Superman Through the Ages! Forum

http://www.latinoreview.com/scoops/jorel-superman.html

For those of you unfamiliar with the goings-on with the original movies, Richard Donner shot 80% of Superman II concurrent with Superman, but was fired by the Salkinds because they wanted the films to be camp comedies and didn't like what he was doing. So they hired their crony Richard Lester to reshoot over half the movie and scrapped much of Donner's footage, including what would have been Brando's second appearance as Jor-El. If this rumor (confirmed by SHH!) is true, we may end up seeing the elusive Brando stuff from II after all.

Thoughts?

Absolutely fantastic and I hope it's true.

The more I hear about this movie, the more excited about it I get.  This rumor, combined with the news that Ben Hubbard is finally going to be on screen, and that Bryan Singer is a big fan of both the Chris Reeve movie and the George Reeves TV show, can only bode well.

I would really like to see this footage.  It's amazing that they still have the rights to use the footage after all this time.

I'm not sure what to think about this one. One the one hand if just seems really odd, maybe even dumb to use footage of a now deceased actor in a brand new film.

On the other hand I can also see where they would be able to pull it off since Jor-El in the film would more than likely only be a hologram so given Singers comment about the "vauge history" it could work.

Afterall it's not like they are splicing Brandos head on to another actor and redoing the rocket launch sequence.

I'll just have to call a total 'wait and see' on this one.

If they can use Brando footage, then re-edit SUPERMAN II and hire a new actor for Superman Returns dammit! They have a new Superman and a new Lex and a new Jimmy, Perry and Lois.

Hello gang,

From what I've heard there will be footage of Brando but also cgi Brando.  I think that this will be one of toughest challenges of the cgi people - unless of course there are no closeups.  If so, bringing alive a visage so that it is seamless will be somewhat of a World premiere.  Brando was so money oriented that we will have definite proof if ghosts exists.  If he doesn't come back there are no ghosts - because he will try as much as he can...LOL!

Brainsy.

Check out what was done for Laurence Olivier in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, on much less of a budget.  Somehow, I think they'll get Brando right.  However, I'd just as soon recast Brando as well, unless they want to limit their options in the probably sequel(s).

Oh, ok.  I suppose they could dig up some other actor to play Zor-El, Jor-El's brother and have him be the disembodied voice/plot device.  But I bet the unwashed masses who don't worship pre-Crisis Krypton would think that was totally stupid.  :)

Uh - Brando - he's dead - ...!?!?

They'll have to use cgi, because if they plan on making more then just 1 new movie and want to use Jor-El in them they'll soon run out of old footage of him.

Well, at least he's not doing commercials like so many other dead celebrities.

God knows, they sure did PAY Brando enough for his part, that's for sure. For what they paid him, there ought to be in a can somewhere, Warner Brothers footage of Brando as Jor-El, tap dancing.

I'm not certain that I agree with the decision of placing Brando as Jor-El again. No disrespect intended against an actor of Brando's stature, but Brando was obviously sleepwalking (and possibly drunk - it wouldn't surprise me, with those hardcore professional Hollywood types) during his Jor-El performance. The one that really ought to be restored to future editions of the Superman story is the very graceful and classy actress that played Superman's mother Lara. Her sad, teary goodbye and performance was what "sold" the scene and made one get a lump in the throat. "He'll be different...a freak." Wow. Compare how much effort, how much energy and emotion and sadness she has next to the frigid, indifferent Brando. It was this actress, whose name I regret forgetting, that made these scenes work, not the sleepy-eyed Brando.

Though seeing Brando with the Superman hair and forehead curl was pretty cool, I must say.

To be fair, Brando's involvement led to people and studios willing to fork over the bucks to do Superman right.  He was worth his 11% cut of the movie.

Most likely true, but Brando's participation also established an expensive precedent for the Super-movies that ultimately helped kill the franchise.  The producers' over-reliance on outrageously paid celebrities in miscast supporting roles or nanosecond cameos became a laughable gimmick very quickly, drained production funds better spent elsewhere (namely screenwriting) and ruined the necessary "suspension of disbelief".  Who could "believe a man can fly" when the audience couldn't accept the casting of Superman's "deadly enemies" as legitimate threats?  I realize Richard Pryor was a star comedian back when "Superman III" was filmed, but pairing him with Superman was a foreseeable disaster.  And let's overlook Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole dreadful perfomances in "Supergirl" -- was it REALLY necessary to hire Michael York and Mia Farrow to play Kara's parents?  "Supergirl" was already starved for cash after "Superman III" bombed, so paying York and Farrow for their all-too-brief appearances was an unjustified extravagance.

So persuading Marlon Brando to play Jor-El was an expensive gamble that initially paid off.  But repeating this formula with other actors (none close to Brando's near-godlike mystique) progressively doomed the entire franchise.

Nope.  They got rid of Donner.  That's what doomed the franchise.  All the other sins follow from that cardinal sin.  

Everyone else involved -- Richard Lester (light comedy background), the Neumans (who became involved through Superman: The Musical), David Odell (the Muppets) and the Salkinds -- wanted to produce campy Superman and Supergirl movies.  While it was abundantly clear that the cinematic Superman/girl worked best "straight", with only sporadic bits of mild camp and corniness as a lightening contrast, the Salkinds wanted what they thought would be laughs and levity.  They acquired what they thought were the right pieces, got what they felt they wanted, and it sucked.

The Movie (http://superman.nu/fortress-of-solitude/themovie/jor-el.php):

Returns (http://superman.nu/fortress/thescreen/returns/brando.php):