Legacy of Christopher Reeve
I was so shocked to read today about the death of Christopher Reeve.
Stephen Simon has written a beautiful message about this inspirational person with a beautiful and courageous spirit, that I feel honored to share here, below.
I attended a live lecture by Stephen Simon here in Minneapolis about two years ago, and I love and respect his mission to create a new genre of films he calls "Spiritual Cinema" -- his websites are given at the end of this message.
Knowing that we do not "die" when our body dies -- yet honoring our sadness for the loss of his presence and the pain his family and friends feel -- let us also celebrate the gift of his life, his example, and that Chris -- a true Superman -- is once again whole and free.
...........................................
October 11, 2004
From: Stephen Simon of The Spiritual Cinema Circle and Moving Messages Media
Hello To Our Worldwide Spiritual Cinema Community,
Christopher Reeve was the most courageous human being I have ever known.
I first met Chris in February of 1979.
SUPERMAN had opened just two months earlier and Chris was the hottest young actor in the world. I was a young producer with a little film called SOMEWHERE IN TIME in development at Universal and, for various reasons, it was made clear to me by Universal that the only way they would "greenlight" our film was to get Chris to play the lead. Chris was getting $2 million offers at that time and the budget for entire film was only $4 million. His agent didn't even want to show Chris our script but we got it to him and he committed to playing the lead for about 25% of what he was getting offered elsewhere.
Chris didn't care much about what the business thought he "was supposed to do." He cared about the craft of acting and he wanted to stretch himself by playing a character as diametrically different from Superman as he could find. So he became Richard Collier in SOMEWHERE IN TIME and, with Jane Seymour, created a timeless love story about a man who committed himself to be with the woman he loved.... through the sheer force of his own indomitable will.
That's why Chris' death came as such a great shock to me.
I believed with every ounce of my being that his sheer will would someday have him walking again.
The last time I saw him was about 2 years ago at his house in upstate New York. He was tremendously excited to be spending more and more time off the respirator to which he had been so tethered. He proudly showed me how he could move his finger on command and he was thrilled that he could actually spend so many precious minutes each day actually "smelling the coffee" when he was off his respirator. We were talking about working together again on a film project that he would direct and he teasingly asked me how much I wanted him for his directorial ability and how much for the publicity value of having him direct a film. I knew he was setting me up for a punchline---Chris had an amazing sense of humor about himself--so I laughingly told him that my interest was solely on the publicity angle. That was exactly the answer that I knew he wanted. His eyes lit up and he said "Well, just imagine how great the publicity will be when I am actually out of this chair when I direct the film."
He believed it.
So did I.
Tragically, his body gave out yesterday....but not his will....and certainly not the indelible imprint of his spirit. The man who portrayed "Superman" on the screen actually personified that very energy in "real" life and it will be that image of grace, courage, and dignity that will form the legacy of Christopher Reeve. In the end, he indeed won his battle after all.
I celebrate that legacy with a bow of my head to a man who now walks again....into the majesty, power, and grace that his life will symbolize forever.
He created a new standard for the indomitability of the human spirit and his life will stand forever as a reminder to future generations of who we can be as a humanity when we operate at our very best.
Stephen Simon
http://www.movingmessagesmedia.com/
Please join our innovative Spiritual Cinema Circle!! http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/
Stephen Simon has written a beautiful message about this inspirational person with a beautiful and courageous spirit, that I feel honored to share here, below.
I attended a live lecture by Stephen Simon here in Minneapolis about two years ago, and I love and respect his mission to create a new genre of films he calls "Spiritual Cinema" -- his websites are given at the end of this message.
Knowing that we do not "die" when our body dies -- yet honoring our sadness for the loss of his presence and the pain his family and friends feel -- let us also celebrate the gift of his life, his example, and that Chris -- a true Superman -- is once again whole and free.
...........................................
October 11, 2004
From: Stephen Simon of The Spiritual Cinema Circle and Moving Messages Media
Hello To Our Worldwide Spiritual Cinema Community,
Christopher Reeve was the most courageous human being I have ever known.
I first met Chris in February of 1979.
SUPERMAN had opened just two months earlier and Chris was the hottest young actor in the world. I was a young producer with a little film called SOMEWHERE IN TIME in development at Universal and, for various reasons, it was made clear to me by Universal that the only way they would "greenlight" our film was to get Chris to play the lead. Chris was getting $2 million offers at that time and the budget for entire film was only $4 million. His agent didn't even want to show Chris our script but we got it to him and he committed to playing the lead for about 25% of what he was getting offered elsewhere.
Chris didn't care much about what the business thought he "was supposed to do." He cared about the craft of acting and he wanted to stretch himself by playing a character as diametrically different from Superman as he could find. So he became Richard Collier in SOMEWHERE IN TIME and, with Jane Seymour, created a timeless love story about a man who committed himself to be with the woman he loved.... through the sheer force of his own indomitable will.
That's why Chris' death came as such a great shock to me.
I believed with every ounce of my being that his sheer will would someday have him walking again.
The last time I saw him was about 2 years ago at his house in upstate New York. He was tremendously excited to be spending more and more time off the respirator to which he had been so tethered. He proudly showed me how he could move his finger on command and he was thrilled that he could actually spend so many precious minutes each day actually "smelling the coffee" when he was off his respirator. We were talking about working together again on a film project that he would direct and he teasingly asked me how much I wanted him for his directorial ability and how much for the publicity value of having him direct a film. I knew he was setting me up for a punchline---Chris had an amazing sense of humor about himself--so I laughingly told him that my interest was solely on the publicity angle. That was exactly the answer that I knew he wanted. His eyes lit up and he said "Well, just imagine how great the publicity will be when I am actually out of this chair when I direct the film."
He believed it.
So did I.
Tragically, his body gave out yesterday....but not his will....and certainly not the indelible imprint of his spirit. The man who portrayed "Superman" on the screen actually personified that very energy in "real" life and it will be that image of grace, courage, and dignity that will form the legacy of Christopher Reeve. In the end, he indeed won his battle after all.
I celebrate that legacy with a bow of my head to a man who now walks again....into the majesty, power, and grace that his life will symbolize forever.
He created a new standard for the indomitability of the human spirit and his life will stand forever as a reminder to future generations of who we can be as a humanity when we operate at our very best.
Stephen Simon
http://www.movingmessagesmedia.com/
Please join our innovative Spiritual Cinema Circle!! http://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com/
posted by Laurie K. at 2:09 PM
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