Making of Supe: Man B

This is a thumping good read, in the same manner as Alan Arnold's book -Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. The author followed the film crew on their location journeys from Alberta, Canada to the warmer environs of Pinewood Studios, London. This is a fascinating tale of the hardships and highs of making a blockbuster. Packed with good observation. Too long out-of-print.

Made me want to be an actor. The cast & crew felt like a real family. I recall when this book first came out in '79 and bookstores had display stands with many, many copies for sale. Nowadays it seems forgotten but its still a cherished, charming read back from the days when Superman (The Movie) was all new and cutting edge. Nowadays its all told in reflection. If you ever see the Abba video Happy New Year, Agnetha unpacks a copy of this books, its seen being read on the plane enroute to Australia in the Making of Superman Returns and recently I noticed its author being used as a stand in for baby Kal-El in the Making of Superman The Movie feature on the Ultimate Superman Boxed set just as he described it in the book. Every time I see the movie I see how Petrou finally got his cameo in the film jumping into a car during the Smallville scenes... He had to stand on a box to rise into frame and as his car wouldn't start he was resigned to being a passenger with another driver. Charming stuff forever immortalised in the background on film.

The fascinating story of the making of one of the first big special effects movies after Star Wars. Petrou covers everything from the beginning of the concept by Ilya Salkind and Mario Puzo's first screenplay all the way through the tumultuous battle between the cost-cutting producers and Director Richard Donner, who was trying to make the movie have a true epic feel. (Thankfully, Donner won the battle, but not without cost: he was fired from Superman II.)The highs and the lows are covered: from the attempt turning the movie into a comedy by scriptwriter David Newman, to Technical Consultant Tom Mankiewicz's trying to play it straight, to the hiring of Richard Lester by the producers to keep watch on Donner. Marlon Brando's performance, the blackout in the hot summer in New York, and the search for a star...Christopher Reeve.