Many DC fans won’t know whoJon Petersis by name, but they will probably know his work, since he produced movies likeCaddyshack,Batmanand technicallyMan of Steel. Though, he didn’t actually work on that latter movie. He started out, oddly enough, as a hairdresser and eventually wound up as a bit time Hollywood producer. So how successful is he? Well, he was good enough, or at least smart enough, to make about $80 million for doing absolutely nothing on bothSuperman ReturnsandMan of Steel.
After spending quite a long time away from the limelight,Jon Petersrecently granted an interview toThe Hollywood Reporter. Just to give an idea of the kind of reputationJon Petershas, the THR report noted that he had a loaded gun on the table during the interview. The publication reported a while back that he was paid somewhere between $10 and $15 million forMan of Steel, with some saying it was as much as $50 million. He was asked about it head on and revealed that it was actually quite a bit more than that between the last twoSuperman moviesand by his account, it was between $80 and $85 million. Here is what he had to say about it.
“I have 7.5 percent of the gross. Together they did [more than] a billion.”
Quite a few die hardSupermanfans, and maybe some more casualKevin Smithfans, might already be familiar withJon Petersand why he made so much money for two movies he had virtually nothing to do with. In fact, he wasn’t even allowed on the set ofMan of Steel, because producerChristopher Nolandidn’t want him there. According toPeters, that’s because his “reputation scares these guys.” For those who may not know,Jon Petersworked very hard in the 90s to get a movie that is most commonly known asSuperman Livesmade, which would have starredNicolas Cageas the famed caped superhero.Kevin Smithregularly talks about his experience writing the initial script for the movie and his bizarre interactions withJon Peters, who insisted that Superman fight a giant spider in the movie.Kevin Smithworked that into his script, but called the spider a “Thanagarian Snare Beast,” which was a reference to the planet Thanagar andHawkman.
Superman Livesgot stuck in development for several years withTim Burtonattached to direct. The two worked together onBatmanandBatman Returns, so he seemed like the logical choice at the time forSuperman Lives. Even though that movie never got made, becauseJon Petersspearheaded the project, he still retained that 7.5 percent of the gross that he mentioned, which is why he was able to make so much money fromSuperman ReturnsandMan of Steel. The former made just shy of $400 million worldwide and the latter made a pretty impressive $668 million, so there was plenty of profit forJon Petersto share in. The inner workings of the movie business are quite complex, but it is probably astonishing for anyone to hear that someone could make so much money for doing what boils down to absolutely nothing.
Jon Petersis somewhat infamous for his crazy demands and weird way of breaking into the industry. He started as a hairdresser forBarbra Streisandand wound up producing some of her movies likeA Star is Born, in addition to being a lover of hers for a period of time. He was apparently so hung up on getting a giant spider into a movie that he eventually worked it into the famousWill SmithflopWild Wild West, even though it wasn’t something that was originally intended to be in the movie. Crazy or not, he has definitely found a way to make a lot of money as a producer.
There is no word on ifJon Peterswill continue to keep his 7.5 percent moving forward on projects likeMan of Steel 2, which would certainly be something Warner Bros. would have to take into account. He talked a bit more about some of the rumors and legend surrounding his failedSupermanmovie in the documentaryThe Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?and refutes some of the claimsKevin Smithmade, such as the claim thatJon Petersdidn’t want Superman to fly in the movie. So those looking for more insight on how weirdJon Petersis and a bit more about the failedNicolas CageSupermanmovie, that is a good place to look.Nic Cageor noNic Cage, Superman helped to makeJon Petersa very rich man.
