to the moon.Copy !req
710. One Superman comic written in 1963,
even suggested a friendship...Copy !req
711. Between the American president
and the Kryptonian crime-fighter.Copy !req
712. The comic was set to go to press
that NovemberCopy !req
713. just as shots
rang out in Dallas, Texas.Copy !req
714. Shooting in the motorcade...Copy !req
715. At the age of 46,
John F. Kennedy was dead.Copy !req
716. And his assassination shattered
the dreams of a new frontier.Copy !req
717. Another generation grew disillusioned.Copy !req
718. Institutions, traditions, convictions
all became candidates for radical change.Copy !req
719. And change they did.Copy !req
720. A decade that began
with great optimism...Copy !req
721. Was marked by race riots,
political protest...Copy !req
722. And militant activism
against the Vietnam war.Copy !req
723. Paper heroes like Superman
now seemed irrelevant, even silly.Copy !req
724. It was a time of, you know...Copy !req
725. Long-haired hippie freaks
running the streets.Copy !req
726. And Superman was still the...
Like, the agent of the status quo.Copy !req
727. Cape Kennedy could be next.Copy !req
728. This is a job for Superman.
Up, up and away!Copy !req
729. Whew.
He made me see stars that time.Copy !req
730. In 1966, DC's number-two hero...Copy !req
731. Batman, came to television...Copy !req
732. As a straight-faced parody
of comic-book heroes.Copy !req
733. It was part of a resurgence,
if you will, in pop art.Copy !req
734. And we were adding our slice
of the cultural pie.Copy !req
735. We had the comic balloons
and the sounds like "zap"...Copy !req
736. Baroom."crunch," and so on.Copy !req
737. - Ringside table, Batman?
- Just looking, thanks.Copy !req
738. I'll stand at the bar.
I shouldn't wish to attract attention.Copy !req
739. The same year
that batmania gripped the country...Copy !req
740. Quperman landed on Broadway...Copy !req
741. In a musical comedy.Copy !req
742. It's a bird... it's a plane... it's
Superman boasted a talented castCopy !req
743. direction by the legendary
hal prince.Copy !req
744. And songs by the team
who'd earlier written bye bye birdie.Copy !req
745. But the tongue-in-cape spoof
closed after 128 performances.Copy !req
746. Superman.Copy !req
747. Although it did resurface
as a 1975 television special...Copy !req
748. Starring David Wilson
and Lesley Ann Warren.Copy !req
749. - Not so fast.
- Oh, Superman, you're wonderful.Copy !req
750. I just got a call from abc that said:Copy !req
751. "Could you give us a musical
for the late night?"Copy !req
752. That was 11:30 at night.Copy !req
753. The whole thing was shot in four days
with a couple cameras.Copy !req
754. Hi there, America,
and friendly nations everywhere.Copy !req
755. Glad we could get together.Copy !req
756. Come on, pow!Copy !req
757. Let's go, bam!Copy !req
758. I need a little exercise
take that, pow!Copy !req
759. And that, zoink!
Let's see what you can doCopy !req
760. The man that played
Superman is David Wilson.Copy !req
761. He was wonderful to work with and
we had a little crush on each otherCopy !req
762. which was perfect.
It worked out well for the piece.Copy !req
763. - Oh, Superman, you're terrific.
- Yeah, I know.Copy !req
764. He wasn't a dancer and that was,
you know, that drove him crazy.Copy !req
765. You know, putting on those tights
and leaping across the stage.Copy !req
766. I mean, he was like, not thrilled
about that, but he was a great sport.Copy !req
767. Good night, sweet dreamsCopy !req
768. so sorry to mess up your plansCopy !req
769. but now you know splat, pow!Copy !req
770. You don't fool aroundCopy !req
771. wham, zow, with SupermanCopy !req
772. I really don't think it did well.Copy !req
773. The reviews in the paper were kind
of okay, but I would have no idea...Copy !req
774. How it did number-wise,
or who came in, who turned in.Copy !req
775. I don't think a hell of a lot of people.Copy !req
776. By the 1970's...Copy !req
777. The future looked bleak
for the man of steelCopy !req
778. and it seemed the world's
most powerful superhero...Copy !req
779. Was, at best, a fond memory...Copy !req
780. Or a figure of fun.Copy !req
781. Everyone knows that you can leap
tall buildings in a single bound.Copy !req
782. We all have heard that you
are more powerful than a locomotive.Copy !req
783. - I love a good race with a choo-choo.
- I'm sure.Copy !req
784. - Faster than a speeding bullet?
- Are you kidding? Ten times faster...Copy !req
785. - Than a speeding bullet.
- I have a pistol here, Superman.Copy !req
786. Bullet race, huh?
And I would like to test it out if I can.Copy !req
787. Okay, any time you're ready.Copy !req
788. Superman?Copy !req
789. As comic-book sales plummeted...Copy !req
790. DC eagerly brought in a new editor...Copy !req
791. Julius Schwartz.Copy !req
792. Schwartz encouraged
a new generation of writers...Copy !req
793. Raised on Superman to update...Copy !req
794. And reexamine the character,
with intriguing, if mixed results.Copy !req
795. Julius Schwartz
was not a great Superman fan.Copy !req
796. He felt kids didn't pay attention
to newspapers anymore.Copy !req
797. So maybe we should make Clark
a television reporter, and it didn't stick.Copy !req
798. Perhaps it's because
it makes Clark more glamorous...Copy !req
799. Than he ought to be, somehow.Copy !req
800. Under Schwartz's direction,
Superman became more introspective.Copy !req
801. And Lois Lane received
a feminist makeover.Copy !req
802. We almost went too far
the other way...Copy !req
803. In that she just became a really bitchy,
cynical female character...Copy !req
804. That I don't think Superman
would fall in love with:Copy !req
805. As the war escalated,
and political scandals...Copy !req
806. And presidential resignations
brought a nation to its knees...Copy !req
807. Well, I am not a crook.Copy !req
808. Broadway musicals like Jesus Christ
superstar and godspell...Copy !req
809. Reflected a rekindled interest
in spirituality.Copy !req
810. Superman was now seen
in pop culture and in the comics...Copy !req
811. Hot just as a superhero,
but as a secular MessiahCopy !req
812. there's definitely an allegory,
a judeo-Christian allegory...Copy !req
813. That's happening
in the mythology of Superman...Copy !req
814. Rght up to the fact
that he descends from the heavens.Copy !req
815. They took an old testament story,
which is MosesCopy !req
816. whose mother and father were about
to be killed by the Egyptians...Copy !req
817. In this case it was Krypton.Copy !req
818. And just like Moses
went down the nileCopy !req
819. and he landed on earth
as an immigrant...Copy !req
820. And was adopted.Copy !req
821. I don't think Superman
becomes a substitute for religion.Copy !req
822. I think he becomes a substitute
for mythology.Copy !req
823. Superman is the mythology of a hero.
This is what a hero can do.Copy !req
824. This is perhaps what you can do
if you choose to be a hero.Copy !req
825. There is morality in that,
that's very important.Copy !req
826. Unfortunately,
making Superman comics...Copy !req
827. More socially relevant
didn't make them more popular.Copy !req
828. Even the success of Saturday morning
incarnations like the super friends...Copy !req
829. Couldn't dispel the notion that
Superman's best years might be over.Copy !req
830. I can't break the grip. I'm powerless.Copy !req
831. Help! Help me, someone.Copy !req
832. I think Superman needs help.Copy !req
833. Help! Please, help.
I can't hold out much longer.Copy !req
834. But although heroes
may fall and their powers fade...Copy !req
835. They always come back fighting.Copy !req
836. And thanks to a combination
of talent and good timing...Copy !req
837. The man of steel was about to
experience a remarkable resurrection.Copy !req
838. Superman was losing popularity
in his native country.Copy !req
839. But ironically,
he was about to be revived.Copy !req
840. By a Russian-Mexican
movie producer...Copy !req
841. Living in Paris.Copy !req
842. I was walking in front of a cinema
that had Zorro playing...Copy !req
843. With a French star
called Alain delon.Copy !req
844. And two days after,
I had dinner with my father...Copy !req
845. And I said,
"why don't we do Superman?”Copy !req
846. By 1974,
llya salkind and his father, Alexander...Copy !req
847. Had enjoyed acclaim producing films
like their star-studded remake.Copy !req
848. Of the three musketeers
and its equally popular sequel.Copy !req
849. Though Alexander was unfamiliar
with the character of Superman...Copy !req
850. His 28-year-old son envisioned
an epic blockbuster...Copy !req
851. Unlike any film ever made before.Copy !req
852. I said, "we got to do something
that is serious, that is big."Copy !req
853. After securing
40 million dollars in financing...Copy !req
854. The salkinds hired godfather author
and screenwriter Mario puzo.Copy !req
855. To pen the script.Copy !req
856. I come to the office one day
and there's Mario puzo in the library...Copy !req
857. Looking through old Superman stories.
So they introduced me to him.Copy !req
858. Cary bates, another writer
and I spent two days sitting...Copy !req
859. Smoking Havana cigars with Mario...Copy !req
860. In the conference room
and talking about who Superman was.Copy !req
861. And his eyes started to shine
and he said:Copy !req
862. "Wow, this is a Greek tragedy."Copy !req
863. By getting Mario puzo, of course
the movie immediately started to exist.Copy !req
864. Just as they had done with
the three musketeers and its sequel...Copy !req
865. The salkinds intended to film.Copy !req
866. Iwo mammoth Superman films
at the same time.Copy !req
867. To direct the challenging project,
the producers chose Richard donner...Copy !req
868. Hot off the hit thriller, the omen.Copy !req
869. Donner also saw Superman as an epic.Copy !req
870. But he felt that the script,
now tackled by four writers...Copy !req
871. Was too jokey and cynical.Copy !req
872. I said, "this is Superman.
This is apple pie, americana."Copy !req
873. It was a part of American history.
And to me, it had its own sense of reality.Copy !req
874. Its own verisimilitude,
and the mission was to keep it straight.Copy !req
875. To Polish the script, donner
enlisted writer Tom mankiewicz.Copy !req
876. Who was no stranger to adventure
and fantasy...Copy !req
877. Having co-written
three James Bond films.Copy !req
878. Dick said,
"we can't be smarter than the materialCopy !req
879. we have to get inside the material.”Copy !req
880. Of course there's funny stuff.
Lex Luthor is a funny guy.Copy !req
881. Of course this man can fly.
Of course.Copy !req
882. But if you root for these two kids,
if you want them to get together...Copy !req
883. If we make the love story work,
the whole movie works.Copy !req
884. Playing the part
of Superman's Nemesis Lex Luthor...Copy !req
885. Would be academy award winner
gene hackman.Copy !req
886. Who brought wit and humor
to what had previously been...Copy !req
887. A two-dimensional role.Copy !req
888. Bye-bye, California.Copy !req
889. Hello, new west coast,
my west coast.Copy !req
890. To play Superman's
Kryptonian father Jor-El...Copy !req
891. Llya salkind chose the godfather
himself, acting legend Marlon Brando.Copy !req
892. Now, Brando, at this point,
was the greatest star in the world.Copy !req
893. This was after godfather.Copy !req
894. This was like literally
getting god for Jor-El.Copy !req
895. For the man of steelCopy !req
896. salkind and donner
resisted the temptation...Copy !req
897. To cast a box-office hame.Copy !req
898. They felt strongly that the part
required a newcomer...Copy !req
899. Provided that established stars
would be showcased in supporting roles.Copy !req
900. I just couldn't see redford
or any of those guys in blue tights...Copy !req
901. Flying around New York and being:Copy !req
902. "Oh, there's Robert redford,"
not Superman.Copy !req
903. So I really wanted an unknown.Copy !req
904. It can't be Jon voight in a Superman suit
or Burt Reynolds in a Superman suit.Copy !req
905. When Superman comes on the screen,
he has to be Superman.Copy !req
906. Over the next weeks.Copy !req
907. Dozens of actors
were considered and screen tested.Copy !req
908. I mean, we were going completely nuts
to get the right guy.Copy !req
909. It's all over, Luthor.
You're coming with me.Copy !req
910. We even tested the dentist
of my first ex-wife.Copy !req
911. It's too late.
The rocket is already on its way...Copy !req
912. And even you can't fly fast enough
to stop it.Copy !req
913. I won't have to fly anywhere. Not after
you tell me where the controls are.Copy !req
914. Controls? Who's got controls?Copy !req
915. I've traced the signals to this room.
Now, you tell me.Copy !req
916. I don't know where they are,
I swear.Copy !req
917. That's a print.Copy !req
918. I was in New York, to see whoever was
available in New York and Chicago...Copy !req
919. And one of the kids that came in
was Christopher reeve.Copy !req
920. And a tall, skinny...
As a matter of factCopy !req
921. he had this big sweater on
to make him look twice as big.Copy !req
922. But we talked and he was just
this fascinating kid...Copy !req
923. Wwho was very, very bright.Copy !req
924. He had a handle on the character.
It was a good handle.Copy !req
925. Very pure, very clean.Copy !req
926. The 25-year-old Juilliard graduate...Copy !req
927. Eagerly traveled to London
for a screen testCopy !req
928. he was so nervous, testing...Copy !req
929. That I remember that you could see
the sweat stains under the armpits.Copy !req
930. But he hopped off the ledge
onto Lois' balcony and said:Copy !req
931. Good evening, miss Lane.Copy !req
932. And as he started to do the scene,
it was just so clear.Copy !req
933. Thank you very much
for finding the time for this interview.Copy !req
934. I realize there must be
many questions about me...Copy !req
935. The world would like to know
the answers to.Copy !req
936. So it's become important to me
to have close relations with the press.Copy !req
937. You really shouldn't smoke,
you know.Copy !req
938. - Lung cancer?
- Well, not yet, thank goodness.Copy !req
939. Chris had the
self-confidence, self-assurance.Copy !req
940. He knew that he was destined
for big things...Copy !req
941. And I think he thought
this was part of the way to get there.Copy !req
942. Why are you here?Copy !req
943. Yes, I'm here to fight for truth,
for justice and the American way.Copy !req
944. For the role of Lois Lane,
donner heeded an actress.Copy !req
945. With the right mix of steely
determination and romantic vulnerability.Copy !req
946. Numerous actresses were tested,
including Ann Archer.Copy !req
947. Superman.Copy !req
948. Stockard Channing.Copy !req
949. No, no. Please, please, don't move.
I mean, just don't go anywhere.Copy !req
950. I mean, move if you want to,
just don't fly away.Copy !req
951. Debra raffinCopy !req
952. where do you hail from?Copy !req
953. And Lesley Ann Warren.Copy !req
954. Man 1: Test 54, take 11.
Pick up.Copy !req
955. Man 2: All right,
right where you were. Action!Copy !req
956. Oh, would you like...Copy !req
957. Uh, a cookie?Copy !req
958. Oh, what kind?
- Macaroons.Copy !req
959. I was actually a little nervous
about carrying over...Copy !req
960. What I had done in the musical special
into this piece...Copy !req
961. Because I wanted to make sureCopy !req
962. that I wasn't bringing the largeness
that a musical requires.Copy !req
963. - How about a glass of wine?
- I never drink when I fly.Copy !req
964. You never drink when you fly.Copy !req
965. - Is it true, you can see through anything?
- Mm-hm. Pretty much.Copy !req
966. - And you are totally impervious to pain.
- Well, so far.Copy !req
967. What color underwear am I wearing?Copy !req
968. What color underwear am I wearing?Copy !req
969. - What color underwear am I wearing?
- Pink_Copy !req
970. Do you like pink?Copy !req
971. - Do you like pink?
- I like pink very much, Lois.Copy !req
972. - You could take a ride with me.
- You mean, I would fly?Copy !req
973. This is utterly fantastic.Copy !req
974. This is incredible.Copy !req
975. OnlCopy !req
976. Clark said you were rigged with wires.Copy !req
977. - Like Peter Pan?
- Peter Pan flew with children, Lois.Copy !req
978. In a fairy tale.Copy !req
979. Ultimately Canadian margot kidder
won the part.Copy !req
980. Donner had been impressed
by her unique chemistry with reeve...Copy !req
981. And her creative approach
to the role.Copy !req
982. Take 6.Copy !req
983. What color underwear am I wearing?Copy !req
984. Pink.Copy !req
985. Lois was one way with Superman...Copy !req
986. Just cockeyed, a little girl
and kind of phony baloney...Copy !req
987. Because she couldn't
pull her head together...Copy !req
988. Enough to think
when she was around him.Copy !req
989. - Do you like pink?
- I like pink very much, Lois.Copy !req
990. Oh.Copy !req
991. And just sort of dismissive and curt
when she was with Clark...Copy !req
992. Seventy-six take 2.Copy !req
993. It's not my fault you put
yourself down all the time.Copy !req
994. - Oh, yeah, how?
- For starters, look, you're slouching.Copy !req
995. Stand up straight. Here.Copy !req
996. There, stand up. That's better.Copy !req
997. And I was very conscious
of doing that...Copy !req
998. Because I was very conscious
around that timeCopy !req
999. of my revolting tendency to do that
around men in my own real life.Copy !req
1000. Clark said that you
were rigged with wires...Copy !req
1001. Like Peter Pan.Copy !req
1002. Peter Pan flew with children, Lois.
In a fairy tale.Copy !req
1003. Print it.Copy !req
1004. When production began
at pinewood studios in england...Copy !req
1005. Two facts became apparent:Copy !req
1006. The film would be the most ambitious
comic-book movie ever made.Copy !req
1007. And shooting it
would be next to impossible.Copy !req
1008. Especially difficult
were the film's crucial flying sequences.Copy !req
1009. Flying... it certainly wasn't
romantic to do itCopy !req
1010. because you're hanging 50 feet up
from a soundstage...Copy !req
1011. In an extremely uncomfortable
leather harnessCopy !req
1012. that's cutting into your armpits
and your everything else.Copy !req
1013. We'd be whirled back and forth
across the ceiling on these wires...Copy !req
1014. And I would be smashing
into Chris in midair.Copy !req
1015. In those days, because there was
no computers there were...Copy !req
1016. It was hard effects.Copy !req
1017. You had to... practically had to do it
in the camera.Copy !req
1018. There were a few optical houses,
but things were limited.Copy !req
1019. You had to convince the audience
a man could fly.Copy !req
1020. At one point, somebody dropped
a clapperboard on the wire...Copy !req
1021. And cut off the electric current.
And we quickly went:Copy !req
1022. And were hanging upside down
held in only by our safety belts...Copy !req
1023. And Christopher actually did this.Copy !req
1024. He reached out, in character,
and held the pole.Copy !req
1025. As if he was gonna hold us both up
from gravity.Copy !req
1026. And afterwards, I went,
"Chris, do you know what you did?"Copy !req
1027. And he went, "oh, yeah."Copy !req
1028. And I said, "I think you're just
3 little too much in character.Copy !req
1029. This is going too far."Copy !req
1030. The production presented
countless logistical challenges.Copy !req
1031. Locations stretched
from the soundstages of London...Copy !req
1032. To farmlands in rural Canada.Copy !req
1033. To evoke Superman's
three separate worlds...Copy !req
1034. Of Krypton, Smallville
and Metropolis.Copy !req
1035. The film is very much a three-act play.Copy !req
1036. On Krypton,
everything was shot through fog.Copy !req
1037. And people spoke
in almost shakespearean language.Copy !req
1038. And I wrote everybody the same way.Copy !req
1039. My friends, you know me
to be neither rash nor impulsive.Copy !req
1040. And I tell you that we must
evacuate this planet immediately.Copy !req
1041. When we go
to young Clark growing up...Copy !req
1042. It becomes like Andrew wyeth.Copy !req
1043. It's sepia colors
and everybody is "pa" and "ma."Copy !req
1044. And there's one thing I do know, son,
and that is you are here for a reason.Copy !req
1045. And then all of a sudden, bang, you hit
Metropolis and the jokes start flying.Copy !req
1046. Clark Kent may seem
like just a mild-mannered reporter...Copy !req
1047. But listen, not only does he know
how to treat his editor in chiefCopy !req
1048. with the proper respect, not only does
he have a snappy, punchy, prose style...Copy !req
1049. But he is, in my 40 years
in this business.Copy !req
1050. The fastest typist I've ever seen.Copy !req
1051. Excuse me, miss Lane.Copy !req
1052. You could tell in the first hour.Copy !req
1053. It was gonna be one of the most
pleasurable experiences...Copy !req
1054. That, that... that as an actor
I hadn't gone through.Copy !req
1055. I was surprised to hear Chris
hadn't all that much acting experience...Copy !req
1056. Because he was so professional.Copy !req
1057. Also, unlike a lot of actors,
he was so well-mannered.Copy !req
1058. Not at all, I'd say it's been swell.Copy !req
1059. Swell? YeahCopy !req
1060. you know, Clark, um...Copy !req
1061. There are very few people left
in the worldCopy !req
1062. who feel comfortable
saying that word?Copy !req
1063. What word? Swell.Copy !req
1064. Really? I always thought
it was kind of natural.Copy !req
1065. OnlCopy !req
1066. I'm sorry.Copy !req
1067. - Clark?
- Don't worry. It's all right.Copy !req
1068. Chris was very specific about Clark
never behaving like Superman.Copy !req
1069. Lois, I think maybe you better.Copy !req
1070. Lois, what are you doing?Copy !req
1071. Clark's shoulders are held differently...Copy !req
1072. And his walk is different.Copy !req
1073. Then there's this wonderful, confident
upright being that Superman has...Copy !req
1074. And he strides in a certain way.Copy !req
1075. Good evening, miss Lane.Copy !req
1076. Oh, hi.Copy !req
1077. Chris was a very earnest young man...Copy !req
1078. And he did very much feel obligated
to the myth, to the movie.Copy !req
1079. He worked really, really, really hard.Copy !req
1080. Is it true that you can
see through anything?Copy !req
1081. Yes, I can, pretty much.Copy !req
1082. And that you're totally impervious
to pain?Copy !req
1083. Well, so far.Copy !req
1084. What color underwear am I wearing?Copy !req
1085. Pink.Copy !req
1086. Do you like pink?Copy !req
1087. I like pink very much, Lois.Copy !req
1088. But as the production dragged on...Copy !req
1089. The mood on the set
was far from relaxed.Copy !req
1090. The movie's special effects
and flying scenes pushed the film...Copy !req
1091. Tar over schedule and over budget.Copy !req
1092. Tensions Rose between
Richard donner and the salkinds.Copy !req
1093. And by the end of production,
they were barely speaking.Copy !req
1094. The tension started to escalate.Copy !req
1095. Because of course the budget
was going completely out of control.Copy !req
1096. It was everybody's fault and nobody...Copy !req
1097. Because there were
so many things...Copy !req
1098. That were new,
that had never been done.Copy !req
1099. After shooting more than 70 percent...Copy !req
1100. Of the movie's intended sequel...Copy !req
1101. The decision was made to focus
entirely on finishing the first film...Copy !req
1102. And hope for the best.Copy !req
1103. Take, take, cut, print.Copy !req
1104. On December 10, 1978,
more than 40 years...Copy !req
1105. After the publication
of action comics #71Copy !req
1106. The movie was unveiled
at a gala premiere in Washington, D.C.Copy !req
1107. Enhanced by academy award winner
John Williams' stirring score...Copy !req
1108. The film impressed even its creators.Copy !req
1109. When "Superman” comes up
on the screenCopy !req
1110. all of a sudden
the music went, "Superman."Copy !req
1111. It actually said...
I heard it say, "Superman."Copy !req
1112. - Oh!
- Easy, miss, I've got you.Copy !req
1113. You've got me”? Who's got you?Copy !req
1114. I was blown away by the movie.Copy !req
1115. I absolutely fell in love
with the movie.Copy !req
1116. Head over heels in love
with the movie.Copy !req
1117. Which was kind of amazing...Copy !req
1118. Because I thought all the way
through it I was just screwing up.Copy !req
1119. My good friend, Pierre, said
we'll never make the guy fly.Copy !req
1120. And after 120 million dollars,
we made him fly.Copy !req
1121. Superman: The movie
took in a staggering...Copy !req
1122. 300 million dollars worldwideCopy !req
1123. making it one of the most popular
and successful films of the 1970s.Copy !req
1124. Christopher reeve
had become a movie star.Copy !req
1125. The film inspired a new wave
of Superman merchandise.Copy !req
1126. From toys to hit records.Copy !req
1127. The sequel was inevitable.Copy !req
1128. And fortunately, most of Superman il
was already shot.Copy !req
1129. But by now, the creative differences
between Richard donner.Copy !req
1130. And the salkinds
seemed irreconcilableCopy !req
1131. so the producers turned to
the three musketeers director.Copy !req
1132. Richard Lester to finish production.Copy !req
1133. I believe this is your floor.Copy !req
1134. Lester brought his trademark wit...Copy !req
1135. And comic flair to the project...Copy !req
1136. And delighted moviegoers
with dynamic action scenes.Copy !req
1137. Superman?Copy !req
1138. But some fans and critics
voiced concern that the man of steelCopy !req
1139. was beginning to get lost
in the mayhem.Copy !req
1140. Audiences were also divided
over the choice to have Clark KentCopy !req
1141. reveal his true identity to Lois Lane.Copy !req
1142. Clark?Copy !req
1143. - No, no, no. It's okay.
- Let me see your hand. Give it to me.Copy !req
1144. - No, no. It's all right, Lois.
- I et me look at it.Copy !req
1145. - You are Superman.
- Lois, come on, don't be s...Copy !req
1146. Even more outrageous
was the sight of Superman...Copy !req
1147. Enjoying a sexy sleepover with Lois
in the fortress of solitude.Copy !req
1148. I'm gonna go change into something
more comfortable.Copy !req
1149. I think people were horrified.Copy !req
1150. I think, were I
to revisit that process now...Copy !req
1151. I would think, "you know what.Copy !req
1152. Sshe wasn't supposed to sleep
with Superman.”Copy !req
1153. I would come down
with the prudes on that one.Copy !req
1154. Superman il
was another box-office triumph...Copy !req
1155. Earning over 120 million
dollars worldwide.Copy !req
1156. The salkinds quickly prepared
another sequel.Copy !req
1157. Once again,
with Richard I ester at the helm.Copy !req
1158. Instead of helping others, all the four
of you want to do is help yourselves.Copy !req
1159. Superman lll co-starred Hollywood's...Copy !req
1160. Reigning comic actor,
Richard pryor...Copy !req
1161. As Gus gorman,
a bumbling computer programmer...Copy !req
1162. Wait, wait a minute.Copy !req
1163. Who is forced against his will to build
a machine to destroy the man of steel.Copy !req
1164. Superman, no!Copy !req
1165. It works, so real. It works.Copy !req
1166. Most of the film's emotion
came from its subplot...Copy !req
1167. In which Clark Kent makes a nostalgic
pilgrimage back to Smallville.Copy !req
1168. There he rekindles his boyhood crush
on local girl Lana lang...Copy !req
1169. Played by Annette O'Toole.Copy !req
1170. Do you know how lucky you are
to live in Metropolis? The big apricot.Copy !req
1171. - Well, Lana you could...
- Easy to say. But how? What about Ricky?Copy !req
1172. - Ricky?
- My little boy.Copy !req
1173. You? Oh, that's great. YeahCopy !req
1174. I was into Superman,
Betty and Veronica and Archie.Copy !req
1175. Those were my favorites.
And I loved Lana lang.Copy !req
1176. I liked Betty more than Veronica
and Lana more than Lois.Copy !req
1177. I don't know why. Because
they were underdogs, I guess.Copy !req
1178. So when I got to play Lana,
it was like, "oh." It was huge.Copy !req
1179. It was such a big deal to me.Copy !req
1180. This is nice.Copy !req
1181. For most of the production...Copy !req
1182. O'Toole did her scenes with reeve
when he was portraying Clark Kent.Copy !req
1183. Something that made her first sight
of the actor in his Superman costume...Copy !req
1184. All the more astonishing.Copy !req
1185. Lana, I think I'll just go see
if Ricky is all right.Copy !req
1186. Are you okay? YeahCopy !req
1187. I worked with him quite a while
as Clark Kent...Copy !req
1188. And I was on the set one day...Copy !req
1189. And he was doing another scene
as Superman.Copy !req
1190. And I hear this voice say,
"hello, Annette."Copy !req
1191. - There you go.
- Ricky.Copy !req
1192. He's all right, but you should have
him checked by a doctor.Copy !req
1193. And I turned around and it seemed
to me as if I looked up at a mountain.Copy !req
1194. I looked up at this man and it was him.
I get chills thinking about it.Copy !req
1195. - Oh, I'm Lana lang and this is Ricky.
- Nice to meet you.Copy !req
1196. O'Toole:
Because this was the Superman...Copy !req
1197. 0of my youth, of my childhood.Copy !req
1198. He wasn't Clark Kent, he wasn't Chris.
He was Superman.Copy !req
1199. Written to showcase
Richard pryor's unique comedic abilities...Copy !req
1200. Watch the trees. “Whoa!Copy !req
1201. Superman lll
was ultimately a disappointment...Copy !req
1202. For fans of the first two films.Copy !req
1203. - Gesundheit.
- Thank you.Copy !req
1204. And although it opened
to strong box office...Copy !req
1205. Reviews were often harsh.Copy !req
1206. Faring worse was the salkinds' next
foray into the comic-book universe...Copy !req
1207. Oupergirl starred Helen slater
as Kal-El's Kryptonian cousin.Copy !req
1208. The movie crashed at the box office.Copy !req
1209. I said,
"I don't want to do Superman iv."Copy !req
1210. So then, we were able to sell the rights
for an option to Cannon...Copy !req
1211. And Chris reeve had the original idea
for the story and came back.Copy !req
1212. Directed by Sidney j. Furie,
Superman iv: The quest for peace...Copy !req
1213. Showed the man of steelCopy !req
1214. tackling the real-world problem
of huclear disarmament.Copy !req
1215. Effective immediately, I'm going to rid
our planet of all nuclear weapons.Copy !req
1216. But despite the best of intentions...Copy !req
1217. Ouperman lv delivered a bomb
in more ways than one.Copy !req
1218. Many critics thought the film
was more tiresome than topical.Copy !req
1219. And for the first timeCopy !req
1220. a Christopher reeve Superman movie
failed both critically and commercially.Copy !req
1221. You can't make a good movie out of
a bad script and it simply didn't work...Copy !req
1222. And fell flat on its face,
but I thought its ambitions were good.Copy !req
1223. I would say that if there's one film...Copy !req
1224. That killed Superman at that point,
it was Superman iv.Copy !req
1225. Superman ill
made 100 million dollars.Copy !req
1226. Ouperman iv
killed the franchise, sadly enough.Copy !req
1227. I never saw Superman...
Was there a Superman iv?Copy !req
1228. I didn't even see that one.Copy !req
1229. Superman iv marked
the final time that Christopher reeve...Copy !req
1230. Appeared as the man of steel.Copy !req
1231. What began as one
of the hottest movie series of all time.Copy !req
1232. Had now simply burned out.Copy !req
1233. By the mid-1980s it was obvious
that Superman was in desperate need...Copy !req
1234. Of a makeover.Copy !req
1235. Comic-book readers
weren't just kids anymore.Copy !req
1236. Many were now adults and for them
Superman seemed too clean-cut.Copy !req
1237. They demanded their heroes
have dimension.Copy !req
1238. Depth and decidedly
human problems.Copy !req
1239. In 1986, DC comics hired
writer-artist John byrne...Copy !req
1240. To reinvigorate their franchise.Copy !req
1241. Byrne purged the Superman universe
of its more outlandish elements.Copy !req
1242. Kal-El was once more the last survivor
of a lost world.Copy !req
1243. His costume
was no longer indestructible.Copy !req
1244. Our idea of what a strong man
was at that point...Copy !req
1245. Was no longer the circus acrobats.Copy !req
1246. It was Arnold Schwarzenegger.Copy !req
1247. Well, byrne gave Superman
that bulked-up physique.Copy !req
1248. In this new reality,
Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor...Copy !req
1249. Was no longer a mad scientist
but an evil billionaire.Copy !req
1250. That was definitely a reaction
to what was going on...Copy !req
1251. In corporate America in the '80s.Copy !req
1252. Lex Luthor's personality
is basically the same...Copy !req
1253. But you can identify
with a businessman type screwing you...Copy !req
1254. Or your favorite character, as opposed
to a mad scientist, which really was...Copy !req
1255. By the '80s
a little bit of a hackneyed idea.Copy !req
1256. But when byrne
left the Superman books...Copy !req
1257. Sales declined once again.Copy !req
1258. By the end of the decade...Copy !req
1259. DC's Batman had eclipsed
the man of steel in popularity.Copy !req
1260. Superman's stories say the world
will get to be a better place.Copy !req
1261. It can happen, we have it within us.Copy !req
1262. Batman's is more of an unending
struggle to just stay in the same place.Copy !req
1263. Although Superman's 50th birthday...Copy !req
1264. Was celebrated in the media.Copy !req
1265. Batman was now considered
the coolest crime fighter in comics...Copy !req
1266. And at the movies.Copy !req
1267. Thanks to Tim Burton's
dark knight-inspired film.Copy !req
1268. Once again, Superman had been
left behind in a changing culture.Copy !req
1269. The man of tomorrow
now seemed like yesterday's news.Copy !req
1270. In 1988, Alexander and ilya salkind...Copy !req
1271. Brought their troubled
film franchise to television.Copy !req
1272. In the form of
the adventures of superboy.Copy !req
1273. After a rocky start in the ratings,
the series took off when hewcomer.Copy !req
1274. Gerard Christopher replaced John
haymes Newton as the boy of steel.Copy !req
1275. Who did this?Copy !req
1276. This was superboy, so I could do
it a little bit differently...Copy !req
1277. But it had to be on the same track
as what Christopher reeve had done.Copy !req
1278. George Reeves did it.Copy !req
1279. He was somebody I couldn't relate to
as much because he was older.Copy !req
1280. Christopher reeve, what he did
just seemed to be...Copy !req
1281. More the way to go with it.Copy !req
1282. One of the first things I did is, they
put me in this tremendous sound stage...Copy !req
1283. About 300 feet long. They made me
fly from one end to other.Copy !req
1284. And I remember being on a crane
with nothing under me.Copy !req
1285. And I have to tell you, I was never afraid
because it was just a cool thing to do.Copy !req
1286. I mean, you're Superman.Copy !req
1287. I must speak with superboy.Copy !req
1288. There is a terrible, a terrible evil in
your midst, an evil that you must fight.Copy !req
1289. I did three episodes of the superboy
television series with Gerard Christopher...Copy !req
1290. As superboy and that was cool.Copy !req
1291. I played this evil genius, kind of
a Luthor type, named Tommy puck.Copy !req
1292. Nobody calls me a simp.Copy !req
1293. I was bad. I was really bad.
I was a nasty, mean guy.Copy !req
1294. I would very much like to conduct some
experiments on superboy's cadaver.Copy !req
1295. It was good.
You had to be there.Copy !req
1296. While superboy flew
through the airwaves of syndication...Copy !req
1297. The editors at DC were once again
struggling to make Superman relevant...Copy !req
1298. Both to male
and female comic book readers.Copy !req
1299. In 1990, they reached
a momentous decision.Copy !req
1300. After half a century
of romantic banterCopy !req
1301. between Lois Lane
and her caped colleague...Copy !req
1302. DC decided it was time for the pair to
take their relationship to the next step.Copy !req
1303. Clark Kent would propose to Lois
and reveal his true identity.Copy !req
1304. That came from
the writing team and myself...Copy !req
1305. Being a little tired
of Lois not figuring it out.Copy !req
1306. I mean, it was starting
to make her look a little stupid.Copy !req
1307. And you can't be a top reporter
and be stupid.Copy !req
1308. I got to ink the engagement.Copy !req
1309. And so this is Lois showing Jimmy
for the first time her rock.Copy !req
1310. And announcing her engagement.Copy !req
1311. You can kind of see how I took
some major liberties on this page.Copy !req
1312. This is my wife. This is me, you know,
a little, couple of pounds lighter...Copy !req
1313. And this is Elvis and Priscilla.
So that was very cool.Copy !req
1314. Hardcore fans were stunned.Copy !req
1315. But the superhero's popularity soared...Copy !req
1316. With young female readers.Copy !req
1317. He is prince charming in a cape, the
dark-haired, blue-eyed, handsome...Copy !req
1318. Rpped-abs man
who you feel safe with...Copy !req
1319. And he can fly you
to Hong Kong for dinner.Copy !req
1320. But before Lois and
Superman walked down the aisle...Copy !req
1321. The wedding ceremony
would be delayed...Copy !req
1322. The world was
taking Superman for granted.Copy !req
1323. We literally said:Copy !req
1324. "Let's show the world what
it would be like without Superman.”Copy !req
1325. In Superman issue number 75...Copy !req
1326. The unthinkable finally happened.Copy !req
1327. The man of steel was beaten to death
by the monster called doomsday.Copy !req
1328. In less than two weeks, fans and
collectors bought nearly 3 million copies.Copy !req
1329. No one at DC honestly thought...Copy !req
1330. We were gonna kill Superman forever.
As luck would have it.Copy !req
1331. The day that "the death of Superman”
comic hit the newsstandsCopy !req
1332. hothing else happened in the world.Copy !req
1333. It hit the wire servicesCopy !req
1334. and it was a huge, huge, gigantic
cultural touchstone moment.Copy !req
1335. And the guys at DC
are now freaking out, like:Copy !req
1336. "Oh, god, what do we do now?"Copy !req
1337. For us it was just gonna be the next
story and the world really reacted.Copy !req
1338. The real world acted the way
the characters acted in the story.Copy !req
1339. They were shocked...Copy !req
1340. And sad and worried, "what would
the world be like without Superman?"Copy !req
1341. They played it off well. They kept him
out of the comics for a few monthsCopy !req
1342. and dealt with what the world
would really be like...Copy !req
1343. If Superman suddenly didn't exist
and built up that need for him again...Copy !req
1344. So his triumphant return marked
a whole new era for Superman.Copy !req
1345. I have four different creative teams
on the character at the time.Copy !req
1346. And they all had a different idea
about how to bring Superman back.Copy !req
1347. Eventually, we just said,
"I et's do them all"Copy !req
1348. we always knew that the real Superman
was not one of those four.Copy !req
1349. And that he was gonna come back.Copy !req
1350. But the man of steel
wasn't just resurrected in the comics.Copy !req
1351. 1993 also saw his return
to television.Copy !req
1352. This time in a romantic comedy.Copy !req
1353. Lois & Clark:
The new adventures of Superman...Copy !req
1354. Starred Dean Cain
and Terry hatcher.Copy !req
1355. In this incarnation, the emphasis
was placed not on the man of steel...Copy !req
1356. But on his alter ego Clark Kent.Copy !req
1357. This 1s Clark Kent, in the newsroom.Copy !req
1358. In Lois & Clark,
it was Clark Kent playing Superman.Copy !req
1359. I think I need some kind of outfit.Copy !req
1360. You know, like a disguise I could wear
when things like that explosion happen.Copy !req
1361. The idea that we had while
we were shooting the show was...Copy !req
1362. That Clark Kent is the main guy...Copy !req
1363. And then he becomes Superman
as an invented character.Copy !req
1364. And that's where we differed from a lot
of the films and such in the past.Copy !req
1365. What do you think?Copy !req
1366. One thing's for sure,
nobody's going to look at your face.Copy !req
1367. Mom.Copy !req
1368. Well, they don't call them tights
for nothing.Copy !req
1369. Never before had the situations.Copy !req
1370. Between Lois, Clark and Superman...Copy !req
1371. Been so deliberately sexy.Copy !req
1372. All you have to do is look up.Copy !req
1373. I ois & Clark's focus on romance...Copy !req
1374. Was mirrored in
the Superman comics.Copy !req
1375. And in October 1996,
after a courtship of nearly 60 years...Copy !req
1376. Lois Lane became Mrs. Clark Kent.Copy !req
1377. We did "the wedding album."Copy !req
1378. So this was the book
that they had past, present...Copy !req
1379. You know, everybody that ever worked
on Superman that was still around...Copy !req
1380. And able to hold a pencil
or pen, work on.Copy !req
1381. The wedding issue
sparked a bump in sales...Copy !req
1382. But many Superman fans
just couldn't accept the idea...Copy !req
1383. O0f their hero being domesticated
by marriage.Copy !req
1384. We still have a good debate
on that in the office.Copy !req
1385. There's a lot of people on the
creative staff who'd like to find a way...Copy !req
1386. To have him wake up one morning
and that just be a dream.Copy !req
1387. TV's Lois & Clark
also married off its title characters.Copy !req
1388. But shortly after the ceremony,
ratings began to fall...Copy !req
1389. And the series was canceled
after four seasons.Copy !req
1390. And get crazy
and explore new territory...Copy !req
1391. And see what those children
would be.Copy !req
1392. It opens up this whole new realm
of Superman lore...Copy !req
1393. And we didn't really get to do that.Copy !req
1394. But by the time
Lois & Clark was canceled...Copy !req
1395. Ouperman fans had been dealt
a far greater blow.Copy !req
1396. On may 27, 1995, the actor who had
embodied their hero for a generation...Copy !req
1397. Became the victim
of a horrible accident.Copy !req
1398. Christopher reeve had been
critically injured...Copy !req
1399. While riding a horse in an exhibition.Copy !req
1400. His spine was injured and his body
was paralyzed from the neck down.Copy !req
1401. Almost immediately there were rumors
of a Superman curse...Copy !req
1402. As Christopher reeve's
tragic accident...Copy !req
1403. Was now linked
with George Reeves' death.Copy !req
1404. The irony isn't lost on everybody
that here is this person who played...Copy !req
1405. The most powerful man on earth
in the most vulnerableCopy !req
1406. and weakest position
he could possibly be in.Copy !req
1407. But that's where he showed
such incredible strength.Copy !req
1408. Surprisingly,
instead of validating a Superman curse...Copy !req
1409. Reeve's accident would do much
to redeem Superman's legacy.Copy !req
1410. The actor became
a tireless activist for spinal research.Copy !req
1411. His courage and optimism
reminded people around the world...Copy !req
1412. That human beings could be
as courageous and influential...Copy !req
1413. As any superhero.Copy !req
1414. On September 6, 1996...Copy !req
1415. Warner Bros. Animation division
joined forces with DC comics...Copy !req
1416. [O produce an ambitious
new Saturday morning...Copy !req
1417. Ouperman cartoon series
for the wb network.Copy !req
1418. The animated series...Copy !req
1419. Stylishly updated
the classic art direction featured.Copy !req
1420. In the landmark fleischer cartoons
of the 1940s.Copy !req
1421. The fleischer cartoons are
phenomenal-looking but not a lot of story.Copy !req
1422. I definitely think that the Superman
animated showCopy !req
1423. was just strong written material.Copy !req
1424. And if they shot them as movies people
would always think Superman was cool.Copy !req
1425. The series' success
later paved the way...Copy !req
1426. For another animated TV hit.Copy !req
1427. Justice league unlimited,
which brought an edge...Copy !req
1428. To the former super friends.Copy !req
1429. In the year 2000
as a hew millennium dawned.Copy !req
1430. DC comics consented
to let the wb network give...Copy !req
1431. Their superhero franchise
an even more innovative interpretation.Copy !req
1432. What's happening, Jonathan?Copy !req
1433. Smallville would tell the story...Copy !req
1434. Of Superman's boyhood on a farm
in rural Kansas.Copy !req
1435. John Schneider and Annette O'Toole.Copy !req
1436. Were cast as a young
Jonathan and Martha KentCopy !req
1437. sweetheart, we can't keep him.Copy !req
1438. What'll we say?
We found him in a field?Copy !req
1439. We didn't find him.Copy !req
1440. He found us.Copy !req
1441. What DC had told us was.Copy !req
1442. Ouperman is who he is
because of his parents...Copy !req
1443. Which struck us and we decidedCopy !req
1444. to make the parents
as opposed to grandparents.Copy !req
1445. So we made them younger so that
they would have more interaction...Copy !req
1446. You know, and more of a presence.Copy !req
1447. O'Toole: They cast me and they
didn't really realize it at first...Copy !req
1448. That I had been in Superman III.Copy !req
1449. I went and just talked
to them about doing it.Copy !req
1450. I was talking a lot about Superman
and they thought:Copy !req
1451. "Well, she knows a lot about this."Copy !req
1452. And I said,
"you know, I did play Lana."Copy !req
1453. He said, "what? Well, then,
you've got to do it."Copy !req
1454. I said, "well, I guess I have to."Copy !req
1455. She actually was a much bigger fan
than we were.Copy !req
1456. She knew much... she knew all
the history. It was incredible.Copy !req
1457. It was like Bible-quoting with a nun.
It was a little scary.Copy !req
1458. In the series, Clark Kent
played by Tom welling...Copy !req
1459. Would be depicted as
a confused teenager just on the verge...Copy !req
1460. Of developing superpowers
and his dual identity.Copy !req
1461. It's time, son.Copy !req
1462. Time for what?Copy !req
1463. The truthCopy !req
1464. your real parents weren't
exactly from around here.Copy !req
1465. Why didn't you tell me
about this before?Copy !req
1466. We wanted to protect you.
Protect me from what?Copy !req
1467. You should have told me.Copy !req
1468. Clark.Copy !req
1469. Clark!Copy !req
1470. To distinguish
their Superman from earlier portrayals...Copy !req
1471. The series' producers promised viewers
no tights, no flights.Copy !req
1472. We said,
"we don't wanna do superboy...Copy !req
1473. We don't wanna have the suit."Copy !req
1474. Lois & Clark had just gone off the air...
YeahCopy !req
1475. and that point in time superheroes
were sort of still not coolCopy !req
1476. - right.
- So we thought this is...Copy !req
1477. "How do we do Superman
in a fresh way?"Copy !req
1478. Gym teacher:
Whoa, Kent, are you all right?Copy !req
1479. So we came up with the idea
of puberty with superpowers.Copy !req
1480. You know, the sort of the ultimate alien
and when you're a teenager...Copy !req
1481. You feel alienated.Copy !req
1482. You guys, I can see through things.
How do you control that?Copy !req
1483. You gotta practice, Clark. Your eyes
have muscles just like your legs.Copy !req
1484. Your mom is right, son.Copy !req
1485. All you have to do
is you have to figure out a way...Copy !req
1486. To condition them so that
you don't get these random flashes.Copy !req
1487. That sounds great.Copy !req
1488. How am I gonna do that?Copy !req
1489. There is no Superman in our show.
Superman doesn't exist.Copy !req
1490. We don't know what
he's gonna become.Copy !req
1491. That's the whole idea of the show:
"How is he going to live in the world?Copy !req
1492. What is he going to be?Copy !req
1493. Will he have to keep
this secret forever?"Copy !req
1494. Did it happen again?Copy !req
1495. Let's go home.Copy !req
1496. Let her go.Copy !req
1497. Smallville found a way
to do Superman...Copy !req
1498. Without the costume,
without the stuffCopy !req
1499. that people think are the normal
trappings of superhero stories.Copy !req
1500. And the character is still a hero
as far as I'm concerned.Copy !req
1501. NoCopy !req
1502. To advertise the new series.Copy !req
1503. The wb devised
a bold marketing strategy...Copy !req
1504. That showed their
24-year-old star stripped to the waist...Copy !req
1505. And tied to a post.Copy !req
1506. The startling image suggested
more than a passing similarity...Copy !req
1507. Between Clark Kent
and a crucified Jesus Christ.Copy !req
1508. He's Christ-like. - He's
Christ-like. You see him three times.Copy !req
1509. You see him, you know, at birth, once
when he was in his teenage years...Copy !req
1510. And then when he suddenly appears
at 30, ready to take on his mantle...Copy !req
1511. And save the world. So I mean,
that it's all... it's all through there.Copy !req
1512. - Yeah.
- We definitely heightened it.Copy !req
1513. But when we saw
that campaign we were shocked.Copy !req
1514. We thought, "they're gonna crucify us
for this," but it was really compelling.Copy !req
1515. And people remember that campaign.Copy !req
1516. Help me.Copy !req
1517. But on September 11, 2001...Copy !req
1518. One month prior
to the premiere of Smallville...Copy !req
1519. The twin notions of truth
and justice were put to the ultimate test.Copy !req
1520. Within minutes, a powerful nation was
brought to its knees and the concept...Copy !req
1521. Of heroes and heroism
was stunningly redefined.Copy !req
1522. A lot that you see
from September 11th...Copy !req
1523. 1s a redefinition of what a hero is.Copy !req
1524. A lot of people used to throw that
term around very loosely prior to that.Copy !req
1525. A hero is a guy who scored the most
touchdowns, hit the most home runs.Copy !req
1526. But when you look at the selflessness
and sacrifice that average people made...Copy !req
1527. In an extraordinary time,
it forces you to go back and examine...Copy !req
1528. Now our heroes are supposed
to act and behave.Copy !req
1529. What we need is a sense of purpose
for our characters.Copy !req
1530. A reason for our characters
to be heroes.Copy !req
1531. How do we make these characters
do things that matter?Copy !req
1532. Superman is the greatest hero
we have.Copy !req
1533. He's our fireman in the DC universe.Copy !req
1534. He sits and he waits to help others.Copy !req
1535. He doesn't pass judgment.Copy !req
1536. He helps fix that situation, then he goes
back and waits to be called again.Copy !req
1537. He's a person you know
you can always count on...Copy !req
1538. To be there if you need him.Copy !req
1539. We shot Smallville in early 2001 and we
premiered them a month after 9/11.Copy !req
1540. And all the press
before the show was all about:Copy !req
1541. "How can you take Superman
out of the suit?"Copy !req
1542. - And, you know, who cares... 7
- And who cares about Superman?Copy !req
1543. After 9/11, it was suddenly,
"America needs a hero."Copy !req
1544. So overnight, it's like,
it just fits the time.Copy !req
1545. Smallville's premiere set
a new ratings record for the wb.Copy !req
1546. Over 8 million viewers.Copy !req
1547. And week after week,
audiences, including teenagers...Copy !req
1548. Who'd never read a comic book,
came back for more.Copy !req
1549. - Lex, what's going on?
- Get out of the way.Copy !req
1550. In the series, Superman's
arch Nemesis, Lex Luthor...Copy !req
1551. Played by Michael Rosenbaum,
appeared as a boyhood friend of Clark's.Copy !req
1552. It was a nod to a 1960 superboy story
that established.Copy !req
1553. The two had been friends in Smallville
before Luthor's jealousy of superboy...Copy !req
1554. Sent him down the path of evil.Copy !req
1555. I'm sorry you got thrown
through that window.Copy !req
1556. - I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind.
- I know.Copy !req
1557. A criminal mastermind
would have worn a mask.Copy !req
1558. They get it.
They understand the mythology of it.Copy !req
1559. They have this Luthor and Superman
character and they're friends.Copy !req
1560. It's inevitable that they'll be enemies.Copy !req
1561. We have a complicated relationship,
Clark.Copy !req
1562. My father wants me to believe
it's built on trust, but it's not.Copy !req
1563. It's built on lies and deceitCopy !req
1564. any relationship
with that foundation is destined to failCopy !req
1565. lucky we don't have that problem.Copy !req
1566. Lucky us.Copy !req
1567. They have the farm,
the iconic American valuesCopy !req
1568. whereas the Luthor character is raised
by an evil, wealthy man...Copy !req
1569. Fated to grow up to be
an evil, wealthy man.Copy !req
1570. What happened, Lex?Copy !req
1571. The two theories seem to beCopy !req
1572. I either ran the plant into the ground
through incompetence...Copy !req
1573. Or did it deliberately
to go back to Metropolis.Copy !req
1574. Your dad already offered you a job in
Metropolis. Just tell people the truth.Copy !req
1575. Then I get stuck
with the incompetence rap.Copy !req
1576. Being reviled is the lesser evil.Copy !req
1577. Season one, the question
of that season would be, "who am 1?"Copy !req
1578. You know, that's when he sort of
finds out where he's fromCopy !req
1579. and sort of takes on his mantle
in Smallville.Copy !req
1580. Season two really became about,
"where am I from?"Copy !req
1581. It became sort of the ultimate,
you know...Copy !req
1582. Adopted-child search
for his real parents.Copy !req
1583. What am I doing here?Copy !req
1584. Looking for answers, I assume.Copy !req
1585. Hello, Clark.Copy !req
1586. I've been expecting you.Copy !req
1587. In Smallville's second season.Copy !req
1588. Christopher reeve made
an unforgettable quest appearance...Copy !req
1589. Activate screen.Copy !req
1590. As the mysterious Dr. Virgil Swann,
a scientist who tells ClarkCopy !req
1591. of his Kryptonian origins.Copy !req
1592. It says, "this is Kal-El of Krypton.Copy !req
1593. Our infant son, our last hope.Copy !req
1594. Please protect him
and deliver him from evil."Copy !req
1595. The episode was one
of many that reminded young viewers...Copy !req
1596. That growing up, like being Superman,
involved tough choices.Copy !req
1597. Why me?Copy !req
1598. There must be a reason
why I was sent to this planet.Copy !req
1599. You won't find the answers
by looking to the stars.Copy !req
1600. It's a journey you'll have to take
by looking inside yourself.Copy !req
1601. You must write
your own destiny, Kal-El.Copy !req
1602. Season three was the darkest season.Copy !req
1603. I think that was sort of Clark,
you know, the end of the season...Copy !req
1604. He put on
the red kryptonite ring...Copy !req
1605. Which, in the show,
takes away his inhibitions.Copy !req
1606. Season four was
the last year in high school...Copy !req
1607. And it was about sort of
putting away childish behavior...Copy !req
1608. And sort of moving
towards your destiny.Copy !req
1609. But just as young Clark Kent...Copy !req
1610. Was facing his destiny
in an uncertain future.Copy !req
1611. The world was stunned
by another tragedy.Copy !req
1612. On October 10, 2004...Copy !req
1613. Christopher reeve died after his
nine-year battle with paralysis.Copy !req
1614. The actor's nobility
and optimism had suggested...Copy !req
1615. That a man really could fly even if
fate had denied him the ability to walk.Copy !req
1616. The thing that was great about Chris...Copy !req
1617. Is not that he was a hero
and something superhuman.Copy !req
1618. But that, in fact,
a very ordinary human...Copy !req
1619. Did these incredibly strong,
transcendent things.Copy !req
1620. Chris was a hero to a lot of people...Copy !req
1621. In the last part of his life...Copy !req
1622. And I admire him enormously
for that.Copy !req
1623. Chris is my Superman.Copy !req
1624. He was on this earth
for a lot of reasons.Copy !req
1625. He wasn't here just to be an actor.Copy !req
1626. He was Superman.Copy !req
1627. You won't find the answers
by looking to the stars.Copy !req
1628. It's a journey you'll have to take
by looking inside yourself.Copy !req
1629. You must write your own destiny.Copy !req
1630. Boy, this is a great way
to see the country.Copy !req
1631. Yeah, it's amazing
how much you miss at superspeed.Copy !req
1632. Yeah.Copy !req
1633. In 2004, comedian
and Superman fan Jerry Seinfeld...Copy !req
1634. Appeared with
an animated man of steel.Copy !req
1635. 0nn a series of commercials
for American express.Copy !req
1636. I wanna hear this thing.
It's got surround sound.Copy !req
1637. - I've always wanted that.
- You've got superhearing.Copy !req
1638. Yeah, but it's not surround sound.Copy !req
1639. I mean, surround sound.Copy !req
1640. It's like...
It's like you're there.Copy !req
1641. The success of the ads and
the continued popularity of Smallville...Copy !req
1642. Suggested that perhaps
the time was right...Copy !req
1643. For Superman to return
to movie screens as well.Copy !req
1644. But attempts to get a new film
off the ground...Copy !req
1645. Brought new meaning
to the phrase, "never-ending battle."Copy !req
1646. Among those on the front lines,
producer Jon Peters...Copy !req
1647. Secured the rights to the property
in the early 1990s.Copy !req
1648. I knew that the character was hip.Copy !req
1649. Over 11 or 12 years, four or five
number-one records all about Superman.Copy !req
1650. Superman. Superman. Superman.Copy !req
1651. They're writing songs about it. The kids
in the street have tattoos on them.Copy !req
1652. We've got to get it."Copy !req
1653. In trying to make Superman relevant...Copy !req
1654. To a jaded new generation...Copy !req
1655. Producers tried to avoid
almost everything that had come before.Copy !req
1656. I always got the sense that some
of these other attempts didn't take off...Copy !req
1657. Because they weren't sticking true
to what Superman really was.Copy !req
1658. And no offense to the creators
who were involved in the stuffCopy !req
1659. but you don't give Superman
3 black latex suit with an "s" shieldCopy !req
1660. that comes off and forms daggers
and things like that.Copy !req
1661. That's just not who Superman is.Copy !req
1662. The elements were, that I was
focusing on, away from the heart.Copy !req
1663. It was more leaning towards
star wars in a sense, you know.Copy !req
1664. I didn't realize the human part of it.Copy !req
1665. I didn't have that.Copy !req
1666. But through the process,
Warner Bros and DC executives.Copy !req
1667. Were encouraged by a string of
comic-book-inspired films...Copy !req
1668. That were profitable
and critically acclaimed.Copy !req
1669. Many felt their success was due to one
simple rule: Don't mess with the basics.Copy !req
1670. It was a philosophy shared by
the director who was finally signed...Copy !req
1671. To bring Superman back
to the screen, Bryan singer.Copy !req
1672. Singer had twice successfully brought
marvel's X-Men to movie theaters.Copy !req
1673. And news of his involvement brought
a sigh of relief to Superman fans.Copy !req
1674. If you're in close-ups and then
you're seeing s's everywhere...Copy !req
1675. I don't know if that's too much.Copy !req
1676. He can handle the smartest material and
help us connect with these characters...Copy !req
1677. That have been, you know, beloved
for many, many years...Copy !req
1678. By several different generations.Copy !req
1679. You're dealing
with a 70-year-old universe...Copy !req
1680. With comic books and radio shows
and TV and a multiple of series...Copy !req
1681. That will exist long after I'm gone.Copy !req
1682. So at some point you have to
just choose the things...Copy !req
1683. That meant something to you.Copy !req
1684. He came in with the way
he wanted to make the movie.Copy !req
1685. It was so unbelievably
brilliant and perfect.Copy !req
1686. It was like, "I've been wrong for
12 years. This is the right way to go."Copy !req
1687. To shape the story
under the codename red sun.Copy !req
1688. Olnger worked closely
with X-Men screenwriters.Copy !req
1689. Michael dougherty
and Dan Harris.Copy !req
1690. We want to contemporize
the character, at the same time...Copy !req
1691. There's a gee-whiz quality
about Clark and about Superman...Copy !req
1692. That you've got to maintain.Copy !req
1693. We felt like donner did
something really right in the first one.Copy !req
1694. He created, essentially,
the superhero genre of films.Copy !req
1695. And so I think it is a matter
of us trying to kind of put...Copy !req
1696. The Superman franchise back on track
and bringing it back...Copy !req
1697. You know, to a new generation.Copy !req
1698. But one important question remained:Copy !req
1699. Who would play Superman?Copy !req
1700. Superman has to feel, look
and sound as though...Copy !req
1701. Ne has stepped out of your collective
conscioushess of who that character is.Copy !req
1702. Just as Richard donner
had done three decades beforeCopy !req
1703. Bryan singer decided
to cast a relative unknown:Copy !req
1704. 24-year-old Brandon routh.Copy !req
1705. Camera, action.Copy !req
1706. Taxi.Copy !req
1707. Well, maybe, you know,
saying goodbye was hard...Copy !req
1708. Because he wasn't sure
whether he was gonna be gone...Copy !req
1709. For a little while or forever.Copy !req
1710. And maybe he had to go
and he wanted to say goodbye...Copy !req
1711. But he couldn't find
the guts to do it...Copy !req
1712. Because if he saw you
even for one last time.Copy !req
1713. Or maybe he was afraid that
if he saw you just once...Copy !req
1714. Ne would never be able to go.Copy !req
1715. He had height and breadth.Copy !req
1716. Then we almost knocked
into each other going out the front door.Copy !req
1717. Then I thought, "okay,
he's got Clark." And then I said:Copy !req
1718. "Are you afraid of the Superman curse?”
and he said, "well, it could be worse.Copy !req
1719. I could not get the role and
something terrible could happen to me."Copy !req
1720. I think I found my Superman.Copy !req
1721. With the fact that I came
from a small town in the midwest...Copy !req
1722. Much like Clark actually did.Copy !req
1723. Makes a lot of difference
to my portrayal and who I am.Copy !req
1724. Bryan liked that I had midwestern values,
you know, everybody has values...Copy !req
1725. But the midwest gets
a good rap for it.Copy !req
1726. And action.Copy !req
1727. He has to be able to embody
Clark Kent on the farm.Copy !req
1728. Clark Kent in the newsroom,
the bumbling Clark.Copy !req
1729. And then finally, Kal-El,
the last son of Krypton...Copy !req
1730. With all the majesty and honesty and
virtue that you expect from Superman.Copy !req
1731. Brandon has those qualities
rather inherently.Copy !req
1732. It's great to wear the suit
when people bring their kids to set...Copy !req
1733. And you just see, you know,
a kind of sparkle in their eye.Copy !req
1734. Not because of me,
but it's because it's Superman.Copy !req
1735. - Look in the sky, chief.
- It's a bird.Copy !req
1736. - It's a plane.
- No, look it's...Copy !req
1737. You wanted to see me?Copy !req
1738. Joining Brandon routh
would be an ensemble of actors.Copy !req
1739. Who seemed tailor-made
for their legendary roles.Copy !req
1740. Kate bosworth would be the new
Lois Lane, now a working mom...Copy !req
1741. Whose career ambitions
and engagement to another man...Copy !req
1742. Are challenged by her love
for Superman.Copy !req
1743. I knew it was gonna be
a tremendous challenge...Copy !req
1744. Because there's
a very fine balance...Copy !req
1745. With playing somebody
who is a comic-book character.Copy !req
1746. You can either be much more
of a caricature.Copy !req
1747. Or you can be very, very realistic.Copy !req
1748. I wanted to still have
that fun spunk that Lois Lane has.Copy !req
1749. But I also wanted to bring a heart to it
that everybody could relate to.Copy !req
1750. Can I ask you something?Copy !req
1751. Have you ever met someone
and it's almost likeCopy !req
1752. you were from totally different worlds,
but shared such a strong connection...Copy !req
1753. You knew you were destined
to be with each other?Copy !req
1754. Then he just takes off...Copy !req
1755. Without explaining why
or without even saying goodbye.Copy !req
1756. Sounds cheesy, I know. Taxi. Hey.Copy !req
1757. Whoa. Thanks.Copy !req
1758. Frank langella
would bring a new clarity...Copy !req
1759. To the role of daily planet
editor, Perry white.Copy !req
1760. I wanna know it all, everything.
I wanna see photos of him everywhere.Copy !req
1761. Does he still stand for truth”? Justice?
All that stuff.Copy !req
1762. Sam huntington would play
the ever-eager Jimmy Olsen.Copy !req
1763. Jimmy is just a happy-go-lucky guy.Copy !req
1764. He's goofy and wants to make
people smile but I think he...Copy !req
1765. He wants to take a good picture
and do his job well.Copy !req
1766. Clark has been doing a little
soul-searching...Copy !req
1767. For the last couple of years.Copy !req
1768. Must be tough coming back.Copy !req
1769. Well, you know. Things change.Copy !req
1770. Kevin spacey was cast...Copy !req
1771. As Superman's diabolical
arch Nemesis I ex I uthor.Copy !req
1772. Tell me everything.Copy !req
1773. And utilizing footage shot
for Superman: The movie...Copy !req
1774. Even though you've been raised as a
human being, you are not one of them.Copy !req
1775. They can be a great people, Kal-El.
They wish to be.Copy !req
1776. They only lack the light
to show the way.Copy !req
1777. In the film.Copy !req
1778. Ouperman is forced
to find his place again...Copy !req
1779. In a world that's
almost forgotten him.Copy !req
1780. It was a conflict
that resonated not only in the script...Copy !req
1781. It also mirrored the many years
the caped superhero...Copy !req
1782. Had been out
of the pop-culture mainstream.Copy !req
1783. Superman has been
off the earth for five years.Copy !req
1784. He returns and finds
that Lois Lane has moved on.Copy !req
1785. She has a fiancé and they have child.Copy !req
1786. And he's taken a bit off guard by this.Copy !req
1787. I see you've already met the munchkin.
Clark, Richard. Richard, Clark.Copy !req
1788. Richard white. “HiCopy !req
1789. well, it's great to finally meet you.
I've heard so much.Copy !req
1790. Oh, you have?Copy !req
1791. Yeah, Jimmy just won't
shut up about you.Copy !req
1792. The struggle of Superman is, he wants
to have that semblance of real life.Copy !req
1793. And of having Lois Lane,
of having a family, all those things.Copy !req
1794. They haven't seen
each other for five years...Copy !req
1795. And she has moved on
with her life.Copy !req
1796. She has everything you feel
when you have...Copy !req
1797. A great love in your life
come backCopy !req
1798. and everybody can relate to that.Copy !req
1799. - Were you in love with him?
- He was Superman.Copy !req
1800. Everyone was in love with him.Copy !req
1801. But were you?Copy !req
1802. Filmed at fox studios AustraliaCopy !req
1803. ouperman returns boasted a budget
of nearly $200 million...Copy !req
1804. But for Bryan singer,
more crucial than lavish sets or cg/I.Copy !req
1805. Was making sure audiences...Copy !req
1806. Emotionally connected
with his characters.Copy !req
1807. Bryan's always quick to say
that he's not a comic-book fan.Copy !req
1808. That it's not the universe he grew up in.
He didn't read comic books as a child.Copy !req
1809. But what I think he recognizes is that
they deal with issues and emotions...Copy !req
1810. That resonate with people in sort
of a very highly entertaining fashion.Copy !req
1811. Well, you're back, and everyone
seems to be pretty happy about it.Copy !req
1812. Not everyone.Copy !req
1813. You can no longer get away with
just great cg or great special effects.Copy !req
1814. You really need to have story.Copy !req
1815. You really need to have character,
relationship, emotion.Copy !req
1816. To feel like we're onto
something very special.Copy !req
1817. Oh, my boy.Copy !req
1818. Let me hear you say it, just once.
You're insane.Copy !req
1819. No, not that.
No, the other thing.Copy !req
1820. - Superman will never...
- Wrong!Copy !req
1821. On June 30, 2006...Copy !req
1822. Audiences welcomed the return
of Superman to movie theaters.Copy !req
1823. The film also represented the return
of a dreamCopy !req
1824. one born in the imaginations of two
young boys from Cleveland, Ohio...Copy !req
1825. A dream destined
to change the world.Copy !req
1826. Since his debut in 1938.Copy !req
1827. The man of steel
has survived and thrived.Copy !req
1828. During decades of reinvention
and reinterpretation.Copy !req
1829. Superman has had
a very diverse history.Copy !req
1830. He has been used to market,
as propaganda material.Copy !req
1831. He's been in good television.Copy !req
1832. He's been in bad television.Copy !req
1833. He's been in good movies.
He's been in bad movies.Copy !req
1834. - You didn't succumb to the kryptonite.
- I expected you to have it handy.Copy !req
1835. But the character Superman
has always been strong enough...Copy !req
1836. To survive his own history.Copy !req
1837. I think the reason Superman endures...Copy !req
1838. I1s that it's the first character
that is an alien from outer space...Copy !req
1839. Who comes to save us
instead of to terrorize and defeat us.Copy !req
1840. Superman is the ultimate embodiment...Copy !req
1841. Of the American dream.Copy !req
1842. Proof that an immigrant
can come to a new land.Copy !req
1843. And achieve the greatest
in human potential.Copy !req
1844. His challenge
is to continually see the good in people...Copy !req
1845. And to keep on doing good
when others don't see itCopy !req
1846. he does have this vulnerable,
fumbling, geeky side that everybody has.Copy !req
1847. And yet, he has this heroic,
strong appearance as well.Copy !req
1848. And it's something that people can
relate to and people can look up to.Copy !req
1849. Battered by changing times
and changing tastes...Copy !req
1850. Ouperman always seems to emerge
stronger than ever.Copy !req
1851. Superman will be around
for a long time...Copy !req
1852. Because it captures the imagination
of little boys and little girls.Copy !req
1853. - Does it make you dizzy?
- Oh, no. I love it.Copy !req
1854. Like my grandson,
running around in their capes...Copy !req
1855. Leaping off the backs of couches
and running to save people.Copy !req
1856. O'Toole: Without question,
Superman will do the right thing...Copy !req
1857. Because he's just the best.Copy !req
1858. At the end of the day, everyone...Copy !req
1859. Maybe they go on dates with Batman
but they wanna live with Superman...Copy !req
1860. Because Superman is about
being the most virtuous man on earth.Copy !req
1861. Superman is universal.Copy !req
1862. There isn't a country in the world
you can go to...Copy !req
1863. That they don't know Superman.Copy !req
1864. Because with the problems of today...Copy !req
1865. The world is in desperate need
of a hero.Copy !req
1866. Run for president, supey,
because god knows we need you now.Copy !req
1867. Take him away.Copy !req
1868. I think most people do believe
in that kind of integrity and virtue.Copy !req
1869. They wanna see goodness.Copy !req
1870. People have a deep need
to believe that it exists out there.Copy !req
1871. Jor-El: They can be a great people,
Kal-El, they wish to be.Copy !req
1872. They only lack the light
to show the way.Copy !req
1873. For this reason above all.Copy !req
1874. I have sent them you, my only son.Copy !req
1875. Strong.Copy !req
1876. Powerful.Copy !req
1877. Invincible.Copy !req
1878. Superman is a hero
worth looking up to.Copy !req
1879. And to find him, we need only...Copy !req
1880. [Ook up in the sky.Copy !req
1881. Who unplugged my typewriter?Copy !req
1882. It's wonderful
to meet a new Jimmy Olsen.Copy !req
1883. - Now, you look at...
- No, no, no.Copy !req
1884. Superman, look at me.Copy !req
1885. - I don't know where they are, I swear.
- Don't force me to do humanity a favor.Copy !req
1886. You overblown, deluded creep.Copy !req
1887. Look, will you quit leaving your
half-eaten sandwiches in the drawer.Copy !req
1888. They attract mice.Copy !req
1889. Stop it.Copy !req
1890. There it is.Copy !req
1891. They're kellogg's new sugar smacks.
You'll like them.Copy !req
1892. Did you ever feel...Copy !req
1893. Like you couldn't
remember your lines?Copy !req
1894. I think that I shall never see
a poem as lovely as a treeCopy !req
1895. a tree whose branch
is wide and strongCopy !req
1896. the camptown ladies sing this songCopy !req
1897. do-dah, do-dahCopy !req
1898. Cut itCopy !req