After Jaws pretty much invented the summer blockbuster - and earned a metric buttload of money in doing so - Spielberg was approached to direct basically every big film project going. Actually, the young director was asked fairly early on if he wanted to take on the upcoming Superman film by producers the Salkinds. They balked at his initial salary demands, opting to to hold off on hiring him until they saw how his "fish movie" turned out. Of course it ended up doing gangbusters, so the job was all but his. In the end Spielberg went onto other projects, and so the first Superman film starring Christopher Reeve as the Man Of Steel was directed instead by Richard Donner. Before they got to him, the Salkinds also asked George Lucas and legendary Western nutter Sam Peckinpah if they fancied a crack; most intriguing, however, was Spielberg, whose generally optimistic outlook and dedication to groundbreaking special effects would've been the perfect match for the first big superhero film.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
