American director Richard Donner was well-known for producing classic films such as Lethal Weapon and Superman. His varied career included work in various genres, including humor, action, and fantasy. In addition to revitalizing the superhero genre, Donner also has a lasting impact on cinema. Current generations of filmmakers continue to carry on his legacy, and his notable films.
But the star director also had a tough time during his time in the industry as he faced great trouble while directing the classic episode The Twilight Zone with a star actor, William Shatner. Shatner rose to stardom with his Star Trek role of Captain James T. Kirk. Donner’s passing in 2021 was a sad moment and many still mourn him.
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The Twilight Zone Was Too Tough For Richard Donner
Richard Donner has directed some of the most successful movies of his era and having a career of over five decades, he had picked up on a number of skills. According to many reports, he was also called one of the most reliable Hollywood directors of all time. He landed many decent movies and TV shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Twilight Zone, The Goonies, the Lethal Weapon film series, and the Superman franchise. His countless awards and accolades also helped him rise to the top.
“A man flying in on wires. Wind. Rain. Lightning. Smoke, to give the effect of clouds and travel and speed. Actors. You couldn’t hear yourself think because of the noise of the machines outside. And fighting time, all the time. It was just unbearable. If any one of those things went wrong, it ruined the whole take.”
Richard Donner shared during an interview that although directing a movie or a TV show comes with a lot of hassle, they were manageable. But the difficulty he faced during the filming of The Twilight Zone was just horrible as the immense sounds from the machines were intolerable and in any case, the scene was not up to the mark they had to reshoot the whole scene. Even the genius director had to hold his nerve during the stressful shoot but the production was a great success and he was very proud of the final result.
Richard Donner’s Take on Zack Snyder’s Superman Movie
The 1978 movie Superman, which starred Christopher Reeve as Superman and directed by Richard Donner saw great commercial success. Though Donner did not launch the Superman comic series, he was a major contributor to introducing the Superman character to the big screen and establishing the contemporary superhero picture genre.
The film was instrumental in establishing the superhero cinema genre and paving the way for upcoming comic book adaptations, which nowadays are popularly known as the MCU and DCU.
Richard Donner was one of the first to recognize the enormous power and capability of not only Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel but his SnyderVerse as a whole. Moreover, The Omen director also claimed that Henry Cavill was one of the most appropriate choices for the lead role and vouched for the actor-director duo months before the release of Man of Steel.
Snyder’s movie went on to earn a massive $668 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $225 million. The movie also had a fairly high IMDb rating of 7.1/10 and was a fan-favorite release.
Source: Slash Film
