What was it like filming parts of “Superman II” twice?
It was actually, probably, the best experience an actor can have to re-shoot something, completely different concept (with a) completely different director. For me, Donner was very laid-back. This wasn’t a scene we shot twice, but the sequence where I throw the bus… I’m freezing my butt off because I’m not wearing anything, and (Lester) says “OK, you’ve got to walk up to that manhole cover, you do this thing (makes kicking motion), you catch the manhole cover, you throw it” and I remember thinking “God, how am I going to do this?” But he was so (matter-of-fact) that I actually just did it. Now if Donner had done it, he would’ve said to me, “You know what honey, you may not manage this, it’s quite difficult, and we’ve got days to shoot”. (Donner’s) a lot looser. He’s an actor’s director; he’s very good with the actors. But I think, for me, I learned a great deal from (Lester). I mean some of the sequences we shot twice like the sequence with Gene Hackman on my back. Of course, they di
