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

Executive producer

Other credits

Television

Producer

Executive producer

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