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).
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.
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. 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, and they have a daughter. They lived in Oxford, England. He has two other children from his previous marriage to Agnes L'Helgoualch.
Filmography
Film
Producer YearTitleDirectorNotes1971 Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Romain Gary1976The TwistClaude Chabrol1977The Prince and the PauperRichard FleischerAlso screenwriter1978SupermanRichard Donner1980Superman IIRichard Lester1983Superman III1985Santa Claus: The MovieJeannot Szwarc1989The Return of the MusketeersRichard Lester2002SnapshotsRudolf van den Berg2004Stratosphere GirlMatthias X. ObergMethodDuncan RoyBlessedSimon Fellows2005UnleashedLouis LeterrierCo-producer7 SecondsSimon FellowsSnuff-MovieBernard RoseThe MarksmanMarcus AdamsRevolverGuy RitchieCo-producer2006The Hard CorpsSheldon LettichLa pisteÉric ValliCo-producerThe DetonatorPo-Chih LeongSecond in CommandSimon FellowsSuperman II: The Richard Donner CutRichard DonnerRe-edit of Superman IIIncubusAnya CamilleriShadow ManMichael KeuschAttack Force2007Flight of Fury2009True True LieEric Styles2023We Are ZombiesRKSS
Executive producer YearTitleDirectorNotes1990The Rainbow ThiefAlejandro JodorowskyUncredited1992The Turn of the ScrewRusty Lemorande1995UndergroundEmir KusturicaAlso actor; as 'Russian Driver'2003Summer in the Golden ValleySrđan Vuletić2006Nafaka Jasmin Durakovic2010TirzaRudolf van den Berg2012Süskind2013PuzzleAndrei Zincã
Other credits YearTitleDirectorNotes1969The Madwoman of ChaillotBryan ForbesProduction assistant; uncredited1971Le MansLee H. KatzinThe Light at the Edge of the WorldKevin Billington1972BluebeardEdward DmytrykExecutive in charge of production1973Murder in a Blue WorldEloy de la IglesiaAssistant directorThe Three MusketeersRichard LesterExecutive in charge of production1974The Four Musketeers1984SupergirlJeannot SzwarcConsultant; uncredited
Television
Producer YearTitleNotes2006Pumpkinhead: Ashes to AshesTV movie2007Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud
Executive producer YearTitleNotes2012-14Métal Hurlant Chronicles11 episodes External links
Clubdeal Films Ltd.
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 – machine translation by Babel Fish
References