Pierre Spengler
French film producer (born 1947)
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Pierre Spengler (born 5 June 1947) is a French film producer. He is best known for producing the first three Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
Life and career
Born in Paris, Spengler began working in the film industry in 1964. His early credits included production assistant on The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), Le Mans (1971), and The Light at the Edge of the World (also 1971).[1]
Salkinds Organisation
In 1972, he became a partner in the Salkind Organisation. Alongside Alexander and Ilya Salkind, he obtained the film rights to Superman from DC Comics in 1974. He subsequently produced the first three Superman films starring Christopher Reeve. He was also a consultant on the 1984 spinoff film Supergirl.
Other films Spengler produced for the Salkinds during this time were Claude Chabrol's The Twist (1976), The Prince and the Pauper (1977), and Santa Claus: The Movie (1985). He left the Salkind Organisation in 1985 to become an independent producer.
Independent producer
In 1995, he executive produced Serbian director Emir Kusturica's film Underground, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. In 1996, he founded Clubdeal Ltd.[1][2]
In 2004, he acquired French publishing house Les Humanoïdes Associés in order to develop their properties in movies.
He is also the founder of Netherlands-based Cadenza Films, with Dutch filmmaker Rudolf van den Berg.[3] He produced/executive produced Berg's films Snapshots (2002), Tirza (2010), and Süskind (2012).
In 2012, he produced the France 4 television series Métal Hurlant Chronicles.
He produced the 2023 RKSS horror comedy We Are Zombies.
Personal life
Spengler is married to University of Oxford geneticist Tatjana Sauka Spengler,[4] and they have a daughter.[1] They lived in Oxford, England.[1] He has two other children from his previous marriage to Agnes L'Helgoualch.[1]
Filmography
Film
Producer
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! | Romain Gary | |
| 1976 | The Twist | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1977 | The Prince and the Pauper | Richard Fleischer | Also screenwriter |
| 1978 | Superman | Richard Donner | |
| 1980 | Superman II | Richard Lester | |
| 1983 | Superman III | ||
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | Jeannot Szwarc | |
| 1989 | The Return of the Musketeers | Richard Lester | |
| 2002 | Snapshots | Rudolf van den Berg | |
| 2004 | Stratosphere Girl | Matthias X. Oberg | |
| Method | Duncan Roy | ||
| Blessed | Simon Fellows | ||
| 2005 | Unleashed | Louis Leterrier | Co-producer |
| 7 Seconds | Simon Fellows | ||
| Snuff-Movie | Bernard Rose | ||
| The Marksman | Marcus Adams | ||
| Revolver | Guy Ritchie | Co-producer | |
| 2006 | The Hard Corps | Sheldon Lettich | |
| La piste | Éric Valli | Co-producer | |
| The Detonator | Po-Chih Leong | ||
| Second in Command | Simon Fellows | ||
| Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut | Richard Donner | Re-edit of Superman II | |
| Incubus | Anya Camilleri | ||
| Shadow Man | Michael Keusch | ||
| Attack Force | |||
| 2007 | Flight of Fury | ||
| 2009 | True True Lie | Eric Styles | |
| 2023 | We Are Zombies | RKSS |
Executive producer
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Rainbow Thief | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Uncredited |
| 1992 | The Turn of the Screw | Rusty Lemorande | |
| 1995 | Underground | Emir Kusturica | Also actor; as 'Russian Driver' |
| 2003 | Summer in the Golden Valley | Srđan Vuletić | |
| 2006 | Nafaka | Jasmin Durakovic | |
| 2010 | Tirza | Rudolf van den Berg | |
| 2012 | Süskind | ||
| 2013 | Puzzle | Andrei Zincã |
Other credits
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Madwoman of Chaillot | Bryan Forbes | Production assistant; uncredited[1] |
| 1971 | Le Mans | Lee H. Katzin | |
| The Light at the Edge of the World | Kevin Billington | ||
| 1972 | Bluebeard | Edward Dmytryk | Executive in charge of production |
| 1973 | Murder in a Blue World | Eloy de la Iglesia | Assistant director |
| The Three Musketeers | Richard Lester | Executive in charge of production | |
| 1974 | The Four Musketeers | ||
| 1984 | Supergirl | Jeannot Szwarc | Consultant; uncredited[1] |
Television
Producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes | TV movie |
| 2007 | Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud |
Executive producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2012-14 | Métal Hurlant Chronicles | 11 episodes |
External links
Interviews
- (in French) A July 2006 interview with Pierre Spengler – discuss the Superman movies and the Humanoïdes Associés buyout
- (in English) The same July 2006 interview[dead link] – machine translation by Babel Fish
