Steven Spielberg

[jak321]

It certainly would have been interesting if Steven had made STM. I wonder how he would have handle the material differently than Donner?

[Jimbo]

We wouldn't have gotten CE3K, that's for sure. Then again, maybe no 1941 either. ;D

[MerM]

The Jor-El/"Son becomes the father" stuff would have been the first two-and-a-half hours of the movie.

[crazy_asian_man]

It certainly would have been interesting if Steven had made STM. I wonder how he would have handle the material differently than Donner?

Ever since I'd read about that possibility in the Making of STM paperback way back when, I'd pondered this... though there's definitely some things to consider:

* SCHIZO STEVE: Speilberg seemed/seems to be very hit/miss. For every "Indiana Jones", there's a "Jurassic Park part 2" or (shudder) an "A.I.". If he would have treated STM like CE3K, it could have been really something! (or it could have been 1941!)

* JUST LIKE HOOK? According to Robin Williams, "Hook" (directed by Spielberg) was Williams' "superhero movie" so to speak. Was "Hook" also Speilberg's version of a superhero movie??? It wasn't a worthless movie, but was by no means a classic.

* SCRIPT: The Salkinds allowed Donner to have Mankiewicz rewrite a version of the screenplay by Puzo.... how much would Speilberg have been allowed to deviate from the Puzo script? Would we have seen a more serious version (no camp) or a less serious version of Superman?

* NO REEVE? Would Speilberg have chosen Chris Reeve? Donner took a chance, but it doesn't mean that Speilberg would have necessarily.... hard to know.

* YES JOHN! Well.... we'd STILL have John Williams OF COURSE, with Speilberg involved... though it's up in the air what TONE Speilberg would have chosen with his version (pity no one ever asks him what he would have done in any interview!)
Would he have made it more geared for adults, a la' CE3K? Or softened the material? Would have made for a different type of soundtrack, depending on the tone of the film!

* FX by ILM? Wasn't Speilberg and Lucas buddies at this stage of the game? I'm not sure....

* MORE EFFICIENT or LESS EFFICIENT? Donner was accused by the Salkinds of going over budget. Speilberg would end up going way over budget on "1941".... so... who knows? Both Speilberg and Donner had done a ton of tv work prior to their first feature fims- it's interesting to note the SIMILIARITIES both actually had in styles, at that point. (Elaborately staged camera and blocking for almost every scene)

*MORE OR LESS DIPLOMATIC? Speilberg I believe was a lot/is a lot younger than Donner....would he have quit or kept his mouth quiet if unhappy with Spengler? If so, Speilberg would have had STM and SII done by him.... or.... he may have had enough and quit - leaving campy Lester to finish the project....

So....definitely would be interesting to see how this would have all shook out. Good post, let's hope SOMEONE asks Speilberg how he would have done Superman since he was interested in doing it initially....!

[Jor-L5150]

it is fascinating to wonder...

he also wanted to do a james bond movie.... but instead did raiders .. so win-win . maybe he'd have done raiders anyway , but while the bond series suffers his absence , the value of the indy series is too staggering to sweat over 007.

[Jimbo]

Then there's Return of the Jedi....

Stupid unions.

[The Phantom Menace]

This is quickly becoming a list of films Spielberg passed on (or was contractually unable to do in the case of Jedi).

I know he was also in the running for the first Harry Potter film.

[MerM]

Dec 29, 2008 19:11:03 GMT -5 Jimbo said:

Then there's Return of the Jedi....

Yeah, imagine that... a David Lynch-directed Jedi.

[crazy_asian_man]

Yeah, imagine that... a David Lynch-directed Jedi.

Probably wouldn't have looked all that different than what the world got with Richard Marquand's "Jedi", since Lucas was so hands-on (although considering how badly "Phantom Menace" & the other prequels turned out, "Jedi" looks like a masterpiece by comparison)... From what I've read in Starlog at the time, Lynch thought he'd have more freedom to do what he wanted on "Dune" instead of taking on "Jedi".... though he doesn't seem happy with that film, either. (Even though I actually love what Lynch did with "Dune" and am glad he did it- pity about no Lynch-directed sequel, though. *sigh*).

[Jimbo]

Isn't there STILL not a Lynch-approved cut of Dune?

[EvilSupes]

I'm glad Spielberg never touched Supes to be honest, because then we wouldn't have Donner's STM

[belloq]

Dec 30, 2008 5:00:32 GMT -5 Jimbo said:

Isn't there STILL not a Lynch-approved cut of Dune?

This is true. He hates all cuts of the movie and has stated that there could never be a cut he approves due to the studio not allowing him to shoot everything that he wanted to shoot.

[Jimbo]

Dec 30, 2008 11:07:44 GMT -5 @belloq said:

Dec 30, 2008 5:00:32 GMT -5 Jimbo said:

Isn't there STILL not a Lynch-approved cut of Dune?

This is true. He hates all cuts of the movie and has stated that there could never be a cut he approves due to the studio not allowing him to shoot everything that he wanted to shoot.

That didn't stop Richard Donner. ;D

[albertd]

Superman The Movie directed by Alan Smithee.. The unthinkable horror! .. *Albert shudders*

BTW I thought the Salkinds wanted to wait and see if Jaws would be a successful movie.

[Avilos]

I doubt we will ever get a real response from Spielberg on what his take would have been.

For one thing it was a very long time ago. For a project he never actually worked on.

But more than anything out of respect for a fellow director. Someone whom he has actually collaborated with on The Goonies. Anything he said would be perceived as a critique of what Donner did.

I suspect all he would say is "It all worked out for the best. I loved the movie that Dick Donner made."

[Jor-L5150]

Dec 30, 2008 14:33:22 GMT -5 Avilos said:

I doubt we will ever get a real response from Spielberg on what his take would have been.

For one thing it was a very long time ago. For a project he never actually worked on.

But more than anything out of respect for a fellow director. Someone whom he has actually collaborated with on The Goonies. Anything he said would be perceived as a critique of what Donner did.

I suspect all he would say is "It all worked out for the best. I loved the movie that Dick Donner made."

i agree . there was even a superman " zinger " in goonies so they both had a laugh over it.

[crazy_asian_man]

I doubt we will ever get a real response from Spielberg on what his take would have been.

For one thing it was a very long time ago. For a project he never actually worked on.

But more than anything out of respect for a fellow director. Someone whom he has actually collaborated with on The Goonies. Anything he said would be perceived as a critique of what Donner did.

Great point.

Respect for his fellow director is probably also why we'll also never hear about how Spielberg would have corrected/directed "Phantom Menace" or any of the prequels his buddy George ended up destroying/directing!

[zoom]

Steven for the next film then!

[Jimbo]

Nah, after Indy 4, I think he's lost his action movie mojo.

[MAVERICK]

It is true.
Steven has been seduced by the Dark Side.

[zoom]

He's still a big name and powerful in hollywood. I'd like to see do @ least one comic-book related movie, be it Fantastic Four or Superman!