New DC chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran liked this Superman documentary so much they gave it a theatrical release
Sep. 11, 2024Exclusive: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story filmmakers talk its theatrical scope
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Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is an upcoming documentary about the life of the eponymous actor, who so famously played Superman in the ’70s and ’80s movies.
Rather than debuting on streaming, though, the film is getting a theatrical release. As the directors point out, for many their relationship with Reeve and Superman was forged on the big screen, and any document of Reeve’s life needed to be told with cinematic intent. It proved to be a vision supported by new DC chiefsJames Gunnand Peter Safran, who were “passionate about giving it a theatrical life” upon viewing the film shortly after its Sundance premiere.
“This film can take it. It can take that size and ambition because of the subject,” co-director Peter Ettedgui tellsTotal Film in our new issueout on Thursday, September 12, which features The Penguin on the cover. “I remember when we first talked to [composer] Ilan [Eshkeri] about the music, and he had composed a very beautiful theme. But it was pretty, and slightly more appropriate for a streaming release. We said, ‘Look, you need to go bigger. It needs to have that…'”
“John Williams,” co-director Ian Bonhôte says, jumping in to finish the sentence.
“Ilan, who is more than capable, just rose to that challenge,” Ettedgui continues. “That’s the one thing we were trying to do with everyone on the team. It was saying, ‘Look, let’s really elevate this. Let’s make it into the most maximal, emotional experience we can for an audience.'”
Total Film also has two exclusive images from the documentary – you can view one, of Reeve bulking up, above, while below, see Reeve directing Glenn Close on the set of his 1997 film In the Gloaming.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is released on November 1. And you can read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, September 12.
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Subscribers have the exclusive text-free cover on the way to them right now, with the issue then hitting shops and digital newsstands on Thursday 12 September.
For more, see our guide to all theupcoming DC movies and TV shows.
I’m a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site’s Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.
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