Tim Burton Reveals Why His Superman Movie Never Got Made (1999)

Acclaimed director Tim Burton shares the full story of why “Superman Lives” starring Nicolas Cage got nixed shortly before filming began.
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[@spiddyman0079]

Tim Burton looks like a Tim burton character

[@IllxxllI]

Why is this so funny?

[@estuchedepeluche2212]

spiddyman007 Or he models his characters after himself!

[@ladistar]

Hahahahahahaha so true Lmao

[@icouch]

looks like a white beetlejuice

[@MK_2023.]

@@icouch ....but that character is white.

[@DH_Artist]

Massive respect for Tim Burton having a level of respect and understanding for the characters and hating the corporation side of the studios.

[@Ranta1nkkari]

Fun throwback to times when Nicholas Cage was treated like a real actor instead of a joke or a meme.

[@spicydeath82]

well it was before he lost his marbles.

[@Rossa4444]

*Academy Award winner, Nicolas Cage. Put some ‘spect on his name

[@octagonseventynine1253]

I still see him as a real actor. The guy is a genius, he’s just really inconsistent and has a terrible agent

[@superguy7044]

It's just the kids way of expressing their appreciation to the man. He's always been one of my top 5 actors

[@sublime90]

"the black stuff coming out of the penguins mouth was too close to the ingredients to there food or something" lol

[@Wade_Fucking_Wilson]

sublime90 mcdonalds is nasty

[@Shadowfire204]

Yeah, pretty much lol

[@justicemoody]

their

[@JStankXPlays]

Well I mean that would be true soooooo....

[@Amalekites]

Their*

[@ZappayaZappayo]

You wouldn’t think that a mastermind like Tim Burton, whose films tend to be so eccentric, would be such a down to earth guy. Seems like a cool dude.

[@jonathanjames10p]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@thetalkingnerdz5347]

Why? It’s just a job btw 🤷‍♂️

[@travismarshall3089]

ZappayaZappayo: He does, and it's nice to see him so relaxed and so FORTHRIGHT and actually sort of "normal" as compared to interviews he's done in the last 10 years or so. He's just so open and matter of fact here that it's almost like, by comparison, he's introverted himself in the time since. Or maybe he was just a big fan of Stern and just felt at home.

[@krazed98]

For real, i thought he was going to be a goth/emo elton john type or something

[@brentrandel4458]

ZappayaZappayo he's a Georgia peach to quote

[@TCBC]

This is one of those films that in a alternative version of earth exists and its a absolute insane masterpiece, i wish we could see it.

[@maurianobaruso5859]

Tim Burton's Batman with Michael Keaton NAILED the atmosphere, mood and execution of BATMAN perfectly to this day.

[@stevemuzak8526]

He directed one of the most original movies ever. His Batman version is a masterpiece.

[@neutonikharmonix]

never seen Tim so chilled and relaxed during an interview! you can tell he was having fun.

[@studentfilmed]

20 years on and the way big corporations and film makers interact still hasn’t changed. Such a shame.

[@Ionisus]

It got worse ..they are like puppets for these big corporations

[@josephmelton4721]

Ignorance is bliss. Truth- you don't know shit. Blaming big bad evil Coperations keeps it simple for your small brain

[@santishorts]

Oh things have changed alright. Nowadays no director gets to talk shit like this about a cancelled project because everyone has to sign NDAs and all sort of clauses that forbid them from even discussing it in public.

[@eyespy3001]

Along with Star Wars, Tim Burton’s Batman helped set the precedent for “the franchise movie,” especially when it came to comic book properties. Up until then, we just got sequels every so often. But Batman was so big, and the merchandising and licensing for the film was so lucrative, that studios couldn’t help but want to churn out more and more films, even if they weren’t related to the previous installment. And, thus, here we are now, where that’s all we see.

[@roxtar38]

I've never really seen Tim just talk. This is cool. His films definitely have a certain aesthetic, and it would have been awesome to see that in Superman. The whole "franchising" of comic movies has turned them into child's play even though they break box office records. Joker stands out to me as breaking that mold. Time will tell.

[@krypticchaos6060]

Wait a minute,,, man of steel was a great superman movie,, sadly they ruined it with batman vs superman shortly after and then justice league

[@thelonelyghosts9004]

Tim Burton seems like such a down to earth cool guy

[@watcher6935]

J Yr , I wonder what he thinks of the textured suit superman wears today? I get what they were saying. They just didn't want flat blue like the 80s superman. Wanted to modernize the suit.

[@locolopez75]

He was bro I am his mechanic I meet him before n now.

[@rinraiden]

Batman and Batman Returns will always be two of my favourite films.

[@mikeyyyyyy3312]

Ikr I’m 21 and my all time fav

[@TsetsiStoyanova]

This was a wild interview

[@adamlemus7585]

I can’t believe this interview is 20 years old now. My god what have I done with my life.

[@brendanlittle2498]

Tim Burton saying he doesn’t like reading scripts makes a lot of sense when you see his movies. He mostly is interested in visual story telling rather than dialogue like Sorkin.

[@nikokaapa]

Like Sorkin? More like the opposite of Sorkin.

[@gaips]

There's an amazing documentary about Tim Burton's Superman called, "The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?" by Jon Schnepp(RIP) and Holly Payne.

[@Shadowfire204]

I remember him bringing up he made that a long time ago. I need to watch it. Sucks he passed away. RIP

[@surrealcereal603]

Amen, brother. Extremely well done doc... I never knew how badly I wanted to see this completed movie until I saw what they were doing with it.

[@Tizzo1982]

#RIPSchnepp amazing documentary

[@dominiquepowell3158]

Great documentary about the movie that never made!

[@woah.1173]

GAiPS dawg I saw that documentary a few years ago and damn FUCKING AMAZING

[@dobi287]

He explained the frustrations of working with a studio but not why superman wasn't made

[@aaronperez6379]

Because of Jon Peters. He owns the rights to any Superman movie made and a producer on huge films. Guy is a moron. He was a hairdresser turned Executive Producer over night with no experience.

[@DendyJungle]

"don't you have trouble reading scripts?" yeah dude you're both in the darkest room ever wearing shades

[@CheapJabroni]

What do you mean?

[@mrchi3f1179]

@TheHumanity! Do you really even need to ask?

[@prestigek1ngs]

Lol 😂 these dudes ^

[@vortexproductions4206]

@@CheapJabroni faster than a speeding bullet is zips right over your head

[@LemurJackson]

@@CheapJabroni figure it out pin head

[@boskostoybox]

Burton: "You don't want to treat it like an ice capades show." Joel Schumacher: "Thank god he wasn't talking about me."

[@RJ-ld8ns]

The Executive-Producer he is talking about is Jon Peters. He didn’t like Superman having his traditional suit because it was too colourful. He also wanted the grand finale to be Superman fighting a giant spider. To add to that he also wanted Superman not to be able to fly and Sean Penn was his first pick as Superman. According to various reports Christopher Nolan had WB ban the guy from the set of ‘Man of Steel’ because of his past behaviour and constant script changes etc. Even though he still gets an Executive Producer credit. This guy is one of the biggest contributors in getting Columbia pictures into a fuckload of debt. Using and abusing his new producing powers to get them to shove a load of money Into mediocre movies, then immediately throwing his weight around, even getting into physical fist fights with directors and actors for not following his ideas and script changes. Kevin Smith even expresses the guy is a giant dick. Oh and he eventually got the Giant Spider grand finale in his ‘amazing’ movie...Wild Wild West.

[@lawrencelord9777]

Yup! All correct and Rest In Peace John Schnepp!!!!

[@mikeorange7910]

R J didn’t he use to be a fricking hair dresser also? From handling hair to bothering Tim Burton with his dumb ass ideas and annoying Christopher Nolan.

[@slipknotfan4204]

Kevin Smith's stories about this guy are funny AF 😂😂😂

[@iamteenturtle]

Amazing. People like this are everywhere in movie productions. I wish these people would finally be banned from movies overall

[@Schush]

Cripes at that point, fire his ass

[@AcesPlace22]

Burton is legit one of the most artistic directors of all time. Batman 89 is my batman film. 🤙

[@Vicmustaine1]

I've read a lot of comments here saying that not only would Nic Cage be a joke, but also Tim Burton is hit or miss. I think people aren't realizing the time this movie was in the works. We're looking at them in today's standards. Back in the mid 90s, Nic Cage was a prolific actor who had just one an Oscar, and Tim Burton was a revered director with one great movie after another. Now, people are saying Nic would've been a terrible Superman. People said the same thing about Michael Keaton as Batman because of his background in comedies and that all changed. I mean, it could've been terrible, but at the same time, I could've been an amazing movie that we'll never get to see.

[@1997residente]

Warner Bros: Tim Burton ruined Batman Tim Burton: How? Warner Bros: You upset McDonald's....now we are gonna starve !

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Returns was terrible

[@dobi287]

What's funny is how literal what he said actually is bc if you remember back then not only were the next films marketed with McDonalds and stuff but batman even tells alfred "I'LL GET DRIVE THRU"!? what!?

[@EMAN-tx7lp]

A simpsons character interviewing a Tim Burton character

[@MisHapMusic]

Me: Watching an informative review about Tim Burton's Superman Howard Stern: Asking entertaining yet deep questions Tim Burton: Trying to provide straight answers whilst also providing interesting insights Random Lady: Repeating things LOUDLY out of sync with the whole conversation!

[@GeoZero]

His Batman movie with Michael Keaton was the very best

[@NeonKC]

"i'd never heard of the word franchise until a few years ago" jeeez i wonder what he thinks of the movies of today

[@rolandofgilead43]

i love Burton's films the best to be honest as Keaton is my favorite batman and sadly he's to old now but ever since(1992) i've wanted him to do another batman. and i'm sorry but Nic Cage as Superman thank fucking god that wasn't made that would have been terrible. now don't get me wrong i love the actor but not him as superman. he was a better fit as Ghost Rider to be honest

[@AdAstra78]

Yet he's helped create the template for generic, hollow crap in cinemas recently.

[@quickcar5255]

@@rolandofgilead43 Cage would have made a good Superman. He was an actual fan of the character too.

[@HarmlessComment]

This interview was from 1999, now "franchise" is a word that commonly follows most of the comic movie titles

[@BrandonNielsen87]

Nic in Con Air acted cool and well collected. Would’ve worked fine for Superman. Oh well.

[@20rileybob]

I would love to see Howard get Tim Burton back on now a days and go over career and such. Would be awesome, greatness talking with greatness!!

[@JonnyUnderrated]

and then they kiss on the lips too? Yes...yes wonderful idea!

[@Bmayo27]

Howard “The Original Joe Rogan” Stern

[@RANDOMPEPSIBOTTLES]

His bruce wayne wasn't such a rich playboy, more like a rich weird dude to the public eye, and that is the best version we had.

[@imacg5]

Batman IS weird. Maybe billionaires secretly fighting crimes wearing tights was sexy in the 1930s, but it definitely stopped being so since the 60s. On second thought, "we hate the billionaires, but some of them are doing good and taking the blame for the bad ones" might be close to what we feel now, which is the message of Nolan's Batman.

[@chudd6125]

Spot on man!

[@dobi287]

I think batfleck is better but they're both superior to bale's Bruce/ batman

[@johndez5213]

I agree.. because at the end of the day, we all love the Christopher Nolan batman but that was waayy too serious.. Michael Keaton pinned it just right.

[@BodilessVoice]

Hands down

[@baciboiler]

Would have been a good interview had he been able to talk uninterrupted😞

[@DH_Artist]

Johnny Quid yeah Howard Stern likes to talk over people and answer his own questions

[@TheAccountification]

Seriously, would Howard and Robin just shut the fuck up for a single minute.

[@israelgirmay5110]

It isn't a podcast, where you have the leisure of time. This was radio my friend, Howard had to interrupt the guest so that they would get their points across before the air goes off.

[@xolotlacuna338]

That’s Howard’s style. I never understood how some say he’s the best interviewer.

[@neilcrowesongs9768]

Right on. Stern is such a dick

[@kicka11]

Howard stern commenting on the unusual appearance of Nic Cage is definitional irony.

[@AlexBaldwinFTW]

This is the most chill Tim has seemed in a while.

[@-a-cb-l9000]

This is the first time I ever heard anyone excited for nicholas cage being Superman.

[@jpjpjpjpx]

I really can't imagine Nick Cage as Superman... but it looks like Burton was going for eccentric, which would have been interesting.

[@matthewbryant2972]

It took Batman coming out before people stopped making fun of that casting...

[@bigbuddhaiswatching...101]

"I have trouble reading some of my own scripts." Yeah that unfortunately shows in a lot of his recent work.

[@ladistar]

Damn Lmao savage

[@JessicaChastainFan]

Tim Burton made the two greatest Batman films of all time. Nolan and his films will forever be hounded by Burton's legendary duology.

[@jimcameron1234]

Let him speak

[@hollywoodsaint57]

Batman with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson was BAD ASS!!! 💪💪💪

[@davidryals4168]

Batman '89 still the greatest.

[@glocknineteen9190]

David Ryals *STILL MY FAVORITE BATMAN MOVIE . I HAVE A KIM BASINGER FETISH BECAUSE OF THAT MOVIE .*

[@solidsnake1305]

The Dark Knight says hi

[@DanGeezyPresents]

David Ryals hell no the dark knight by far

[@dennisjr77]

Yep!

[@e.l.norton]

I still don't see what people love about that movie. It's a solid "Ok". But, beyond that, WHAT was the big deal? I saw it when it came out and walked out confused about the "awesome movie" Batman was. Jack made the movie MUCH more watchable. Keaton was fine. But, the movie is pretty forgettable. I'm not a Burton fan with the exception of Beetlejuice. Maybe that's the issue for me. I think Bale's Batman was far superior. But, those Burton films?...meh.

[@danharmon8763]

So Burton would have taken millions of dollars and started filming a major motion picture without a script. What a genius!!

[@albertdraper1157]

“You want to treat it seriously, not like an icescapade show”... Batman and Robin

[@casualfox3572]

Tim Burtons Batman is still the best Batman.

[@asherhetch6102]

Tim Burton was basically making The Dark Knight way before its time

[@rossdiamondthief6627]

And the Dark Knight has merchandising toys lol

[@DonVal86]

He wishes.

[@stephaniestrolls]

This is an interesting perspective on moviemaking. It really is about the dollar. He had a brilliant movie vision but it didn't fly because it wouldn't have made a good Happy Meal toy.

[@adamzanzie]

Stephanie Temo It’s moreso that the Superman movie didn’t get made because it would’ve cost like $300 million and there was never a satisfying script written, so Warner Bros. pulled the plug.

[@spyrosmoustakopoulos5852]

@@adamzanzie It's worth mentioning that even if they had gotten around the script problems for Superman Lives, it wouldn't happen either way, probably. At that point in time, particularly late 1997, early '98, Warners had the worst track record of high budget productions failing at the box office, including Schumacher's Batman & Robin that same year, so the risk of financing Burton's film was highly unlikely to be taken, not when the parent studio was facing some big losses over an awful lot of mediocre films being released in that same period of time. As much as I would've liked to see Tim's take on the Superman mythos, I think this film shouldn't be made at all, since it's been over 20 years and the drive for Burton and crew to make it isn't really there, anymore. Especially in today's climate dominated by Marvel and Star Wars for the most part, it just wouldn't work. And besides, this current decade wasn't the most exceptional for Burton's output, just putting his tired Burtonesque stamp on pre-existing properties and such, and not working on new original concepts from the ground up.

[@AdAstra78]

Yet, ironically, he's been making Disney 'products' for well over a decade now...

[@StevieStitches]

@@adamzanzie It's that Warners co-chairmen Bob Daly and Terry Semel saw how Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin had flopped at the time in 1997 and that scared them away from superhero movies so they actually green lit Barry Sonnenfeld's Will Smith Wild Wild West instead of Tim Burton's Superman, and they were still freaked out about the "too dark" backlash against Burton's Batman, thinking that Tim Burton was too dark for their Batman Happy Meals deal with McDonald's and too scary for kids.

[@elgiron5600]

Burton disappointed me with Dark Shadows. McDonald's toys or not. 👎

[@sifatshams1113]

Those pictures of Nicolas Cage as Superman were explanation enough.

[@KevyNova]

Burton made the best version of Batman but man am I glad that his Superman movie never got made.

[@handsomebrick]

It's kind of funny to hear Howard say that the script was written by Kevin Smith, long after Smith disclosed the full story about all of the strange requirements that Jon Peters made for the script and all the changes that he made. Not to mention that apparently Burton never even considered using that script and was doing his own thing the moment they hired him.

[@4Everlast]

Michael Keaton as the next Joker!

[@elliotness11]

One of the most underrated filmmakers, doesn’t get enough credit

[@johncooper7663]

Love tim burton.....his creativity and candor scares the hollow wood suits

[@alhazed]

Not like an icecapade show" enter Batman & Robin..

[@TxWIll]

Chill oooout

[@LthlMustang]

Tim Burton is awesome. I have Batman & Batman Returns posters hanging on my wall. I loved these movies and I remember going to the theatres to see Batman Returns and getting the toys at McDonald's back in the day. Im 33 Years old...

[@MAM-nm6lq]

This is Comic book movie history right here

[@cheddarcheese7928]

I was always thankful that Nick Cage never portrayed Supes on the big screen..But after hearing them talk about the whole alien thing.And how Cage is strange enough to play that.And how Superman didnt have to be typically handsome as a change..Not sure if it would have been a great movie..But it would of been an interesting one..

[@travelingecho]

This interview makes me like button even more.

[@thecollectingconnoisseur6345]

Everyone who enjoyed the idea of a time burton superman movie needs to go and look up THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN LIVES. It's a documentary and a rather thorough one by a wonderfully cool guy named john schnepp he basically did it all by himself as far as getting it rolling to be made and everything. Unfortunately he passed away not long after he made it. It was sad to see him go. He was on collider movie talk amc movie talk. He loved comic books and really wished this movie wouldve been made. Check him out. Peace dudes.

[@stevangonzalez5908]

It was a great documentary. Schnepp was a great guy

[@RollingOrmond]

Schnepp was a stuck-up prick in real-life. Met him once.

[@Lost_n_Found_1]

Tim Burton: There was no script for Superman. Kevin Smith: Am I a joke to you?

[@oroncz]

Howard you F@&"+;g (can't believe I just censored myself) genious! Nowhere is there such an authentic interview with Tim Burton who is usualy shy and dry. He feels so confident infront of you that it's like watching someone new!

[@steelberg23]

Long live Jon Schnepp

[@sigoy]

Came here to hear Tim Burton talk. Still waiting...

[@Ephisus]

I feel like its unusual to see Tim Burton enjoying himself at all.

[@JEProcks]

Another great example of why Howard is the best.

[@decwhite2080]

Tim Burton Is the definition of ‘just wing it’ see what happens

[@joeybader8342]

Loving that Jon Schnepp shout out

[@lex_rodriguez]

Tim Burton is one if my favorite directors, but quite frankly he doesn't fully understand these characters. I appreciate his take on the characters and his influence on the aesthetic of the Batman universe is immeasurable, but I think he misses the point of these characters and the ideals behind them, especially Superman from what he said in this interview. I still would of loved to have seen his take on Supes though.

[@MarktheMartian]

Tim's Batman was the best one hands down

[@lcceo22]

No. No it wasn't

[@Inflames420]

Seeing the photo credit go to Jon Schnepp and Holly Payne made me smile. R.I.P. Jon Schnepp.

[@Howard007]

Beautiful hair, Tim

[@monkeyspank6444]

TIM BURTON’s BATMAN reigns supreme, no version will ever out do Michael Keaton, or Burton’s vision and design of the Batsuit. C.Bale looked ridiculous in that suit that looked no better than G. Clooney’s or V.Kilmer’s and the ridiculous disguising of his voice was hysterical and stupid. Oh and let’s not forget about that Batmobile design, LEGENDARY 🖖

[@africaRBG]

Is this anyone else's first time actually seeing tim burton? And being shocked at how young he was in '99? Lol

[@caneface87]

We can only imagine what this would of been like. Batman was amazing

[@audibletapehiss3764]

Man, it woulda been so cool to hear Tim Burton answer these questions.

[@notinterested8452]

This is gold.

[@angelmatos9143]

We're always waiting for the next Burton movie.

[@buckyboy28]

Pretty sure when Tim was saying nobody wants Robin, he was talking about Quivers.

[@la-zh4231]

There’s a great documentary on this, they changed the script so many times it was pathetic. They didn’t even want him to fly.

[@HeviRane]

it's not too late, I really want to see this movie

[@pferreira1983]

It could be interesting although I'm more interested in Batman Triumphant.

[@AdAstra78]

"Only two types of people wear sunglasses indoors; blind people and assholes" - Larry David

[@shinigami146]

This is the first time I have seen Tim Burton interviewed. I always assumed he was British. He is very down to earth and great interview. A nice peek into the idiocy of some hollywood producers.

[@israelgirmay5110]

Stern: "you had a really good actor in there" Sure.

[@no-ee]

He has a very unique style of filming. The studios need to understand that.

[@movieman175]

I always thought that Ralph looks like Howard and Tim Burton's love child.

[@cmckittrick91]

And here we are, still without a Superman with depth.

[@jacobbaranowski]

I was excited for this too,

[@mikegarrigues9397]

Nicolas Cage as Superman would have been a Monumental disaster

[@vperkv6554]

Mark 1:09 Nolan " treated seriously you say??? hold my beer "

[@claireevergreen6941]

When the money comes from people who don't have a creative bone in their body tell the creative person they hired how to be creative. I see the industry lives up to it's name..... For all these years.

[@briefcaseblues6061]

I do wish they would have pulled the plug on his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory bs. That was rancid

[@santwandraws5825]

This is a fantastic clip

[@titmusspaultpaul5]

"It's hard enough to pull off just Batman".... Yeah, all that sexual innuendo IS the problem as he said...lol. Well put.

[@Ogrematic]

Sad. It's like they were trying to sabotage it. Tim Burton is awesome. Love you, Howard.

[@jonathanjames10p]

I'm gunna steal the declaration of Krypton

[@rajendranadarajan8931]

Burton's 2 Batman films are a fucking masterclass

[@opinionsnotfacts]

Batman Returns was a bit too unsettling but at least the character was taken seriously, it wasn't just this extended episode of SNL which is exactly what Batman Forever is

[@brodhax6148]

0:58 and there was literally an ice capades scene with the Mr.Freeze goons in Batman Forever, lol

[@barbaryn7899]

Ironic how now they try to make all these movies dark and that's why Tim says they didn't want his Superman. Now we just have to deal with terrible Superman movies like Batman vs Superman, man of steel I thought ok but all Superman movies blow.

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

Nicholas Cage as Superman??? Is he fucking Nuts???

[@pluckychicken7656]

He reminds me of Ralph a bit

[@9419cmcc]

Ralph and Ben Stiller combo

[@swiftslick]

Wreck-It Ralph? Cirella is an insult to humanity.

[@forfurferfries9584]

Howards Ralph, Mixed with Ralph from the Simpsons

[@generyan4043]

Plucky Chicken they look identical!

[@pluckychicken7656]

Gene Ryan it wouldn’t surprise me if Ralph has met Tim Burton, I could see him being a fan of his films.

[@Kylefassbinderful]

Keaton is my fav Batman. Maybe cause i saw the Burton Batman movies as a kid I'm a bit biased but I loved that he didn't really play the superhero kinda characterization