In Celebration of Superman-The Movie‘s Release on DVD

On May 1, 2001, I had the great fortune of attending the Superman movie reunion at the Warner Bros. Museum in Burbank, California to celebrate the release of the Superman-The Movie Special Edition DVD (I was Research Consultant on the DVD’s three documentaries). Warner Bros. also presented a $10,000.00 check to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (today known as the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation).

The attendees were Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Jeff East, Marc McClure, Sarah Douglas, Noel Neill and representatives from Warner Bros. Home Video. It was so touching and smile-educing seeing this family together again for the first time since filming the first and second Superman films. Christopher Reeve sent a message to the group via videotape since he was very busy doing speaking engagements around the world. It was unfortunate that he could not attend, but he appreciated the photo album I made especially for him from the day’s events.

I had a large Plexiglas ‘S’ shield on hand to have all of the stars autograph as a gift to Richard Donner. They were all to happy to sign it. I presented it to Mr. Donner at the end of the reunion (see photos below). It hangs in his Burbank office today. I made an identical shield for Christopher Reeve and presented it to him in 1997.

Following the party was an autograph signing at Dave’s Video in Los Angeles (now closed) with Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz. The surprise guest was Aaron Smolinski, baby Superman who emerges from the starship in Smallville in Superman-The Movie. I remember a young man walking up to me and asking when Donner and Mank were going to arrive. He then proceeded to pull out some amazing behind-the-scenes photos of the truck lift scene in Smallville. I exclaimed “Aaron Smolinski!”. He had a very surprised look on his face as if to say “You know my name?!?!”. I encouraged him to sit with Donner and Mank to sign autographs. Their reunion was quite a special experience to behold in front of many adoring fans. Another nice surprise was meeting up with Superman Scott Cranford (see the photo below).

May 1, 2001 ranks as one of my most spectacular Superman experiences and always will; I was truly blessed to be with the Super Family!

Photos are © Copyright 2014 by Jim Bowers, Daily Celeb and Carl Shamrock Public Relations, and are not to be reproduced or excerpted without prior written permission. All Rights Reserved.