Superman IV: Release the Furie Cut?

[The Joker]

When Dolph Lundgren opted out of the Masters of the Universe sequel Cannon was developing, Pillow could've replaced him as He-Man. He was around the same height as Dolph and had a similar muscular build. Apparently Cannon cast surfer Laird Hamilton for the unmade sequel, but I reckon Pillow would have been a better pick. He even looked a bit like Dolph.

Yeah, that does make sense. I mean, Mark was already 'in house' with Cannon at this time, so it would therefore be a realistic conclusion with Mark being a shoe-in, or at the very least, in the running for He-Man.

I just rack it up to the fact that Cannon was in absolute disarray at this point, with both Menahem Golan, and Yoram Globus in financial dire straights. The company was on the brink following "Quest for Peace", and MOTU. The two films that was unsuccessfully banked upon to pull the nose up for Cannon, and I'm sure any creative/casting decisions were just absolutely all over the place with no true focus. I remember from the documentary "Electric Boogaloo, the wild untold story of Cannon Films", there was a lot of hope that Italian financier, Giancarlo Parretti, would somehow save the company and was genuinely viewed as a savior when he was brought in. Turns out, he was a corporate raider, and ultimately put the final nail in the coffin with Cannon. 

[thecolorsblend]

For some reason, I picture him playing a teenage female character's loving and supportive father on an American sitcom or family drama or something on NBC or some other network. Roles like that are/were very much within his range.

I'll give you a little more.

At one point ages ago, I was toying with the idea of directing a movie. There's a long story there. But the short version is that I had good reasons to think it could work out.

And so convinced was I that Pillow could play a father character, I had been planning to contact him to feel him out about playing the main character's father. But I didn't want to bother him until I had a script, a majority of the cast, a budget, a basic shooting schedule, marketing and other things figured out first. Basically, I wanted my little movie to be as credible as possible before getting in touch with Pillow about it.

For a wide variety of personal reasons, the movie never happened. But like I say, I pictured modern day Mark Pillow in a fatherly type of supporting character role and I was planning to put my money where my mouth is. So, I hope that says something.

[Silver Nemesis]

Yeah, that does make sense. I mean, Mark was already 'in house' with Cannon at this time, so it would therefore be a realistic conclusion with Mark being a shoe-in, or at the very least, in the running for He-Man.

I just rack it up to the fact that Cannon was in absolute disarray at this point, with both Menahem Golan, and Yoram Globus in financial dire straights. The company was on the brink following "Quest for Peace", and MOTU. The two films that was unsuccessfully banked upon to pull the nose up for Cannon, and I'm sure any creative/casting decisions were just absolutely all over the place with no true focus. I remember from the documentary "Electric Boogaloo, the wild untold story of Cannon Films", there was a lot of hope that Italian financier, Giancarlo Parretti, would somehow save the company and was genuinely viewed as a savior when he was brought in. Turns out, he was a corporate raider, and ultimately put the final nail in the coffin with Cannon.

That's a point. Perhaps mixing elements from two of their biggest bombs wouldn't have been such a great idea after all.

For some reason, I picture him playing a teenage female character's loving and supportive father on an American sitcom or family drama or something on NBC or some other network. Roles like that are/were very much within his range.

I'll give you a little more.

At one point ages ago, I was toying with the idea of directing a movie. There's a long story there. But the short version is that I had good reasons to think it could work out.

And so convinced was I that Pillow could play a father character, I had been planning to contact him to feel him out about playing the main character's father. But I didn't want to bother him until I had a script, a majority of the cast, a budget, a basic shooting schedule, marketing and other things figured out first. Basically, I wanted my little movie to be as credible as possible before getting in touch with Pillow about it.

For a wide variety of personal reasons, the movie never happened. But like I say, I pictured modern day Mark Pillow in a fatherly type of supporting character role and I was planning to put my money where my mouth is. So, I hope that says something.

That's actually really cool that you live near Nuclear Man. If you ever decide to revive your film project, you should definitely approach him. It couldn't hurt to ask, and he might welcome the chance to act again. According to his IMDb page, he did star in a TV show in the early nineties titled Alaska Kid, so he must've had at least some fuel left in the tank after his bad Superman IV experience. And he has daughters in real life, so the subject matter might appeal to him.

If he had continued acting, a guest shot on Smallville would have been a no-brainer.

[The Laughing Fish]

Here is a nice edit that adds explosive particles when Nuclear Man smashes Superman's face into the dirt.

This other video made by another YouTuber is less impressive, but they went through the trouble of adding the score and effects in the deleted Superman vs original Nuclear Man fight. It's alleged the original Nuclear Man,  Clive Mantle, said more unseen shots of this fight are still locked up in the studio archives.

[thecolorsblend]

If he had continued acting, a guest shot on Smallville would have been a no-brainer.

I think that was in the cards at one point. Circa season 02, Gough and/or Millar indicated that they were interested in having him on the show. But I gather that they just plain couldn't find him since he'd been out of the game for so long and didn't have an agent or a manager anymore.

Still, it's worth noting that Pillow had an active SAG card until at least the late 2000's. So, in theory, it could've been arranged.

I'm not very sure what form that would've taken. But I would venture that it might've been wise to cast against type and use Pillow as a school teacher or principal or some other non-villainous character. A guest-starring role with a decent number of lines might've even been a shot in the arm for Pillow's DOA acting career, honestly. We'll never know.

But at least at one point, a guest appearance on Smallville wasn't out of the question at all.

[The Laughing Fish]

I really like how this is edited to resemble Eighties-style effects, very well done.