Donner's Superman 2

Superman II
The Richard Donner version

Scenes 344 - 349A, "Intruders at the Fortress of Solitude", pt. 1

344 EXT. THE FROZEN NORTH - DAY

CAMERA CLOSE ON LUTHOR, the hood of a parka surrounding his head.

LUTHOR
Mush, Miss Teschmacher! Mush!

CAMERA PULLS BACK: LUTHOR is in the front of a snowmobile, EVE beside him, driving. LUTHOR holds his little black box which he studies intently. Everywhere is ice and snow. We are near the Fortress of Solitude. As the snowmobile reaches the top of a rise, LUTHOR, eyes on the box, lets out a joyous yelp.

LUTHOR
Aha!

3

EVE, startled, stops the vehicle with a sickening jolt.

4

LUTHOR
(very excited)
What have we here?

345 EXT. SNOW - THEIR POV

5

CAMERA LOOKS DOWN at a vast outcropping of ice, which is, in fact, the Fortress.

EVE (V.O.)
(disgusted)
Ice. Snow. Your idea of a good time.

346 BACK TO SNOWMOBILE

LUTHOR
Fool! It's his home! His home! Whatever there is to learn about that piebald buzzard, Miss Teschmacher, we'll find the answers down there!...

347 EXT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - DAY

The snowmobile quickly shoots across the remaining distance to the Fortress.

They dismount, EVE looking very dubious. CAMERA TRACKS WITH THEM around the impenetrable icy structure, LUTHOR leading the way.

EVE
(tentatively)
His home? All the way up here? You must be wrong, Lex.

10

LUTHOR
(aghast)
Wrong? Lex?
(icily)
We do not use these words in the same sentence.

They continue walking. LUTHOR holds his little box out to the structure, takes another reading.

LUTHOR
There's the needle - right on target.

EVE
Well, there's no number on the door, that's for sure. Not to mention no door...

LUTHOR
And no welcome mat, no picket fence, no American flag...
(rounds a corner, furious)
We are not in Nebraska, Miss Teschmacher...

LUTHOR is now OUT OF FRAME.

LUTHOR
(sudden change)
But we do have a door!

348 ANOTHER ANGLE

LUTHOR is at the door as EVE joins him. With a sweeping gesture he indicates a smooth panel of opaque glass:

LUTHOR
No visible opening device. No doorknob. No hinges.
(bends - studies it)
Fascinating.
(frustrated)
Impenetrable.

LUTHOR turns angrily. EVE hesitates slightly, then tentatively pushes on it. It swings open. LUTHOR glares at her as she smiles sheepishly.

EVE
It was... open all the time, Lex. Isn't that funny?

LUTHOR
(cold logic)
An open door is not funny, Miss Teschmacher. Funny is a person trying to smile without her teeth.

349 INT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - DAY

WIDE ANGLE: LUTHOR and EVE stand just inside the entrance, dwarfed by the enormous, cathedral-like magnificence of the place. They stand, goggle-eyed.

LUTHOR
(from afar)
Fantastic. The construction goes far beyond all known architectural theory.

349A CLOSER ANGLE

They wander across the ground level of the Fortress. EVE looks curiously uncomfortable as LUTHOR pokes about, his attention drawn by the central energy bank and its rows of memory crystals.

LUTHOR
This place is a work of genius! It lacks nothing.

EVE
Wrong.

LUTHOR
I beg your pardon?

EVE looks back at him plaintively.

LUTHOR
Well why didn't you go before we left?

EVE
Two days ago?

LUTHOR examines the energy bank and the mechanism for activating the crystals. One crystal is still inside, sticks out halfway. LUTHOR pulls it out, looks at it curiously. EVE joins him.

EVE
I think it's boring in here. Everything's white. Why doesn't the guy put up a couple of prints? Bullfight posters, or something.

LUTHOR looks at the bench, then over at the wall opposite, trying to figure out why it is positioned where it is. He sits down uncomfortably.

LUTHOR
Not even a cushion. No wonder they call him The Man of Steel.

EVE examines the rows of crystals, takes one out.

11

EVE
Now these are kind of pretty...

LUTHOR
Get me that...

EVE hands it over, a bit surly. LUTHOR, hoping he's figured things out, jams it into the mechanism.

Sources:
1 through 10 - Superman II - International Extended Version
11 - Superman II DVD, 2001 Warner Home Video; Image courtesy of Superman in the Movies.

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