Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story director Peter Ettedgui discusses Christopher Reeve’s lasting impact and why now is the time to tell his story.
The spark for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story came to director Peter Ettedgui when he and co-director Ian Bonhôte were in the edit for their documentary Rising Phoenix, which follows nine Paralympic athletes.
“We came across the opening ceremony of the Atlanta ’96 games and Chris was the emcee,” said Ettedgui. “I said, ‘Stop! We have to watch this.’ And he gave this speech. It was a year after the accident, and all these memories for me came flooding back. Seeing him in Atlanta, it was very moving. The kindness of his speech elevates it, the way he had the stadium in the palm of his hands with his voice.”
Ettedgui said they couldn’t use the footage for Rising Phoenix, but it stayed with him when he was approached to work on a Christopher Reeve project.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we live in a time of adversity and divisiveness. I think this is a story that has a certain healing power. I hope that audiences feel that as well.”
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story: When Reeve was the Only Superhero on Screen
Even though Warner Brothers eventually came on board as a backer, Super/Man was made independently. Ettedgui was surprised to experience an old-fashioned Sundance bidding war for the project earlier this year.
“When we started out, we thought this was absolutely a story to tell. What was quite interesting was when we pitched it to financiers, they’d all ask, ‘Why now?'”
They’d often cite Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie as a reason not to do the project.
“There’s not enough space for two icons dealing with disability.”
Not only was Reeve influential as an actor and disability advocate, Marvel movie popularity might not exist without him. Kevin Feige reportedly watches Superman each time he starts another project.
“Seeing Superman in the cinema, it was the first time we’d seen a comic book hero with powers and presence on screen, and he was the only one. It was at least a decade before Tim Burton’s Batman. Obviously, now we’re inundated with MCU and DC.”
Christopher Reeve’s Impact on the Disability Community
Before The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation existed, research in spinal cord injury and paralysis was regarded as a graveyard.
“At the time, if you had a spinal cord injury, you’re shipped off to a nursing home, as Dana said [in the doc]. The way Christopher galvanized people and made the research feel exciting, he was a brilliant speaker and understood and studied spinal cord injury. He probably could have become a doctor!”
Today, scientists are using AI to help people walk again, a cutting-edge technology supported by the Reeve organization.
Ettedgui said the most moving moment when talking about Christopher Reeve and this film happened at the U.S. premiere for the foundation.
“It felt like the film was coming home to a community that Christopher had been so important in creating and is a living foundation. What you don’t think about is that this is flesh and blood; this is people and their lives. There was something so lovely about that occasion. They wore the Superman dog tags created for the foundation with the motto ‘Go forward’ on them and the logo on the other side. That was a really beautiful moment.”
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is now playing in select theaters.
