Film

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

Name: The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2015
Cast: Jon Schnepp, Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, Jon Peters, Lorenzo di Bonaventura

Drama

Jon Schnepp's documentary excavates the corpse of Tim Burton's Superman Lives, the Nicholas Cage vehicle that died in development hell. It's a lovingly forensic autopsy: interviews, storyboards, concept art, and wounded anecdotes from the filmmakers who watched their ambitious, weird vision evaporate. For anyone who loves Hollywood dysfunction, creative ambition colliding with commerce, or the specific tragedy of a film that should have existed.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love the messy, behind-the-scenes saga of a Hollywood project that nearly happened, where a famous director's wild ideas collide with studio nerves and you enjoy watching the what-ifs pile up.

Skip it if you want a tidy, fully finished story; this is a 105-minute documentary about a film that never got made, so the talking heads and archival scraps can feel like sifting through someone else's unfinished sketchbook.

What it asks of you: You sit through a single sitting of interviews and sketches, with a loose, chatty rhythm rather than a dramatic arc, so your patience for anecdote and reminiscence is what carries it.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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But At nearly two hours, it moves at a meditative pace that mirrors its subject's grandiosity. Some will find that fitting; others will wish it moved faster.

The Toys That Made Us2017

Netflix series about beloved franchises and the messy, surprising stories behind their creation. It has the same interview-and-archival structure, same nostalgia mixed with schadenfreude, same sense that the real story is never what you expected.

But Each episode is a self-contained portrait with no continuity, so some feel thinner than others depending on your attachment to the specific toy line.

Burden2018

Kevin Smith's documentary about the making of Red State, his own derailed passion project. It's an inside account of a filmmaker wrestling with studio interference and creative compromise—the same wound as Superman Lives, from a smaller angle.

But Assumes some familiarity with Kevin Smith's work and filmmaking philosophy. It's more niche than Superman Lives—fewer household names interviewed.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Phantom of the Paradise1974

A parable about what happens when art meets the people with money. Superman Lives is the documentary evidence; this is the fictionalized cathedral.

Brian De Palma's rock-opera nightmare about artistic vision destroyed by commerce and vanity. It's a *film*, not a documentary, but it's fundamentally *about* what happened to Superman Lives: the corruption of a pure vision by record labels, bad taste, and the machinery of show business. Watch it first for pleasure, then realize it's a prophecy.

But It's campy and deliberately artificial in ways that feel dated. If you need grounded realism, this heightened, theatrical style will feel mannered and slow.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse1991

Seminal documentary about Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now: a brilliant, doomed production that nearly destroyed itself. It's the grandfather of the 'how did this chaos produce genius' narrative, and watching it will deepen your appreciation for Schnepp's approach.

But Shot in a grainier, older style that requires patience if you're used to slick modern documentaries. Some runtime drag in the middle hour.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse poster

Overnight2003

Documentary following Evan Rachel Wood director Troy Duffy as his indie darling Boondock Saints is made, released, and fails. A brutal, unfiltered portrait of ambition meeting reality—no happy endings, no redemption arc, just the wreckage.

But It's almost uncomfortably candid about Duffy's ego and arrogance. If you find schadenfreude distasteful, this will feel voyeuristic.

Lost in La Mancha2002

Terry Gilliam's documentary about the production collapse of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Another Tim Burton peer, another visionary director, another unmade film—but this one was being made when it fell apart, which raises the stakes.

But It's more tragic than funny, and the practical production disasters pile up in ways that feel less like fascinating war stories and more like watching someone lose everything.

Get Him to the Greek2010

A fictional comedy that captures the same energy as Superman Lives—a chaotic Hollywood production where nothing goes right, egos collide, and the whole thing spins toward disaster. It's a love letter to controlled creative chaos with a much lighter touch.

But It's a mainstream comedy, so it works harder for laughs than for insight. Some viewers will find it too broad, too interested in entertainment to take seriously.

The Disaster Artist2017

James Franco's film about Tommy Wiseau making The Room, another legendary failed production that somehow became beloved. Like Superman Lives, it's a love letter to glorious, delusional ambition and the wreckage it leaves behind.

But It plays the material for comedy in a way Superman Lives doesn't, so the tone is very different. If you want gravitas, this isn't it.