who played lex luthor in the original superman?
Gene Hackman
entailment
 In 1973 , producer Ilya Salkind convinced his father Alexander to buy the rights to Superman . They hired Mario Puzo to pen a two @-@ film script , and negotiated with Steven Spielberg to direct , though Alexander Salkind rejected him as Jaws went over budget . Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman signed on to play Jor @-@ El and Lex Luthor respectively , and Guy Hamilton was hired to direct . However , Brando was faced with an obscenity lawsuit in Italy over Last Tango in Paris , and Hamilton was unable to shoot in England as he had violated his tax payments . The Salkinds hired Richard Donner to direct the film . Donner hired Tom Mankiewicz to polish the script , giving it a serious feel with Christ @-@ like overtones . Christopher Reeve was cast as Superman , having initially failed to impress the Salkinds before bulking up . Brando meanwhile , despite spending less than two weeks on the shoot , and not even reading the script until then , earned $ 3 @.@ 7 million up front , plus 11 @.@ 75 % of the gross profits from the film . The film was a success both critically and commercially , being released during the Christmas season of 1978 ; it did not have much competition , leading the producers to believe that this was one factor in the film 's success . 

contradiction
 Superman : Flyby was being met with a budget exceeding $ 200 million , not including money spent on Superman Reborn , Superman Lives , and Batman vs. Superman , but Warner Bros. was still adamant for a summer 2004 release date . Christopher Walken was in negotiations for Perry White , while Ratner wanted to cast Anthony Hopkins as Jor @-@ El , and Ralph Fiennes as Lex Luthor , two of his cast members in Red Dragon . Joel Edgerton turned down a chance to audition as Superman in favor of the villain Ty @-@ Zor , before Ratner dropped out of the project in March 2003 , blaming casting delays , and aggressive feuds with producer Jon Peters . 

contradiction
 Superman ( informally titled Superman : The Movie in some listings and reference sources ) is a 1978 superhero film directed by Richard Donner . It is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and stars Marlon Brando , Gene Hackman , Christopher Reeve , Margot Kidder , Glenn Ford , Phyllis Thaxter , Jackie Cooper , Trevor Howard , Marc McClure , Terence Stamp , Valerie Perrine , and Ned Beatty . The film depicts Superman 's origin , including his infancy as Kal @-@ El of Krypton 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 . 

contradiction
 In early 1975 , Brando signed on as Jor @-@ El with a salary of $ 3 @.@ 7 million and 11 @.@ 75 % of the box office gross profits , totaling $ 19 million . He horrified Salkind by proposing in their first meeting that Jor @-@ El appear as a green suitcase or a bagel with Brando 's voice , but Donner used flattery to persuade the actor to portray Jor @-@ El himself . Brando hoped to use some of his salary for a proposed 13 @-@ part Roots @-@ style miniseries on Native Americans in the United States . Brando had it in his contract to complete all of his scenes in 12 days . He also refused to memorize his dialogue , so cue cards were compiled across the set . Fellow Oscar winner Hackman was cast as Lex Luthor days later . The filmmakers made it a priority to shoot all of Brando and Hackman 's footage " because they would be committed to other films immediately " . Though the Salkinds felt that Puzo had written a solid story for the two @-@ part film , they deemed his scripts too long and so hired Robert Benton and David Newman for rewrite work . Benton became too busy directing The Late Show , so David 's wife Leslie was brought in to help her husband finish writing duties . George MacDonald Fraser was later hired to do some work on the script , but he says he did little . 

entailment
 It was initially decided to first sign an A @-@ list actor for Superman before Richard Donner was hired as director . Robert Redford was offered a large sum , but felt he was too famous . Burt Reynolds also turned down the role , while Sylvester Stallone was interested , but nothing ever came of it . Paul Newman was offered his choice of roles as Superman , Lex Luthor or Jor @-@ El for $ 4 million , turning down all three roles . 
