Superman (1978 film) finish writing duties. George MacDonald Fraser was later hired to do some work on the script, but he says he did little. Their script was submitted in July 1976, and carried a camp tone, including a cameo appearance by Telly Savalas as his "Kojak" character. The scripts for "Superman" and "Superman II" were now at over 400 pages combined. Pre-production started at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, with sets starting construction and flying tests being unsuccessfully experimented. "In Italy," producer Ilya Salkind remembered, "we lost about $2 million [on flying tests]." Marlon Brando found out he could not film in Italy
Superman in film films was marred by Donner's bad relationship with the Salkinds, with Richard Lester acting as mediator. With the film going over-budget, the filmmakers decided to temporarily cease production of "II" and move that film's climax into the first film. Despite "Superman"'s success, Donner did not return to finish "Superman II", and it was completed with Lester, who gave the film a more tongue-in-cheek tone. The Salkinds also cut Brando for financial reasons, while John Williams quit as composer due to turning his attention to other projects. "Superman II" was another financial and critical success, despite stiff competition with "Raiders of