Superman IV: Release the Furie Cut?

[The Laughing Fish]

Okay, I'm surprised I've never seen this before. It's choppy and looks out of sequence, but it seems that Nuclear Man abducting Lacy from the Daily Planet was never supposed to happen right near the end of Superman IV.

None of the deleted scenes I've seen from Superman IV have given me the impression this movie could've been salvaged. Its fate was sealed when Cannon got the rights. But I suppose this scene does fill in the gaps how Superman knew Nuclear Man was coming and his desire for Lacy.

[Silver Nemesis]

[Kamdan]

I certainly hope that there will be some gained traction with these efforts at improving Superman IV. I fear, however, that it will only go as far as the fan editor will take it and the studio will hold no real interest in it. They can't even get Batman Forever's extended cut off the ground. This was a problem with Selutron's efforts on Superman II. As soon as the studio told him they weren't interested, Selutron's interest dropped as well. Works like these appear to be demo reels for effects work but the studio is not interested as they have their own departments that could crank out efforts like these in no time at all compared to a fan's efforts, but they want them working on whatever big budget CGI-fest is coming next.

[Silver Nemesis]

Here's an improved version of the cosmonaut rescue scene.

And here's an attempt to insert Reeve's Superman into the 1984 Supergirl movie.

On a related note, Alex Ross painted this picture of Reeve and Slater's Supergirl inspired by Crisis on Infinite Earths.

[thecolorsblend]

The remastered S4 opening sequence is a gigantic improvement. There's no fixing the script or the production. But at least improving all those temp effects shots can make the thing look better.

[Silver Nemesis]

The coronation of King Charles III will have prompted many questions in the minds of the millions who watched it. How long will his reign last? What impact will it have on the future of the Commonwealth?

As I watched the coronation today, there was one thought that kept going through my mind – that Charles attended the premiere of Superman IV back in 1987. Yes, King Charles III has seen Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. He's watched it right the way through at least once, and those are ninety minutes of his life he'll never get back.

Those royal eyes, which during the coronation beheld the splendour of Westminster Abbey, once beheld the no-less-breathtaking splendour of Superman rebuilding the Great Wall of China. The royal hand, which during the coronation clasped the Sovereign Sceptre, once shook the hand of Mark Pillow in full Nuclear Man costume.

Who knows what impact this film might have had on Charles? Was the King perhaps thinking about Superman IV during the coronation? As he gazed out over the crowds of cheering spectators, did he feel like Superman addressing the United Nations? Did the red and blue smoke released during the flyover remind him of Superman streaking through the sky? Will Superman's final speech unconsciously influence his own diplomatic addresses in future?

"And there will be peace in Ukraine. There will be peace when the people of Russia want it so badly that Putin will have no choice but to give it to them. I just wish you could all see the Earth the way that I see it. There are galaxies out there... Other civilisations for us to meet..."

Will these ill-chosen words inadvertently trigger a sequence of events leading to World War III? Who can say? But I like to think that the legacy of The Quest for Peace lives on in the King's heart.

[thecolorsblend]

This was a publicity stunt on the part of the producers. They wanted to have as much attention on the movie as possible to juice up the box office numbers.

The producers instructed Mark Pillow to wear his Nuclear Man outfit; he agreed.

They instructed Christopher Reeve to wear his Superman outfit; he said go F yourself.

Making matters worse, Mark Pillow is British-born. He appeared on a podcast ages ago and said that meeting Queen Elizabeth while wearing his Nuclear Man outfit is one of the biggest regrets of his entire life. He can laugh about it now. But his regret is still very real.

Postscript- Mark Pillow attending the premiere in full Nuclear Man costume did not benefit the movie's box office numbers in any noticeable way. :/

[The Joker]

Speaking of Mark Pillow, and podcasts, I recently found out via a, I guess you can call it a video podcast, that Mark Pillow was evidently roommates with a English adult film actor who was fairly prominent during the 1990s/2000's. Apparently, they were both into sky diving, and doing crazy s**t like speeding on motorcycle's while wearing the sky diving backpack rigs on their backs.

Pretty random how Mark Pillow's name got brought up.

[Silver Nemesis]

This was a publicity stunt on the part of the producers. They wanted to have as much attention on the movie as possible to juice up the box office numbers.

The producers instructed Mark Pillow to wear his Nuclear Man outfit; he agreed.

They instructed Christopher Reeve to wear his Superman outfit; he said go F yourself.

Making matters worse, Mark Pillow is British-born. He appeared on a podcast ages ago and said that meeting Queen Elizabeth while wearing his Nuclear Man outfit is one of the biggest regrets of his entire life. He can laugh about it now. But his regret is still very real.

Postscript- Mark Pillow attending the premiere in full Nuclear Man costume did not benefit the movie's box office numbers in any noticeable way. :/

Comments from his co-stars made it sound as though he attended the premiere in costume of his own volition, as if he was just eccentric. But this makes more sense. Obviously it was a bad decision on the producers' part, but Pillow was a good sport for going along with it.

I always found his absence from the DVD/Blu-ray special features disappointing. I remember one documentary having a note at the end saying that the producers tried to secure his participation but were unable to. If this Superman IV special edition ever does get a DVD/Blu-ray release, an essential bonus feature would be a proper on-camera interview with Pillow. Even if it was just recorded on Skype, with him reminiscing candidly about his experience making the movie, I'd love to see it. That, combined with the improved editing and special effects, would make it a worthwhile purchase. Maybe they could also include high-quality scans of the Superman IV comic adaptation as an extra.

Speaking of Mark Pillow, and podcasts, I recently found out via a, I guess you can call it a video podcast, that Mark Pillow was evidently roommates with a English adult film actor who was fairly prominent during the 1990s/2000's. Apparently, they were both into sky diving, and doing crazy s**t like speeding on motorcycle's while wearing the sky diving backpack rigs on their backs.

Pretty random how Mark Pillow's name got brought up.

Pillow sounds like a bit of a character. He really should have had a career as an eighties/nineties action hero. Even if he was only playing evil henchmen or starring in straight-to-video movies, he could've had a decent run. He had the perfect look and physicality for it.

When Dolph Lundgren opted out of the Masters of the Universe sequel Cannon was developing, Pillow could've replaced him as He-Man. He was around the same height as Dolph and had a similar muscular build. Apparently Cannon cast surfer Laird Hamilton for the unmade sequel, but I reckon Pillow would have been a better pick. He even looked a bit like Dolph.

I could also see him playing a henchman in a Bond movie. A character like Necros in The Living Daylights or Stamper in Tomorrow Never Dies.

I don't know if starring in Superman IV put him off acting, or if the film's poor reception just made it impossible for him to land work, but either way it's a shame he didn't do more.

[thecolorsblend]

Comments from his co-stars made it sound as though he attended the premiere in costume of his own volition, as if he was just eccentric. But this makes more sense. Obviously it was a bad decision on the producers' part, but Pillow was a good sport for going along with it.

I always found his absence from the DVD/Blu-ray special features disappointing. I remember one documentary having a note at the end saying that the producers tried to secure his participation but were unable to. If this Superman IV special edition ever does get a DVD/Blu-ray release, an essential bonus feature would be a proper on-camera interview with Pillow. Even if it was just recorded on Skype, with him reminiscing candidly about his experience making the movie, I'd love to see it. That, combined with the improved editing and special effects, would make it a worthwhile purchase. Maybe they could also include high-quality scans of the Superman IV comic adaptation as an extra.

He's always been willing to talk about it. The problem is that he was very hard to find for a long time there. He didn't have agents or managers anymore. Certainly, in the early 2000's, fans voiced a desire for him to come to cons but were unable to find him.

Imagine my surprise to discover (circa 2007 or 2008) that he lives in a suburb near me. The most I can figure is that he married someone rich. Because he lives in a pretty rich area. And personally, I find it hard to believe that his meager career in the Eighties paid him very much. Anyway, it's absolutely possible that he lives less than five miles from me.

As to his career, I think it's easy to track out what his trajectory COULD have been. Tough guy/action roles in the late Eighties and early Nineties followed by a gradual transition into slower dramatic roles in the late Nineties and early 2000's. For some reason, I picture him playing a teenage female character's loving and supportive father on an American sitcom or family drama or something on NBC or some other network. Roles like that are/were very much within his range.

As you say, the most likely explanation is that Superman IV killed his career in the crib. The movie certainly doesn't seem to have benefited the careers of other relative newcomers like Mariel Hemingway. It looks like if you didn't already have a stable career when Superman IV came out, you were in deep trouble. John Cryer can be a good sport about it now. But it's pretty clear that his career suffered as well.

But of them all, it seems like Pillow suffered the most.