Richard Donner did drugs and dressed as Superman to get writer Tom Mankiewicz to work on his SUPERMAN film

When director Richard Donner he was first brought in to direct Superman, he was offered a million dollars and handed a script that was said to be “perfect”. The script was delivered to his home along with a Superman costume, but the script was far from perfect. In an earlier interview with THR, Donner said of the script:

“It was the longest thing I’ve ever read. She was indulgent and heavy and had no views and treatises [the comic books] with disrespect. He was disparaging. It was just a free action. I’m reading this and Superman is looking for Lex Luthor in Metropolis, and he’s looking for every bald head in the city. And then he flies down and pats a guy on the shoulder and that’s it [Kojak’s] Telly Savalas, who hands him a lollipop and says, “Who loves you, baby?”

It goes without saying that Donner wanted to rewrite the script before shooting it. He explained that if he made this movie, it would be to defend the character from this script. He said:

“I grew up with Superman as a kid. There was a point in my life where I read Superman. So when I finished, I was like, “Man, if they make this movie, they’re destroying the legend of Superman.” I only wanted to do it to defend him.

So, he called the screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz to ask him to help develop a proper script for Superman. Initially he didn’t want to get involved because he didn’t want to do a comic book movie. But Donner told him “it’s more than a comic” and asked him to come along.

This is where the story gets fun! Before Mankiewicz introduced himself, Donner said, “I got a little stoned, smoked some weed, put on the Superman suit. I was quite fit then. Then, when Mankiewicz introduced himself, Donner “ran across the lawn and Tom turned and looked at me and ran back to his car.” Donner continues the story, saying:

“Tom says, ‘You’re crazy. Get away from me!’ I said, ‘Tom, listen. You must read this.’ I expressed all my feelings to him about what we should do. I said, “The most important thing when you look at it is this: it creates a love story.” And prove that a man can fly.” So he read it and he called me that night and said, ‘You know, there’s a lot we can do with this.’”

So, they got to work! But it was a tough sell to the manufacturer Alexander Salkind. When Donner and Mankiewicz met with him, Donner said:

The first thing I said was, ‘Mr. Salkind, this needs a major rewrite.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, this is a perfect script.’ I said, ‘It’s not a perfect script.’ So I started to tell him all my feelings and he said, ‘You’re wrong.’ I said, ‘ ‘Thanks for the trip to Paris, but I can’t do it.’ And we started to leave.He Said, “OK, tell me what you would rewrite.”

After the new script was pitched, the producers agreed to go ahead with Donner’s plan, and they went out and made a great Superman movie! I love finding these behind the scenes Hollywood stories!