Richard Donner
Richard Donner | |
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 Donner in 2006 | |
| Born | Richard Donald Schwartzberg April 24, 1930 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 2021 (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1957–2009 |
| Notable work | |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | |
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American director and producer of film and television, and occasional comic-book writer. After directing the horror film The Omen (1976), he directed the superhero film Superman (1978), starring Christopher Reeve.
Donner later went on to direct movies such as The Goonies (1985) and Scrooged (1988), while reinvigorating the buddy film genre with the Lethal Weapon film series. He and his wife, producer Lauren, owned the production company The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler Donner Productions), best known for producing the Free Willy and X-Men franchises. In 2000, he received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Film historian Michael Barson writes that Donner was "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters".[1]
Early years
Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx to Jewish parents,[2] Hattie and Fred Schwartzberg.[3][4] His father owned a small furniture-manufacturing business.[3] He had a sister, Joan.[3]
Television
Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a bit part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead. Ritt hired Donner as his assistant. Later, Donner was on the staff of Desilu, where he directed commercials. He transitioned into television dramas in the late 1950s, directing some episodes of the Steve McQueen western serial Wanted Dead or Alive and the Chuck Connors western The Rifleman.[5] During his early career as a director he worked on over twenty-five television series, including Have Gun – Will Travel, The Fugitive, Combat!, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island, Kojak, Tales from the Crypt, and The Twilight Zone (such as the episodes "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner and "From Agnes—With Love" starring Wally Cox), as well as the serial Danger Island from the children's program The Banana Splits.[5]
Films
Donner's first feature film was X-15 (1961), which starred David McLean, Charles Bronson, and Mary Tyler Moore. Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. His breakthrough film was The Omen (1976).[5] A supernatural horror made in the wake of the success of The Exorcist, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Warner, and Lee Remick. It was the fifth-highest-grossing movie of 1976.
Superman (1978)
In 1978, Donner directed Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve in the title role. It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame.[6] The film co-starred Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El, and Gene Hackman as archvillain Lex Luthor. At the box office, it grossed $134 million domestically.[1]
Principal photography of Superman included filming of its first sequel, Superman II. Donner filmed most of Superman II with the expectation he would complete the sequel after the release of Superman. Despite the first film's success, Donner was fired from Superman II. Throughout the filming of Superman and Superman II, Donner had a difficult relationship with executive producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler. The Salkinds refused Donner's demand that Spengler be fired; instead, the Salkinds replaced Donner as director of Superman II with Richard Lester, who had worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers and as an uncredited producer on Superman. Following Donner's dismissal, Marlon Brando's scenes were removed from Superman II and much of the film was re-shot under Lester's direction. Gene Hackman refused to return for re-shoots; consequently, all the Lex Luthor scenes that appear in Superman II were filmed by Donner, although Donner refused to be credited.
Rotten Tomatoes' summary states that "Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor."[7] Donner continued to promote the view that his contribution was superior to the rest of the series. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on November 28, 2006, the same date as the DVD release of the summer film Superman Returns.[citation needed] This version of the film features the re-insertion of Marlon Brando's scenes as Jor-El, and relies on a minimum of footage shot by Richard Lester.
Post-Superman career
Donner had mixed commercial flops (Inside Moves, Radio Flyer) and successes (The Goonies, the Lethal Weapon series, Scrooged and Conspiracy Theory). In the case of Superman, it was Donner who insisted the subject of the comic book superhero should be treated "straight", that is, portrayed with respect to the fantasy genre's particular conventions and tone, rather than "camp"; this approach strongly influenced later genre directors such as Tim Burton (Batman, Batman Returns), Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), and Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder's Justice League), who have made successful superhero films of their own.
Lethal Weapon (1987–1998)
Donner's next blockbuster film was the action comedy Lethal Weapon, written by Shane Black. It starred Mel Gibson as a widowed narcotics detective with a suicidal bent "who breaks every rule for the sheer joy of it". It co-starred Danny Glover as a calm homicide detective with a loving family and consideration for retirement. The film's action sequences were considered "truly spectacular" and made the film one of the year's biggest hits.[1]
Donner directed six films starring Mel Gibson in total, creating a Lethal Weapon franchise with three sequels; the last of these was Lethal Weapon 4, released in 1998. In an interview in 2000, Gibson described his impressions of Donner:
Uncle Dick. He's a great guy, just terrific. Extremely professional. He's an old veteran and has an understanding of film that is the culmination of years of experience. He's got his technical stuff down, his vision down. No matter what you say about Dick, it underrates him. He really loves what he's doing, loves working with actors, and he allows you freedom to explore all kinds of areas. "All right, kid," he'll say, and slap you on the back and let you try something, because even he doesn't know sometimes. He's just an extremely charming, talented, great fuckin' guy. I love him.[8]
Richard Donner's cousin is actor Steve Kahan, who played a policeman tracking Otis in Superman: The Movie, and played Captain Ed Murphy in the Lethal Weapon movie franchise. Donner had also cast Kahan in some of his other films.
X-Men
He became the executive producer for the 2000 Marvel Comics film X-Men, then also an executive producer for the 2009 X-Men prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In addition, Donner's wife has produced all of the films in the X-Men film series under their Donners' Company brand.
On October 16, 2008, Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner received stars in a double ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievements in motion pictures, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.[9][10][11]
Comic books
One of Donner's assistants in the late 1990s was comic book writer Geoff Johns. In October 2006, Donner, Johns and artist Adam Kubert became the new creative team on Action Comics, the publisher's most time honored publication and one of DC Comics' two main Superman titles. Together, Johns and Donner collaborated on the stories Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World, both of which have been released in collected book form. Donner and Johns also co-wrote a story for Action Comics #1000, released in April 2018.
Book release
On November 10, 2010, Donner's authorized biography You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner by James Christie was published by BearManor Media.[12] The book features a foreword by actor Mel Gibson.
Script Magazine described the book as an "engaging portrait of a warm-hearted (if occasionally gruff) man who can justly be considered the modern equivalent of Victor Fleming and Michael Curtiz – a highly talented, professional director of motion pictures who has thrived in the studio system and made some pretty good pictures to boot."[13]
The Directors Guild of America called the book "a compelling study of an ebullient, ballsy risk-taker who was a director even before he was aware of it" that "ably captures Donner's joy in doing a job he loves."[14]
Death
Donner died on July 5, 2021 at the age of 91. His cause of death was not revealed.[15][16][17]
Awards
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Superman | Nominated |
| World Science Fiction Society | Best Dramatic Presentation | Won | ||
| 1986 | Ladyhawke | Nominated | ||
| 1993 | National Cable Television Association | Best Dramatic Series | Tales from the Crypt | Nominated |
| 1994 | Nominated | |||
| 1995 | Nominated | |||
| 1997 | National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | Outstanding Game Show | Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House | Nominated |
| 2000 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | President's Award | — | Won |
| Hollywood Film Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Directing | — | Won | |
| 2002 | Director's View Film Festival | Joseph L. Mankiewicz Excellence in Filmmaking Award | — | Won |
| 2006 | International Press Academy | Nikola Tesla Satellite Award | — | Won |
| 2007 | Casting Society of America | Career Achievement Award | — | Won |
| 2008 | Ojai Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |
| 2009 | American Cinema Editors | Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award | — | Won |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | X-15 | Yes | ||
| 1968 | Salt and Pepper | Yes | ||
| 1969 | Lola | Yes | ||
| 1976 | The Omen | Yes | ||
| 1978 | Superman | Yes | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Director | |
| 1980 | Superman II (2006 director's cut) | Yes | Uncredited for theatrical release | |
| Inside Moves | Yes | |||
| 1982 | The Toy | Yes | ||
| 1985 | The Goonies | Yes | Yes | |
| Ladyhawke | Yes | Yes | Nominated – Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | |
| 1987 | Lethal Weapon | Yes | Yes | |
| 1988 | Scrooged | Yes | Yes | |
| 1989 | Lethal Weapon 2 | Yes | Yes | |
| 1992 | Radio Flyer | Yes | ||
| Lethal Weapon 3 | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1994 | Maverick | Yes | Yes | |
| 1995 | Assassins | Yes | Yes | |
| 1997 | Conspiracy Theory | Yes | Yes | |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Yes | Yes | |
| 2002 | Tales from the Crypt: Ritual | Yes | ||
| 2003 | Timeline | Yes | Yes | |
| 2006 | 16 Blocks | Yes |
Executive producer
- Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
- The Lost Boys (1987)
- Delirious (1991)
- Free Willy (1993)
- Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
- Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
- Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood (1996)
- Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
- Any Given Sunday (1999)
- X-Men (2000)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Television
Books
- Action Comics (co-writer with Geoff Johns)
- Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World (2009)
- You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner (2010)
References
- ^ a b c Barson, Michael. Who's Who of Hollywood Directors, Noonday Press (1995)
- ^ Vanity Fair: "The Rude Warrior" by Peter Biskind March 2011
- ^ a b c Variety Magazine: "Vet helmer's long and boffo road" by Beverly Walker July 31, 1997
- ^ Haaretz: "Superman, Man of Schlemiel? – Superman, the invention of two U.S. Jews, is a profoundly Jewish character whose film history is entwined with that of American Jewry" by Nathan Abrams June 16, 2013
- ^ a b c Richard Donner at IMDb
- ^ "From The Archive: The Making Of Superman". Empire. January 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ Superman II (1980), retrieved July 6, 2021
- ^ Simon, Alex (June 29, 2015). "Great Conversations: Mel Gibson". HuffPost.
- ^ "Richard Donner | Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ "Lauren Shuler Donner | Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ "Richard Donner – Hollywood Star Walk – Los Angeles Times". projects.latimes.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ "You're the Director... – Amazon". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ Morton, Ray (October 7, 2011). "Meet the Reader: Bookshelf". Script Magazine. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ Christie, James (2012). "You're the Director...You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner – Review". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ Richard Donner Dies: 'Superman', 'Lethal Weapon' and 'The Goonies' Director Was 91
- ^ "Remembering Richard Donner: With 'Superman' and the 'Lethal Weapon' Films, He Made the Blockbuster Era Both Bigger and Smaller". Varitey.
- ^ "Richard Donner, director of Superman and The Goonies, dies aged 91". Guardian. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
External links
- Richard Donner at IMDb
- Archive of American Television interview, 2006
- Richard Donner discography at Discogs
- Richard Donner at Find a Grave
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