Superman II is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman (1978). It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. The film was released in Australia and mainland Europe on December 4, 1980, and in other countries throughout 1981. Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround. In 1977, it was decided by the Salkinds that they would film both Superman and its sequel simultaneously, with principal photography beginning in March 1977 and ending in October 1978. Tensions rose between original director Richard Donner and the producers in which a decision was made to stop filming the sequel, of which 75 percent had already been completed, and finish the first film. Following the release of Superman in December 1978, Donner was controversially fired as director, and was replaced by Lester. Several members of the cast and crew declined to return in the wake of Donner's firing. To be officially credited as the director, Lester re-shot most of the film in which principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980. The film received positive reviews from film critics who praised the performances from Reeve, Stamp and Hackman, the visual effects, and humor. It grossed $190 million against a production budget of $54 million. A sequel, Superman III, was released in June 1983, for which Lester returned as director. During the production of Superman Returns, Warner Bros. acquired the rights from Marlon Brando's estate to use the late actor's footage from Superman into the film. Shortly after, Ilya Salkind confirmed that Donner was involved in the project to re-cut Superman II using Brando's unused footage. Editor Michael Thau worked on the project alongside Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, who supervised the Superman II reconstruction. Despite some initial confusion, Thau confirmed that all the footage shot by Donner in 1977 was recovered and transferred from a vault in England. The new edition, titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, was released on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray on November 28, 2006. In order to make Donner's vision of Superman II feel less incomplete, finished scenes by Lester that Donner was unable to shoot were incorporated into the film as well as the screen tests by Reeve and Kidder for one pivotal scene. The film also restores several cut scenes including Marlon Brando as Jor-El, an alternate prologue and opening sequence at the Daily Planet that omits the Eiffel Tower opening from the original, as well as the original scripted and filmed ending for Superman II featuring Superman reversing time before it was cut and placed at the end of the first film.
Cat Stevens wrote this about finding hope in any situation. Be present and joyful. See life as it is, right now, and don't compare it to others' lives, or other times in your life. Every moment in life is rich and unique; whether we are aware of it or not, we are always leaping and hopping on a moonshadow - the inescapable present moment. If we are wrapped up in our whirlpools of worry and concern about what could be, or what has been, we are missing the richness of life as it is.
In the bridge of the song, Stevens seems to be speaking of faith, indicating clearly that, although he is experiencing this ecstasy in the present, despite all the losses and suffering of existence, it is the light that has found him, and not the other way around. He is surrendering to a power greater than himself - the "faithful light." >>
Stevens was gaining a foothold in America when he released "Moonshadow" as the first single from his fifth album, Teaser And The Firecat. He was already well established in his native UK, but America didn't discover him until "Wild World," from his fourth album, Tea For The Tillerman, landed in the spring of 1971. "Moonshadow" reached #30 that summer, but the next single, "Peace Train," rose to #7.
Over the next few years, Stevens joined the ranks of thoughtful, somewhat mysterious singer-songwriters like Carly Simon and George Harrison to become one of the top players in the genre. His songs reflected his quest for understanding; around this time he was exploring Buddhism, but in 1977 he devoted himself to Islam, changing his name to Yusuf Islam. He stopped making pop music two years later.
When he appeared on The Chris Isaak Hour in 2009, Yusuf talked about writing this song. "I was on a holiday in Spain," he said. "I was a kid from the West End (of London) - bright lights, ect. - I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before."
When he became a Muslim, Yusuf distanced himself from his work as Cat Stevens, but in the '90s he began to revisit those songs through performances and re-issues. "Moonshadow" he cites as his favorite Cat Stevens song, and says it's one that convinced him to embrace much of his previous work. The uplifting message in the song meshes with his religious beliefs and with his humanitarian efforts, as many have found hope and encouragement in "Moonshadow." He called the song the "optimist's anthem."Stevens commissioned a short animated film to accompany this song that's based on the Teaser And The Firecat album cover illustration, which he drew. In the film, Teaser and The Firecat come to life as the boy and cat ride on the moon while "Moonshadow" plays. Narrated by the British radio personality Spike Milligan, it was shown in movie theaters before feature films and in 2004 appeared on the Cat Stevens - Majikat DVD. The whimsical phantasmagoria owes a debt to the Beatles' Yellow Submarine film.
Episode aired Dec 4, 1965
With Katarina being held hostage, the Doctor, Steven and Bret are in danger of having to given in to Kirksen's demands, while, on Earth, Chen has them listed as traitors.
"Return to Tomorrow" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by John T. Dugan (under the pen-name "John Kingsbridge") and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast February 9, 1968.
In the episode, telepathic aliens take control of Captain Kirk, Dr. Ann Mulhall (Diana Muldaur), and First Officer Spock's bodies in order to construct android hosts.
This episode was the first appearance of Diana Muldaur in the Star Trek franchise. She appeared again as Dr. Miranda Jones in the third season episode, "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" and as Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
"Tower of Strength" is a song released by the English gothic rock band The Mission in February 1988. It was the first of two singles to be released from their second studio album Children. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK charts on its original release, but has seen re-recorded releases in 1994 and 2020 separately.