The time was 1982.  With the popularity of video games and the reality of affordable home computers, this was a natural platform for the plot of a movie.  So Disney decides to bring us… Tron.  Starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner (side story- my parents apparently knew Bruce’s parents), this movie of course is not only about computers and video games, it is set inside a computer.  Only a moderate success in its time it became a sort of cult classic.  It spawned not one but two arcade games: the movie’s namesake Tron in 1982, and Discs of Tron in 1983.  In addition, several Tron games were created for home gaming systems of the time.  Today, one can still find Tron games being made including the somewhat popular GLtron, based on the light cycles from the movie, which has been a work in progress for several years.

Moving to 2003, a sequel to the movie had been talked about for the last few years and it seemed like we were finally going to get something.  Tron 2.0 was announced and then released this year.  Unfortunately, Tron 2.0 turned out to be yet another video game which I think we were told at the time would be the sequel to Tron.  Yippee…  For some reason I never bought it- it probably wasn’t in the budget as I was still going to school and not working.  And when I did start working as a substitute teacher in 2004, I wasn’t working nearly enough to be able to afford such delights as games.  Anyway, it would seem that the anticipation was over.  That is, until just over a week ago.  Actually more than a week ago- apparently back in 2005 Disney started working on a new script unbeknowest to me.  It was this year’s announcement that brought it to light.  From Wikipedia since I’m too lazy to summarize it:  😛

On July 24, 2008 Disney surprised San Diego Comic Con attendees with test footage from a sequel to Tron. The footage began with an update of the lightcycle duel from the original film, pitting a blue program against a yellow one with the two racing (where the rider is now exposed) through a futuristic landscape. The duel is being observed from a high, cliff-side structure by a human figure – an older, bearded Kevin Flynn played again by Jeff Bridges. One of the duel’s participants is revealed to be Clu, with the face of the younger Jeff Bridges. The footage ended with a ‘2’ appearing in the traditional Tron font and the title, TR2N, emerging around it, then fading away to leave the number.

That’s right.  The real sequel to Tron.  Hopefully this won’t turn out to be one of those bad sequels to a 20+ year-old movie.  However, this blurb should be cause for hope:

By now everybody knows that a trailer for Tron 2, aka Tr2n, surprised fans at Comic-Con during Disney’s panel for Race to Witch Mountain. Not only was it a surprise considering most people didn’t even know it was being made, but it also looked incredible – and there’s a reason for that. Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media revealed earlier today that the man behind this latest version of Tron is none other than Pixar’s John Lasseter. Hill goes on to explain that Lasseter has taken over for Tron‘s original director, Steven Lisberger, and replaced him with Joseph Kosinski (as we mentioned last year) and hired “Lost‘s” Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz to write a new script. But that’s not all – there is so much more to this story!

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I can’t wait for 2010!

When you are 8 years old sitting in a movie theatre watching one of you favorite characters on the screen, you have no idea how much turmoil goes into putting that action on film. Richard Donner directed Superman the Movie and simultaneously his version of its sequel. However, following the release of Superman, Donner was fired and a new director for Superman 2, Richard Lester, was hired. The funny thing is nearly 80% of what was seen in theatres in 1981 is what Donner had filmed. So 25 years later, Donner released his version of Superman 2 from the rolls of film shot while making Superman the Movie.

Richard Lester’s version is a good film. However, it does have many problems. In the Fortress of Solitude battle scene with the three Kryptonian villains, the Man of Steel is given powers that he never had before and were cheesy powers to begin with. From his “S” shield on his costume he pulls out a cellophane shield which he hurls at the evil doers.

Also during the Fortress battle, Superman and General Zod participate in a game of hide and seek. They apparently were endowed with the powere to magically appear and disappear anywhere within the fortress. Or maybe it was a trick ice crystals within the fortress. But that was meaningless as well.

Richard Donner’s version had no such new powers for Superman. However, it also has ONE BIG FLAW!!!! The same thing that plagued the climax of Superman the Movie. I will not spoil for the uninitiated.

Personally, I prefer Donner’s version. Both are flawed, but Donner’s version also has a brilliant scene with Superman and his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) at the Fortress. Both do include the diner scenes which are some of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Richard Lester’s version also lead to the ultimate demise of the Christopher Reeve starring movies. The final two films of the series took a horrendously comedic tone. Richard Pryor was added to the cast of Superman III as a comedic foil. Superman IV was just an awful mess which spelled the end of the Last Son of Krypton on the big screen for 20 years .