End of Superman Cinema is nigh

[Valentine Smith]

Some of my fondest memories (believe it or not) are when I first had regular internet access via my roomie's laptop back in 98 or 99, and stumbling upon Superman Cinema while looking for extended STM cuts.

I seriously hope that you even keep the LOOK of the site when it's over on CapedWonder. It won't be the same without that classic black background.

Thanks for everything, Gandy. Because of your website, I have made more friends than one would think possible, and even a few I'm fortunate enough to hang out with on a semi-regular basis (and more that I hope I WILL get to hang out with one day!). Try to at least pop by here and say hecko a little more often, eh?

best,
mike.

[HOSNI]

In 1997 behind the desk of my first full time job I came across Superman Cinema. Some of my earliest internet memories are based around the site, I can even remember the old home page design (I think it was an S logo with categories placed around the emblem??) Having grown up in Australia I was raised on the TV extended cuts of STM and SII. Having purchased the theatrical copies on VHS in 1994 I wondered why the heck the movies were so much shorter. Enter Superman Cinema, the rest folks is history.

It pointed me to you guys. Even though I don’t post a lot I’m here most days. My entire browsing behaviour has been shaped in some way by you all, and it started at Superman Cinema.

Gandy, thanks mate. End of an era.

[crazy_asian_man]

Superman Cinema I discovered during a tough time, and was a big joy to discover that I wasn't the ONLY one who had big love for the Donner films. During a fairly depressing job at the time, one bright spot was going to Superman Cinema regularly to find tidbits and slivers and theories of the different versions of Donner's Superman films, to take me away from the drudgery that was life at the time.

Thanks Gandy, you may not be aware of it, but I owe you a lot for helping my own life out at that time through your site. Best wishes in whatever you choose to go onto from here & hope to see you drop in here now and then as well.

[Gandy]

Thanks for the kind words. I feels as though the work has been done, getting everything we wished for and making friends is ultimately what the site has been about. I didn't think we'd get this far.

[matt]

Thank you for Superman Cinema! Before any dvd documentary, I would never would have known of what it took to make the Superman movies, and what went behind the scenes. Your site is one of the most informative and detailed out there. I found your site way back in 1999. It was wonderful to find others who love the Reeve Superman movies as I do.You sure accomplished and did wonderful things for the Reeve Superman movies! Your site has brought all Superman fans together which will last forever.

[Jor-L5150]

oh shit no!!!!

nonononononononononononoonononnononononono!

gandy, look, obviously, you've gone above and beyond..
jesus, i know people in real life because of you.

you accomplished a LOT!! a frikkin lot.

i mean, say what you will about SR or SII:RDC - it did illustrate that the fans were there, vocal, and organized. heck, the remastered score releases over the years is a HUGE thing that happened in large part to YOUR efforts!

so- yeah, if you want to hang it up, i ge that- but superman cinema is IMPORTANT!! it means something!!

so this site/info CAN NOT disappear into ether.

a couple years ago i cut-and-pasted a lot of your articles "just in case" but i don;t have the skill to maintain a site!

It MUST be kept. absolutely MUST.
it is too important to the history of superman, now more than ever with donner-verse being "closed" forever!

[Matt in the Hat]

Sept 20, 2011 2:53:09 GMT -5 Gandy said:

Thanks for the kind words. I feels as though the work has been done, getting everything we wished for and making friends is ultimately what the site has been about. I didn't think we'd get this far.

Honestly, it has been quite a journey. I remember longing to see any footage of Richard Donner's SII. It almost seemed like it would never happen. But it did, Dharmesh, thanks to you.

[Jor-L5150]

Sept 20, 2011 2:53:09 GMT -5 Gandy said:

Thanks for the kind words. I feels as though the work has been done, getting everything we wished for and making friends is ultimately what the site has been about. I didn't think we'd get this far.

thank.
you.

( you made a differance)

[Valentine Smith]

Gandy, if it's a matter of paying for the servers, I'm sure a PayPal link and the occasional reminder here would generate a little assistance for you.

I'd hate to see the site and how it looks go.

[MAVERICK]

Exactly.

Its about preserving it just the way it is.

Again, I love Bower's site, but it aint Superman Cinema. It aint home.

[riderfan]

I've been coming to this site for over a decade. I hardly ever post, but I would visit everyday. I thought I was the only one who still cared for the Donnerverse. I thought
Donner's Superman 2 would never see the light of day, let alone expanded scores for all 4 movies. So much happened in the last decade. Christopher Reeve passed away, Dana, Mank too. Nobody in my neck of the woods never really acknowledged how good STM was. And this site just reassured me in that. Again, thanks Gandy. You don't know how important his site has been to me.

[Legsy]

I'll be more than happy to donate some funds.

[Conor]

Same!

[crazy_asian_man]

I'll be more than happy to donate some funds.

Count me in.

[Gandy]

It's not about funds, the site is way out of date and parts of it need a major rewrite. Thanks for the offers, but I made up my mind and nothing's going to change it. I feels as though the job has been accomplished. 15 years is a long time to keep this going -- I don't think modern marriages last that long! Capedwonder is doing a brilliant and it'd be fun to reignite the passion writing for Bowers instead.

[EvilSupes]

I'm sorry to hear about this Gandy. It was your site that led me to these guys back in 2007/8 which I truly am grateful for, as I am for your efforts in keeping up-to-date information regarding Superman events and dvd releases over the years. It has always been an interesting read and I occasionally go back to it for reference info about the movies, which I still feel no other website can rival.

I just want to say I understand you dilemma at the moment, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to say Thank You.

[Jor-L5150]

it isn't JUST about the information.
to be sure, the encyclopediac information on the salkind series is HUGELY important.

but it isn;t just that, it's about the evolution of the depth of knowledge to the fan base!!

see, people paying attention in the late 70's probably had heard about the salkinds, the revovling door of directors, hiring donner, firing donner, the cast and mank occasionally talking about the "other" footage- but SII was a big hit and the scandal of it all was quickly forgotten.

but those of us, my age and younger weren't reading the tabloids and movie mags in the 70's.

WE grew up in total mystery as to why donner "didn't" direct SII- why did the series decline so quickly? what happened?
some of us saw STM and SII on tv, and sometimes there was all kinds of extra scenes!!!! neat, wierd, cool, dumb, useless, useful, fascinating, violent extra scenes!!

THEN:
the internet!

THEN:
fan sites.

THEN:
we all gravitate to our favorite geek-nerd pleasures.

THEN:
we become MORE obsessed than we ever were.

THEN:
we learn earth-shattering things! donner DID direct SII!
SII was supposed to be better!

then: we all did everything we could to contribute. we raided comic shops, looked through vintage magazines, found that oddball article, that interview, that pic from a deleted scene, and we sent it to supermancinema. suddenly, the fans were learning long forgotten arcane superman lore!

aaaaannnnnnnd:
we built up a body of knowledge, validated the curisoity/fascination/obsession of fans. we got together, got connected, and petitioned for restoration!
the score, on cd.
the first DVD campaign.
the ULTIMATE dvd set.
the complete score set.
SII:RDC.

say what you will, the SII:RDC was because of this, this superman cinema community. sure, we take the execution of it to task, but it HAPPENED because we made it happen ( by that i mean we convinced them there wasmoney to be made doing it ),and , again, say what you will about the execution of SR, but SR was donnerverse because WE convinced WB that there was money to be made doing it.


we have to keep it.
all of it. in context.
as it is, as it was.
the whole archive.

like it or not, the donnerverse is ONE of THE MOST definitive concepts of superman- and - the internet was the first time the fans were able to directly impact and affect the depiction of the character well after the powers that be had moved on to other exploitation.

sure, the recent doc's on the ultimate dvd give us much of the info that was compiled on superman cinema- but it only got put inot DVD BECAUSE of superman cinema. it must be preserved.

[upandaway]

Dharmesh aka Gandy,

Many Many years ago in a galaxy in the living room, I discovered a little website which became a regular place for me to visit.
That was a little site called Superman Cinema which quenched my thirst for all things in the movie world that was Superman.

That was well over a decade ago and I cannot believe that the time has flown by so quickly.

Thank you Dharmesh, it has been an honour to be a part of this digital life.


Mark aka Up and Away

[Deleted]

I was in high school when I found this place. All the other movie guys were digging Donnie Darko, Gladiator, etc., but I was in love with the great 70s and 80s stuff. I was late to the party with Superman- I didn't see any of the films all the way through until I was 16 or 17- but damn, did I connect with them. In a very, very big way.

Nobody at school gave a crap about Superman, so I turned to the internet to talk about the films. And that's when I found an awesome website called Superman Cinema.

Superman Cinema isn't just an awesome website- it's historically significant for movie geeks, in a way few places are. It had exclusive interviews, a wealth of information on the making of the films, and it was the undeniable leader of the push to get more Superman material from the Reeve films released. It's one thing to bark in the dark about things you want to see; Superman Cinema was different. It was legitimate, professional-looking, and very well-written. Superman Cinema developed a heck of a following, and it deserves a lot of credit for raising awareness and showing that there was huge interest in extended scores and deleted material- all things we eventually received.

It's sad to see it go, at least in its current form, but seeing it end is a tribute to the site's effectiveness. Few are the fan communities that get to fade away, knowing virtually all of their objectives have been accomplished. So many fans of other films are still dreaming of one day seeing certain deleted scenes, and uncovering new secrets and anecdotes about the things they love. Many of them will never get what they want. We did, and for that I'll always be thankful for Gandy's phenomenal work over the years.

[charl]

always had a fascination with Reeve's Supes. What other key words can u type except 'Superman' & 'Cinema' to search all things STM on the net. It was a fitting name. Simple, straight to the point.

There were plenty materials, updates to read on the site back then. It helped me to slowly & eventually get more acquainted with this board. Tho i seldom post, just reading all of your posts makes me feel like you're my close friends & that i've known u all for a very long time

Good job Gandy!

[inebriated87]

Thank you for the excellent website. May it be enveloped in amber and preserved for one hundred million years.

[capedwonder]

Your website has most certainly had a huge impact on me. Thank you for your devotion and hard work Dharmesh!

Jim Bowers

[Gandy]

Thanks for the kind words The future looks bright -- the adventure continues...

[atp]

Imagine if the Donner Cut had been good...

[Jor-L5150]

Sept 28, 2011 11:29:42 GMT -5 atp said:

Imagine if the Donner Cut had been good...

y'know on second thought, maybe i wish dharm had never bothered.