2012 Movie News Archives

June 15, 2012: A Chat with Ilya Salkind

Ilya Salkind Superman Homepage member George Pitcher spoke with Ilya Salkind on the phone this week, chatting about all things Superman related, including "Superboy" the TV series, his thoughts on Richard Donner, Christopher Reeve, the upcoming "Man of Steel" movie and more.

Here are George's notes on the conversation...

Superboy - Ilya still loves the work they did on that show and when I pressed him about the dvd release for Seasons 2-4 he said that it was disappointing the WB hadn't released them yet as they were the better seasons. He regretted that the series had ended when it did, and felt they had more to say with it yet, but that the WB didn't want to have two Superman shows on TV at the same time so with the impending release of "Lois & Clark" - Superboy had to go. He also said though - that he believed the final seasons would finally see release in coordination with the release of the Man of Steel film! So for all us Superboy fans out there - there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel!

Superman III - Ilya expressed some regret regarding how the finished product came out, though as I pointed out - it was still a success at the box office, just not as big as the studio had wished for. I made mention that it was well known he was a fan of the comics and I asked him about the original draft that was supposed to revolve around Brainiac and Mxyzptlk. He confirmed that the original intent of that film was to pit Superman against both of these classic villains, but that the studio had turned down the idea as they were shying away from such a Sci-fi idea (Brainiac I assumed) in a Superman film. So though they had the intent and the option to include these characters from the DC stable, the WB put a stop to it. He also told me, and this was news to me, that Robert Vaughn wasn't the first choice to play Ross Webster! They had originally cast Frank Langella and director Richard Lester refused to work with him. This was news to me. Ilya thought that without Langella as Webster, the tone of the film changed even more dramatically from what they had originally envisioned, and that the goofier, comedic elements of Superman III became the focus, relying more heavily on Richard Pryor. Ilya confirmed that this wasn't what they had hoped for, feeling that had Langella stayed, the film would have had more gravitas and a heavier tone overall.

Superman II - Regarding Superman II he also expressed regret, though maintaining that he preferred the theatrical cut as a film overall when compared to the Donner Cut. I gathered from our conversation he felt it was a shame that Donner couldn't finish the film as he would have liked, with a completely new ending rather than turning back time a second time. He seemed to feel there were good moments throughout and though he disliked the notion that Superman and Lois made love with his powers still intact he acknowledged that this act ties the Donner Cut closely with Superman Returns. A film he felt was too similar to Superman: The Movie.

Superman: The Movie - Regarding Superman: The Movie Ilya was quite modest, though he acknowledged a certain amount of pride in knowing that he had been the one who first came up with the idea of bringing Superman to the big screen, and was pleased in the knowledge that Superman: The Movie had made it possible for the superhero movies that followed afterwards. An acknowledgment I agreed was more than fair as I pointed out that he also "found" Richard Donner, so without Ilya's input - Superman: The Movie would have never happened.

Man of Steel - Though optimistic and hopeful, he seemed hesitant and concerned about the new film, especially the costume.

On Christopher Reeve - he had nothing but nice things to say and felt it was unlikely that anyone would ever replace him as Superman.

When the conversation drifted to the script of Superman: The Movie, he spoke with conviction that the sillier elements in the earlier drafts would have never been shot - he had always intended to cut the Telly Savalas gag and such. But he also acknowledged the contributions of Tom Mankiewicz and Donner to the final script.

On Richard Donner - He said he doubted Donner would ever want to work with him again while maintaining that firing Donner had been a necessity. While it was an old wound and that time had healed over such things for him, he felt that Richard might still be stinging from how it ended. He did say though that he called Donner when Mank died to express his condolences and that it was sad we lost Tom so soon, as he had so much more to offer. But Ilya didn't seem to be opposed to the idea of working with Donner again, only that he didn't think Donner would be responsive to the idea.

Most exciting of all - was our discussion of his current projects. Though I'm not sure I have the right to say much about them, it was clear he was very excited about his upcoming film about The Great Wall of China - and with good reason too! From our discussion, it seems his intent is to create a film that harkens back to Hollywood's days gone by, an old school epic in the vein of El Cid and Ben-hur - two films he referenced directly as sources of inspiration. Actual location shoots with massive numbers of extras rather than extensive CGI. I applauded this notion - as no one is doing this kind of film anymore.

Though I was caught off-guard for an interview and ill-prepared, I was simply delighted to have the opportunity to talk at length about his involvement in movies that have touched all our lives. Honestly we could have continued to talk for another hour at the very least, if I hadn't been called back down to earth by my youngest who had patiently waited for her Daddy to get off the phone. :) But as the conversation came to a close he told me to keep in touch and I certainly hope we will. Over all I was really pleased to hear for myself how much love Ilya Salkind really has - not only for the character of Superman but for the fan base as well. I came away from our conversation with the opinion that he was a very warm, thoughtful person who still has a great passion for not only Superman and the fans but for filmmaking as a whole. A great gentleman, and it was a true pleasure to be able to talk to him about his involvement in the Superman franchise.

George Pitcher



2012 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2012 organized into various categories:

“Man of Steel” Movie News:

“Justice League” Movie News: “Superman: Unbound” Animated Movie News: “Justice League: Doom” Animated Movie News: “Superman vs. The Elite” Animated Movie News: Christopher Reeve Movie News: Other Movie News:

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