Television work Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a big part in a television program directed by
Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead. Ritt hired Donner as his assistant. Later, Donner was on the staff of
Desilu, where he directed commercials. He made the transition into television dramas in the late 1950s, directing some episodes of the
Steve McQueen western serial
Wanted Dead or Alive and the
Chuck Connors western
The Rifleman. During his early career as a director he worked on over twenty-five television series, including
Have Gun – Will Travel,
The Fugitive,
Combat!,
Get Smart,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,
The Wild Wild West, ''
Gilligan's Island, Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. His breakthrough film was The Omen (1976). A supernatural horror made in the wake of the success of The Exorcist'', the film stars
Gregory Peck,
David Warner and
Lee Remick. It was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1976.
Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) In 1978, Donner directed
Superman: The Movie, starring
Christopher Reeve in the title role. Donner approached the film with the concept of creating
verisimilitude, an intuitive feeling evoked in the audience that makes the fantasy story feel real within the story's context. It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame. The film co-starred
Margot Kidder as
Lois Lane,
Marlon Brando as
Jor-El and
Gene Hackman as archvillain
Lex Luthor. At the box office, it grossed $134 million domestically. Principal photography of
Superman included filming of its first sequel,
Superman II. Donner filmed most of
Superman II with the expectation he would complete the sequel after the release of
Superman. Despite the first film's success, Donner was fired from
Superman II. Throughout the filming of both
Superman films, Donner had a difficult relationship with executive producers
Alexander Salkind and
Ilya Salkind and producer
Pierre Spengler. The Salkinds refused Donner's demand that Spengler be fired; instead, the Salkinds replaced Donner as director of
Superman II with
Richard Lester, who had worked with the Salkinds on
The Three Musketeers and
The Four Musketeers and as an uncredited producer on
Superman. Following Donner's dismissal, Marlon Brando's scenes were removed from
Superman II and much of the film was re-shot under Lester's direction. Gene Hackman refused to return for re-shoots; consequently, all the Lex Luthor scenes that appear in
Superman II were filmed by Donner, although Donner refused to be credited.
Rotten Tomatoes' summary states that "
Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor." Donner continued to promote the view that his contribution was superior to the rest of the series.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on November 28, 2006, the same date as the DVD release of the summer film
Superman Returns. This version of the film features the re-insertion of Marlon Brando's scenes as
Jor-El and relies on a minimum of footage shot by Richard Lester.
Later work He subsequently directed mixed commercial flops (
Inside Moves,
Radio Flyer) and successes (
The Goonies, the
Lethal Weapon series,
Scrooged, and
Conspiracy Theory).
Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998) Donner's next blockbuster film was the action comedy
Lethal Weapon, written by
Shane Black. It starred
Mel Gibson as a widowed
narcotics detective with a suicidal bent "who breaks every rule for the sheer joy of it". It co-starred
Danny Glover as a calm
homicide detective with a loving family and consideration for retirement. The film's action sequences were considered "truly spectacular" and made the film one of the year's biggest hits.
X-Men series Donner became the executive producer for the 2000
Marvel Comics film
X-Men, then also an executive producer for the 2009
X-Men prequel,
X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In addition, Donner's wife has produced all of the films in the
X-Men film series under their
Donners' Company brand. On October 16, 2008, Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner received stars in a double ceremony on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievements in motion pictures, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.
Unrealized projects Donner was the first choice to direct the "unofficial"
James Bond film
Never Say Never Again, but turned it down after he decided he disliked
Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s script. He would have served as director of
Jurassic Park had
Columbia/TriStar won the bidding war for the screen rights against other studios. Donner was also considered as director for
The Lost Boys,
The Last Boy Scout,
Memoirs of an Invisible Man,
Dave,
Forever Young, and
The Sandlot. In 2001, Donner claimed he planned to direct a sequel to
The Goonies after
Timeline, and he planned to direct the
fifth and final Lethal Weapon film before his death in 2021. ==Books==