Margot Kidder's Lois Lane as Important as Christopher Reeve's Superman
Kidder Isn't Given Credit for Film Franchise Success
She's Superman's main squeeze; a tough, news scooping reporter whose Daily Planet boss Perry White lets her tackle anything because she knows a good reporter doesn't get great stories, a good reporter makes them great. As tough love mentor to the Man of Steel's alter ego Clark Kent, she juggles showing him the journalistic ropes, while ensuring he doesn't get too big for his incognito britches.
The woman has it going on.
Why then doesn't Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane in four of the original classic films get the same credit that the late, great Christopher Reeve gets? Sadly, it seems her contribution to these classic American films is lost in the shadows.
During the casting for Superman Returns - Bryan Singer's film which brought back the caped Kryptonian into our lives - story after story focused on who would wear the blue tights and red boots. The actor's physique was debated over. Should he be naturally more muscular? Should he look as much like Christopher Reeve as possible, or maybe go with a slightly different look? Years ago Nicholas Cage almost got the role, so that would have indeed been a departure from the classic Superman look.
All the debate over Superman casting was warranted of course, but what about his co-star? After all, where would Tobey Spiderman Maguire be without his Kirsten MJ Dunst? Lois Lane is essential to the Superman mythos and without the right actress bringing her to life, there's a risk of things not jelling properly.
For me, nearly every worthy moment of screen time in the original Superman films was shared by Margot Kidder. Her scrappy, though vulnerable exterior coupled with the incredible chemistry with Reeve is why we loved the comic book couple. It's why we watched them in three other films, with quality varying on the subsequent installments.
Honestly, Kate Bosworth's version of Lois Lane leaves me wanting more. She's a competent, even good actress, however I just don't feel a spark between her and co-star Brendan Routh. Maybe it's because she's engaged in Superman Returns. That may be part of it, but overall I feel the casting process should have gone on a lot longer for Lois.
If Bryan Singer cared as much about casting Lois Lane as Richard Donner did by choosing Margot Kidder, Superman Returns may have been a much bigger event for and more beloved by fans.
Published by Will Stape
Will is an Emmy Award nominated screenwriter. He also writes extensively for magazines and the web. Will penned episodes for the TV shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.... View profile
- The Superman Who Fell to Earth: Christopher ReevesErnest Hemingway was observed that bravery was "grace under pressure." I believe that the life of Christopher Reeves was a powerful example of Hemingway's theory, especially in the way he chose to live his life after...
- Chris Reevelessons we can learn from the man
- Superman Returns: Fighting Lex Luthor While Fighting for Lois Lane's LoveAfter years of waiting for a new Superman film, we as fans were finally granted one. It's a shame this one was so boring and devoid of action. It's much more of a "chick flick" as, unfortunately, it focuses mainly o...
Brandon Routh Honors Christopher Lee with Solid Performance in Superman...Movie Review- Superman Returns: A Bit of a BoreSuperman returns 9 years after checking out his dead, home planet of Krypton. Things have changed, but some remain the same. Lois is engaged to her editor's nephew, Richard White and has a son.
- Comic Book Movies: The New Blockbusters
- My Childhood Hero - Christopher Reeve
- New Stem Cell Research Advancements: The Dream of Christopher Reeve Grows Closer
- Superman Returns - is America Ready?
- James Earl Jones and Lynne Redgrave Battle Demons In The Annihilation of Fish: A L...
- Christopher Reeve's Last Film, Everyone's Hero: A Movie About Dreams
- Christopher Reeve to Be Honored as Hero of Heroes
- Margot Kidder helped make the original Superman films.
- Margot Kidder's contribution is often overlooked.
5 Comments
Post a CommentYou made me proud with this article. I've always felt the same way. Margot Kidder is so underrated in everything she does. Great going!!
This was perfectly written! Thank you so much!!
I couldn't agree more. In fact, from comments I've read over the years someone else who certainly agreed with your asssessment was Christopher Reeve himself. I recently re-watched both Superman 1 and Superman II, the Richard Donner cut, and was struck forcefully by how absolutely essential Margot Kidder was to the success of those films. By contrast, Kate Bosworth was wildly miscast as Lois in Superman Returns, and that was a large part of the reason the later movie was so flat, even boring. Big on special effects, but short on characters or relationships you cared about at all. I got the feeling Kate was cast primarily for her looks. Certainly she was far too young, and in no way believable as a tough big-city reporter. Kidder, who one previous reviewer referred to as "too rough edged," was exactly right, tough yet with a vulnerability that made both Superman and the audience care about her and her relationship with the Man of Steel. Another reviewer of your article chided her for bei
I'm not a big Kidder fan. I thought her Lois was too rough edged. I expected more.
Nice piece.