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Here's a new edition of "Directors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the directors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Richard Donner's turn.
Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a bit part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead, and he hired Donner as his assistant. Through his connections in Desilu, he started directing commercials. In the 60s, he transitioned into television, directing episodes for shows like The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, and Gilligan's Island. Afterwards, he had his chance to direct films.
From a box office perspective, how reliable was he to deliver a box office hit?
That's the point of this post. To analyze his career.

It should be noted that as he started his career in the 1960s, the domestic grosses here will be adjusted by inflation. The table with his highest grossing films, however, will be left in its unadjusted form, as the worldwide grosses are more difficult to adjust.

X-15 (1961)

"Actually filmed in space!"
His directorial debut. It stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory and Mary Tyler Moore, and presents a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots who flew the aircraft, and the associated NASA community that supported the program.
There are no box office numbers available, but it is said that it had a short and poor theatrical run. Reviews were mixed, and Moore said she's not proud of the film.

Salt and Pepper (1965)

"Join the club."
His second film. It stars Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers and John Le Mesurier, and follows two nightclub owners finding themselves in trouble over a woman's death.
It received mixed reviews, and it earned $1.75 million in rentals.

• Budget: N/A.
  
• Domestic gross: $1,750,000 in rentals. ($17.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $1,750,000.
  

Lola (1970)

"It may be love... but it's definitely exhausting!"
His third film. It stars Charles Bronson and Susan George, and follows a 38-year-old writer of pornographic novels who meets and falls in love with a sixteen-year-old school girl whilst living in London.
There are no box office figures, but you can be sure of something: it was panned by everyone.

The Omen (1976)

"If something frightening happens to you today, think about it."
His fourth film. It stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern. The film's plot follows Damien Thorn, a young child replaced at birth by his father, unbeknownst to his wife, after their biological child dies shortly after birth. As a series of mysterious events and violent deaths occur around the family and Damien enters childhood, they come to learn he is in fact the prophesied Antichrist.
Producer Harvey Bernhard came up with the idea for a film about the Antichrist after talking with one of his friends. WB was on board, but they later pulled out, so 20th Century Fox agreed to distribute the film. Donner favored an ambiguous reading of the script under which it would be left for the audience to decide whether Damien was the Antichrist or whether the series of violent deaths in the film were all just a string of unfortunate accidents. Seltzer rejected the ambiguity favored by Donner and pressed for an interpretation of his script that left no doubt for the audience that Damien Thorn was the Antichrist and that all of the deaths in the film were caused by the malevolent power of Satan, the interpretation that Bernhard chose to go with.
There were some... dark stories over the making of the film. Some aren't confirmed, but others are verified. So take the following with huge grains of salt.
In September 1975, Peck was flying to London, and during the flight, lightning struck the plane. Shortly after, executive producer Mace Neufeld's plane was also struck by lightning while en route to Los Angeles. That's twice in a span of only a few weeks. Then, writer David Seltzer's plane was also struck by lightning. And, while filming in Rome, lightning narrowly missed striking Bernhard. Lightning may never strike twice, but four times, and to different people whose only six degrees of separation at the time was The Omen? Oh, it gets even creepier. A scene was postponed, which meant Peck was not needed on the set, so a private jet that the crew was going to charter to bring Peck in was not necessary. The next day, it was reported that the plane they had intended to book hit a flock of birds and crashed, killing everyone on board.
Neufeld, probably already on edge after his plane was struck by lightning, was planning to eat at a restaurant nearby, but it was hit by an IRA bombing. The day after filming, the hotel that Donner had stayed at was also bombed.
John Richardson, the set designer, created a particularly macabre scene where a character dies from decapitation resulting from an automobile accident. While in Holland in August 1976, Richardson and his assistant, Liz Moore, were struck by a freakishly unfortunate fate. They fell victims to a head-on-collision, where Moore was cut in half, in similar fashion to the one Richardson had designed for the film. It happened in a Friday the 13th, near a road sign which says: “Ommen, 66.6 km.”
Does that send you shivers down your spine?
Is all of this true? I... I'm not sure. I don't fully believe it. But I also don't fully not believe it. Whatever the case, it's truly one of the most insane behind-the-scenes stuff.
After a slate of weak films, Donner finally got his big break here. The film earned $78 million worldwide, becoming a huge box office success. While it initially received mixed reviews, its reputation grew with time and it has been named as one of the best horror films of the 1970s. It would spawn a franchise, but Donner didn't return for the director's chair. Why? He was preparing for something super.

• Budget: $2,800,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $60,922,980. ($335.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $78,722,980.
  

Superman (1978)

"You'll believe a man can fly."
His fifth film. Based on the DC Comics character, it stars Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts the origin of Superman, including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, son of Jor-El, and his youthful years in the rural town of Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.
Ilya Salkind had first conceived the idea for a Superman film in late 1973, and he bought the rights with his father Alexander the following year. DC wanted a list of actors that were to be considered for Superman, and approved the producer's choices of Muhammad Ali, Al Pacino, James Caan, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman. The filmmakers felt it was best to film Superman and Superman II back-to-back, and to make a negative pickup deal with Warner Bros. To show how serious he was, Alexander hired Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and paid him $600,000 to write the script.
Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, William Friedkin, Richard Lester, Peter Yates, John Guillermin, Ronald Neame and Sam Peckinpah were in negotiations to direct. Ilya wanted to hire Steven Spielberg to direct, but Alexander was skeptical, feeling it was best to "wait until [Spielberg's] big fish opens." His film, Jaws, became the highest grossing film ever, and the Salkinds offered him the job, but by that point Spielberg chose to make Close Encounters of the Third Kind instead. Guy Hamilton was hired, but left before filming due to legal issues. After seeing The Omen, the producers offered the job to Donner. He was planning to direct the Omen sequel, but decided to take Superman instead. Donner was dissatisfied with the campy script and brought in Tom Mankiewicz to perform a rewrite to start from scratch. According to Mankiewicz, "not a word from the Puzo script was used."
Before Donner signed, the film already cast Marlon Brando as Jor-El in 1975. And his terms were insane; top billing, a salary of $3.7 million and 11.75% of the box office gross profits (totaling $19 million), and his scenes had to be filmed in 12 days. He also refused to memorize his dialogue, so cue cards were compiled across the set. Hackman was cast as Lex Luthor days later, getting a $2 million salary. The filmmakers made it a priority to shoot all of Brando's and Hackman's footage "because they would be committed to other films immediately."
The first plan was for a famous star to play Superman, although Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone and Paul Newman all declined. When Donner signed, he decided to get an unknown actor. Reeve was suggested, but Donner and the producers felt he was too young and skinny. When other actors weren't convincing, they decided to give a screen test to Reeve. They wanted him to wear a muscle suit, but Reeve instead decided to take a strict physical exercise regime headed by David Prowse. After gaining enough weight, he was cast. Compared to Brando and Hackman, Reeve was paid just $250,000 for Superman and its sequel.
Filming began in March 1977, and it lasted 19 months because they were filming two films. The budget was $55 million ($303 million adjusted), which made it the most expensive film by that point. Warner Bros. only planned to distribute the film in North America, but was so impressed by the Krypton sequence, that they decided to distribute it worldwide. It was supposed to last eight months, but there were conflicts on set.
Donner had tensions with the Salkinds and producer Pierre Spengler concerning the escalating production budget and the shooting schedule. Richard Lester, who worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, was then brought in as a temporary co-producer to mediate the relationship between Donner and the Salkinds, who by now were refusing to talk to each other. On his relationship with Spengler, Donner remarked, "At one time if I'd seen him, I would have killed him." Due to this, they decided to stop filming back-to-back with the sequel, and Donner was assigned to finish the first film. By that point, 75% was already shot by Donner.
The film opened with $7.4 million in its first weekend, despite playing at just 508 theaters, breaking a record for Warner Bros. As it expanded, it earned $10.3 million in its third weekend, which was the biggest weekend in history. Through the December 22-28 week, it earned a colossal $18.5 million, a figure that no film achieved in just 7 days. It eventually closed its domestic run with $134 million. And WB was right in believing in its worldwide prospects, as the film earned a huge $300 million, becoming their highest grossing film.
The film also received critical acclaim, and it has been named as one of the best films of the 1970s. It won a Special Oscar for its Visual Effects. The film was deemed a cultural landmark for comic books, and it has been proclaimed by many as perhaps the most influential comic book film ever. For the world finally believed that, indeed, a man could fly.
With this, Superman was finally an icon on the big screen. While Donner filmed 75% of Superman II, he was controversially fired before resuming his duties. There would be more Superman films in subsequent years (including one next year), but none have captured the cultural zeitgeist that this one achieved.

• Budget: $55,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $134,478,449. ($646.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $300,478,449.
  

Inside Moves (1980)

"It'll make you feel good, and that ain't bad."
His sixth film. Based on the novel by Todd Walton, it stars John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, and Amy Wright. It follows a man who became crippled after a failed suicide attempt, and he turns to drink, favoring a local dive bar frequented by the handicapped. There, he befriends the bartender, an ex-basketball player saving up for corrective surgery in hopes of returning to the court, and meets a kind young lady who aids him with his physical and mental rehabilitation.
Donner states that he agreed to direct the film only to take his mind off being fired and replaced from Superman II. He referred to the film as "the smallest film I could do that was just very near and dear to me, at that point, and I felt this is going to take my mind totally off that."
It received mixed reviews, and made just $1.2 million at the box office.

• Budget: N/A.
  
• Domestic gross: $1,200,000. ($4.5 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $1,200,000.
  

The Toy (1982)

"When Jackie Gleason told his son he could have any present he wanted, he picked the most outrageous gift of all... Richard Pryor."
His seventh film. The film stars Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason and Scott Schwartz, and follows a janitor at a department store. The owner's son is told that he may have anything in the toy department. He chooses the janitor, who the owner pays to spend a week with the boy.
The film was panned by critics, and was named as one of the worst films of the year. But with $47 million at the box office, it was still a success.

• Budget: $17,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $47,118,057. ($153 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $47,118,057.
  

The Goonies (1985)

"Join the adventure."
His eighth film. The film stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Mary Ellen Trainor. In the film, a group of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are pursued by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.
Donner noted both the difficulties and pleasures of working with so many child actors. He praised them for their energy and excitement, but also said that they were also unruly when brought together. While Donner is credited as the director, some have referred to producer Steven Spielberg as co-director.
The film received a great response, and after a slate of weak films, Donner bounced back with a much needed box office hit. The film was very influential, and it helped launch the careers of many of its stars.

• Budget: $19,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $63,711,145. ($185.6 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $124,311,145.
  

Ladyhawke (1985)

"A magical adventure."
His ninth film. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. The story is about a young thief who becomes unwillingly involved with a warrior and his lady who are hunted by the Bishop of Aquila. As he learns about the couple's past and secret, he chooses to help them overcome the Bishop's forces, and to lift an infernal curse.
It received mixed reviews, and it failed to recoup its $20 million budget.

• Budget: $20,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $18,432,000. ($53.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $18,432,000.
  

Lethal Weapon (1987)

"Two cops. Glover carries a weapon. Gibson is one. He's the only L.A. cop registed as a..."
His tenth film. It stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. The film follows a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives — Martin Riggs, a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and veteran officer and family man Roger Murtaugh — who work together as partners.
Recent UCLA graduate Shane Black wrote the screenplay in mid-1985. Black stated that his intention was to do an "urban western" inspired by Dirty Harry where a violent character "reviled for what he did, what he is capable of, the things he believed in" is eventually recruited for being the one that could solve the problem. His first draft was quite different from the final film; it was darker in tone and it included massive action scale sequences. The ending of the script contained a chase scene with helicopters and a trailer truck full of cocaine exploding over Hollywood Hills with cocaine snowing over the Hollywood sign.
The script was rejected by some studios, but Warner Bros. took an interest. Producer Joel Silver was brought in and worked with Black to further develop the script. Donner also brought in writer Jeffrey Boam to do some uncredited re-writes on Black's script after he found parts of it to be too dark. Donner got Gibson involved, while someone else suggested Danny Glover. After a successful screen test, the film was greenlit.
The film was a huge hit, earning $120 million worldwide and continued launching the careers of Gibson and Glover, even if they already had a few recognizable titles by that point. It also received very positive reviews, and was another prime example of the buddy cop genre. Another Donner W.

• Budget: $15,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $65,207,127. ($179.9 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $120,207,127.
  

Scrooged (1988)

"The spirits will move you in odd and hysterical ways."
His 11th film. Based on the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, it stars Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard. The film is a modern retelling that follows Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Eve intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit.
After Ghostbusters, Murray only took a brief appearance in Little Shop of Horrors and chose to take a break. When he did feel a desire to return to acting, he said the "scripts were just not that good", and he returned to the this project as he found the idea of making a funny Scrooge appealing. Murray was paid $6 million for his role. He helped the writers, Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue, in rewriting.
Murray struggled with a scene where he reveals his redemption live on TV. Wanting a central acting moment, however, Murray gave an emotional and intense performance, deviating from his marked positions and improvising his speech. Glazer and O'Donoghue thought that the actor was suffering a mental breakdown. After he was finished, the crew applauded Murray, but O'Donoghue remarked "What was that? The Jim Jones hour?" Donner turned and punched O'Donoghue in the arm, leaving him bruised for a week.
Despite the commitment, however, there was drama behind the scenes. Murray said that while he was enjoying the experience of the script and having fun as "the meanest person in the world", he found the production "sloppy" and has expressed unhappiness with the final cut. For his part, O'Donoghue later said that Donner did not understand comedy, omitting the script's subtler elements for louder and faster moments. He estimated that only 40% of his and Glazer's original script made it into the final film and the surviving content was "twisted". Murray was also not content with Donner, "Scrooged could have been a really, really great movie. The script was so good... He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf." Donner, meanwhile, has a much more positive memory of Murray, calling him "superbly creative but occasionally difficult - as difficult as any actor."
The film received polarizing reactions, particularly for the tone. But as it was Murray's follow-up to Ghostbusters, it made $100 million worldwide, making it a box office success. In subsequent years, it has become a Christmas classic.

• Budget: $32,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $60,328,558. ($159.8 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $100,328,558.
  

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

"The magic is back."
His 12th film. The second installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. In the film, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh protect an irritating federal witness, Leo Getz, while taking on a gang of South African drug dealers hiding behind diplomatic immunity.
After the first film's success, Joel Silver asked Shane Black to write a sequel. Although he was struggling with personal issues, Black still managed to write the first draft along with his friend, novelist Warren Murphy. Although many people thought that their script was brilliant, it was rejected by Silver, Donner and the studio for being too dark and bloody, and because in the ending of the script Riggs dies, while they wanted to keep him alive in case of further sequels. They also wanted the second film to focus more on comedy, while Black's draft focused more on courage and heroics, like Riggs willing to die to protect Murtaugh and his family, due to his love for them.
When his script was rejected, Black felt that he had failed the producers. Black refused to re-write the script and quit from the project after working for six months on it. Black later said how the problem with the second film was that they did too much comedy, and how he dislikes the third and fourth films because of the way Riggs's character was changed. Donner got Jeffrey Boam back to rewrite, and one of the biggest changes was expanding Leo Getz's character.
The film received very great reviews, and saw a big increase from the original, earning $227 million worldwide.

• Budget: $30,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $147,253,986. ($372.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $227,853,986.
  

Radio Flyer (1992)

"Powered by imagination."
His 13th film. The film stars Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin, and Ben Johnson and is narrated by Tom Hanks. Two young boys try to transform their toy into an airplane after their stepfather turns abusive. They wish to escape the physical abuse and fly away to safety.
The film received negative reviews, and it barely got 10% of its budget. Luckily for Donner, he had another film for that year.

• Budget: $35,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $4,651,977. ($10.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $4,651,977.
  

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

"The magic is back again."
His 14th film. The third installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, and Stuart Wilson. In the film, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue Jack Travis, a former LAPD lieutenant turned ruthless arms dealer, during the six days prior to Murtaugh's retirement. Riggs and Murtaugh are joined by Leo Getz as well as internal affairs Sergeant Lorna Cole.
Jeffrey Boam's first two drafts of the script were different from the final film. The character of Lorna for example was not a woman in original drafts, but the original character still had the same personality and was just as lethal and crazy as Riggs, making him his match. Riggs also had an affair with Roger's daughter Rianne, and a few parts in the final film where Roger suspects that Riggs and Rianne are interested in each other are only parts left from the original drafts. Donner demanded some big changes on the script which included changing the original character of Lorna into a woman and turning her into Riggs's girlfriend. He also re-worked the script to be less story-oriented and not focus on the main villains but instead on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh. He also toned down action scenes from the script and brought back Leo Getz into the story. All of his scenes were written in afterwards.
The film received mixed reviews and was considered as weaker than the previous films. But it still earned $320 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise and Donner's highest grossing film (although Superman still has that title adjusted for inflation).

• Budget: $35,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $144,731,527. ($323.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $321,731,527.
  

Maverick (1994)

"In their hands, a deck of cards was the only thing more dangerous than a gun."
His 15th film. Based on the 1957–1962 television series, it stars Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner (who starred in the original series). The film follows Bret Maverick, a card player and con artist who collects money in order to enter a high-stakes poker game. He is joined in his adventure by Annabelle Bransford, another con artist, and Marshal Zane Cooper, a lawman.
The film received positive reviews, and was another great success at the box office, earning $183 million worldwide.

• Budget: $75,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $101,631,272. ($215 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $183,031,272.
  

Assassins (1995)

"In the shadows of life, in the business of death, one man found a reason to live..."
His 16th film. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore. Professional hit-man Robert Rath wants to fulfill a few more contracts before retiring but unscrupulous ambitious newcomer hit-man Miguel Bain keeps killing Rath's targets.
The film was panned by critics, and was a box office flop.

• Budget: $50,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $30,303,072. ($62.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $83,306,268.
  

Conspiracy Theory (1997)

"Jerry Fletcher sees conspiracies everywhere... one has turned out to be true. Now his enemies want him dead. And she's the only one he can trust."
His 17th film. It stars Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart, and centers on an eccentric taxi driver who believes many world events are triggered by government conspiracies, and the Justice Department attorney who becomes involved in his life.
The film received mixed reviews, and despite earning $137 million worldwide, it wasn't a box office success due to its high budget.

• Budget: $80,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $75,982,834. ($148.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $136,982,834.
  

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

"The gang's all here."
His 18th film. The fourth and final installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, and Jet Li. It follows Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh as they investigate a Chinese immigrant smuggling ring. A crime boss named Benny Chan leads them to the Chinatown.
Wanting another film in the franchise, Warner Bros. and Joel Silver tried buying a new spec script titled Simon Says in hopes of rewriting it into a script for Lethal Weapon 4. Written by Jonathan Hensleigh, the story was about a police detective and a shop owner forced to find and stop bombs planted all over a city as part of a mad bomber's revenge plot against the detective. 20th Century Fox then bought the script, and decided to use it as the basis for a new Die Hard film, Die Hard with a Vengeance. Donner was committed to another film, but Gibson was not interested.
The film had a very difficult pre-production, as the script was still being re-written and rejected. Silver ultimately brought in TV writer Channing Gibson to work on the script, after he was impressed by Gibson's rewrite of a spec script titled Sandblast. Gibson took the gig thinking it would be a more relaxed writing job than anything he did for TV. However, much like the previous two sequels, the script kept getting changed and rewritten over and over again. Gibson would end up doing more work and revisions on it than on all of his TV work put together. Production even started with only half of the script.
Something you might have noticed, is that the budget was far larger than the previous films. While the previous two films cost $30-$35 million, Lethal Weapon 4 had a budget of... $150 million ($288 million adjusted). Which means that at that point, it was the most expensive R-rated film ever and the third most expensive film, just behind Titanic and Waterworld. Why? Because the delays kept coming... but Warner Bros. was desperate in greenlighting the film. Realizing they had no big tentpole releases scheduled for summer 1998, Warner Bros. finally greenlit the film in late 1997. So they opened all their wallets and started shooting in January 1998, despite having one third of the film not written yet, including the ending. Due to issues during filming, including the script changes, production ended around mid May, less than two months before its scheduled July release. The ending was not written until it was finally time to film it. Editors had to work very quickly to have the film ready, which is why the trailers feature some deleted and alternate scenes which are not in the film. So the film was greenlit, filmed and released in theaters in the span of just 7 months.
The film received mixed reviews. And if Warner Bros. was confident that spending $150 million to rush a film was worth it, they were in for a rude awakening. The film earned just $285 million worldwide, which meant that the film was a box office flop.
It was the last film in the franchise. Although a gang in a pub in Philadelphia kept the spirit alive by making three sequels, one of which had Danny DeVito as the bad guy.

• Budget: $150,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $130,444,603. ($250.9 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $285,444,603.
  

Timeline (2003)

"You're history."
His 19th film. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, it stars Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel. It follows a team of present-day archaeology and history students who are sent back in time to medieval France to rescue their professor from the middle of a battle.
The film was a critical and commercial failure.

• Budget: $80,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $19,481,943. ($33.1 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $43,935,763.
  

16 Blocks (2006)

"1 Witness... 118 Minutes."
His 20th and final film. It stars Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The film unfolds in the real time narration method, and follows Jack, who is assigned the task of escorting Eddie, a witness, from police custody to the courthouse. However, when they are attacked on the way, Jack learns that the entire NYPD wants Eddie dead.
The film received mixed reviews, and it marked his fifth bomb in a row. It was his final film before his death in 2021.

• Budget: $52,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $36,895,141. ($57.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $65,664,721.
  

MOVIES (FROM HIGHEST GROSSING TO LEAST GROSSING)

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	Lethal Weapon 3	1992	Warner Bros.	$144,731,527	$177,000,000	$321,731,527	$35M
2	Superman	1978	Warner Bros.	$134,478,449	$166,000,000	$300,478,449	$55M
3	Lethal Weapon 4	1998	Warner Bros.	$130,444,603	$155,000,000	$285,444,603	$150M
4	Lethal Weapon 2	1989	Warner Bros.	$147,253,986	$80,600,000	$227,853,986	$30M
5	Maverick	1994	Warner Bros.	$101,631,272	$81,400,000	$183,031,272	$75M
6	Conspiracy Theory	1997	Warner Bros.	$75,982,834	$61,000,000	$136,982,834	$80M
7	The Goonies	1985	Warner Bros.	$63,711,145	$60,600,000	$124,311,145	$19M
8	Lethal Weapon	1987	Warner Bros.	$65,207,127	$55,000,000	$120,207,127	$15M
9	Scrooged	1988	Paramount	$60,328,558	$40,000,000	$100,328,558	$32M
10	Assassins	1995	Warner Bros.	$30,303,072	$53,000,000	$83,306,268	$50M
11	The Omen	1976	20th Century Fox	$60,922,980	$17,800,000	$78,722,980	$2.8M
12	16 Blocks	2006	Warner Bros.	$36,895,141	$28,769,580	$65,664,721	$52M
13	The Toy	1982	20th Century Fox	$47,118,057	$0	$47,118,057	$17M
14	Timeline	2003	Paramount	$19,481,943	$24,453,820	$43,935,763	$80M
15	Ladyhawke	1985	Warner Bros. / 20th Century Fox	$18,432,000	$0	$18,432,000	$20M
16	Radio Flyer	1992	Columbia	$4,651,977	$0	$4,651,977	$35M
17	Salt and Pepper	1965	United Artists	$1,750,000	$0	$1,750,000	N/A
18	Inside Moves	1980	Associated Film Distribution	$1,200,000	$0	$1,200,000	N/A

He made 20 films, but only 18 have reported box office numbers. Across those 18 films, he made $2,146,151,267 worldwide. That's $119,230,625 per film.

The Verdict

Despite the inconsistency of his filmography, it's hard to deny Donner as a very influential figure of cinema.
He was an expert in handling many genres; you'd expect the director of The Goonies to make 4 Lethal Weapon films? Or that the guy who made The Omen would make Scrooged? Sure, his last films indicated that he might have lost it, but you can't blame him for trying. The fact that he was willing to make Lethal Weapon 5 before his death show he was very committed. He was never too old for this shit.
And of course, there's Superman. The film that changed comic book films as we know them. It wasn't the first, but it was perhaps the most influential. There's an argument that either Batman, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Avengers, Deadpool or Joker are more influential, but those films wouldn't exist today if it wasn't for Donner. It's why Kevin Feige shows the film to all the cast and crew before filming any MCU film. If the film was put in the careless hands of a mediocre director, it would've been forgotten almost immediately. And the genre would be very different today. So it's a testament to the strength of the film of how much it could change the landscape of what was possible. He and Christopher Reeve really offered something fresh and exciting. They truly made the world believe a man could fly.
Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.
The next director will be Ang Lee. A very important filmmaker.
I asked you to choose who else should be in the run and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Roland Emmerich. Is it Joever for him?
This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Director	Reasoning
June 3-9	Ang Lee	What happened to Lee?
June 10-16	Zack Snyder	RIP Inbox.
June 17-23	Tony Scott	Action films have not been the same ever since his death.
June 24-30	Roland Emmerich	The King of disaster films.

Who should be next after Emmerich? That's up to you. But there's a catch.
For this week, you'll choose from four options, all picked by me. So we won't accept any other suggestions this week. I'll give you four directors, and the director with the most upvotes will get his own post. And here they are:

• Joe Dante: Like Donner, a very influential figure of the 70s and 80s.
  
• Renny Harlin: One of the most popular directors with the biggest amount of flops. How does he do it?
  
• John McTiernan: An important action filmmaker... who literally went to jail.
  
• Rob Reiner: Another actor who had an incredible run as a director, before falling with North.
  

So which one should be next? That's up to you.

Fell into my hands via drawing..looking to

This is one thing that I hate. I love music. I've been to loads of amazing gigs. Yet I can't remember any of them. I would totally not even know I'd been if I didn't have the paper tickets. So now everything's digital I feel I need to start a diary or something to write everything down. I was a teenager in the 90's so went to great festivals like Reading in 93. I just wish I could remember it!! I know which bands I saw, roughly and know I loved it but that's it.

Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin)
https://preview.redd.it/xjqlop1j7x3d1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=78843050264297aaf92b3908abeb526ee20c03ed
The most significant event in the history of Georgia was the country’s conversion to Christianity in the early fourth century by St. Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles. The light of the Gospels brought by the virgin Nino to Georgia like a lamp lit from the fire of the Jerusalem church took flesh in the wondrous works of Christian literature and ecclesiastical art, in magnificent cathedrals resembling sculptures hewn from whole blocks of granite, in churches—stone blossoms that adorned the entire country as the garden of the Most Holy Theotokos, in chapels crowning the mountain peaks, so that the mountains and cliffs themselves are like footstools for the chapels. This light shines from the ancient icons and frescoes of extraordinary spiritual depth. This light sparkles in sacred chants. It illuminates the pages of Georgian Saints’ Lives and chronicles; but most importantly—the light brought by St. Nino changed and transformed the soul of the people.
* * *
Christianity made man a new creation. It gave him the dignity of the image and likeness of God, and revealed an imperishable spiritual treasure. Christianity turned man’s thoughts and heart to eternity. It gave his soul the possibility to be reborn and resurrected through mystical experience. Christianity revealed to man the true freedom of love, instead of the pagan freedom of passions and tyranny. Christian theology gave an answer to the age-old questions raised but not answered by philosophy. The Gospel teaching showed that each human personality—inimitable and unique—is of supreme value. Christianity became a powerful impulse for rethinking and developing the relationships between people and nations, founded upon respect for man as an image of God and a manifestation of eternity on earth. The light brought by St. Nino illumined Georgia’s historical path for many centuries. The Baptism of Georgia was the beginning of a new era in the spiritual life of its people.
The Gospel was first preached in Georgia by the apostles themselves. It was like the first rays of the sun that brighten the mountain peaks, as if tearing them from the captivity of darkness and night. Ancient ice and snow burst into flames of blinding light, but in the gorges and passes the fog still curls like the black smoke of a campfire. The world is sunk in pre-dawn night and sleep. The peaks illuminated by the light were the first Christian communities founded by the apostles. But the people remained in pagan captivity. Apostles Andrew the First-Called, Simon the Canaanite, and Matthew had cast the seeds of Gospel teaching into Georgian soil, but three centuries passed before this land would be covered with wondrously beautiful flowers. Just as the Aragva River changes its flow from south to west at the borders of Mshkheta, so did the Baptism of Georgia in the Aragva turn Georgia’s entire course of history from Iran to Byzantium.
The fourth century was a time of conversion to Christianity in the Caucasus Mountain region. Georgia’s brothers, Armenia and Caspian Albania, also converted, and this Christian house became an impenetrable fortress against their enemies.
St. Nino was, according to ancient tradition, a cousin of Great-Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer. There is a great similarity between the image of the knight who slays the dragon and the young virgin, who raised the cross in her hands like a spiritual sun over Georgia.
Georgia is the portion of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Virgin Mary chose a virgin to be the apostle of Georgia—St. Nino, who was almost a child at the time. With the cross as her sword she was victorious in battle with paganism, and illumined the nation with the light of the Gospel. She captivated people’s hearts with the fire of love, which Christ had brought from heaven to earth. She converted the people to Christ not with artful words, but through the power of grace. Nino’s chosenness was marked by the gift of miracles and healing. But the conversion of a nation through a young virgin was the greatest miracle. It is impossible to prove the existence of light—it has to be seen. St. Nino herself was a bright lamp; those around her felt this light with their souls, and beheld the eternal beauty of the Gospels. They received Nino’s preaching as a new life, hitherto unknown to them.
St. Nino lived from her childhood in a Jerusalem church under the care of her uncle, Patriarch Juvenal. This church was located on the slopes of Mount Sion, where the Holy Spirit had descended upon the apostles (the Church of the Resurrection of Christ the Savior had not yet been built). St. Nino grew up under the eaves of the church, similar to how the Virgin Mary lived for ten years in the Old Testament temple in fulfillment of her parent’s vow. The Virgin Mary had access to the Holy of Holies. The virgin Nino prayed in the place where the Holy Spirit descended in the form of fiery tongues and founded the New Testament Church in the upper room on Sion.
Jerusalem is a book made of stone, written about Christ. There the air preserves the breath of His lips, and the earth, His footprints. There, it is as if time has stopped, and it seems that Christ is near, like the time of His earthly life.
St. Nino lived at the church, like a nun in reclusion. The church is a concentration of spiritual light. Outside the church the light becomes dispersed and dim. In the silence of the church she heard the voice of angels, and in visions she conversed with Christ the Savior, as St. Paul conversed face-to-face with Jesus in the Arabian Desert. The Mother of God appeared to her as she did to the apostles after her Dormition. She saw with her spiritual eyes the beginning and end of the world. Prayer transfigured her. The young virgin seemed to be the embodiment of the spirit of ancient prophetesses, or angels who had taken on human appearance.
At the Savior’s will and the Mother of God’s blessing, she came from Palestine to the capital of Georgia, Mshkheta, which became a second Jerusalem. The day of her arrival, August 6, was the New Year and festival of the Zoroastrian divinity Ahura Mazda—the main festival of fire-worshippers. St. Nino entered into combat with Ahura Mazda and conquered him, as St. George conquered the dragon. The dragon was slain by the power of prayer, and the idol of Ahura Mazda fell and shattered into dust. This day became the spiritual new year in the life of the Georgian people.
Mshkheta greeted St. Nino with festival noise, solemn processions, and a sea of fires lit to honor Ahura Mazda. For Mazdaists, every first day of the month was dedicated to Ahura Mazda, and this first day of the year was celebrated with particular solemnity. On the left bank of the Kura River, opposite Mshkheta, King Parnaoz built a fortress and a pagan temple called Armazi. On the left side opposite Mshkheta, on the mountain peak stood idols of the Zoroastrian divinity, wrought of metal and decorated with precious stones. One of them held a bared sword in an outstretched arm and stood over Mshkheta like a conqueror, looking over the city from the heights of a citadel.
St. Nino fell to her knees and began to pray that the Lord would cast down the idols with His might, just as the idols of Memphis shook and fell when the Virgin Mary and her Infant passed through the city gates.
A miracle occurred. A storm arose. The horizon was darkened by clouds as if the sky was furrowing its brow. Dark clouds like black glaciers flows over Mshkheta. The sun’s light turned to dusk, as if time was turning back and night was on again. Lightning tore the clouds. The whole earth seemed to shake from the thunder. A whirlwind like a tornado flung Ahura Mazda into the gorge, like a knight throws his combatant from his horse. Torrential rain poured down mixed with hail, like molten metal and stones cast from battlements. The water of the Aragvi became covered with foam, as if it was boiling—waves heaved upwards, as if they wanted to reach the mountain peaks. It seemed that the river would crash over Mshkheta and drown it in its belly. People ran to their homes in horror. The city emptied, like a graveyard. But the storm passed as quickly as it came. Again the sun shone in the sky cleansed by wind and washed by rain. On the mountain peak there were no longer any idols to be seen, as if St. Nino had torn the military emblem from the walls of the Acropolis. In the thunder and wind, in the blinding flashes of lightning a new page opened in the Christian chronicles of Georgia, magnificent as Caucasus nature.
St. Nino began to live in the house of the king’s orchard keeper, the Jew Anastasios. Here she built a hut out of branches covered with clay on the edge of the king’s orchard. Her bed was a piece of wool felt thrown over the earth in place of a carpet, on which she prayed most of the night, falling asleep just before daybreak. On this site is built the Samtavro Monastery of St. Nino. In her desert cell is the cross made of grapevines, given to her by the Virgin Mary. This cross, a great sacred treasure of Georgia, is kept in the Sion Cathedral in Tbilisi.
In the Greek Chronicles, St. Nino is called Nonna; that is, nun and recluse. For the heart of a monk, the desert is the place where he meets Christ. St. Nino often withdrew to the outskirts of Mshkheta, especially to the mountain that is now crowned with the Dzhvari church, where the noise of the city and waves of the river would not disturb her silence. In the mountains the quietude is like an impenetrable, transparent crystal wall. There she prayed for hours to God, and when the first stars appeared in the sky, like candles lit by an invisible hand before an iconostasis, she would descend to the capital city, where the houses’ windows glowed like stars fallen from the sky.
St. Nino’s preaching was accompanied by manifestations of God’s power, especially the healing of the sick. Through the Jews who had settled in the Caucasus by at least the seventh century before Christ, the peoples of Georgia had been acquainted with Biblical teaching. Christian communities founded by the apostles in as early as the first century formed separate islands that eventually turned into an archipelago, spreading across the sea of paganism. By the end of the third century, Christianity was the second religion in size after Mazdaism. Georgia now stood before a choice: what should it be from now on—pagan, or Christian; what should they choose—the Gospels or the Avesta, the light of the Cross or the fires of Zoroaster?
Queen Nana, who had been healed of a mortal disease by the virgin Nino, became a Christian. King Mirian, son of a Persian shah, had been taught from childhood that Iran was the land of light, and east and west of it was the kingdom of darkness—Turan and Rome. The priests of Zoroaster convinced the king that Christianity is the herald of catastrophes prophesied by Zoroaster, that it is the religion of women and slaves, not worthy of an Aryan, that the true faith would perish through a woman, as one Indian sage had written five centuries before the birth of Christ, that Iran was created by great heroes who had conquered the devs (giants) from Turan, and because of the Christians the Jews perished and Rome was in decline.
The king was sunk in heavy doubts.
Where is the truth? Where should he lead his people? Will his descendants bless, or curse his name? The scales of history wavered in his hands, and no one knew which cup would drop lower. But the king’s doubt was resolved by a miracle—he was saved from fatal danger when he called upon the unknown God of St. Nino. King Mirian became the first Christian king of Georgia. According to the Greek chronologists, Georgia’s conversion happened in 318 A.D., and the Baptism of Georgia according to the Kartlis Tskhovreba (Life of Georgia) happened in 326, while the time of the hierarchical establishment in the Georgian Church came in 337.
The priests and bishops sent from Byzantium baptized the people of Georgia and Aragva. The place where King Mirian and his princes were baptized is called to this day the “courtiers’ font”. Downstream on the river, like in an enormous font, the people were baptized.
The fires of Zoroastrianism were extinguished in the waters of the Aragva; in the waves of the Aragva the blood of human sacrifices spilled to idols before the reign of Reva the Righteous (two centuries B.C.) was cleansed away, as was the filth of pagan theurgy and magic. The shards of shattered idols were thrown like corpses in a common grave in the Aragva. The Holy Spirit descended into the waters of the Aragva, as it did into the waters of the Jordan.
St. Nino traversed all of Kartli and Kakhetia with her preaching. She ascended to mountain settlements that were like eagles’ nests clinging to cliffs over the abysses. She preached in the courts of princes and in the huts of paupers. Day and night she spent in care for the newly baptized people, like a godmother for her children.
Nino performed the ascetic labors of her life in the eastern region of Georgia called Ereti, in the settlement of Bodbe. Like a gravestone on her grave stands the Church of St. George the Trophy Bearer. Here St. Nino rests in body, but in spirit she abides in every church, city, and village of Georgia. She abides in the heart of Georgia, and Georgia, in her heart.

Well well well... what an electrifying night! Rodney Jr has been lovingly adopted by PPC!!
I gave it a shot and messaged the band on IG and asked them if they would accept Rodney Jr as a gift in light of Rodney Sr's untimely disappearance. The band manager ran up to the rails holding out his phone asking for who had sent the photo of the tiny tortoise. He found me and graciously accepted! RJ was immediately placed on his stool, nay- his throne, front and center, where a true star belongs. Following in his father's footsteps. Judging by everyone's screams and cheers during RJ's solo, I guess my impromptu idea to buy this plastic tortoise figure the morning of the concert was a great move. It was such a special moment and amazing night and I'm so grateful for how everything panned out!
At the very end when the lads were tossing their setlists to the crowd, Jack was scanning the rail and pointed right at me! He passed me the setlist (I'm keeping this forever!!), said his thanks, and told me to go get a free shirt! Met the band's kind manager who again extended his gratitude and told me they're taking Rodney Jr to the final US shows AND Europe!! Holy shit!? Like I really do hope that Rodney Sr turns up one day, but I'm glad that I could support the cause and offer a substitute to carry on the hype.
I hope to see Rodney Jr next time ther come back to the states!
Thank you PPC and fans!!
Ps, here is a playlist I put together of the LA setlist, enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ky9Ht4czAtwU4hPzn9PLS?si=raRYwsPDRjCW09-gb0dsQg&pi=ze8_pQw2QRS_o

Thought I’d show off my collection since I really haven’t much. I’m 19, been collecting for a little over a year and a half now. A little over 100 records, about 50 7” records, around 80 cassettes, and over 500 CD’s.
I feel as though I have a decently wide variety of genres, time period and all the sorts. Would love to hear some music recommendations based on my collection.
List of all the artists in my record collection a-z: A Place to Bury Strangers, A Tribe Called, Quest, Abba, Alan Parsons Project, Asia, Bauhaus, Bay City Rollers, Bee Gees, Beach Boys, Big Country, Billy Idol, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, Blondie, Bob Marley, The Cars, Chapterhouse, The Clash, Cocteau Twins, Concrete Blonde, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Cyndi Lauper, The Cure, Deftones, Dinosaur Jr., The Doors, Drab Majesty, Duran Duran, Duster, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Fixx, The Flaming Lips, Galaxie 500, Gerry Rafferty, Grimes, Hank Williams Sr. and Jr., Harry Belafonte, The Ink Spots, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Joan Jett, John Lennon/Yoko Ono, Johnny Cash, Joy Division, New Order, Kiss, Kyuss, Led Zeppelin, Lush, Mick Jagger, Ministry, The Monkees, Nirvana, Ozzy Osbourne, Pat Benatar, Pavement, Pink Floyd, Pixies, The Police, The Psychedelic Furs, Radiohead, The Ramones, R.E.M, Rick Springfield, The Rolling Stones, Santa Esmeralda, Sebadoh, The Sisters of Mercy, Slowdive, Soft Cell, The Smiths, Swervedriver, Tears for Fears, Tittle Fight, U2, The Who, Wu-Tang Clan, Yes, Yo La Tengo, The Zombies.