Ilya Salkind
Ilya Salkind | |
---|---|
Born | Ilya Juan Salkind Domínguez July 27, 1947 Mexico City, Mexico |
Nationality | Mexican |
Occupation(s) | Film director, producer |
Spouses | Skye Aubrey
(m. 1976; div. 1979)Patricia Bonnet
(m. 1980; div. 1984) |
Children | 5 |
Parent(s) | Alexander Salkind Berta Domínguez |
Ilya Juan Salkind Domínguez (/ˈsælkaɪnd/; born July 27, 1947), usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a Mexican film and television producer, known for his contributions to three of the four live-action Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s alongside his father, Alexander Salkind.
Early life and career
Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez was born July 27, 1947, in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of Berta Domínguez, a Mexican novelist, and Russian-Jewish producer
Superman film series
Ilya and Alexander, along with producing partner
William Goldman was approached to write the script, but chose not to do so, as Ilya Salkind had personally cited certain creative differences with Goldman. Eventually, Ilya would hire Godfather author Mario Puzo.[2] The desperate search for a director then took place. Steven Spielberg expressed interest and Salkind felt comfortable in hiring him upon being impressed with his work on Duel and The Sugarland Express, though his father was skeptical, feeling that Spielberg was not famous enough and claimed they needed to wait until "that fish movie of his" was released. Jaws was released with unanimous success, though by this time it was too late as Spielberg opted to do Close Encounters of the Third Kind instead.[3]
Peter Yates was interested in directing, and was briefly involved in negotiations, though the deal collapsed. Both William Friedkin and Sam Peckinpah were also offered the chance to direct. Friedkin turned down the offer outright, while Peckinpah dropped out of the running when he produced a gun during a meeting with Salkind. Richard Lester,[2] Guy Hamilton, George Lucas, John Guillermin and Ronald Neame were then considered, though Lucas was dropped as Salkind found out he was too committed on Star Wars (1977). It was decided to go with Hamilton, in light of the fact that Salkind was impressed with Hamilton's work as director of, among other projects, Goldfinger and Battle of Britain.[3]
Salkind originally recommended
Casting started to take place, and Alexander Salkind wanted a famous actor in the role of
Sets were then being initiated in
Post-Superman career
The Salkinds' last journey into film fantasy was 1985's Santa Claus: The Movie. That same year, DC Comics named Salkind as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for his work on the Superman film franchise.[5]
The Salkinds returned to the Superman mythology again in 1988, this time as a TV series, with
Ilya Salkind Company
Returning to Los Angeles in 2003, the producer launched the Ilya Salkind Company in the late summer of that year. The company's first project, Young Alexander the Great, was shot on location in Greece and Egypt, and has not been released yet and is still in production . The company had several major motion pictures slated for the coming years. As of 2010, the Ilya Salkind Company had been dissolved.
Superman retrospectives
On the DVD release of Superboy: The Complete First Season in 2006, Salkind appeared in the documentary featurette "Superboy: Getting Off the Ground" and provided audio commentary with series star
Reported missing
Salkind, who was born in Mexico City, traveled south of the border to handle a family property owned by his mother, who died a few years earlier.[6] The 63-year-old was staying at his family's home in Tepoztlán.[7] On February 2, 2011, Salkind's long-time companion Deborah Moore filed a missing persons report with Mexican authorities, Salkind having left his cell phone at his Mexico City estate on January 30, telling his staff that he was going to run errands, and not having been seen since.[8] Family and friends became alarmed when he failed to show up for a dentist's appointment the following day. Investigators on February 3 located Salkind in a local hospital, where he was reported to be under sedation due to being assaulted.[7]
Personal life
Salkind was married in 1976 to Skye Aubrey, with whom he has two children Anastasia and Sebastian. The couple divorced in 1979. He married Patricia Bonnet in 1980. The couple has one child. He later married Jane Chaplin. They have two sons together, and divorced in 1999. For the past twenty years he has lived with Deborah Moore. They have no children and are not married.
Filmography
Producer
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
1971 | The Light at the Edge of the World | Kevin Billington |
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! | Romain Gary | |
1972 | Bluebeard | Edward Dmytryk |
1973 | The Three Musketeers | Richard Lester |
1974 | The Four Musketeers | |
1976 | The Twist | Claude Chabrol |
1977 | The Prince and the Pauper | Richard Fleischer |
1978 | Superman | Richard Donner |
1980 | Superman II | Richard Lester |
1983 | Superman III | |
1984 | Supergirl | Jeannot Szwarc |
1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | |
1988-1992 | Superboy | Various |
1992 | Christopher Columbus: The Discovery | John Glen |
2015 | Dancing for My Havana | Claudio Del Punta |
References
- ^ "Obituary: Alexander Salkind". The Independent. March 25, 1997.
- ^ Warner Brothers. 2006.
- ^ Warner Brothers. 2006.
- Warner Brothers. 2001.
- ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Ilya Salkind A New Vision of the Legend" Fifty Who Made DC Great, p. 42 (1985). DC Comics.
- TMZ. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ^ a b Sheridan, Michael (3 February 2011). "Ilya Salkind, 'Superman' producer, found alive after being reported missing in Mexico". New York Daily News.
- ^ Noyes, Jack (3 February 2011). "Superman Producer Missing in Mexico". NBC Los Angeles.
Further reading
- "Ilya Salkind: The Super Producer Who Got Superman off the Ground" (Part one of three) article and interview by Anthony Petkovich, Filmfax magazine, summer 2013, number 134 (cover). Filmfax, Inc., Evanston, Illinois USA. Twelve pages (84-92, 102-104) with 38 personal and movie-related black-and-white photographs, mostly behind-the-scenes production stills from the various Superman films.
- "An Interview with Producer Ilya Salkind: From Superman to Supergirl to Superboy and Beyond" (Part two of three) article and interview by Anthony Petkovich, Filmfax magazine, fall 2013, number 135 (cover). Filmfax, Inc., Evanston, Illinois USA. Eight pages (92-99) with 36 personal and movie-related black-and-white photographs.
- "An Interview with Producer Ilya Salkind: From The Three Musketeers to Santa Claus and Beyond" (Part three of three) article and interview by Anthony Petkovich, Filmfax magazine, winter 2014, number 136 (cover). Filmfax, Inc., Evanston, Illinois USA. Eight pages (92-99) with 27 personal and movie-related black-and-white photographs. Total of parts 1-3: 28 pages Q & A, 101 photos from Salkind's personal collection, production stills, and studio advertising.
External links
- The Ilya Salkind Company
- Ilya Salkind at IMDb