ComicCon interviews with Marc McClure and Helen Slater

[Metallo]

Wow they really make some good points. Especially Marc. He really has an interesting perspective on it all.

[crazy_asian_man]

wow- these are awesome! great find! These are much more interesting than the 'Hall H' panels- that are fun for what they are, but normally are more for 'let's entertain the audience and make them laugh' type bits and this sitdown seems much more personal.

[Metallo]

Yeah that’s exactly how I feel too. Granted this is more for the people at home than the live audience but one on one sit down lets the discussion get deeper than sharing a big panel among many people.

[Kamdan]

Great stuff! I’m not sure if this has ever been said here, but Michael O'Keefe was also up for the part of Jimmy Olsen. I believe his height at 6’1 made fall out of the runnings that eventually led to McClure’s casting, but it was O’Keefe’s interest in the movie that made Christopher Reeve aware of the film. At the time, Reeve and fellow actors Treat Williams and William Hurt scoffed off the notion of a Superman movie, no doubt fearing having the same fate as George Reeves. Eventually, Reeve got the job, despite Willams and Hurt’s protests. I just think they were jealous they didn’t get the part.

[Metallo]

So is that the “other guy” McClure talks about in these interviews? He said this other guy didn’t stand a chance because of his attitude.

I know Reeve and others like Williams said he had the studios driver drop him off down the block so his actor friends wouldn’t see him in the limo. Funny enough Williams and Hurt did eventually end up in superhero movies. Just not as the hero.

[Kamdan]

I wonder too if it was him. Not sure who all else was up for the part.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 4, 2018 6:46:58 GMT -5 Kamdan said:

Great stuff! I’m not sure if this has ever been said here, but Michael O'Keefe was also up for the part of Jimmy Olsen. I believe his height at 6’1 made fall out of the runnings that eventually led to McClure’s casting, but it was O’Keefe’s interest in the movie that made Christopher Reeve aware of the film. At the time, Reeve and fellow actors Treat Williams and William Hurt scoffed off the notion of a Superman movie, no doubt fearing having the same fate as George Reeves. Eventually, Reeve got the job, despite Willams and Hurt’s protests. I just think they were jealous they didn’t get the part.

As much as I enjoy the 'Supergirl' tv show (I always feel like Smallville should have been more like this- not afraid of costumes/ comic book trappings)- Jimmy should NOT be taller than Superman. Just saying.

[Metallo]

Jimmy should not be cool or a bad@ss period. It’s like the realized their new version of jimmy wasn’t working and didn’t really click with the rest of the show so that’s why they made him Guardian. They even had trouble figuring out what to do with that. Winn basically served the Jimmy function in the show and was a lot more popular.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 6, 2018 14:23:49 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Jimmy should not be cool or a bad@ss period. It’s like the realized their new version of jimmy wasn’t working and didn’t really click with the rest of the show so that’s why they made him Guardian. They even had trouble figuring out what to do with that. Winn basically served the Jimmy function in the show and was a lot more popular.

Agreed 1000%. I respect them trying to add diversity, but don't change who Jimmy was.

[booshman]

Funny to hear McLure mention the BTTF sequels he was in, did no one tell him he was cut out of part 2?

[Kamdan]

Aug 7, 2018 10:09:45 GMT -5 booshman said:

Funny to hear McLure mention the BTTF sequels he was in, did no one tell him he was cut out of part 2?

Still got paid either way.

[booshman]

Aug 8, 2018 14:24:31 GMT -5 Kamdan said:

Aug 7, 2018 10:09:45 GMT -5 booshman said:

Funny to hear McLure mention the BTTF sequels he was in, did no one tell him he was cut out of part 2?

Still got paid either way.

I'm sure he was, but since he was talking about which actors are in the most sequels, and then gives a list of his credits, it's odd to hear him mention a movie he has no credit in.

[Metallo]

He’s been to enough conventions to know that most die hard fans know he was in it and got cut. And there’s a chance his deleted scenes are on the Blu-rays so his stuff is out there. In the internet age it’s also probably on YouTube and people have google so if people look into it they can find out the circumstances. It’s not like it used to be where people couldn’t find out about this on their own. Either way he was involved which he’s grateful for.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 12, 2018 9:52:41 GMT -5 Metallo said:

He’s been to enough conventions to know that most die hard fans know he was in it and got cut. And there’s a chance his deleted scenes are on the Blu-rays so his stuff is out there. In the internet age it’s also probably on YouTube and people have google so if people look into it they can find out the circumstances. It’s not like it used to be where people couldn’t find out about this on their own. Either way he was involved which he’s grateful for.

Speaking of which... it is still kind of sad, even with almost EVERYTHING on the internet- that there's no copy of Puzo's original scripts for STM/SII.....

Anyways, still holding out hope (before the year ends!) that we get that SII extended tv cut. I do think it bizarre that WB doesn't do more shoutouts ahead of time when these things are coming.

[booshman]

Aug 12, 2018 9:52:41 GMT -5 Metallo said:

He’s been to enough conventions to know that most die hard fans know he was in it and got cut. And there’s a chance his deleted scenes are on the Blu-rays so his stuff is out there. In the internet age it’s also probably on YouTube and people have google so if people look into it they can find out the circumstances. It’s not like it used to be where people couldn’t find out about this on their own. Either way he was involved which he’s grateful for.

The scene has been on the special features since the DVD's came out. It's not a good scene. He's playing Marty's brother as a drunk in the alt 1985 timeline.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 14, 2018 9:47:54 GMT -5 booshman said:

Aug 12, 2018 9:52:41 GMT -5 Metallo said:

He’s been to enough conventions to know that most die hard fans know he was in it and got cut. And there’s a chance his deleted scenes are on the Blu-rays so his stuff is out there. In the internet age it’s also probably on YouTube and people have google so if people look into it they can find out the circumstances. It’s not like it used to be where people couldn’t find out about this on their own. Either way he was involved which he’s grateful for.

The scene has been on the special features since the DVD's came out. It's not a good scene. He's playing Marty's brother as a drunk in the alt 1985 timeline.

It was interesting to see though, glad that they released it.

On another note- to this day, bummed that the producers and the actor who played Marty's dad never worked it out so that he could have stayed for the sequels.
Even though they did a workaround, I do feel that the original was perfect, but that the sequels suffered from either the recasting or minimizing the roles for the dad and the girlfriend.

On the other hand, I guess one could see the sequels as an alternate timeline from the get-go....

[Metallo]

Glover is an odd one but depending on who you believe he left because he either didn't like the material or wanted more money. The producers just made it worse by using archival footage of him and prosthetic makeup on the new actor without Glovers permission. Glover won in the end since they had to end up paying him something anyway for using his likeness.

Fox tried to do the same thing to Michael Biehn on Alien 3 by using his likeness and the outcome was similar.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 14, 2018 11:32:44 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Glover is an odd one but depending on who you believe he left because he either didn't like the material or wanted more money. The producers just made it worse by using archival footage of him and prosthetic makeup on the new actor without Glovers permission. Glover won in the end since they had to end up paying him something anyway for using his likeness.

Fox tried to do the same thing to Michael Biehn on Alien 3 by using his likeness and the outcome was similar.

Biehn said in an interview that he pushed to get a giant payoff for Alien 3, but that if he knew how successful David Fincher (?) was going to be later, he wouldn't have given Fox such a bad time.

[Metallo]

Yeah I remember that from the dvd. Hopefully he wasn’t too hard on Fincher since it was Fox’s call in the end. He probably got a decent check out of basically doing nothing so good for him. I actually wasn’t as offended as some people by the death of hicks and newt. Wish the event has been more substantial but I got what they were going for. Alien 3 was a bleak movie and they were trying to put Ripley in a certain place emotionally.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 15, 2018 10:57:18 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Yeah I remember that from the dvd. Hopefully he wasn’t too hard on Fincher since it was Fox’s call in the end. He probably got a decent check out of basically doing nothing so good for him. I actually wasn’t as offended as some people by the death of hicks and newt. Wish the event has been more substantial but I got what they were going for. Alien 3 was a bleak movie and they were trying to put Ripley in a certain place emotionally.

I thought it was a dumb move right away to kill off Hicks and Newt- right after generating all the goodwill and building up the connections to Ripley- it wasn't that different from killing off Jimmy Olsen.... totally unnecessary.

If they wanted to do a 'everybody dies' movie- and it be about Ripley being able to conquer her fear before the end.... then it seemed like it was a bit soon for that, too.

James Cameron mentioned on his commentary that he envisioned the sequel being on Earth, with the three having formed a family unit of sorts, and then reports coming in, with Aliens infesting earth. That could have been really something.

I know Fincher was hired mainly as a 'just do what we say' director from the studio as he hadn't any major credits according to Premiere magazine if memory serves--- so I imagine the studio already decided on the script.... but so bizarre (Or maybe not, considering how many stupid decisions get made on a studio level)- that they wouldn't want to ask or follow what Cameron suggested.

It's telling that Neil Blomkamp wanted to ignore Alien 3 & 4 when he was going to do his sequel for it.

[Metallo]

I think the intent with Alien 3 was far more defendable than the intent for doing that in BVS. They were trying to show that Ripleys world (or universe) was a bleak one and she was in a hopeless place. The whole “for so long you’re all I’ve ever known” or I can’t remember a time without you” bit of dialogue refering to the Aliens.

With BVS Snyder was trying to show that the world was bleak but that hope was there somewhere in the darkness. We never really saw that hope beyond some lip service. In Alien world there wasn’t much hope.

The biggest difference is we got to know who Newt and Hicks were in Aliens before they were killed in Alien 3. We had no idea who Jimmy was in BvS because we’d just met him and didn’t get a chance to make any connection to him. In the theatrical cut we didn’t even know he was Jimmy Olsen.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 21, 2018 17:44:15 GMT -5 Metallo said:

I think the intent with Alien 3 was far more defendable than the intent for doing that in BVS. They were trying to show that Ripleys world (or universe) was a bleak one and she was in a hopeless place. The whole “for so long you’re all I’ve ever known” or I can’t remember a time without you” bit of dialogue refering to the Aliens.

With BVS Snyder was trying to show that the world was bleak but that hope was there somewhere in the darkness. We never really saw that hope beyond some lip service. In Alien world there wasn’t much hope.

The biggest difference is we got to know who Newt and Hicks were in Aliens before they were killed in Alien 3. We had no idea who Jimmy was in BvS because we’d just met him and didn’t get a chance to make any connection to him. In the theatrical cut we didn’t even know he was Jimmy Olsen.

Both choices annoyed me tremendously.

With BvS, Snyder pretty much pissed on not just the fans who enjoyed the character for 50 (?) plus years, but the creators of the character in the beginning.

I don't know if Fox or Fincher is to blame for the choice of killing off Newt and Hicks in the beginning- I would have been fine if, during the course of the film, they got killed off to put Ripley in the mindset she was at the end- but killing them off in the first couple of minutes also similarly (and unnecessarily) stepped on those who enjoyed the previous movie and invested in the characters. (Similarly not thrilled with Bryan Singer killing off several characters from "First Class" in a line in "Days of Future Past" for the same reasons).

In any case- moot point. I was okay with the idea of Ripley going through the different phases of accepting death for Alien 3, but to me it was lazy writing that knocked off the supporting characters right off the bat. I'm surprised that Weaver didn't fight it (particularly if she wasn't locked down to sequels in her contract, not sure if she was or not at the time- but getting an Oscar nomination for Ripley in Aliens had to be attractive to her).

[Metallo]

To me the idea of every character dying in a blaze of glory is lazy and predictable. Sure we all want to see it for our favorite characters but that’s not always how people die. Sometimes it’s random and sometimes it’s sensless. That’s why I still didn’t mind the way Tasha Yar died. It’s just that the episode she died in happened to be ridiculous. sometimes I like when a character dies out of nowhere. Makes it more shocking. On Highlander no one saw Tessa Noel’s death coming. She survived being kidnapped and at the end of same episode she’s killed in a random mugging. That made it more tragic.

The only real issue I had with newt and hicks dying is they didn’t bring the actors back. Sure I’d rather they lived since I liked them but sometimes it’s not fair to totally tie a filmmakers hands by playing it safe. That’s why despite the geek in me not wanting any of the avengers to die I know it’s going to be a strong moment if Stark or Cap bite the dust. But I like it to be done in different ways to shake things up.


With BvS I knew nothing about Jimmy so I didn’t care. With Newt and Hicks I at least got to become fans of them.

[crazy_asian_man]

Aug 22, 2018 10:43:44 GMT -5 Metallo said:

To me the idea of every character dying in a blaze of glory is lazy and predictable. Sure we all want to see it for our favorite characters but that’s not always how people die. Sometimes it’s random and sometimes it’s sensless. That’s why I still didn’t mind the way Tasha Yar died. It’s just that the episode she died in happened to be ridiculous. sometimes I like when a character dies out of nowhere. Makes it more shocking. On Highlander no one saw Tessa Noel’s death coming. She survived being kidnapped and at the end of same episode she’s killed in a random mugging. That made it more tragic.

The only real issue I had with newt and hicks dying is they didn’t bring the actors back. Sure I’d rather they lived since I liked them but sometimes it’s not fair to totally tie a filmmakers hands by playing it safe. That’s why despite the geek in me not wanting any of the avengers to die I know it’s going to be a strong moment if Stark or Cap bite the dust. But I like it to be done in different ways to shake things up.


With BvS I knew nothing about Jimmy so I didn’t care. With Newt and Hicks I at least got to become fans of them.

The characters wouldn't have had to die in a blaze of glory, but to not incorporate them but knock them off in the first few seconds I think robbed us of being all that invested in Ripley's story from that point on.... I thought if anything it was lazier to knock them off so fast.

Even though I hated the Rey character in Star Wars: Last Jedi, I would also feel it lazy if the director knocked her off in the first few minutes. While the new director undid some of the things (or underplayed or insulted) that the previous director did.... I guess I could be a hypocrite for being upset if one director destroys what another director built--- but I guess to me it's whether or not I feel like what resulted was as good as or better than what would have happened had the new director respected the previous director's choices.

In X-men: DOFP, there was so much gold, I forgave (but never was happy with) Singer killing off the characters we grew to love in First Class.

In BvS- I agree, we didn't get to know 'Jimmy' but it was really pointless to even bring him in, other than (what would seem) to show disdain for the character & a lack of respect to the creators.

In Alien 3: I don' t know how much Fincher was pushed to adopt. But, if the end result had turned out much better or equal to Aliens 2, I might have forgiven it... Newt or no Newt.