Superman II - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Superman II or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Superman II

[tammy]

Sarah Douglas's (Ursa) voice was dubbed by Annie Ross who played Vera Webster in Superman III.

[victoria]

Sarah Douglas later made a guest appearance on Supergirl (2015) in season 3's "Supergirl: Fort Rozz (2018)", playing a Kryptonian priestess, Jindah Kol Rozz, for whom the eponymous Kryptonian maximum-security prison is named.

[jim]

Clark uses the rare "super-kiss" to make Lois forget he is Superman. While this was a real power Superman had in the comics, it was rarely used, and eventually removed.

[frederick]

When John Williams, the Oscar-winning composer of the Superman (1978) soundtrack, was shown the rough cuts of Superman II (1980) by director Richard Lester, he decided he could no longer commit to the project based on the direction it had taken and because Richard Donner had just been fired. He bowed out at that point and refused to compose a score. Ken Thorne, another Oscar-winning composer for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), was enlisted at that point to take over composition duties for the movie.

[scarlett]

Several Superman II cast members have also been in Star Wars movies. John Ratzenberger was Rebel Force Major Derlin in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). John Morton was Rebel Force Dak (Luke's gunner) in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Terence Stamp was Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). John Hollis was Lobot, Lando's aide, in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Richard LeParmentier was General Motti in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

[gabriel]

Two "007" veterans contributed to the screenplay, although neither is credited. George MacDonald Fraser co-wrote Octopussy (1983). Guy Hamilton directed Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Tom Mankiewicz, an uncredited co-screenwriter of Superman (1978) and this film, also co-wrote the latter three 007 films.

[kristina]

Director Richard Lester was not sympathetic to the epic look that Richard Donner had given Superman (1978), saying that he didn't want to do "the David Lean thing". Lester decided to scrap most of Oscar-winning cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth's footage, and hired director Michael Winner's cinematographer, Robert Paynter, to create a style that would evoke Superman's roots in comic books. Lester, Paynter, and camera operator Freddie Cooper replaced Unsworth's gliding camera with horizontal panning and static framing to evoke comic books and comic strips, with static frames crammed with people and objects. Similarly, the composition of shots the trio developed for Superman II (1980) had objects and people crammed into the frame. To further emphasize comic book composition, the action was photographed from one angle, to give the film a desired flatness. Harkening back to the techniques of the early sound era, Lester's films had always been shot with three cameras filming the action simultaneously; two cameras for close-ups, one for the long shot. Lester's technique added to the friction on the set caused by Donner's firing. Margot Kidder particularly disliked him.

[sylvia]

The scene when Lex Luthor escapes from the prison yard is inspired by true events. Three I.R.A. prisoners escaped from Mountjoy prison, when a helicopter lifted them out of the yard.

[oscar]

Despite Lex Luthor always being depicted as bald in the comic books, Gene Hackman refused to wear a bald cap for the movies. So it was agreed that he would instead wear a series of ill-fitting wigs that would imply baldness. Hackman relented to wearing the bald cap for the prison scenes, however, as it was unfeasible that Luthor would be allowed to keep his wig collection while locked up.

[wesley]

According to various behind the scenes material, and somewhat weirdly as many would assume it was an actual USA location, the small town set, where Zod and co arrive at, was actually on or near the (original) Pinewood Studios backlot, around Iver Heath, using some fake perspective. This is also the same Chobham Common, with an alternate set build, used as the real world location of James Bond ancestral home in "Scotland", in Skyfall.

[oscar]

Creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz and editor Stuart Baird declined on returning for this movie, in support of Richard Donner. However, Mankiewicz was still credited for it.

[kim]

Randall "Tex" Cobb was considered for the role of Non.

[mathew]

There are two controversial scenes in this movie that fanboys, film geeks and critics have complained about for years. The first is Superman's amnesia-inducing kiss. Fans complained this was a deus ex machina type ending and a cheat, because this Superman skill was never mentioned in the comics. In fact, it actually appeared once or twice, but it was very obscure. The second controversial scene is the one where Superman removes a strange plastic-y film from his "S" insignia which magically grows as he throws it at Non, covering him and then subduing him for a second, before vanishing altogether. Fans and critics criticized this scene for being random, not taken from the comics, and also pointless, since it didn't do anything meaningful to Non. The scene was parodied in an episode of Family Guy (1999).

[camila]

Henry Fonda was the front runner for the major cameo role of the U.S. President. Instead, his 12 Angry Men (1957) co-star, E.G. Marshall got the role.

[bernice]

Sarah Douglas said she had more fun working with Gene Hackman than any other actor from the first two Superman films.

[liam]

Gordon Rollings played the fisherman in this film. He went on to play the "Man in Cap" during the opening sequence of Superman III (1983).

[albert]

For her role of Ursa Sarah Douglas's voice was partially dubbed by actress Annie Ross (who would go onto play Vera Webster in Superman III (1983)) in most of the Richard Lester-directed scenes while her normal voice is prevalent in the restored Richard Donner footage featured in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980).