Both Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder are said to have been angry with the way the Salkinds treated Superman director Richard Donner, with Hackman retaliating by refusing to reprise the role of Lex Luthor.[15] After Margot Kidder publicly criticized the Salkinds for their treatment of Donner,[16] the producers reportedly "punished" the actress by reducing her role in Superman III to a brief appearance.[15][17] Hackman later denied such claims, stating that he had been busy with other movies and general consensus that making Luthor a constant villain would be akin to incessant horror movie sequels where a serial killer keeps coming back from the grave. Hackman would reprise his role as Lex Luthor in Superman IV, with which the Salkinds had no involvement. In his commentary for the 2006 DVD release of Superman III, Ilya Salkind denied any ill will between Margot Kidder and his production team and denied the claim that her part was cut for retaliation. Instead, he said, the creative team decided to pursue a different direction for a love interest for Superman, believing the Lois and Clark relationship had been played out in the first two films, (but could be revisited in the future). With the choice to give a more prominent role to Lana Lang, Lois' part was reduced for story reasons. Salkind also denied the reports about Gene Hackman being upset with him, stating that Hackman was unable to return because of other film commitments.
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After Margot Kidder expressed her disgust about the firing of Richard Donner to producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind, her role was cut to 12 lines and less than five minutes of screen time. In the film's 2006 DVD commentary, Ilya Salkind says there was little need for Lois Lane in this movie because her relationship with Superman ended at the end of Superman II (1980).
Christopher Reeve threatened not to return for this film, to protest Richard Donner's firing and because he hated the script. With the film already in pre-production, the producers scrambled to find an actor to play Superman. John Travolta was approached, but declined. Jeff Bridges and Kurt Russell were also considered, but they weren't interested. A few days before filming was set to begin, the Salkinds settled on Tony Danza as Clark Kent/Superman. Richard Lester was mortified with the casting of Danza, and pleaded for Reeve to return. Reeve eventually agreed, if he was allowed to change the script. The producers agreed. That's one popular rumor. Another is once Reeve found out Danza was lined up to replace him; he quickly got intimidated; having assumed the movie would be cancelled without his participation; and at that point Reeve relented.
Richard Pryor was said to have been cast because of comments he made during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). During an interview segment, Pryor told Carson that he wanted to be in a "Superman" movie. He later claimed that he was joking, but the film's producers thought that he was serious about it.
According to the producers' commentary on the Deluxe Edition DVD, this film was not a flop. Critics and fans generally expressed disappointment with it, and its $60-million gross fell short of the previous two movies' $100-million+ gross. It still made an impressive profit, despite competition from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), which opened three weeks earlier, and Octopussy (1983), which opened ten days earlier.
The tar-laced kryptonite that Superman is exposed to has the effects of both red and black kryptonite. Red, particularly in the show Smallville (2001), releases all of Clark's inhibitions. The persona-splitting scene was inspiration for the first appearance of black kryptonite in Smallville (2001). It could separate Clark from his darker side. The battle in the junkyard is considered the most iconic scene of the movie.
Superman/Clark Kent's hair in this movie is obviously brown and not black as seen in the first two films. That's because Christopher Reeve is wearing a wig throughout the entire movie, unlike the first two films where he dyed his natural hair black.
Annette O'Toole and Margot Kidder meet for the first time in this movie. The two actresses were reunited in the Smallville (2001) episodes Smallville: Crusade (2004) and Smallville: Transference (2004). O'Toole played Martha Kent and Kidder played Bridgette Crosby. The character was a supposed love interest for Dr. Virgil Swann. Although "The Daily Planet" hires Lana at the end of the film, Lana does not return in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Her absence is left unexplained.
There are five attributes that make this film unique amongst the Christopher Reeve Superman movies: (1) The only one not to have opening credits in space. (2) The only one without any nuclear weapons. In Superman (1978), Lex Luthor steals nuclear missiles with the intent of detonating one at the San Andreas Fault; in Superman II (1980), an atomic bomb frees the villains from the Phantom Zone, and the plot in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) is about Superman ridding Earth of nuclear weapons. (3) This is the only one in which Gene Hackman, Susannah York, and John Hollis do not appear. (4) The only one not to have the Fortress of Solitude. (5) The only one not to have romance scenes with Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
The main love interest in the film is Lana Lang. Lana is typically associated with Clark's early years living in Smallville. But she did show up in Metropolis as an adult in later comics. This led to a rivalry developing between Lana and Lois for Superman's affections during the Silver Age. Curiously, neither of them was too interested in Clark, whereas in the movie Lana is more attracted to Clark than she is Superman. This reflects the changing dynamic between the characters during the Bronze Age era. In the following example from Action Comics #543 (May 1983), Lana describes how her feelings of friendship towards Clark are maturing into feelings of a romantic nature. Clark in turn realizes that Lana is finally more interested in his civilian alter ego than his costumed persona. The film presents a similar take on their relationship.
(at around 1h 55 mins) Towards the end of the film Superman crushes a piece of coal to turn it into a diamond. He first did this in the comics in 'The Wish That Came True' (Action Comics #115, December 1947). The bad Superman also did this in the aforementioned Action Comics #293. In the movie he uses the diamond to make a ring for Lana. Lois is jealous when she finds out about this. This can be compared to Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #7, February 1959.
The movie ends with Lana getting a job at the Daily Planet, hinting that she may have a future career in journalism. In the Bronze Age comics, Lana moved to Metropolis and worked as a television reporter for WGBS-TV. She's also worked for Perry White in the comics, as seen in 'Lana Lang, Superwoman' (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #17, May 1960).
The synthetic kryptonite Gus Gorman gives to Superman induces the same unpredictable effects as red kryptonite does in the comics. The sequence where the kryptonite causes Superman to split into two separate beings - one Superman, the other Clark - is adapted from 'The Splitting of Superboy' (Adventure Comics #255, December 1958). In both stories Superman is exposed to kryptonite radiation that has the strange effect of dividing him into two. In the comic it is the Clark doppelganger that is evil, while in the movie it is the Superman version. In both stories the good and evil versions end up fighting each other in a junkyard. Red kryptonite caused Superman to split into two people a second time in 'The Feud Between Superman and Clark Kent!' (Action Comics #293, October 1962). This time is was the adult Superman that was afflicted. The Clark Kent version is the good half in this story, while the Superman version is bad. The bad Superman displays an increased libido. His misguided super-activities have a negative impact on the people of Earth. Interestingly, this story also features a scene where the bad Superman tries to impress Lois by making the Earth spin faster. This has the effect of making time pass more quickly. A possible influence on the time reversal scene from the first film? There are several other issues where red kryptonite splits Superman and Clark into two different people. Usually the Superman version is the bad one, and typically he ends up fighting the good/Clark side of his personality before the two of them finally remerge. So this is one aspect of the movie that has many precedents in the comics.
This week's superhero and action adventure movie review takes a look back at the 1983 Superman III movie starring Christopher Reeve and Richard Pryor. As most of you know if you have read my reviews of Superman and Superman II I am not a fan of any of these movies. Sorry, I known Christopher Reeve is great and I concede that he is the best Superman to date but these movies are terrible. Superman III did not redeem things.
However, I actually don't hate this movie as bad as you might expect given my previous reviews. This movie just didn't know what it was. This movie was actually an early 1980s Richard Pryor comedy film that guest starred Superman. In that context, it was no better or worse than any other early 1980s Richard Pryor comedy. Had it been titled something like Richard Pryor and The Wacky Computer Scheme and Wow There's Superman then this movie may well have been a cult classic. But, as a Superman movie it's pretty abhorrent.
Richard Pryor plays Gus Gorman, who Wikipedia described as (and I love this description) "a chronically unemployed ne'er do well", discovers he is some kind of computer programming savant and is hired at the Webscoe company to do general computer programming. Gus figures out how to steal some left over money from the company and embezzles it which catches the attention of CEO Ross Webster. Webster is impressed by Gus's potential and enlists him to help him take over the world. Yes, ROSS WEBSTER is the villain of this movie. 2ff7e9595c
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