Taglines: The adventure continues.
Superman 2 movie storyline. A group of terrorists seize the Eiffel Tower & threaten Paris with a hydrogen bomb if the French government does not meet their demands. Superman immediately heads to Paris, where he launches the elevator carrying the bomb into outer space before it can detonate. Unfortunately, when the bomb explodes, it disintegrates the ‘Phantom Zone’, where 3 Kryptonian criminals, ,General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa, (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O’Halloran) who had been imprisoned years before by Jor-El.
Immediately, the 3 criminals, led by the psychopathic General Zod, head to Earth with the intention of enslaving the people Superman protects. The Man of Steel, however, is unaware of their arrival, and is forced to sacrifice his powers for a life with Lois Lane. When he finds out about Zod & his companions, Superman returns to the Fortress of Solitude to regain his powers and confront the horrible Kryptonian criminals – on his terms. Can Superman defeat the 3 villains who are armed with identical powers to his own?
Superman II is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman (1978). It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O’Halloran. The film was released in Australia and mainland Europe on December 4, 1980, and in other countries throughout 1981. Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround.
In 1977, it was decided to film both Superman and its sequel simultaneously, with principal photography beginning in March 1977 and ending in October 1978, under the direction of Richard Donner. After a decision was made to stop filming the sequel and finish the first film due to budgetary and production issues, Donner was fired in March 1979 following tensions with producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler, and Lester was hired as his replacement. Principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980, with major reshoots.
The film received positive reviews from film critics who praised the performances from Reeve, Stamp and Hackman, the visual effects, and humor. It grossed $190 million against a production budget of $54 million. A sequel, Superman III, was released on June 1983, for which Lester returned as director.
Principal photography for both Superman films began on March 28, 1977 at Pinewood Studios for the Krypton scenes, but by May 1977, production had run two weeks behind schedule. It was reported that Donner had developed tensions with Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler concerning the escalating production budget and production schedule. Donner responded by claiming he was never given a budget.
In July 1977, Richard Lester—who had previously directed The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) for the Salkinds—came on board the project as an uncredited associate producer and intermediary on Superman to mediate the relationship between Donner and the Salkinds whom were no longer on speaking terms. Prior to this, Lester had won a lawsuit against the Salkinds for money still owed to him from making the films, but the assets were held in legal entanglements in the Bahamas.
The Salkinds then offered to compensate him if he would help on the Superman films, in which Lester became a second unit director where he and Donner formed an effective partnership. By October 1977, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, and Valerie Perrine had completed their scenes as they were all under contract to finish both pictures. Nevertheless, with months left of filming, the Salkinds had halted filming Superman II, of which Donner had shot 75 percent, to focus on finishing Superman. During the pause in filming, the Salkinds agreed to a negative pickup deal with Warner Bros. Pictures granting the studio rights to foreign distribution and television airings in exchange for more financing.
Superman 2 (1981)
Directed by: Richard Lester
Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Susannah York, Clifton James, Terence Stamp
Screenplay by: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman
Production Design by: John Barry, Peter Murton
Cinematography by: Robert Paynter
Film Editing by: John Victor-Smith
Costume Design by: Yvonne Blake, Sue Yelland
Set Decoration by: Peter Howitt, Peter Young
Art Direction by: Terry Ackland-Snow, Ernest Archer, Charles Bishop, Norman Reynolds
Music by: Ken Thorne
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of action violence, some language and brief mild sensuality.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures (United States), Columbia – EMI – Warner Distributors (United Kingdom)
Release Date: December 4, 1980 (Australia), April 9, 1981 (United Kingdom), June 19, 1981 (United States)
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