Superman (Christopher Reeve) takes flight over the city of Metropolis in Superman: The Movie.  New York City doubled for Metropolis, while the New York Daily News Building served as the location for the offices of the Daily Planet. Brooklyn Heights was also used.

The first test for the flying sequences involved simply catapulting a crash test dummy out of a cannon. Another technique had a remote control cast of Superman flying around. Both were discarded due to lack of movement. High quality, realistic-looking animation was tried, with speed trails added to make the effect more convincing.  In the end, three techniques were used to achieve the flying effects.

For landings and take-offs, wire flying riggings were devised and used. On location, these were suspended from tower cranes, whereas in the studio elaborate rigs were suspended from the studio ceilings. Some of the wire-flying work was quite audacious considering computer controlled rigs were not then available — the penultimate shot where Superman flies out of the prison yard for example. Although stuntmen were used, Reeve did much of the work himself, and was suspended as high as 50 ft in the air.

Counterweights and pulleys were typically used to achieve flying movement rather than electronic or motorized devices.  For shots where the camera is stationary and Superman is seen flying towards or away from the camera in the frame, blue screen matte shots were used. Reeve would be photographed against a blue screen. While a special device made his cape flap to give the illusion of movement, the actor himself would remain stationary. Instead, the camera would use a mixture of long zoom-ins and zoom-outs to cause him to become larger or smaller in the frame.

The blue background would then be photochemically removed and Reeve's isolated image would then be 'inserted' in to a matted area of a background plate shot. The zoom-ins or zoom-outs would give the appearance of flying away or towards the contents of the background plate.  For shots where the camera is tracking with Superman as he flies (such as in the Superman and Lois Metropolis flying sequence) front projection was used. This involved photographing the actors suspended in front of a background image dimly projected from the front on to a special screen made by 3M that would reflect light back at many times the original intensity directly in to a combined camera/projector. The result was a very clear and intense photographic reproduction of both the actors and the background plate with far less of the image deterioration or lighting problems than occur with rear projection.

In February 2021, Ta-Nehisi Coates was revealed to be writing a new Superman film for the DCEU that was in early development. J. J. Abrams was set as producer alongside Hannah Minghella, with no director or actors attached to the project yet. The film was expected to feature a black actor portraying Superman, with potential for Michael B. Jordan to take on the role. Coates said he was looking forward to "meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero", while Abrams said the film would tell a "new, powerful and moving Superman story". This was reported by outlets as being a reboot of the franchise, but Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter felt the film starring a black actor could indicate a new version of Superman that could exist alongside Cavill's portrayal within the DC Multiverse. Newby also noted that Coates' history as a non-fiction author and journalist focusing on African-American issues would give him "the insight and experience to delve further into the [Superman] mythos in a way never seen on screen".

The studio was in the early process of finding a director for the film at that point, and had committed to hiring a black filmmaker for the project. They had met with potential directors by early May, working from a list that included Steven Caple Jr., Ryan Coogler, J. D. Dillard, Regina King, and Shaka King. Coates was not expected to deliver his script for the film until mid-December, and was believed to be introducing a new version of Kal-El / Superman in what was potentially a 20th century period piece. The film was expected to be set in a separate universe from the DCEU at that point.

Jordan stated in April that he was not interested in starring the film. He later clarified that this was because the film was planned to portray Kal-El himself as black, rather than use an alternate version of Superman, such as Calvin Ellis or Val-Zod, who had already appeared as black in the comic books, which would give rise to charges of racebending.  Instead, Jordan began developing a Val-Zod limited series for HBO Max.

Shipping is only $1 more per additional item!

This poster is in near mint condition will ship folded if that's the way it came!  May or may not have pinholes along the fold.

Please take a moment to browse all of my listings by clicking HERE!

Overnight_Bagels is a 1 day turnaround, professional shipping service.  Your item will arrive quickly and safely.  All items are photographs of the actual item, guaranteed.

If you have any questions about this listing contact me before purchase!  I'll respond as quickly as possible!

Respond to messages in 24 hours or less!