Matthew Kresal
Nearly a decade after he brought the Dark Knight to cinema screens, Tim Burton almost brought the Man of Steel back from dead both literally and figuratively. Superman Lives, as the film came to be known, might well be the most talked about superhero film that never got made despite their actually being little to show for it except for drafts of the script floating around online and a now infamous picture of Nicholas Cage in costume. Or at least until now there hasn't been. The Death Of "Superman Lives": What Happened? is Jon Schnepp's documentary that, thanks in part to crowd funding, finally tells the story of the film that came so close to being.The thrill of this kind of documentary, even for films that are released, is the behind the scenes footage. Using a wealth of material that's been virtually unseen since 1997-98, Schnepp shows what was a quite active and lengthy pre-production phase for the film. There's a large amount of costume tests being done for Nicholas Cage that takes in that now infamous photo (which Schnepp finds the exact moment it was taken in the old footage) but also him as Clark Kent and additional tests of the Superman costume that reveal something that looks far more familiar to fans. There's also concept art from the many different artists who worked on the film taking in sequences from the different scripts by different writers, it gives some idea of the visuals the film might have had.The other thrill is getting to hear from the many and varied participants. Schnepp packs a lot of interviews into the running time and he gets some fine results by bringing in everyone from Burton to producer Jon Peters, all three writers who worked on the project (Kevin Smith, Wesley Strick, and Dan Gilroy) plus costume designer Colleen Atwood and many of the artists who worked on the film. Sadly cast interviews are sorely lacking as it appears that the casting was still largely up in the air though Cage appears both in footage from the time doing costume tests and in interviews in the years hence. The interviews are interesting and often show both the enthusiasm and frustration that came along with the project from the struggles with the script to Peters as producer (which leads to some interesting stories that are sometimes contradicted by Peters himself) and exactly why the plug came to be pulled on the film. Yet there's also some regret that the film never got to be made and a lot of talk about what might have been which makes the interviews even more interesting.In fact, that's the big takeaway from this entire documentary: this is what might have been. Given that Superman Lives was canceled just weeks before production would have commenced, there's still plenty about the film that will never be known. In fact when the infamous picture of Cage gets mentioned, Burton and others are quick to point out that it was merely a test and not the final product on display in that image. Final designs hadn't been settled upon, neither had casting outside of Cage (though the film mentions Sandra Bullock or Julianne Moore as Lois Lane, Kevin Spacey and Christopher Walken as villains and Chris Rock as Jimmy Olson). The documentary gives us a glimpse into the pre-production period on a film that never got made and we can only extrapolate from this what we might have gotten on the big screen had the film come out in the summer of 1999 as planned. For that reason alone, it's well worth watching for any Superman fan.That being said, while it's essential viewing for Superman fans, it does feel perhaps a bit overstuffed. At 104 minutes it does feel overlong and gets perhaps bit too in-depth towards the middle and end of the film's turbulent history. That's in large part thanks to what eventually begins to feel like a seemingly endless sequences of concept art mixed with interviews where those involved try to make sense of events now two decades in the past. As a result, the documentary seems to come to nearly a sudden halt quite like the real life production though Schnepp does take the time to allow both former Warner's executive Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Peters the chance to explain why the film ultimately folded. I suspect though that most would prefer the film to be overlong than too short and it doesn't do it too much harm overall.For fans of the Man of Steel in whatever medium, The Death Of "Superman Lives": What Happened? is essential viewing. You'll discover much that's new about the most talked about Superman film that was never made thanks to Schnepp's meticulous digging and interviews. Even if you walk away glad that the film never got made or perhaps still feel ambivalent about the whole thing (as I do), you're in for a treat.
ironhorse_iv
I'm pretty sure, the majority of people on the Earth have either saw, readt, or heard of Superman, by now. However, I really doubt, that most of today millennium society, have heard of the late 1990s cancelled film version of Superman call, 'Superman Lives', starring the eccentric actor, Nicolas Cage, and directed by the peculiar, Tim Burton. So, what did happen to 'Superman Lives'? This documentary by director Jon Schnepp was made, to sheds light on that. Told by personal interviews with those who work on the doom project. The whole story of what 'Superman Lives' was meant to be, was told through them, intercut with scenes of incredible never-seen-before production concept art, cool visual/special effects, great use of archive footage, amazing reenactments, and last, but not least, tons of tons of props. Indeed, this was a documentary I've been meaning to watch, since I heard about it, at Comic Con, and I finally got to see it. I do like, how the documentary approach its subject matter, it reminds me in a way, how the 2013's film, 'Jodorowsky's Dune', approached theirs. There are tons of similarities between these two movies, in the way, it was made and how it was presented. While, the documentary isn't original in its style; you really do see that Jon Schnepp put a lot of work, into this film, to make this documentary, successful. Lots of impressive research. I was also really shock that Schnepp got some really big names to be, in this film, like Tim Burton. I really thought, Burton was a very introvert person, who wasn't really willing to talk about his work on his previous films; but I guess, I was wrong. It was very surprising to see, Tim Burton, not only smile & laugh, but also share his odd sense of humor, giving a lot to say. I really did, like Schnepp's interview with Burton. The only thing, I didn't like, about it, was the lighting. The room that they were filming in, was way too dark. I'm really hoping, it wasn't on purpose, but I think, it was. Burton has known for overdoing his Gothic director gimmick. It seem like something, he would pull. In addition, there were some other info given, from some of the other crew members working on the movie at the time, like writers, Kevin Smith, Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy. I like, how they explain, how, some of the film elements in Superman Lives was supposed to work, but I really found, the lack of detail, to be, troublesome. I'm somewhat, still confused, on how Superman Lives was supposed to play out, and what made it, differ from all the original scripts after 1987's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, had. I was really hoping, maybe, Schnepp would bring in, more of the pre- script writers to help solve this. Still, I have to say, the three writers, the film, did get to feature; were mostly, alright. I just wish, Wesley Strick & Dan Gilroy had more time to talk, it really seem like the film focus, way too much of Kevin Smith's influences. I found, his interview to be long, and draw-out. Very prideful. However, it wasn't the only one. Producer John Peter's interview; by far, was the most entertaining part of the documentary. The hairdresser turned incredibly successful producer is so outrageous over the top, and full of himself that you can't help, being drawn to larger than life persona. You want to believe, that the man has been in over "500 street fights", really do hate giant spiders, and knows, what, best for Superman. While, he can be a bit annoying; I love, every bit that he was on screen. Even, the awkward, pause, while, I take this call, and you drink water, scene. However, it sucks that the documentary couldn't get, all the key people for this film. It would be nice to see, how key actor, Nicolas Cage or 2006's Superman Returns, director Bryan Singer, thinks about Superman Lives, now, rather than what, they thought, back then. Overall: While, I don't agree with the whole, turn Superman, gritty approach, that they were, doing. I still found myself, personally fascinated with the "what could have been" scenarios. I love, what they did with the character of Brainiac, the most. I really do, hope, he gets to be, in a Superman film, one day. First and foremost, if you're movie enthusiast, you are in for a good time with this documentary! Lots of great inform for any film student. If you're a comic book fan. This movie is a must-have. Lots of crazy fun "point/counterpoint" worth debating about. Who knows, if the film was going, to work or not. It's easy to envision the final film, just being a mess, but 'what could, been great' is also inspirational to think about. Either way, this documentary shows great insight into, what it takes to pull off an epic of this scope, and the struggle of so many people, all working on that one main goal. This is a good 'What If' documentary for sure.
