Line #1 Trivia/SupermanIII


1	* ActingForTwo: Creator/ChristopherReeve in the junkyard fight.
2	* AwesomeDearBoy:
3	** Creator/RichardLester wasn't a fan of Superman, or comic books in general, but signed on to work with Creator/RichardPryor.
4	** Pryor, on the other hand, signed on in part because he ''was'' a huge fan of Superman.
5	* BTeamSequel: To the Creator/RichardDonner-helmed ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' and (more or less) ''Film/SupermanII''.
6	* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie was shot in Calgary and High River, Alberta. Calgary doubled for Metropolis, while High River doubled for Smallville. This continued the trend from the last two films. In fact, the opening to the film takes place in downtown Calgary, as you may notice from the buildings.
7	* CreatorBacklash:
8	** Creator/ChristopherReeve felt so ashamed about this movie that he swore he'd never play Superman again. It took lots of persuasion to bring him back for ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'', which sadly didn't turn out much better.
9	** Creator/RichardPryor wasn't happy with the film, as he'd been looking for more serious roles and was dismayed to find the film was a comedy.
10	* DeletedRole: Creator/FrankOz originally had a cameo in this film as a surgeon, but the scene was ultimately deleted, though it was later included in the TV extended version of the film.
11	* EnforcedMethodActing: Creator/RichardPryor hated filming the flying scenes, as he was afraid of heights.
12	* FakeAmerican: Most of the cast in this (and the previous films) consists of British actors, apart from the lead roles, and assume appropriate American accents as needed.
13	* MilestoneCelebration: The film was released in the year of Superman's 45th anniversary.
14	* MoneyDearBoy: In his autobiography, Creator/RichardPryor admitted that he thought the screenplay for this movie was terrible and he only accepted the role because he was offered $5 million (more than Christopher Reeve got!).
15	* PromotedFanboy:
16	** Creator/AnnetteOToole admitted in an interview for the documentary ''Look, Up in the Sky!'' that she loved reading ''Superman'' comics as a child, and preferred Lana Lang to Lois Lane.
17	** Creator/RichardPryor had been a Superman fan since childhood.
18	* RefittedForSequel: The scenes in which Superman straightens the leaning tower of Pisa and then leans it back in the end were originally planned for ''Film/SupermanII''.
19	* TechnologyMarchesOn: In one scene, a computer teachers says you can't do two things at once on a computer. Modern-day computers do multiple things at one time as a matter of course.
20	* ThrowItIn: Downplayed -- reportedly Creator/RichardPryor was encouraged to ad-lib a lot, but because he was a Superman fan, he mostly stuck to the script.
21	* TroubledProduction: This had perhaps the smoothest production phase of all the Christopher Reeve ''Superman'' films, but still had issues. The original script featuring ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, Mister Mxyzptlk, and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} was rejected as too expensive to realize on a budget lower than that of the first two films (plus, they wanted to give Supergirl [[Film/Supergirl1984 her own movie]]). Christopher Reeve did not want to play Superman once again, partly because he was fed up with the role and partly because he felt that Richard Donner had been unfairly treated, leading the producers to scramble for replacements (Creator/TonyDanza was heavily considered). It was only when they allowed Reeve veto power over the script that they got him back. Apparently Lois Lane’s role was reduced to five minutes after Creator/MargotKidder publicly expressed sympathy for Creator/RichardDonner after the Salkinds fired him. Taking Donner and Kidder’s side, Gene Hackman refused to return for this film. The video game that Ross Webster plays in the film was developed especially for the movie but had to be downgraded because the original version was considered ''too realistic'' for 1983. Creator/RichardPryor was coked out of his brains during filming. On top of all that, a threatened lawsuit from the producers of ''Film/KramerVsKramer'' forced the originally-planned title, ''Superman vs. Superman: Superman III'' to be ditched, after the Salkinds decided it wasn't worth the fight.
22	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
23	** Creator/TonyDanza was initially chosen to portray [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] before Creator/ChristopherReeve agreed to reprise the role. Originally, Reeve threatened not to return for the film due to his dislike of the script and the firing of Creator/RichardDonner. However, Reeve accepted the offer to play the titular character again after the producers agreed to let him have input on the movie's script.
24	*** Creator/JohnTravolta, Creator/JeffBridges and Creator/KurtRussell were approached for the part of Superman as well before the re-casting of Reeve.
25	** Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh was considered for the role of Lana Lang before the casting of Creator/AnnetteOToole. However, Leigh was turned down due to the fact that she was considered "too young" for the part.
26	** According to Ilya Salkind, the original script was going to involve Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} and Mister Mxyzptlk, who would've played by Creator/DudleyMoore, teaming up against Superman, who would also meet his cousin, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, who was adopted by Brainiac. The three characters would have been involved in a LoveTriangle, with a jealous Brainiac turning Superman evil and Supergirl agreeing to marry him if he returned Superman to normal. Superman would have made a deal with Mxyzptlk to transport him and Brainiac to another dimension in order to settle the matter without superpowers, which they would have done by jousting in medieval armor.
27	** Gus Gorman was meant to be the human guise of ''ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}''.
28	* WorkingTitle: ''Superman vs. Superman''. The producers of ''Film/KramerVsKramer'' threatened a lawsuit, refusing to believe the Salkinds' explanation that it was intended as a play on various "Superman vs..." comic stories. Eventually Pierre Spengler suggested that ''Superman III'' would be a more sensible title anyway, and the issue was dropped.
29	* YouLookFamiliar:
30	** The boy at the photo booth is the same actor who played Clark Kent as a child in ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''.
31	** Pamela Mandell, who played Mrs. Stokis was also the diner waitress in ''Film/SupermanII''.
32	** Peter Whitman, who played a larger role in ''Superman II'', that of a Sheriff's Deputy, has a minor role here.
33	** Gordon Rollings, who plays The Man With Cap during the opening slapstick credits, also appeared briefly in ''Superman II'' as The Fisherman who sees the three Supervillains land in the lake.
34	** Shane Rimmer, who played one of the NASA guys in the previous film, appears in this film as a sheriff.
35	** Larry Lamb, a reporter in the first film, plays a miner in this one.
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Context Trivia / SupermanIII