June 14, 1938: Superman to the Rescue!

On this day in 1938, Action Comics #1 was issued, introducing Superman to the public for the first time. If you can do the math, you will see that today is not just the birthday of Superman, but he turns 70 ! ! !

Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster originally had Superman as a bald madman whose telepathic abilities were used to wreck havoc. This form of him appeared in Science Fiction #3 (1933). They re-wrote the character as a hero, with little resemblance to his namesake, later on in 1933 (which I am sure everyone is thankful for). Now all they needed was a publisher. The creators were asked to contribute a feature to National Comics for a new publication they submitted Superman for consideration. Not only did National Comics accept Superman for their new Action Comics series, but they made him the cover! Action Comics was soon followed by a Superman comic book series in 1939.

Superman was born Kal-El on the far-off planet of Krypton. As an infant his parents sent him to Earth moments before the planet was to destruct, leaving him the lone survivor of his planet (or so goes most versions). He was found, adopted, and raised by a Kansas farmer and wife and bestowed the name Clark Kent. As an adult, Clark Kent is a reporter for The Daily Planet (or Daily Star) in the fictional city of Metropolis. He works alongside reporter Lois Lane whom he is often romantically linked and even married to. Throughout his childhood and teenage years his superhuman abilities have grown and matured with him. Reaching adulthood he decided to use his powers for the benefit of humanity.

“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”
--Jay Morton

The character's supporting cast and powers have slowly expanded and revamped over the years. While his powers have varied, the following tend to be attributed to him: flight, super-strength, super-speed, vision powers (x-ray, heat, telescopic, infra-red), invulnerability to non-magical attacks, self-healing power, super-breath (can freeze and create powerful winds), super-hearing (just a lot of super powers – hence his name, Superman)

Superman forever changed the medium of comic books. It is hard to believe, but before Superman superheroes were uncommon in the comic book genre. Superman was the first comic book superhero, starting off the success of this new fantasy subgenre. Superman’s initial success led to other, similar characters being created (the first to follow was Batman). Today thousands of characters have since been produced and superhero comics are established as the dominant genre in American comic book publishing.

Superman has been adapted to various media outside of comic books. From a radio series in 1940 to numerous animated cartoons to even a play, Superman has been around. It has been a TV series numerous times with most recent in 1993 as Louis & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Smallville in 2001 focusing on Clark Kent’s teenage years. Superman has starred in five movies: Superman (1978), starring Christopher Reeve, its three sequels and more recently Superman Returns (2006).

As an American cultural icon, Superman is still seen as being as relevant now as he has been in the seventy years of his existence.

Picture Source1 Picture Source 2 Picture Source 3

June 11, 1982: E.T.

On this day in 1982, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released in theaters (making today a Friday in 1982). The American Film Institute ranks E.T. as the 24th Greatest Movie of All Time and the 6th Most Inspiring Movie of All Time. The family fun film earned back its $10.5 million budge during its opening weekend, grossing $11.8 million. Staring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, and Peter Coyote, the film tells the story of a lonely boy named Elliot (Thomas) who befriends a friendly alien stranded on Earth. Elliot, along with his siblings, helps the alien return home while trying to keep it a secret from their mother and the government.

Uncommon in motion pictures, Spielberg shot the movie in chronological order to help invoke convincing emotional performances from the young cast when E.T. departed at the end of the film. He also shot most of the film from the eye-level of a child to help draw one into a child’s point-of-view and to help the audience further connect with Elliot and E.T.

"I didn't pretend that E.T. was anything other than a kids movie, about kids, for kids, I was still a kid then. I still am."
-- Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg dictated the script for E.T. on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) during filming breaks to Melissa Mathison. As Harrison Ford’s wife at the time, Mathison, a screenwriter, was conveniently already on set to be with her husband. Spielberg’s original concept for the film was actually a much darker movie where a family would be terrorized by aliens. When he decided to go with a friendly alien, the family0in-jeopardy plot was recycled as Poltergeist (1982). Spielberg actually worked simultaneously, producing both films at the same time. They were meant to compliment each other: E.T. representing suburban dreams and Poltergeist representing suburban nightmares.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s close relationship is no secret in the entertainment industry (or to the public in general), especially with the popularity of their Indiana Jones franchise. At the time, and maybe still, E.T. was Spielberg’s greatest film and Star War was Lucas’s. It is no surprise then that they made guest appearances in their films (or at least their characters). In E.T., with Yoda’s theme song playing in the background, E.T. approaches a kid in a Halloween Yoda costume crying “Phone home! Phone home!” as if he recognized someone familiar. Also, various Star Wars toys appear in Elliot’s bedroom. To return the favor, in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace a delegation of E.T.s can be seen when Queen Amidala calls for a Senate vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum. This seems to link the two films together, or at least a cool bit of movie trivia.

E.T. became the highest-grossing movie of all time until Star Wars (1977) was re-released in 1997 (yes that’s right, they use to re-release movies). Its domestic grosses in the United States currently rank fourth with $435,110,554. This is the highest grossing movie Universal Studios has had, and as luck would have it, its second top grossing movie is Jurassic Park, also directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film was nominated for a slew of Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Screenplay written for the Screen, winning in only the following categories: Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. It lucked out a little better in the Golden Globes, winning one for Best Motion Picture and Best Score, but still missing out on its other nominations in Best Director and Best Screenplay. It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture. Awards aren't everything though.

A children’s classic, the film is still a favorite amongst children and those young at heart.