Superman - The Movie
Superman - The Movie
Revised by
Tom Mankiewicz
Directed by
Richard Donner
Shooting script
1 FADE IN:
3 EXT. SPACE
JOR-EL
... no, gentlemen. The indictment I have
brought you this day, the specific
charges listed therein against these
individuals, their acts of treason and
ultimate aim of sedition...
(swivels to FACE
CAMERA)
These are matters of undeniable fact!
JOR-EL
I ask you now to pronounce your judgment
on those accused...
9 CLOSE ON NON
JOR-EL'S VOICE
On this mindless aberration whose only
means of expression are wanton violence
and destruction...
JOR-EL'S VOICE
On the woman, URSA, whose perversions
and unreasoning hatred of men have
finally threatened even the male
children on our planet...
9 CONTINUED
JOR-EL'S VOICE
And finally on General Zod - Once
trusted by this Council, charged with
maintaining the defenses of the planet
Krypton itself - the chief architect of
this intended revolution, the author of
this insidious plot to establish a new
order among us - with himself as
absolute ruler.
JOR-EL
You have listened to the evidence. The
decision of the Council will now be
heard.
FIRST ELDER
Guilty.
SECOND ELDER
Guilty.
JOR-EL
Do you have anything to say before the
decision of the Council is pronounced?
11 CONTINUED
ZOD
(cold stare)
The vote must be unanimous, Jor-El. It
has therefore now become your decision.
You alone will condemn us if you wish.
And you alone will be held responsible
by me.
(JOR-EL stares
blankly)
Join us. You have been known to disagree
with the Council before. Yours could
become an important voice in the New
Order - second only to my own. I offer
you a chance for greatness, Jor-El. Take
it. Join us.
ZOD
One day you will bow down before me,
Jor-El!
ZOD
I swear it! No matter that it takes an
eternity! You will bow down before me...
ZOD
... Both you, and then one day, your
heirs!
REVISION 21/3/77
13 CONTINUED
FIRST ELDER
An unpleasant duty has been masterfully
performed, Jor-El. They have received
the fate they deserved - isolation in
the Phantom Zone - an eternal living
death.
JOR-EL
A... chance for life, nonetheless. As
opposed to us.
JOR-EL
You can't ignore these facts! It's
suicide! Worse! Genocide!
FIRST ELDER
Jor-El, be warned. The Council has
already evaluated this... outlandish
theory of yours.
15 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
My friends, you know me to be neither
rash nor impulsive. I am not given to
wild, unsupported statements. I tell you
we must evacuate this planet
immediately!
FIRST ELDER
You are one of Krypton's greatest
scientists, Jor-El...
SECOND ELDER
But so is Vond-Ah.
VOND-AH
(rising)
Thank you...
(to JOR-EL)
It isn't that I question your data. The
facts are undeniable.
VOND-AH
It's your conclusions I find
unsupportable.
JOR-EL
This planet will explode within thirty
days! Sooner perhaps!
VOND-AH
I tell you Krypton is simply shifting
its orbit!
SECOND ELDER
Jor-El, be reasonable...
JOR-EL
I have never been otherwise. The madness
is yours!
REVISION 21/3/77
15 CONTINUED
FIRST ELDER
(snaps firmly)
This discussion is terminated! The
decision of the council is final.
(pause - to JOR-EL)
Any attempt by you to create a climate
of fear and panic among the populace
must be deemed by us an act of...
insurrection.
JOR-EL
You would accuse me of insurrection? Has
it now become a crime to cherish life?
FIRST ELDER
(with reluctance)
You... would be banished to endless
imprisonment in the Phantom Zone - the
eternal void which you yourself
discovered.
FIRST ELDER
Will you abide by the Council's
decision?
JOR-EL
(long pause)
I will remain silent. Neither my wife
nor I will attempt to leave Krypton.
18 ANGLE ON LARA
LARA
Have you... finished?
JOR-EL
Very nearly.
JOR-EL
It's the only answer Lara. If he remains
here he as will die as surely as...
(she looks)
we will.
LARA
(pleading)
But why earth, Jor-El? They're
primitives. Thousands of years behind
us.
JOR-EL
He will need that advantage to survive.
Their atmosphere will sustain him...
LARA
He will defy their gravity...
JOR-EL
He will look like one of them.
LARA
But he won't be one of them.
JOR-EL
His dense molecular structure will make
him strong...
18 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
Fast. Virtually invulnerable...
LARA
Isolated. Alone...
JOR-EL
He will not be alone. He will never...
be alone.
MILITARY OFFICER
The energy input to Jor-El's quarters is
now in excess. Our Data indicates the
loss is due to a mis-use of energy.
FIRST ELDER
Investigate.
SECOND ELDER
And if the Data proves correct?
FIRST ELDER
(pause)
He knew the penalty he faced. Even as a
member of this Council. The law will be
upheld.
20 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
(sad whisper)
You will travel far, my little Kal-El.
But I will never leave you. Even in the
face of my death the richness of my life
shall be yours. All that I have learned,
everything I feel, all of this and more
I have bequeathed to you my son. You
shall carry me inside you all your days.
You will make my strength your own, see
my life through your eyes, as your life
will be seen through mine. The son
becomes the father the father becomes
the son. This is all that I can send
with you, Kal-El. And not near so rich a
gift as that your mother sends along.
Her... love.
23 EXT. CITY
27 EXT. KRYPTON
VILLAINS
(muffled echoes)
Take us with you...
The red sun eats its way into the core of the planet
Krypton which suddenly explodes and implodes - leaving a
vast black void.
34 INT. MODULE
COMPUTER
(JOR-EL'S voice)
Early concepts of matter appear in
ancient Greek philosophy. In the fifth
century Democritus defined a small unit
as an atom, then thought to be
indivisible...
COMPUTER
(JOR-EL'S voice)
Index 19, Sonnet 101: "0 truant muse,
what shall be thy amends for thy neglect
of truth in beauty dy'd?...
38 INT. MODULE
COMPUTER
(JOR-EL'S voice)
...which Einstein called his Theory of
Relativity, mistakenly held to be
correct until the year...
JONATHAN
What in the...
43 CLOSE ON TRUCK
JONATHAN
(muttering)
If a man didn't know better, he'd think
Detroit made those things to blowout on
purpose.
MARTHA
Jonathan!
43 CONTINUED
JONATHAN
Great God Almighty! What is it?
MARTHA
Careful, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
What in the Sam Hill...
MARTHA
Jonathan!
MARTHA
(stunned)
It's a... baby.
JONATHAN
Well - better change that tire if we're
gonna get home and see about contactin'
that boy's proper kin.
MARTHA
(defensively)
He hasn't got any - not for sure. Not
around here anyways. You saw that magic
contraption he came in, same as me.
JONATHAN
I did. But I ain't gettin' hauled off to
no booby hatch by tellin' other people I
did - and neither is you.
MARTHA
You take things easy now, Jonathan. You
mind what Doc Frye said about that heart
of yours...
48 CLOSE ON JONATHAN
50 CLOSE ON MARTHA
MARTHA
(carefully)
All these years, happy as we've been,
how I prayed and prayed the Good Lord
would see fit to give us a child.
JONATHAN
(looks - alarmed)
Martha, there is something downright
strange about that boy. Where he come
from, what he just did back there. Now
surely you don't mean to...
MARTHA
(firmly)
No one must ever know.
JONATHAN
But folks'll ask questions...
MARTHA
We'll say he's child to my cousin in
North Dakota, and just now orphaned.
Jonathan, he's a baby...
(cuddles baby)
Poor thing.
JONATHAN
Well...
(sigh)
Maybe we could give it a try for the
time bein'. I'd better hitch the rig and
come back to Get that ... that thing he
was settin' in. What do you make of that
thing? Martha? Martha Kent, you
listenin' to me?
52 CONTINUED
MARTHA
I was thinkin' what to call him. I was
thinkin' I had an uncle who was a fine
man, you recall him? The church sexton?
JONATHAN
Who? Clark? I never cared two hoots for
that fella.
55 CLOSE ON SUSIE
CLARK
You don't have to bother with those,
Susie. I'll take them in for you with
the other equipment.
55 CONTINUED
SUSIE
Why, thank you, Clark.
(rises - smiles)
You know something, Clark? I think
you're just about the nicest boy in the
whole school.
CLARK
Well... ah... ah... it's sort of my
job as team manager, anyway, and...
SUSIE
No, I mean it. I really do. Listen. A
whole bunch of us are going over to Mary
Ellen's and play some records. Would you
like to come?
CLARK
Well, gee... I'd... why, yes, Susie, I'd
like that very...
FOOTBALL PLAYER
Kent's still got a lot of work to do.
CLARK
(innocent - turning)
What do you mean? I've stacked all
the...
CLARK
I'm... sorry, Susie. I guess I'd better
clean it up.
57 CLOSE ON CLARK
59 BACK TO CLARK
65 BACK TO CLARK
LOIS
(turns - amazed)
Golly! I saw a boy out there, running
fast as the train! Faster, even!
MOTHER
(affectionate sigh)
Lois Lane, you do have a writer's gift
for invention. I'll say that for you.
LOIS
But...
FATHER
Read your book, dear.
67 EXT. KENT FARMHOUSE - DAY
SUSIE
Clark...?
FOOTBALL PLAYER
How the hell did you...?
CLARK
(deadpan)
I ran.
FOOTBALL PLAYER
(pause - to others)
Told you he was a weirdo. Let's get out
of here...
JONATHAN'S VOICE
Been showin' off a bit, have you, son?
68 ANGLE ON JONATHAN
CLARK
I don't mean... to show off, Dad. It's
just that...
JONATHAN
(total understanding)
You got all these amazin' things you can
do and sometimes you think you'll go
bust if you don't let other people know.
68 CONTINUED
CLARK
(misty-eyed
frustration)
I could score a touchdown every time I
had the ball. Every time, Dad. Is it
showing off for a person to do what he's
capable of? Is a bird showing off when
it flies?
(no reply)
I'm sorry, Dad. I know I made a promise,
but I just don't think I can handle it
anymore.
JONATHAN
Look, son. You've been nothin' but a
blessing to your mother and me. In the
beginning - when you first came - we
thought they'd take you away from us if
people found out about... the things you
could do. But a man thinks different as
he gets older, thinks... better. Wiser.
Starts to see things clear. And I know
now that as sure as we're gonna see the
moon tonight there's a reason why you're
here. Don't ask me what reason, don't
ask me whose reason. But whoever, and
whatever, there's one thing I do know...
(soft smile)
It ain't to score touchdowns.
JONATHAN
Now why don't you see if you can finish
up your chores before I finish up all
that apple pie I smell comin' from your
mother's kitchen window...
CLARK (O.S.)
Dad!...
66 CONTINUED
MARTHA'S VOICE
(from inside)
Jonathan...?
MARTHA
Jonathan!
CLARK
(quiet anguish)
All those things I can do, all those
powers... and I still couldn't save him.
76 BACK TO SCENE
MARTHA
Clark? Are you going to sleep all day?
I've got...
CLARK
I... have to leave.
MARTHA
I... knew this time would come. I knew
it from the day I found you.
CLARK
I'll bring in the crop before I leave.
I... talked to Ben Hubbard yesterday.
He'll be happy to help out from now on.
MARTHA
He's a good man, Ben is. Your father
always said so.
CLARK
(emotionally)
Mother...
MARTHA
(helpless smile)
I know, son. I know...
MARTHA
I made you...
(fighting back tears)
...some sandwiches.
83 BACK TO SCENE
They face each other for the final time, all emotion,
both at a sudden loss for words.
MARTHA
Do you... know where you're headed?
CLARK
North.
MARTHA
Remember us. Always remember us.
TRUCK DRIVER
Get in kid! Quick, before you freeze to
death!
84 CONTINUED
CLARK
(nice smile)
I'm okay, thanks. It was nice of you to
stop, though.
DRIVER
What the hell. You wanna make a Popsicle
outa yourself, none of my business...
THE DRIVER slams the door. The truck roars off. CLARK
watches it leave, then turns, walks off the side of the
road cross-country, heading north.
DISSOLVE TO:
88 CLOSE ON CLARK
91 WIDE ANGLE
91 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
My son, you do not remember me. I am
Jor-El. I am... your father. By now you
will have reached your eighteenth year
of time as it is measured on earth. By
that same reckoning I will have been
dead for many thousands of your years.
The knowledge that I have of, matters
physical and historic I have given to
you fully on your voyage to your new
home. These are important matters, to be
sure, but still matters of mere fact.
There are questions to be asked and it
is time for you to do so. Here in this
Fortress of Solitude we shall try to
find the answers together. How does a
good man live? What is virtue? When does
a man's obligation to those around him
exceed his obligation to himself? These
are not simple questions - even on
Krypton there is no precise science
which provides us with the answers. I
can only tell you what I myself believe.
To this end, I have tried to anticipate
your questions, and in the order of
their importance to you.
(pause)
Speak.
CLARK
Who... am I?
JOR-EL
Your name is Kal-El. You are the only
survivor of the planet Krypton. Even
though you have been raised as a human
being, you are not one of them. You have
great powers, only some of which you
have, as yet, discovered...
JOR-EL
Your mother, Lara, has sent along three
blankets of red, yellow, and blue.
United in a single garment, their
[last sentence missing from script]
91 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
You are superior to others. You can only
become inferior by setting yourself
above them. Lead by inspiration. Let
your actions and ideals become a
touchstone against which mankind may
learn how to serve the common good.
While it is forbidden for you to
interfere with human history itself,
your leadership can stir others to their
own capacity for moral betterment...
JOR-EL
The virtuous spirit has no need for
thanks or approval. Only the certain
conviction that what has been done is
right. Develop such conviction in
yourself, Kal-El. The human heart on
your planet is still subject to small
jealousies, lies, and monstrous
deceptions. Resist these temptations as
you inevitably find them - and your
ethical power will then properly
outweigh your physical advantage over
others...
JOR-EL
Your education nears a kind of
completion now, Kal-El, although no
limit to understanding or knowledge has
ever truly existed. Over the years you
have asked important questions and I
think together we have almost always
found the answer to them. Now it is
time for you to return to the world
which I have chosen for you. When new
questions arise, come back to me and I
will try to be of help...
JOR-EL
Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover
where your strength and power are needed
- but always hold in your heart the
pride of your special heritage. Your
being is both separate and your own, but
I have caused your earthly presence and
must share responsibility for your
actions. They can be a great people,
Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack
the light to show the way. For this
reason above all - their capacity for
good - I have sent them you. My only
son.
DRIVER
Oh, my god, I couldn't help...
CLARK
Sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have
crossed against the light.
95 BACK TO SCENE
97 ANGLE ON DESKS
LOIS
(to anybody)
How do you spell "massacre?"
JIMMY'S VOICE
R-E.
99 BACK TO SCENE
JIMMY
What're you writing, Lois?
LOIS
(continues typing)
An Ode to Spring. One or two "T's" in
bloodletting?
JIMMY
Two.
LOIS
"And the people on the street, the
little man who runs the corner
newsstand, the old lady sunning herself
on the stoop, the kids playing stickball
in the alley - none of them will ever
forget that night of senseless blood-
letting which turned a friendly block
party into a cruel and unspeakable
massacre."
(triumphant)
99 CONTINUED
JIMMY
(lost in admiration)
Boy! How come you get all the great
stories, Lois?
LOIS
A good reporter doesn't get the great
stories, Jimmy. A good reporter makes
them great.
JIMMY
Oh, wow...
LOIS
(cocky)
Here's the story on that East 19th
Street murder spree. Page one with a
banner headline seems about right to me.
PERRY
So why should today be different...
(gestures O.S.)
Clark Kent, say hello to Lois Lane.
CLARK
Hello, Lois...
LOIS
Hi there...
LOIS
Believe me, Chief, it's got everything.
Sex, violence, the ethnic angle...
PERRY
So does a lady wrestler with a foreign
accent.
(turns)
Here, Kent. Open this, will you?
LOIS
Chief, this could be the basis for a
whole series of articles - "Making sense
of senseless killings", you know? We get
psychiatrists...
LOIS
...sociologists, interviews with the
families...
PERRY
Lois, you're pushing a pile of rinky-
dink tabloid crap. The Daily Planet has
a tradition to...
LOIS
I'm sorry. I didn't shake it up on
purpose.
CLARK
(nicely)
Of course you didn't, Lois. Why would
anyone want a total stranger look like a
fool?
PERRY
Lois, take Kent out there and introduce
him around. He's coming to work for the
paper. I'm putting him on the city beat.
LOIS
(not happy)
My... beat?
PERRY
The competition'll do wonders for you.
Listen. Not only does this guy show
proper respect for his
editor-in-chief...
(baiting her)
not only does he have a snappy, punchy
prose style, but I swear to you that
after forty years in the business he is
the fastest typist I have ever seen.
CLARK
I'm sure I can learn a lot from you,
Lois...
(turns)
Oh, Mister White, could you arrange for
half my salary to be sent on a weekly
basis to this address?
LOIS
Your bookie?
CLARK
My what?
LOIS
(archly)
Don't tell me. He sends a check every
week to his dear gray-haired old mother.
CLARK
(total sincerity)
Actually, she's silver-haired.
LOIS
Are there any more at home like you?
CLARK
Not really, no.
[note - scenes 101-129 have had “NIGHT” marked out and “DAY” has been
handwritten in.]
LOIS
Well, Clark? So how did you enjoy your
first day on the job?
CLARK
(checking his watch)
Frankly the hours were somewhat longer
than I expected, Lois, but then...
meeting you and Jimmy and Mr. White – on
the whole I think it's swell.
101 CONTINUED
LOIS
Swell.
(pause)
You know, Clark, there are very few
people left in the world these days who
sound comfortable saying that word...
"swell".
CLARK
Really? It just sort of comes naturally
to me.
VOICE
All right. Freeze. The both of you.
MUGGER
Get in here.
CLARK
Better do as he says, Lois.
CLARK
Listen, mister. I realize times are
tough for some these days, but...
(total sincerity)
This isn't the answer. You can't solve
society's problems with a gun.
MUGGER
You know something, buddy? You're right.
I'm turning over a new leaf.
102 CONTINUED
CLARK
That's the spirit.
MUGGER
Right after I rip off this lady's purse.
(to LOIS)
Now hand it over.
CLARK
Don't shoot! Don't shoot!
LOIS
Clark!
LOIS
Clark... oh, Clark... are you...
CLARK
Wow... I guess I must have fainted or
something...
104 CONTINUED
LOIS
(rising - disgusted)
Swell.
CLARK
Really, Lois. Supposing that man had
shot you? Is it worth risking your life
over ten dollars, two credit cards, a
hairbrush, and a lipstick? I mean...
LOIS
(strange expression)
How did you know that?
CLARK
(suddenly nervous)
Know what?
LOIS
You just described the exact contents of
my purse.
CLARK
(pause - smile)
Wild guess.
CLARK
Taxi!
OFFICER #1
That's him, all right. Lex Luthor's
right-hand man. Let's get him.
OFFICER #2
Wait. Maybe he'll lead us to the man
himself.
OFFICER #1
(too good to be true)
Lex Luthor...
OFFICER #2
You got it, Charlie. We both make
Captain by midnight.
OFFICER #2
Call for a back-up. I'm going after him.
(slaps walkie-talkie
on belt)
I'll keep you posted.
111 INT. METROPOLIS STATION (GRAND CENTRAL) – NIGHT (DAY)
OFFICER #2
Lower level, Charlie. I'm right on his
ass...
OFFICER #2
(into walkie-talkie)
Track 22, Charlie...
OFFICER #2
Make it Track 23, Charlie. I see how he
does it...
EVE
That's sick, Lex. Really.
129 WIDE ANGLE ON LEX LUTHOR AND LAIR - EVE'S POV (DAY)
LUTHOR
Sick.
(pause)
Here we sit, Miss Teschmacher, mere days
away from executing The Crime of the
Century, and how do you choose to
congratulate the greatest criminal mind
of our age? Do you call me brilliant?
A bit obvious, that, I grant you.
Charismatic, then?
(hopefully)
Fiendishly gifted?
EVE
Try twisted.
OTIS
I'm back, Mr. Luthor...
LUTHOR
You were followed again, Otis...
LUTHOR
Yes. In spite of those cat-like
reflexes.
EVE
(new thought)
See if you can just explain to
129 CONTINUED
EVE (CONT’D)
me one thing. Why do millions of people
have to die for this... Crime of the
Century? Tell me that, Lex. Why do they
all have to die?
LUTHOR
Why.
(rising –
philosophical)
Why does the phone always ring when
you're sitting in the tub? Why do
restaurants call animal intestines
sweetbreads? Why would the most
brilliantly diabolical leader of all
time surround himself with total
incompetents?
(to Otis)
Why, in fact, does the chicken cross the
road?
OTIS
(proudly)
To get to the other side.
OTIS
I'm wrong again, aren't I, Mr. Luthor?
LUTHOR
No, Otis. As a matter of fact, I stuck
that last one in especially for you.
(pause)
Is that the newspaper I asked you to get
me?
OTIS
Yes, sir.
LUTHOR
Then why am I not reading it?
OTIS
(knows when he's
wrong)
Because I... haven't given it to you,
Mr. Luthor.
OTIS
Thank you, Mr. Luthor.
129 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
At last it's official! Thanks to the
generous help of our own government, we
are finally going to realize the
greatest real swindle in history!
EVE
You and your real estate. Why does it
mean so much to you? All the time,
"land, land, land."
LUTHOR
When I was a mere prodigy, Miss
Teschmacher, having passed through
vandalism with flying colors at the age
of six, my father said to me: "Son,
stocks will rise and fall...
(gesturing around
him)
Utilities and transportation systems may
even collapse, and people are no damn
good - but they'll always need land, and
for that they'll pay, through the nose.
Remember that," my father said. "Land."
LUTHOR
"Land!"
EVE
(not looking up)
Then your father must have been sick
too.
131 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
(sad nod)
Arnold "Buster" Luthor. The most inept
check forger of his day. A pity he
didn't see how, from such humble
beginnings, I created an empire.
EVE
An empire? This?
LUTHOR
Tell me, Miss Teschmacher. How many
other girls are lucky enough to have a
Park Avenue address?
EVE
It isn't a Park Avenue address, really.
Two hundred feet below.
LUTHOR
Do you know what they're all paying per
square foot up there? For a few
miserable rooms of a common elevator?
What more could anyone ask for?
EVE
Sunlight. Something that overlooks a
window.
LUTHOR
Otis, you want something. What can I
throw at you?
OTIS
The... ah... paper, if you're through with
it, sir...
LUTHOR
(incredulous)
A newspaper? Otis? You want to read the
newspaper? Is there really life after
death? Is water finally running uphill?
OTIS
I thought maybe... the funnies...
LUTHOR
Here. Don't forget to flush this time.
EVE
You know something, Lex? You're
perverted. You're the most cruel and
vicious human being I know...
EVE
You'd cut a baby's throat with its own
diaper pin. Steal the wafer from a nun's
handbag...
EVE
What's wrong with me, anyway? Why do I
love you so much?
LUTHOR
Life is never boring with me. Admit it.
EVE
Never, Lex. You're the absolute pits.
PERRY
Olsen, take this Loch Ness update down
to composing - tell them to use it as
fill unless something comes in on that
jewel robbery.
JIMMY
Right, Chief.
PERRY
And don't call me Chief.
PERRY
Harry? That's it. Put 'er to bed.
PERRY
Lois, about that sex maniac profile...
LOIS
I know. Nine to five it's a Pulitzer
Prize.
PERRY
I was going to say there's only one p in
rapist.
(turns to CLARK)
Nice job on the Teamster scandal, Kent.
CLARK
Thanks, Mr. White.
LOIS
(looking up)
What...? Oh, goodnight, Clark.
CLARK
Actually, Lois, I... ah, well...
LOIS
Yes?
133 CONTINUED
CLARK
Would you, ah... be interested in a
little dinner tonight?
LOIS
(nice smile)
Sorry, Clark. I'm booked.
CLARK
Oh.
LOIS
Air Force One is landing at the airport
tonight and this kid's going to be there
to make sure you-know-who answers a few
questions he'd rather duck.
CLARK
(admiration)
Don't you ever let up?
LOIS
For what? Oh, I've seen how the other
half lives. My sister, for instance...
three kids, two cats, one mortgage...
I'd go bananas after a week.
(chain smokes)
I already am bananas, right? That's what
you're thinking.
CLARK
No. I'm just thinking that you smoke too
much, if you don't mind my saying so.
(she stares)
Lois, you should see what the inside of
your lungs look like.
LOIS
I appreciate the advice, okay? I've got
a story to do.
CLARK
Can I take you to the airport?
LOIS
Not unless you can fly...
133 CONTINUED
LOIS
Good night, Clark.
CLARK
Going Down?
DRIVER
Oh, my god, I couldn't help...
CLARK
Sorry, I didn't notice the light.
LOIS tumbles back with the movement, falls out the door
grabbing her unbuckled seatbelt at the last minute on
the way out.
TO PAGE 57
150 EXT. ALLEYWAY
PIMP
Say, Jim! That is a bad outfit...
SUPERMAN
Excuse me...
PIMP
Wait a minute, Jim! Who's your tailor, baby? Who
cuts your threads?
FIRST VOICE
Look!
SECOND VOICE
It's a bird!
FOURTH VOICE
Goddamned if I know, Margaret.
SUPERMAN
Easy now, Miss. I've got you.
LOIS
You've got me? Who's got you?
SUPERMAN
(smile - to LOIS)
I hope this little incident doesn't put
you off flying, Miss. Statistically it's
still the safest way to travel.
LOIS
I...
TV CAMERAMAN
There he is!
He tilts his camera up. CAMERA PANS with him to the sky.
158 EXT. SKY - NIGHT - CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN
Hi there. Something wrong with the
elevator?
SUPERMAN
They say confession is Good for the
soul, Officer. I'd listen to this man.
BURGLAR
What the hell. It's only a dream,
anyway.
164 EXT. HIGHWAY UNDERPASS NEAR RIVER - NIGHT
TWO of the HOODS are in the main cabin. ONE drives the
boat while the OTHER makes three neat piles of money on
a table, pulling it out of a black satchel. The FIRST
HOOD grins at his PARTNER, then looks back through the
windshield of the cabin, his jaw suddenly dropping.
FIRST HOOD
Holy sh...
SUPERMAN
Bad vibrations?
170 INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT
MOONEY
Sergeant, I swear! Flying! With a big
red cape! And bright red boots as well!
Then, quick as a wink - he was gone!
Flew up in the air again, he did. Like a
big blue bird.
SERGEANT
(smile)
Like a big blue bird... with bright red
boots.
SERGEANT
Why don't you take the rest of the night
off now, Mooney. Go back to Murphy's bar
and finish what you plainly started.
I'll be off myself in a bit and join ya
there...
SERGEANT
Off we go, then, Mooney. The first
bottle's on me...
LITTLE GIRL
(despair)
Frisky! Oh, Frisky, please come down...
LITTLE GIRL
Gee, thanks Mister.
(to cat)
You naughty thing...
SUPERMAN
Don't be too hard on Frisky. We all get
a little scared of heights now and then.
MOTHER'S VOICE
Haven't I told you to stop telling lies?
Air Force One fights its way through the pounding storm;
heading for Metropolis airport. Suddenly a bolt of
lightning cracks into the wing. Flames shoot up as the
outboard engine on the PILOT'S side splits in two, drops
off the wing. The plane starts into a dive.
CO-PILOT
What happened? We get our engine back?
PILOT
Fly. Don't look. We... got something...
(weak smile)
Trust me. Just... fly.
LOIS
Hey! It's me! Remember? Lois Lane! The
girl from the roof?
REPORTER
Hey, Lois. You know that guy?
LOIS
(sly puss)
Oh, nothing... intimate.
181 CONTINUED
JOR-EL
You... enjoyed it.
SUPERMAN
I don't know what to say.
(awkwardly)
I guess I just got... carried away.
JOR-EL
I anticipated this, my son. I...
SUPERMAN
You couldn't have! You couldn't have
imagined...
JOR-EL
(gently)
How good it felt!
SUPERMAN
How good it felt...
JOR-EL
You are revealed to the world. Very
well. So be it. But still you must keep
your secret identity.
SUPERMAN
Why?
181A CONTINUED
JOR-EL
The reasons are two: First, even you
cannot serve humanity twenty-eight hours
a day...
SUPERMAN
Twenty-four.
JOR-EL
Or twenty-four as it is in Earth time.
Your help would be called for endlessly,
even for those tasks which human beings
could solve for themselves. It is their
habit to abuse their resources in such a
way.
SUPERMAN
And secondly?
JOR-EL
Second: Your enemies will discover their
only way to hurt you - by hurting the
people you care for.
SUPERMAN
Thank you, Father...
JOR-EL
Lastly - do not punish yourself for your
feelings of vanity. Simply learn to
control them. It is an affliction common
to all, even here on Krypton...
(expression changes)
our destruction could have been avoided
but for the vanity of some who
considered us indestructible. Were it
not for vanity... why... at this very
moment... I could embrace you in my arms
(barely audible)
... my son...
182 EXT. METROPOLIS STREET- NIGHT - CLOSE ON STORE WINDOW
NEWSCASTER
Good evening. And what sort of night has
it been so far? A night that has seen
what many believe to be the most
extraordinary phenomenon of our times...
NEWSCASTER
Our newsfilm confirm eyewitness's reports
of a caped figure, resembling a man, who
appeared flying in the sky over
Metropolis. Yes, I said flying...
CROWD MEMBER
That'll be the day, huh?
CLARK
You said it.
NEWSCASTER
White House comments are guarded at
present, although the F.B.I. is said to
be investigating the matter. As further
accounts pour in, speculation has arisen
that this whole thing may be some sort
of fantastic hoax...
NEWSCASTER
The Mayor of Chicago commented that it
all seemed to be a publicity stunt
designed to draw attention to
Metropolis...
NEWSCASTER
... a city that has been having its
share of financial problems of late.
NEWSCASTER
... His question is everybody's: True or
false? Miracle or fraud?
LUTHOR
Turn it off...
NEWSCASTER
The answer is up to you. Man or myth?
OTIS
What's a myth?
LUTHOR
(mind elsewhere)
Something unreal... something... not
quite human. Something like you, Otis.
184 CONTINUED
OTIS
I'm a myth...
EVE
So what's the story, Lex? You think this
guy's the genuine article?
LUTHOR
If he is - he's from another world...
EVE
Why?
LUTHOR
Because if any human being could have
perpetrated such a fantastic hoax, it
would have been for me and I would have
thought of it by now.
EVE
Oh.
LUTHOR
(musing- resigned)
It all fits somehow His coming here to
Metropolis - and at this particular
time. There's a kind of... cruel
justice about it. I mean, to commit the
Crime of the Century, a man would just
naturally have to face - the Challenge
of the Century.
EVE (O.S.)
Maybe he'll leave you alone, Lex. Maybe
he's just passing through.
LUTHOR
(bitter smile)
184 CONTINUED
LUTHOR (CONT’D)
Just... passing through, Miss
Teschmacher? Not on your life...
something I would gladly sacrifice by
the way - for the one chance to destroy
everything he represents.
(pause - blinks)
Oh, and Otis...
OTIS
Yes, Mr. Luthor?
LUTHOR
Next time, put the robe on after I get
out of the pool.
OTIS
I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor.
LUTHOR
I know that, Otis.
LOIS
(outraged)
It wasn't a trick!
CLARK
Oh sure. A man flies in the sky like a
pigeon and it wasn't a trick. It was
probably done with wires. They must have
rigged him up like Peter Pan.
LOIS
There weren't any wires. I looked.
CLARK
Mirrors, then.
LOIS
He grabbed me! He held me! How could
that be done with mirrors?
185 CONTINUED
CLARK
I don't know, Lois, but I do know a
fraud when I hear one. This thing goes
against all natural laws.
LOIS
(pause)
You're just jealous.
CLARK
Jealous! Of what?
LOIS
Of this... Superman.
CLARK
(musing)
Super... man. Hmmm...
LOIS
I'm going to make some coffee. Want
some?
CLARK
No thanks.
LOIS
You know something? I've only said three
words to the man... but for the first
time in a long time – I think I'm kind
of... stuck on someone.
SHE enters the kitchen. The door swings shut behind her.
CLARK rises, listens, interested.
185 CONTINUED
LOIS (O.S.)
Just... three little words, as they say.
"Help" and "Thank you." Not exactly the
basis for a meaningful relationship, is
it? I mean, for all I know, he's got a
wife and kids on some other planet. But
somehow I just can't stop... fantasizing
about him, you know?
LOIS (CONT’D)
So I called a guy who's married to this
girl I went to college with. He's a
shrink. I made an appointment and went
to see him...
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
... tape recording left at station
W.M.E.T. Police chief James Vitucci
listened to it immediately, put the
police on emergency alert, and warned
citizens to remain in their homes in he
downtown area. Here is the recording:
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(over air waves)
This is the voice of Lex Luthor. I have
a challenge for this... unidentified
flying object. This bogus blue buffoon.
There is an abandoned warehouse at the
corner of Fifth and Main...
188 EXT. LOIS' TERRACE - DAY
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Somewhere inside that warehouse is a
pellet filled with a propane lithium
compound. At precisely twelve noon it
will drop into a beaker of acid.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Within a matter of seconds a poison gas
will be released that will annihilate
everyone within a forty block radius...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I would remind the tin-plated minions of
law that this warehouse has been fitted
with anti-personnel devices, which will
render any police action totally
ineffective...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Is this cape-flapping freak all that he
seems or are we merely victims of mass
hysteria? Thousands of innocent lives
hang in the balance. I make this gesture
as a public service, by the way - and
without thanks. Thanks.
LOIS (O.S.)
... and then he said, "maybe the guy's a
father figure." So I said, "look. My
Pop's a terrific guy, but he doesn't go
flying around town in a red cape..."
LOIS
Clark... Clark?
(pause)
Nuts. Now I've gone and hurt his
feelings.
LUTHOR
Look at that overgrown Boy Scout, Miss
Teschmacher, Tell me what you see.
EVE
(chewing)
Cuteness. Dimples.
EVE
Did I miss something, Lex?
LUTHOR
Confidence.
OTIS
This guy handles himself pretty good,
Mr. Luthor.
LUTHOR
All right, all right, so he's tough! We
knew that.
(to EVE)
So you like dimples, eh, Miss
Teschmacher? I'll give him dimples...
EVE
Dimples. Would you settle for acne?
LUTHOR
Don't worry, don't worry, we'll find his
weakness...
OTIS
Hey. Maybe he's got a glass jaw.
(LUTHOR glares)
Then, on the other hand...
200 INT. WAREHOUSE ROOM #2 - DAY
LUTHOR holds his head in his hands. EVE and OTIS watch.
LUTHOR
But how can it be? That creep should
have melted in there!
EVE
He doesn't even look soft around the
edges, Lex.
LUTHOR
What's the temperature?
EVE
(checking a gauge)
Fifty below and falling.
LUTHOR
When it gets to a hundred - stabilize
it.
OTIS
The guy probably never owned a sweater
in his life...
OTIS
He did?
EVE
Don't tell me he's suddenly got a
problem...
LUTHOR
(eyes glued)
Ssshhh...
208 INT. WAREHOUSE ALCOVE - DAY
PERRY
Now look! We're sitting on top of the
story of the century here! Our only
problem is how to get it - exclusively!
(waves paper)
I want the name Superman and the Daily
Planet to go together like bacon and
eggs!
CLARK
(pause)
Well, I shouldn't think he'd lend
himself to any cheap promotion
schemes...
PERRY
Who's talking cheap? I'll make him a
goddamn partner if I have to! I want the
inside dope on the real Superman! Who is
he? Where's he from? What's his favorite
ball team?
(leans in)
And I'll tell you one thing, boys and
girls - whichever one of you gets it out
of him will have the single most
important interview since Moses talked
to God.
LOIS
(totally preoccupied)
There must be a way. Maybe if I hung
myself, off another building... lay down
on some train tracks, or something...
CLARK
Ah, Lois... about tonight...
LOIS
(snaps to)
Mmm? What about tonight, Clark?
CLARK
Our date.
(Shy smile)
Well, our... dinner... Don't you
remember?
214 CONTINUED
LOIS
Sorry, Clark... I must have forgot.
CLARK
Gee. I planned on it all week...
LOIS
(sigh)
All right, Clark. I'll go out with you.
Might as well get it over with.
CLARK
You're wonderful, Lois. Where would you
like to go?
LOIS
Oh, I don't know...
(in jest)
How about the Gold Room at the Park
Towers?
CLARK
The Gold Room? But that's the most
expensive place in town.
JIMMY
The Gold Room? Golly, Mr. Kent, are you
really going to take Miss Lane to the
Gold Room?
CLARK
Oh. I don't know, Jimmy. Maybe... if
she's a...
(cocky wink)
good girl, that is...
LOIS
And if I'm not a good girl...
(cocky wink)
Let's let Jimmy take the pictures: okay?
214 CONTINUED
JIMMY
Boy. What do you suppose she meant by
that, Mr. Kent?
LOIS
Not too bad, kid. As a matter of fact –
just this side of sensational.
(checks her watch)
Hmm. Clark is late...
LOIS
Probably out in the hall getting up
enough nerve to knock.
LOIS
(to herself)
You know something, Lois? You're too
hard on Clark sometimes. He's a decent
kind of guy and he has got this terrific
crush on you... I mean it's not his
fault he'll never be a...
LOIS
... Superman.
216 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
Good evening. Miss Lane...
(notices her gown)
I'm sorry. Were you just about to go
out?
LOIS
Ah... no... no! Why ever would you...
(looks at gown)
Oh. This old thing...
SUPERMAN
It's no trouble for me to come back
later. I mean I don't have to park or
anything.
LOIS
You just stay right where you are!
Please! Don't move! Or move, if you
want, but don't fly away.
SUPERMAN
Sorry to just... drop in on you like
this, Miss Lane, hut I realize there
must be many questions about me the
world would like the answers to...
SUPERMAN
So it's become important for me to have
very close relations with the press.
SUPERMAN
You really shouldn't smoke, you know.
LOIS
Don't tell me. Lung cancer, right?
217 INSERT SHOT - LOIS' LUNGS
SUPERMAN
Not yet, thank goodness.
LOIS
Let's... ah... start with your vital
statistics, okay? Age?
SUPERMAN.
Thirty.
LOIS
Height?
SUPERMAN
Six-four.
LOIS
Weight?
SUPERMAN
One ninety-five.
LOIS
And I take it the rest or your bodily
functions are what we'd consider...
normal?
SUPERMAN
I beg your pardon?
LOIS
Well - putting it delicately - do you
eat?
SUPERMAN
When I'm hungry.
LOIS
Would you like a cookie?
SUPERMAN
What kind?
LOIS
Macaroons.
218 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
Thanks anyway.
LOIS
A glass of wine?
SUPERMAN
I never drink when I fly.
LOIS
Is it true you can see through anything?
SUPERMAN
Pretty much.
LOIS
And you're totally impervious to pain?
SUPERMAN
So far.
LOIS
(not looking up)
What color underwear am I wearing?
SUPERMAN
Pink.
LOIS
Ah... do you have a first name?
SUPERMAN
You mean like Ralph, or something?
LOIS
I mean what's your background? Where do
you hail from?
220 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
I was born on a planet in the Xeno
Galaxy. A place called Krypton.
LOIS
(writing)
Uh-huh. And do you...
(looks up)
Like pink?
SUPERMAN
(nice smile)
I like pink very much, Lois.
LOIS
Look. Just why are you in the in first
place? I mean, why are you here? There
must be a reason.
SUPERMAN
I'm here to fight for truth justice, and
the American way.
LOIS
You'll wind up fighting almost every
elected official in this country.
SUPERMAN
I'm sure you don't really mean that,
Lois.
LOIS
Listen. With all these strange powers of
yours...
SUPERMAN
(slightly hurt)
You find them... strange?
LOIS
Let's just say your average Joe can't
deliver an airmail letter without
putting a stamp on it.
220 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
I wouldn't do that. It's against the
law.
LOIS
(to herself)
I don't believe this...
SUPERMAN
I never lie.
LOIS
(blinks)
Ah... just how fast do you fly, by the
way?
SUPERMAN
I don't know really. I've never actually
timed myself. Let's find together, okay?
LOIS
And just how would you propose we do
that?
SUPERMAN
Take a ride with me. Now.
(hopefully)
Would you like to?
LOIS
(unbelieving)
A ride? You mean would I like to fly?
SUPERMAN
(modestly)
Well. I'll be handling the flying of
course.
LOIS
This is utterly fantastic! If only Clark
could see me now...
SUPERMAN
Clark? Is he your... boyfriend?
LOIS
Clark? Oh, he's sort of... nothing at
all, really. Dull, mild-mannered, you
know the type.
220 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
(a bit offended)
I'm sure he's actually very nice.
SUPERMAN
Where are you going?
LOIS
To get a coat. Isn't it kind of cold up
there?
SUPERMAN
You'll be warm enough. I'll wrap you in
my cape.
SUPERMAN
Ready?
LOIS
Clark said you were only rigged with
wires. Like Peter Pan.
SUPERMAN
Peter Pan flew with children, Lois. In a
fairy tale.
SUPERMAN
I figure it took about ninety seconds.
How about you?
LOIS
Mmm?
SUPERMAN
Are you feeling all right?
223 CONTINUED
LOIS
Mmm? Mmm.
SUPERMAN
Well, So long, then...
LOIS
I... wonderful... you...
CLARK
Lois, for goodness sake. Didn't you hear
me knock?
LOIS
Hi...
CLARK
Lois, you're not...
CLARK
Well I should hope not. Let's push off
then, okay?
LOIS
(secret smile)
Okay...
CLARK
You know something, Lois? I'll admit I
was nervous at first, about but then,
well, darn it - I decided I was going to
show you the time of your life.
LOIS
(pause)
That's Clark, nice...
6/4/77 TM
LUTHOR
Now then... given the location of the
galaxy he mentions...
(more slide rule)
And its proximity to our own solar
system... amazing...
(eyes lighting up)
Too good to be true!...
EVE
(reading)
You said it... six-four, blue eyes,
doesn't drink, tells the truth...
LUTHOR
Some people can read War and Peace and
come away thinking it was a simple
adventure story. Others can read the
ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and
unlock the secret of the universe.
EVE
(insulted)
I read the article, Lex.
LUTHOR
Exactly, Miss Teschmacher.
224 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
Onward to the letter N. Otis. Let's
roll!
OTIS
Was that "M", Mr. Luthor?
LUTHOR
As in "moron"? No, Otis, N, as in
nitwit, nincompoop, Neanderthal...
LUTHOR
(rolling)
Now then. According to that interview
the planet Krypton blew up on May 23,
1948. The rocket carrying the revolting
little freak took three years to reach
Earth. Ergo?
OTIS
He is thirty years old?
LUTHOR
Do you know why the number 200 is so
vitally descriptive of both of us, Otis?
It represents your weight - and my I.Q.
(turns)
Think, people, think! Deductive
reasoning, that's the name of the game!
224 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
Since fragments of Krypton must have
been shot out into space by the
explosion, it's reasonable to assume
some of the debris would have landed
here on Earth.
EVE
You mean meteorites?
LUTHOR
Jawohl.
LUTHOR
Et... voila!
EVE
I know I'm going to get rapped in the
mouth for saying this, but - so what?
LUTHOR
So what? You mean to us it's just a
meteorite? Fair enough...
6/4/77 TM
226 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
But because of its high level of
specific radioactivity - to someone from
the planet Krypton - this substance
would be lethal!
OTIS
You mean bullets and fire can't hurt
him, but this kind of rock...
LUTHOR
Will kill him!
LUTHOR
At times like these you must experience
a certain shudder of ecstasy just being
in the same room with me.
EVE
Not like the kind of shudder you're
going to feel when you try and lay that
rock on him. He can spot you coming
miles away with those super-peepers of
his.
LUTHOR
Lord, you gave them eyes, but they see
not!
(quickly)
And neither can Superman - through lead.
Four doors, Miss Teschmacher, lead
doors, and he had to rip them all down
to find that poisoned pellet. This
bilious bluebird has two Achilles'
heels!
EVE
(dawning on her)
You mean lead can hide things from
him...
6/4/77 TM
226 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
And the Kryptonite - will destroy him!
(quick smile)
Any more questions?
EVE
(thoughtful pause)
I wonder what they're wearing in Addis
Ababa.
The WORKERS run back and forth across the deck of the
rig, looking over the side desperately. A loud alarm
blares ominously. One WORKER yells up at another in the
cab of the drilling rig.
WORKER #1
Shut it down! Shut it down!
WORKER #2
Too late! Pipe's jumped the bit! Can't
control it...!
WORKER #3
(pointing off)
Hey, look!
LUTHOR
Do you live in England, Otis?
OTIS
I don' t think so, Mr. Luthor...
LUTHOR
Then why are you driving on the left!
LUTHOR
Now, Otis! Go!
OTIS runs off through the brush and trees to the right.
LUTHOR checks the box, looks over his shoulder at EVE.
LUTHOR
Ten seconds, Miss Teschmacher...
EVE
(from trees)
Did you ever try to run in high heels?
(no reply)
You probably did.
EVE'S VOICE
Thanks a lot... fine now... Hey! What did you have for
lunch, Ace!
MAJOR
That was fast. Damnit...
LUTHOR
(outraged)
Fast? When a woman's life is at stake?
EVE'S VOICE
(mumbling - surly)
And that's about all I got left to lose,
believe me.
OTIS
I did it, Mr. Luthor! Just like you told
me to!
5/5/77 TM
230Q CONTINUED
LUTHOR
It's not that I don't trust you, Otis...
(thinks about it)
Yes, it is. Tell me what you did.
OTIS roll up his sleeve, reads the numbers off his arm.
OTIS
I reset the first vector heading to 38,
the second one to 67, and the third one
to 117.
LUTHOR
(smiling - nods)
And the fourth one?
OTIS
What fourth one?
LUTHOR
(overlapping)
The third to 117?
OTIS
(holds out arm)
See? I wrote it down...
LUTHOR
The third one goes to 11, Otis. And the
Fourth one to 7.
OTIS
(sadly)
Gee. I guess my arm wasn't long enough
to make a big space.
LUTHOR
(rage mounting)
Would you like to see an arm long enough
to make a big space, Otis?
(screams)
Do you want to see an arm long enough to
make a big space?
5/5/77 TM
The house trailer faces the convoy. The two lead jeeps
full of angry MP's drive forward.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
... here at Danforth Proving Grounds for
the launching of two XK1O1 rockets, the
very latest weapon in our arsenal of
defense...
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE.
It is claimed that the XK101 can hit any
target completely undetected since it
flies well below all radar systems yet
designed...
REPORTER
Hey, Clark. Chief wants to see you...
CLARK
Thanks, Eddie.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
The ultra-modern, built-in sensory
devices can detect any object in its
path and automatically avoid it, either
going over, under, or around...
5/5/77 TM
PERRY
Come in, Kent.
CLARK
Hi, Mr. White...
(gestures)
Is Lois is around today?
PERRY
She's out west looking into a land fraud
deal. I sent young Olsen with her on his
first photo assignment. Some
unidentified joker's been buying up
thousands of acres of worthless desert
at incredible prices.
CLARK
Hmm. Doesn't seem to make sense...
PERRY
The world doesn't make sense, Kent. You
should know that by now.
(tosses dispatch)
Look at this dispatch from Addis Ababa.
People break into a museum in the dead
of night - kill two guards - and what do
they take? Some worthless hunk of
meteorite. How do you figure it?
CLARK
I've never been able to understand
violence in any form, Mr. White.
PERRY
(sadly)
I know that, Kent. That's part of the
reason I wanted to see you.
232A CONTINUED
PERRY
I've been in the news business, man and
boy, for forty years. I got where I am
with guts, compassion, and elbow grease
- but most of all with one thing you
sadly lack, my boy - aggression. Take
charge, Kent: Confidence, that's the
ticket! Why, when was...
PERRY
... get Lois to introduce you to
Superman. Start to hang out with the
guy. Give me the man-to-man angle...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
This is Lex Luthor. Only one thing alive
with less than four legs can hear this
frequency, Superman, and that's you.
16/4/77 TM
LUTHOR'S VOICE
In approximately five minutes a poisoned
gas pellet containing a propane lithium
compound will be released through
thousands of air ducts in this city...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(happy chuckle)
Effectively annihilating half the
population of Metropolis.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I know it all seems a bit much, but how
else was I going to get to meet you,
Superman? I knew you'd never accept an
invitation to tea.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
But a disaster - with people in danger –
People who need help...
232I BACK TO SUPERMAN
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I just knew you couldn't resist the
chance of sort of... pitch in. Know what
I mean?
LUTHOR'S VOICE
There's a strong streak of good in you,
Superman. But then, nobody's perfect.
Almost nobody.
SUPERMAN
Everybody back, please! Thank you...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Unfortunately I'm not in the book, but a bright
boy like you should be able to find the
address...
16/4/77 TM
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(now in tunnel)
See what I mean? And not a moment too
soon.
LUTHOR
Look at that overgrown Boy Scout, Miss
Teschmacher. Tell me what you see.
EVE
(chewing)
Cuteness. Dimples.
232O CONTINUED
LUTHOR
You like dimples? I'll give him dimples.
LUTHOR
It's open...
LUTHOR
Come in, Superman. My attorney will be
in touch about the door. Otis, don't
just stand there, take the man's cape...
OTIS
I... don't think he wants me to, Mr.
Luthor.
SUPERMAN
All right, Luthor, where's the gas
pellet?
LUTHOR
(smiles)
Somewhere... in the back of my mind,
actually. It's just a fun little project
I've been toying with.
SUPERMAN
Is that how a warped brain like yours
gets its kicks? By planning the death of
innocent people?
18/4/77 TM
233 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
(quick smile)
No. By causing the death of innocent
people.
MISSILE CONTROLLER #1
Jesus Christ, they've gone berserk!
CONTROLLER #2
(madly flipping
switches)
I can't control them! Red Alert! Red
Alert! Get the Pentagon!
CJCS
That's impossible! It can't happen,
damnit!... It...
CJCS
Get me the President!
234D EXT. GOLF COURSE – DAY (DUSK)
AGENT
Mr. President! Mr. President!
PRESIDENT'S VOICE
Goddamnit! What now!
LUTHOR
You see, Superman...
(passionately)
I had a dream!...
SUPERMAN
In your case it must have been a
nightmare, Luthor. Get on with it!
18/4/77 TM
235 CONTINUED
LUTHOR
Right. Well... as you may or may not
know, Superman, I am, as they say, very
heavy into real estate. In order to make
money in that game you have to buy in
for a little and sell for a lot. Right?
Right. So. Problem: how to make that
property valuable between the time you
buy and the time you sell. Now then...
LUTHOR
Otis. This is France.
OTIS
Sorry, Mr. Luthor.
LUTHOR
And this - is California. The richest,
most populous state in America.
SUPERMAN
I don't need a geography lesson from
you, Luthor.
LUTHOR
Sorry. You do get around, don't you?
(turns back)
Now then. Where was I? Ah, yes...
235A CONTINUED
LUTHOR
At the San Andreas Fault. Maybe you've
heard of it.
SUPERMAN
Sure. It's the joining together of two
land masses. The fault line is unstable
and shifting which is why you get
earthquakes in California from time to
time.
LUTHOR
Couldn't have said it better myself.
(back to map)
Now all this...
(indicates)
... west of the Fault is the most
expensive real estate in the world. Los
Angeles. San Diego. San Francisco. And
on the other side...
(indicates)
is just hundreds of miles of cheap
desert land. Land that happens to be
owned by Lex Luthor Enterprises. Well...
(wistful smile)
call me a fool, but it did occur to me
that if a 500 megaton bomb were to
explode at exactly the proper stress
point...
SUPERMAN
(horrified)
Most of California would be destroyed!
Millions of people would be killed! The
West Coast as we know it would...
LUTHOR
... drop into the Sea! Bye-bye
California! Hello new West Coast! My...
West Coast.
SUPERMAN
You are a dreamer, Luthor. A sick-
twisted dreamer. It couldn't possibly
work.
18/4/77 TM
235A CONTINUED
LUTHOR
Oh, I'll admit there were problems.
Adjusting the missile trajectory,
finding the precise point of optimum
stress on the Fault...
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(tone chancing)
Which is... right here, by the way...
(touches it).
Target Zero.
CHIEF
... no oil, no uranium, no coal, no
precious minerals... hell, no water
anymore...
(gestures)
Not since the government dammed it all
up...
18/4/77 TM
236 CONTINUED
LOIS
My associate, Mr. Olsen, is taking
pictures of that Dam right now, Chief.
(pause)
But why sell out to some faceless person
you've never met? You don't even know
his name.
CHIEF
At the stupid high price he offered for
this worthless piece of desert...
(smile)
I only hope it's Custer.
The car with LOIS and the Chief disappears across the
arid land as CAMERA HOLDS, DISSOLVES BACK THROUGH to the
map on the screen in LUTHOR'S lair.
LUTHOR
Check the viewing room, Otis...
(turns back)
Well, Superman? What do you think?
Interesting?
18/4/77 TM
238 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
Your theory's quite impressive, Luthor.
But as for the rest - it's nothing but a
sick fantasy.
LUTHOR
(thin smile)
Fantasy?...
(exploding)
History!! It's happened, Superman!
LUTHOR
Where's that rocket now?
EVE
(glances back)
Passing the Grand Canyon, Lex. Going
like a bat. So's the other one.
SUPERMAN
(in disbelief)
The other one! There's two of them?
LUTHOR
That's right, Superman. Double jeopardy!
And even you can't fly fast enough to
stop both of them!
(sly grin)
While I, on the other hand would merely
have to press my detonating device and...
SUPERMAN
Where is it, Luthor! Where's that
detonator?
SUPERMAN
You diseased maniac! Did you really
think you could hide it from me by
encasing it in lead?
SUPERMAN
(ripping it open)
I'll mold this box into your prison
bars, you...
SUPERMAN
That rock... I can't... my strength...
LUTHOR
It's Kryptonite Superman! A little
souvenir from your home town! You see
I've spared no expense in making you
feel right at home here!
SUPERMAN
Away... please... take it...
18/4/77 TM
238B CONTINUED
LUTHOR
You were great in your day, Superman.
But when the time came to cash in your
chips, Lex Luthor was just naturally
your banker! Mind...
LUTHOR
... over muscle...
LUTHOR
I'm afraid I have to leave you now.
Nothing personal, you understand. We all
have our faults. It's just that mine is
in California.
SUPERMAN
You don't... even care... where the
other missile... is headed, do you...?
LUTHOR
On the contrary. I figured it out
instantly. Hackensack, New Jersey.
LUTHOR
(entering)
Hurry, Miss Teschmacher...
EVE
(stopping him)
But Lex...
LUTHOR
(impatient)
What?
EVE
My... mother lives in Hackensack.
LUTHOR
(pause)
Your mother used to live in Hackensack.
JIMMY OLSEN walks along the top of the giant dam, taking
pictures of the surrounding towns and areas in the
distance as well as the dam itself.
SUPERMAN
(gasping)
Miss... Teschmacher... please... you
can't... stand by... and let millions of
people... innocent people... die...
EVE
(hating herself)
Maybe...
(pause)
If it wasn't for... my mother...
SUPERMAN
(desperate)
Please... help me to save them...
Please...
5/5/77 TM
239B CONTINUED
EVE
(wary)
If I help you... Will you save my mother
first?
SUPERMAN
But Lois... and Jimmy... are...
EVE
My mother comes first, promise me. I know you
wouldn't break a promise.
SUPERMAN
(he has no choice)
Pro... promise...
SUPERMAN
What...
SUPERMAN
Why did you kiss me first?
EVE
Cause you wouldn't have let me later.
SUPERMAN
(now at full
strength)
Thank you, Miss Teschmacher...
EVE
You too.
(almost misty eyed)
I... just can't get it on for the good
guys, you know?
240D CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
Sorry about the car...
LOIS
Forget it, it's a Hertz.
JIMMY
Superman! I'm up here, Superman! I'm ...
SUPERMAN
Want a picture on page one of every
newspaper in the world?
JIMMY
(grinning)
You know it.
SUPERMAN
Ready...?
(looking down)
Now!
JIMMY
It's over! You did it, Superman!
SUPERMAN
Sorry I left you waiting all the way up
here, Lois, but I was kind of busy down
there for a while.
18/4/77 TM
259 CONTINUED
LOIS
(totally in love)
Oh, I understand...
(beaming)
Your work comes first.
SUPERMAN
(nodding grimly)
And there's one last piece of unfinished
business left...
(to JIMMY)
Take care of her, Jimmy. I'll be back in
a minute.
SUPERMAN zooms off into the air. LOIS watches him go, a
hopefully wistful smile on her face.
JIMMY
Boy. Superman sure seems to care about
you, Miss Lane.
LOIS
Superman cares about everyone, Jimmy...
(a new thought –
eyes narrowing)
But who knows?... Maybe one day...
(cocky smile)
If he's lucky...
261 CONTINUED
SUPERMAN
Hello, Warden. I think these men should
be safe here with you until they can get
a fair trial.
WARDEN
Thanks, Superman.
(sternly - to GUARDS)
Take 'em away, boys...
WARDEN
This country is safe again, Superman –
thanks to you.
SUPERMAN
(and he means it)
And you, Warden. And the fireman, the
doctor, the teacher, the clergyman – the
cop on the beat...
(nice smile)
We're all on the same team.
ZOD
Free!
URSA
Free!
Selected film clips from SUPERMAN II with the exact content to be determined,
but certainly establishing:
FADE OUT:
THE END OF
PART I
26/6/77
SCRIPT NOTES
&
AMENDMENTS
SUPERMAN I
3A. Page 128 - Sc. 260 READ 'NIGHT' and see new pages for
amendment.
SUPERMAN II
4. Page 239A Sc. 267 - PLEASE NOTE THAT CLARK KENT DOES NOT
change to SUPERMAN - the 'blue blur' will be a gray blur
or whatever the color of suit he is wearing for previous
scene.