Trivia: During the making of this movie Christopher Reeve and Sidney J. Furie didn't get along at all and often clashed with each other.
Trivia: Christopher Reeve originally refused to return for this film as he hated "Superman III" so much. He eventually changed his mind when he was given more input in the script.
Trivia: Near the end of the film, Superman gives a press conference in front of a bluish mirror-glass building which is meant to be the Daily Planet skyscraper in Metropolis (which we all know is New York, sort of). The shot is framed so you can only see the bottom of the building - necessary as it is only about 3 floors high, and is in fact the railway station in Milton keynes, England, about 400 yards from where I work. Even the crowd have a vaguely British look about them - presumably passers-by were recruited and stood there in their own clothes (this would matter less now - Brits look more American than they did in the Eighties).
Trivia: If the film was successful, the company was going to make a "Spider-Man" film. Unfortunately, it was a major commercial failure, making only $15.6 million at the box-office.
Trivia: Christopher Reeve said in his autobiography that he much preferred Richard Donner's approach rather than Sidney J. Furie's. He mentioned that if Donner had done the scene with Superman walking up to the big UN building, he would have shot on location of where that building in real life is, choreographed thousands of extras, had cars driving by on the street and cut to real shots of people gawking out of office windows. Instead, Furie shot at an industrial park in London with a giant matte painting, only a few extras, no buildings or cars and a couple of pigeons for added effect.
Trivia: Mark Pillow (Nuclear Man) only has 11 lines in the entire film.
Trivia: Wes Craven very nearly directed this film but backed out due to not getting along with Christopher Reeve.
Answer: There appears to be multiple reasons. They had creative differences, ultimately resulting in a poorly received movie. Kidder said Reeves, who co-wrote the story, had an inflated ego and clashed with Furie.
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Moreover, Mark Pillow, who played Nuclear Man, claimed that working with Reeve was quite intense.