The 1979 SUPERRMAN: THE MOVIE was plagued with issues during production leading to many changes which resulted in two films being release (Superman and Superman II) which significantly differed from what was originally intended.
The best account of this can be found in this LONG out of print paperback in which the author shadowed the production for a number of years leading to an astonishingly eye opening account of what went wrong...and lot went wrong. It is a miracle these films exist in the form they do frankly.
This is a MUST read for any fan of these movies.. It is engaging, very detailed and had LOADS of things in it I knew nothing about and have not been documented anywhere else. ...Did you know about the Polar bear scene? The bear is still in one shot of the movie, but it was abandoned.
This is a treasure trove !
From the development of the script, the disastrous early draft, the money raising, pre-production that went on and on, missed premier dates, last minute casting nightmares, legal threats and so much more plus the beginning of the collapse of the director's relationship with the producers and the dismantling of the movie at the last minute. SOLID SUPER-GOLD
It is written in an engaging no filler style that keeps you turning its pages relentlessly. I'm surprise that it has no been reprinted or expanded to make one of those big Rinzler style making of books I'm sure you all have. I just bought a second copy in quite good condition for $5, but shop around it goes for silly money on ebay and amazon.
The author shadowed the production for a number of years and unfortunately publishing dealines crept up that means that there is some detail we would all love to know that is not covered coz the film just over ran repeatedly. Having said that, if you are a SUperman nnut or love books about making movies that go beyond pictures of sets, wardrobe and SPFX, this is the one to grab.
You won't regret it.
(DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RELATED TO THE AUTHOR OR PUBLISHERS)