Every Superman film, ranked
After a protracted feud with the Salkinds over matters budgetary and creative, he found himself replaced by Richard Lester, with whom the producing duo had worked on their Musketeers films, and who reworked the Superman sequel in his friskier signature style. In 2001, however, Donner's original footage was unearthed in Warner Bros' UK vaults, and following years of backstage legal wrangling around the Brando footage, editor Michael Thau began to reconstruct the abandoned version. Later still, Donner himself was coaxed on board in a supervisory role.
The finished article is anything but: footage has been grafted in from screen tests, the scene-to-scene flow is often choppy, and the gimmicky ending of Donner's first Superman is repeated on even more spurious grounds. Kidder's Lois is brighter and less ditzy – you understand why she was so dismayed by Donner's departure – and the return of Brando as the godlike Jor-El role gives the Biblical symbolism in which Lester evidently had little interest in enthusiastic milking. It's an instructive alternate take on an undisputed classic, and a satisfying glimpse at what might have been.
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The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
ITV will SACK 1 in 10 cast members from Corrie and Emmerdale in savage cost-cutting bloodbath
ITV chiefs are plotting a bloodbath on their two flagship soaps by axing one in ten cast members in the latest round of savage cost-cutting. Proposed plans also include slashing the number of scenes per episode for Coronation Street and Emmerdale — after the broadcaster announced it is cutting a further £15million from its total budget. 2 ITV's profits have slumped by 44 per cent to £99million for the first six months of this year. Now insiders have revealed executives are putting pressure on their top soaps to slash their spiralling budgets, cutting the soaps' cast lists by ten per cent. Coronation Street has 84 permanent cast members and Emmerdale has 70. Staffing on both soaps has risen rapidly in recent years, with many actors guaranteed a minimum number of episodes and episode fees per year. It is also suggested scenes per episode could be cut. Both soaps have about 20 scenes per show. And the number of cast used each episode could also be trimmed. A soap source said: 'It's brutal. We've known it was on the cards for a while, but they're really cranking it up now and it's across the soaps. They're looking to save millions and Corrie and Emmerdale are the obvious places. They're very expensive shows. 'Many who have been there for a long time are reliant on their income staying as it is. 'The amount of cast has spiralled out of control and focusing on dialogue, not action, could also save money.' Coronation Street and Emmerdale announce huge 'crossover' special episode in UK soap first Some older cast members have full-time contracts with a salary, but the majority are paid by the episode. It comes amid cuts across the ITV daytime schedule, with hundreds of staff axed from Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. ITV said of the proposals: 'This is complete speculation.' 2
The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
I met Ozzy Osbourne at his home after he'd quit boozing – he then offered me a beer at 10am, says Sun photo legend
WANDERING the grounds of his Buckinghamshire mansion, Ozzy Osbourne turned to his friend Dave Hogan and said: 'Do you know what? I'd forgotten we even had this house.' It was 2006, and the Black Sabbath frontman and his wife Sharon had spent so much time filming MTV reality show The Osbournes in LA, they hadn't returned to the estate in Little Chalfont for several years. 7 7 7 Today, their pal — legendary Sun photographer Dave — reveals how Ozzy, who died on Tuesday aged 76, was one of the most down-to-earth, funny and welcoming celebrities he ever met in his long career. The snapper, affectionately known in the showbiz world as Hogie, recalls: 'That day, he really did make me laugh. "I was taking his picture for The Sun, but he didn't want the house shown as they'd been burgled there so didn't want to feature the actual property. 'Instead, we went into the grounds. He suddenly stopped, looked around and said how he'd forgotten they even owned it. 'It was the kind of thing he would just come out with.' Dave added of Ozzy, who revealed in 2020 that he had Parkinson's disease 'He was great company, a lovely man. 'There was no filter, he was just honest. He spoke what he thought and that was it.' Ozzy's family announced the heavy metal legend had died 'surrounded by love' at the Grade II listed mansion in Welders, Bucks, that they bought in 1993. Recently, the Osbournes built a 'rehab' wing on the sprawling estate, which included a health and welfare exercise studio, art studio room, pool house and spa. Hogie first met Ozzy — known as the Prince of Darkness — in Los Angeles in 1988. But when he arrived at the family's American mansion, he was stunned to find the star had chopped off his trademark, long, flowing locks. Describing his first encounter with the Black Sabbath icon, Hogie says: 'Obviously they were a huge band, but as heavy metal wasn't huge for The Sun, I didn't photograph him until the late Eighties. 'When he opened the door and had cut all his hair off, I was a bit shocked. But the pictures were great, he was amazing on camera, he knew how to perform.' Sharon was there too, together with Kelly, now 40, and Jack, 39, who were toddlers at the time. Hogie says: 'They were very welcoming and the kids were really cute. 'We started to chat but, after a little while, Sharon said that they had to go and pick their older daughter Aimee up from nursery. "The housekeeper was there, but they asked me to help keep an eye on the kids while they went to collect her. 'He kept pouring beer' 'They were just a normal, down-to-earth couple.' Hogie says that over the years, that never changed — but the dynamic did. He explains: 'I remember flying over to LA to do a shoot with them and the focus for the pictures then was Sharon. But Ozzy didn't care. "In fact he loved it. It was like he was her sidekick, her butler; whatever he was, they were a team. 'And within minutes of me being there, he said, 'Dave, do you want a drink?'. 'I knew he was a reformed alcoholic, so I thought it was a bit odd, but Sharon said, 'Just let him pour you a drink, he likes to pour drinks for other people'. It was about 10am and the last thing I wanted was a beer, but I said yes. 'And he opened a can and poured me this perfect pint. I couldn't drink it as I wouldn't have been able to do my job properly. 'But that didn't stop Ozzy. He kept pouring drinks of beer. They were all over the kitchen. He was the perfect host. Some people are not so welcoming, but he was amazing. He made you feel at home.' 7 Ozzy's issues with alcoholism and drug addiction began in the 1970s and got him booted from Black Sabbath in 1979. But he grew serious about his sobriety around 2014, after numerous failed attempts at rehab and recovery dating back to 1984. In a recent interview, he told The Sun that he once downed 28 gallons of booze to get through the Christmas season. Hogie says: 'I never saw him drinking. But even though he had stopped all of that, he was still up for a great time. 'I remember, after one MTV Awards, he got a group of people together to carry on partying. Imagine what a night out with Ozzy would have been like. Dave Hogan 'There was him and Grace Jones and a few others. Sharon said to me, 'I'm going home, I've given him £500 to go out. You go with him, you'll have a great time'. 'But I couldn't. I had to send the photos in from the night. 'But it is a regret — imagine what a night out with Ozzy would have been like.' Hogie pictured the rock 'n' roll legend when he was on stage, too, and says he was a 'born performer', adding: 'He was just great to watch, he would really come alive. I loved photographing him backstage, too. 'After he'd knocked all the drink and drugs on its head, he would be going for it with weights and sitting on his exercise bike. 'It really was a case of, 'Well done, mate,' to be able to change the way he did and try to focus on fitness instead of booze and drugs. 7 7 'Despite how famous and successful he was, he was never flash.' Ozzy died just weeks after a farewell show at which he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates on stage at Villa Park. Performing atop a throne, he told 42,000 adoring fans: 'You've no idea how I feel — thank you from the bottom of my heart.' Some of his favourite acts also played, including Metallica and Guns N' Roses. Ozzy and his fellow original Black Sabbath members — Tony Iommi, Terence 'Geezer' Butler and Bill Ward — had reunited for the first time in 20 years. Hogie says: 'What a legacy. And Sharon helped organise it, too. 'They were a wonderful couple. Ozzy was always there for his wife and she is going to miss him. 'There are not many people like Ozzy left in this world. A true legend. He is one of the greats. 'One of the people you remember where you were when he died. I'm proud I could call him a friend.'
The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Millionaire Sacha's fat jab jibe is a kick in the abs to normal people struggling with obesity
SACHA Baron Cohen admits he paid a personal trainer 'a lot of money' to get the kind of body that your regular middle-aged man could only dream of. And why wouldn't he? He is already a multi-millionaire and he is even being paid to get fit for his new Marvel role — nice work if you can get it. 7 7 Which is why his comment about skinny jabs seemed so cheap and sneering. Alongside an Instagram post of his new ripped, oiled, hairless torso he wrote: 'Some celebs use Ozempic and some use private chefs, others use personal trainers. I did all three.' Within hours his aides admitted he was joking about the Ozempic. Presumably before the personal trainer sued for reputational damage — and mainly because it is just not funny. By laughing at celebrities who use Ozempic he has also looked down his nose at all those who have turned to the jabs to lose weight. We don't all have the means to enjoy a private chef or personal trainer, Sacha. Fat-shaming jokes hurt, no matter what their form. And skinny jabs are no laughing matter for those who have struggled with obesity for years. Their choice shouldn't be made fun of. Mocking them isn't big or clever. Sacha's smug comments insinuate that they are somehow cheating too. But who cares? If it works, it works. Skinny jabs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic have transformed lives. Yes, some people have cheated the system to buy the medication privately without a prescription but, mostly, people use it as a last resort to tackle health problems associated with obesity. There is now a guessing game of 'who has and hasn't' used it when people lose weight because often they are too embarrassed or ashamed to admit it because of people like Sacha. He was trying to be funny, but his Ozempic comment was unnecessary. There was no guessing game in his transformation — the magazine detailed exactly how he got in shape — and this is a man who has clearly never struggled with his weight either. Sacha is right, though, when he says 'some celebs use Ozempic'. Oprah Winfrey says skinny jabs not only helped transform her weight but her mental health too after years of suffering because comedians would poke fun at her figure. Deliberate dig Now comedian Sacha is poking fun at countless others for how they deal with their weight problems, too. Robbie Williams said that the skinny drugs are like a 'miracle' for him and helped his mental health, while Whoopi Goldberg may have saved her life with them after peaking at a deadly 21st. I admire them all for speaking out and telling the truth. And there is actress Rebel Wilson, who admitted she used Ozempic as part of an overhaul for her health. Her public spat with Sacha is so well documented, and I can't help wondering if his barbed comment was actually a deliberate dig aimed specifically at her. As well as the Ozempic comment, he said of the photo: 'This is not AI. 'I really am egotistical enough to do this.' Yes Sacha, you are egotistical. But also very much out of touch with reality, too. Skechers may need to give Myleene the boot SO Myleene Klass has a juicy deal to promote Skechers trainers. And in this promo shoot she looks amazing, toned, fit and defying her 47 years of age. 7 The problem is her footwear is probably the last thing any of us are looking at. Shame on Jay idiots THE tragic death of Jay Slater was a horrible accident that could have happened to any one of the thousands of teenagers who holiday abroad every year. My heart goes out to his parents. 7 I hope they got some closure on Friday when the inquest into his death finally ruled it had been an accident, that he had died from a fall and, thankfully, would not have been in pain. I also hope this verdict puts a stop to the absolute idiots who were part of the online super-sleuthing surrounding his death and now makes them realise how utterly stupid and insensitive they were to Jay and his traumatised family. The groundless, false theories that circulated on the internet after Jay went missing included him being kidnapped after crossing 'Moroccan drugs gangs', his disappearance being faked to scam money in donations from the public, and the Mafia having somehow played a role. When somebody disappears now, a ghoulish fascination emerges, with unqualified glory hunters turning detective and believing or adding to the ridiculous conspiracies they read online. It has to stop. They are causing more harm than good. And they are making a mockery of themselves while they're at it. PERKY gym bunny Georgia Toomey was fuming at being asked to zip up her top in Wetherspoons to cover up her sports bra because it was a 'family-friendly pub'. What she should have felt is a bit daft for flashing a sports bra in a pub in the first place. 7 It is a bra – designed to be worn under clothes unless you're in your own home, posing in a lap-dancing bar or working out without a top on at the gym. Underwear is not for prancing around your local boozer, or nipping into Tesco. You'd give someone a heart attack. Face it, joke is wrong ON his daughter's last day at school, Chris Napthine decided to put on an ape costume and mask because he says: 'I was just trying to embarrass her'. Which he has now well and truly achieved because the school has kicked off, saying it's a safeguarding issue because they can't see who is picking up kids when the person's face is covered – which is a very valid point. 7 And no parent would like a call from the school office saying that a giant gorilla had nabbed little Johnny and they no longer know his whereabouts. Maybe Chris should try to remember it's the kids who are the ones that are supposed to be monkeying around, not the adults. IF you want some light entertainment, I can highly recommend the car crash interview on Monday's Lorraine show between Christine Lampard and Helen Lederer, who is appearing in the new Fawlty Towers stage show. It was as hilariously chaotic as an old episode of the vintage sitcom. Helen kicked off the chat by asking Christine if she watched the original series when she was 'at school'. Despite the fact Christine was born the same year the final episode aired, she managed to keep her composure. Then actress Helen admitted she wasn't even sure how to pronounce Manuel and hadn't bothered watching the old episodes for research. Basil would have lots to say. Rayn in excess WOMAN of the people Angela Rayner has splashed out on not one but two new beds for her grace-and-favour government flat, costing £7,000. Which, unless they're gold-plated, is sheer madness. While the rest of us are tightening our belts, the Deputy PM actually ordered them not long after a public visit to an Ikea store in Warrington. Surely Ange could have found a minion to assemble a bit of flat pack and save the taxpayer about £6,500. AS I was scrolling through Instagram (again!) and had a nosey at Nicola Peltz Beckham's pictures, my six-year-old had a look over my shoulder and asked: 'Eurgh! Mummy, why is there a photo of her naked in the bath?' The only real explanation I could think of was: 'To get up her in-laws' noses.' 7 Instead, I just shrugged and replied: 'To show off.' He didn't question it – but I did. What was she thinking?
