超/人：克里斯托弗·里夫的故事 Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story(2024)(EN)Subtitles

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1 00:00:32 [dramatic music playing]
2 00:00:39 [screams]
3 00:00:49 [music intensifies]
4 00:00:51 [presenter]We are about to meet someone
5 00:00:53 who made the whole worldbelieve that he could fly.
6 00:00:57 [Christopher Reeve] There issomething about America,
7 00:00:59 which is very short on heroes.
8 00:01:04 We need something.We need all the heroes
9 00:01:08 Good afternoon, Mr. President.
10 00:01:10 Mr. President,and ladies and gentlemen,
11 00:01:12 Superman may be make-believe.
12 00:01:16 But, the qualities of courage,
13 00:01:19 and of character, that makehim unique are very real.
14 00:01:24 [reporter] He starredin four Superman movies,
15 00:01:26 making him one of the mostfamous faces in Hollywood.
16 00:01:28 How you doing?
17 00:01:30 [Chris] Supermanhas changed everything.
18 00:01:32 Any more at home like you?
19 00:01:34 Uh, not really, no.
20 00:01:36 Today, Superman.Tomorrow, what?
21 00:01:39 [Chris] I've got another 20,30 years ahead,
22 00:01:42 and a wider range of rolesto come,
23 00:01:45 and more interesting partsto play.
24 00:01:48 Do you prefer to be calledChris or Christopher
25 00:01:51 or Mr. Reeve?
26 00:01:52 - Or sir? Or Your Excellence?- [laughs]
27 00:01:54 No. Chris is fine.
28 00:01:57 [nostalgic music playing]
29 00:02:02 [Chris] For the first time,
30 00:02:03 my professionaland personal life
31 00:02:05 seemed perfectly balanced.
32 00:02:07 [woman] Don't they always?
33 00:02:08 [Chris] Our plans for the year
34 00:02:10 were falling into placebeautifully.
35 00:02:13 Just take a second to reallymake a wish for the new year.
36 00:02:16 Think about a nice wishfor the new year,
37 00:02:18 and then we'll all blow outthe candles together.
38 00:02:21 One, two, three...
39 00:02:24 [music stops]
40 00:02:26 [Chris] And then,in an instant...
41 00:02:27 [ventilator hisses]
42 00:02:28 [Chris] ...everything changed.
43 00:02:31 [slow inspirational musicfading in]
44 00:03:42 - [playing gentle music]- [Chris singing]
45 00:03:44 ♪ Yes, my dearYes, my dear...♪
46 00:03:49 [Will Reeve] Most of whatI remember about my dad
47 00:03:52 comes from storiesand photos and videos.
48 00:03:58 It's coalesced in my brainas a memory
49 00:04:00 and it's kind ofa perfect day.
50 00:04:01 Love you, too, Daddy.
51 00:04:03 [Chris] Why don't you climbup on the bed with Mommy?
52 00:04:05 [Will] My childhood bedroomshared a wall
53 00:04:08 with my parents' bathroom,
54 00:04:09 and when I wasa little two-year-old...
55 00:04:12 when I woke up, I would knockon the... on the bathroom wall
56 00:04:18 and my dad,he would knock back.
57 00:04:19 Yeah.
58 00:04:22 And then he or my mom wouldcome around and carry me in.
59 00:04:27 My mom was out of this world.
60 00:04:29 No.
61 00:04:31 [Will] A hug from my momwas like being wrapped up
62 00:04:35 Forever and ever,we will know
63 00:04:37 that this is how I lookin the morning.
64 00:04:39 - I love you.- I love you more.
65 00:04:41 - [Chris] Hey, Matthew.- Yeah?
66 00:04:42 [Chris] Hi. Merry Christmas.
67 00:04:44 [laughter]
68 00:04:46 - [Chris] Al... Merry Christmas.- Merry Christmas.
69 00:04:48 [young Will] Merry Christmas.
70 00:04:50 [Will] Matthew and Alare my half siblings,
71 00:04:52 but, as we say,"There's no half."
72 00:04:54 They're my brother and sister.
73 00:04:56 [Al] Dad and my mum separatedwhen I was three,
74 00:04:58 and so, pretty early on,we had two households.
75 00:05:02 During the school year,
76 00:05:03 my brother and Iwould be in England
77 00:05:05 and then every vacation,we would come over
78 00:05:08 - Oh! Thank you.- [laughter]
79 00:05:12 - [Chris] Aw!- Did you get that? The kiss?
80 00:05:13 - [Chris] Great.- Yep.
81 00:05:15 - Oh, my God.- Oh, we got that.
82 00:05:16 [Matthew Reeve]Usually, you know, we'd get
83 00:05:18 like, ten daysor a couple weeks.
84 00:05:19 [Dana] You readyfor your close-up, Mr. Reeve?
85 00:05:21 [Matthew]Doing things with my dad,
86 00:05:22 it was all aboutactivity and action.
87 00:05:25 Riding bikes, playing soccer,
88 00:05:27 skiing, swimming,horse riding with my sister.
89 00:05:32 Hi.
90 00:05:35 [Dana] A few wordsfrom Al's trainer.
91 00:05:37 - How's she doing, Coach?- Doing good.
92 00:05:39 She's getting ready.I think we're going to go
93 00:05:40 and jump the big onesthis year.
94 00:05:42 I mean, she really...could be in the money.
95 00:05:44 - [Dana] Good to hear.- Thanks.
96 00:05:45 [Dana] Thanks very much.
97 00:05:47 Learning how to ride horseswas strange for me
98 00:05:49 because I've alwaysbeen allergic to horses.
99 00:05:51 [Al] He was castin Anna Karenina
100 00:05:53 and there were riding scenes,and he realized,
101 00:05:55 "If I'm going to do thisand be on a horse,
102 00:05:57 I have to do it for real."
103 00:05:59 He injected himselfwith antihistamine every day
104 00:06:04 [Chris] I sort of tooka crash course
105 00:06:06 enough to get methrough the movie.
106 00:06:07 If you look,that's actually me
107 00:06:09 in the middle of the Hungariannational equestrian team,
108 00:06:12 doing a steeplechase.
109 00:06:13 Come on!
110 00:06:14 I was in the middlefor a good reason,
111 00:06:16 because if I was about to go,
112 00:06:17 they could catch meand keep me on.
113 00:06:18 - [audience laughs]- But anyway,
114 00:06:20 my wife and Ihave riding in common.
115 00:06:22 It's become a verycentral part of our life.
116 00:06:25 [Al] He justabsolutely adored it.
117 00:06:29 [Will] He was an intense guy.
118 00:06:31 He didn't do anythinghalf-assed.
119 00:06:34 [Matthew] You couldnot fail and quit.
120 00:06:36 It was like, you try,you fail, you try harder.
121 00:06:40 [Chris] Back inthe Superman years,
122 00:06:42 I always used to joke aboutneeding to be very careful,
123 00:06:46 because I didn't wantto read a headline
124 00:06:48 in the New York Post like,
125 00:06:50 "Superman hitby a school bus."
126 00:06:54 I was getting to bea pretty good rider.
127 00:06:57 [woman] In first place,
128 00:06:58 Denver, riddenby Christopher Reeve.
129 00:07:01 [crowd cheers]
130 00:07:04 Our latest entry,
131 00:07:05 this is Will Reeve. Say, "Hi."
132 00:07:07 - Hi.- Hi.
133 00:07:09 [laughter]
134 00:07:10 [Will] It was Memorial Dayweekend, 1995.
135 00:07:13 My dad was competing
136 00:07:15 in a cross-countryhorseback riding competition.
137 00:07:18 [Al] And was just so excitedto get down there.
138 00:07:21 [man] What?
139 00:07:23 [Matthew] And my dad had beenin London for some reason
140 00:07:24 a few weeks before.
141 00:07:27 We said, "Goodbye,"and I ran upstairs to, like...
142 00:07:30 I guess, watch him...you know, walk away.
143 00:07:34 And I remember him turning,
144 00:07:36 I guess, instinctively,
145 00:07:39 knowing I would do thatand, um... [voice breaks]
146 00:07:42 [smacks lips]
147 00:07:44 Yeah. He gave this wave and...
148 00:07:47 [inhales sharply]
149 00:07:49 Um, that was the last timeI saw him on his feet.
150 00:07:57 [newscaster 1]Rumors have been flying
151 00:07:59 since 42-year-oldChristopher Reeve
152 00:08:01 fell off a horsethis past weekend.
153 00:08:02 Well, tonight, many of theworst reports are true.
154 00:08:05 Wendy Rieger joins us now,with the latest
155 00:08:07 from the hospitalin Charlottesville.
156 00:08:08 Today, we're hopingto get an update
157 00:08:10 on Christopher Reeve'scondition.
158 00:08:14 [newscaster 2] Doctors aren'tsaying too much
159 00:08:15 about his chancesof pulling through.
160 00:08:17 Millions of peoplearound the world
161 00:08:19 are prayingand remembering tonight.
162 00:08:23 [reporter] The Reeve family
163 00:08:25 has refused to talkabout the injury.
164 00:08:26 Their silence promptedmuch speculation
165 00:08:28 that he was near death.
166 00:08:30 [Susan Sarandon]I just remember thinking,
167 00:08:32 "That's impossible."
168 00:08:34 We just kept trying to calland find out
169 00:08:35 And was it true andhow could that have happened?
170 00:08:37 I mean, there wasso much disbelief.
171 00:08:39 [Al] Matthew and I flewover with my mom.
172 00:08:42 It was circus modeat that point.
173 00:08:44 And we stilldidn't know a thing
174 00:08:46 because nobody knewwhat was happening.
175 00:08:48 It was this big cloudof confusion.
176 00:08:50 We saw Danaand she just burst into tears.
177 00:08:54 First time I'd seen her cry,I think, ever.
178 00:08:56 What a horror show.
179 00:08:58 It wasn't clearwhat was gonna happen.
180 00:09:01 [reporter]His doctor met the press.
181 00:09:03 The news is not encouraging.
182 00:09:04 Mr. Reeve currentlyhas no movement
183 00:09:06 or spontaneous respiration.
184 00:09:10 He may require surgery
185 00:09:12 to stabilize the upper spinein the near future.
186 00:09:14 You know, he almost died.His heart stopped.
187 00:09:16 He flatlined certainly twice.
188 00:09:19 He was givenbasically a 50/50 chance
189 00:09:23 of survivingto the end of the day.
190 00:09:26 [sniffles] Um...
191 00:09:30 You think of your parentsas completely invulnerable.
192 00:09:34 And he was always so carefuland so capable and...
193 00:09:38 I mean,he was just Dad, right?
194 00:09:41 Like, this constant that younever even have
195 00:09:45 [Will] The surgerythat they did on my dad
196 00:09:47 had never been done before.
197 00:09:49 They reattached his headto his body.
198 00:09:52 Tragic news for the actor
199 00:09:53 known for his roleas the Man of Steel.
200 00:09:55 Virginia doctorsnow confirm that
201 00:09:57 Christopher Reeveis indeed paralyzed
202 00:10:00 and unableto breathe on his own.
203 00:10:04 Superman? Crazy.
204 00:10:07 Just that simple little thingover the horse.
205 00:10:09 It's just crazy.
206 00:10:16 [gas hisses]
207 00:10:17 [machine alarm beeping]
208 00:10:19 [ventilator hissing]
209 00:10:33 [Chris] I lay on my back,frozen,
210 00:10:35 unable to avoid thinkingthe darkest thoughts,
211 00:10:39 because it had dawned on methat I had ruined my life
212 00:10:43 - and everybody else's.- [tense music playing]
213 00:10:45 I won't be able to ski.Won't be able to sail...
214 00:10:49 Won't be ableto make love to Dana.
215 00:10:52 I won't be ableto throw a ball to Will.
216 00:10:55 I won't be able to do a thing.
217 00:10:56 - [plays chord]- Again.
218 00:10:59 [Chris echoing]This can't be me. Why me?
219 00:11:01 There's gotta be a mistake.
220 00:11:03 Oh, I'm an idiot.Oh, God. I'm trapped! No life.
221 00:11:04 What am I gonna do?I've spoiled everything.
222 00:11:06 I'm going to bea charity case.
223 00:11:08 [music fades out]
224 00:11:10 He was in and outof consciousness.
225 00:11:13 He was having clearly whatwere horrible hallucinations.
226 00:11:17 [Chris echoing]I'm in prison. I've got
227 00:11:19 a life sentence.Please let me out.
228 00:11:21 For some reason I didn'tget my hands down
229 00:11:23 - and break my fall.- [horse neighs]
230 00:11:24 [echoing stops]
231 00:11:26 Witnesses said that Buck wasabsolutely willing and ready.
232 00:11:29 That I was goingnot excessively fast.
233 00:11:33 [horse neighs]
234 00:11:34 Apparently, Buck startedto jump the fence,
235 00:11:36 but all of a sudden,he just put on the brakes.
236 00:11:43 It was what riders calla dirty stop.
237 00:11:47 And I landed right on my head,
238 00:11:49 six feet four inchesand 215 pounds of me.
239 00:11:55 This break is what happenswhen the trap door opens
240 00:11:58 and the noose snaps tight.
241 00:12:01 Half an inch to the left,dead instantly.
242 00:12:04 Half an inch to the right,an embarrassing, scary fall
243 00:12:08 that he got upand walked away from.
244 00:12:11 ♪ [Reeve family singing]Happy Birthday, dear Will ♪
245 00:12:17 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
246 00:12:21 - [applause]- [Dana] Go on!
247 00:12:26 [Will] We had my third birthdayparty outside the ICU.
248 00:12:30 [Matthew] Dana threwlike, a birthday party
249 00:12:33 complete with, like,a really annoying clown.
250 00:12:36 [in high-pitched voice]I told you
251 00:12:37 I brought my suitcase! Here!
252 00:12:38 [Matthew] And he had,like, a really good time
253 00:12:40 and really enjoyed himself.
254 00:12:41 Hi.
255 00:12:43 She tried to keep thingsnormal for Will,
256 00:12:46 to try and protect himas much as she could.
257 00:12:50 [Will] There was some fightingwithin the family.
258 00:12:53 My dad's mom wantedto take him off life support.
259 00:12:57 He has low moments.
260 00:12:59 I think anybody, um, withan injury as severe as his
261 00:13:04 is bound to have low moments.
262 00:13:07 My mom did notwant to do that.
263 00:13:09 [Dana] He's a fighter.
264 00:13:11 But this has to bethe toughest challenge
265 00:13:13 that he's ever faced.
266 00:13:14 I know it's mine.
267 00:13:16 [Chris] Dana cameinto the room,
268 00:13:18 she knelt down next to meand we made eye contact.
269 00:13:22 And then I mouthedmy first lucid words to her,
270 00:13:25 "Maybe we should let me go."
271 00:13:27 [machine beeping]
272 00:13:29 [Chris] Dana started crying.
273 00:13:34 She said, "I'm onlygonna say this once.
274 00:13:38 I'll support whateveryou want to do
275 00:13:40 because this is your lifeand your decision.
276 00:13:43 But I want you to know
277 00:13:44 that I'll be with youfor the long haul,
278 00:13:46 no matter what."
279 00:13:48 And then she added the wordsthat saved my life.
280 00:13:51 [emotional music playing]
281 00:13:56 [Chris] "You're still youand I love you."
282 00:14:05 I think if she had looked awayor paused
283 00:14:08 or hesitated even slightly
284 00:14:10 or if I had felt there wasa sense of her being noble,
285 00:14:15 I don't know ifI could have pulled through.
286 00:14:18 "You are still you.And we love you."
287 00:14:23 So, out of that discussion of,
288 00:14:26 "Is it going to make sensefor him to stay alive?"
289 00:14:28 came that capsulation,in a way,
290 00:14:31 of the value of... of living.
291 00:14:36 Everyone is devastated.
292 00:14:38 But it was not withoutmoments of grace.
293 00:14:40 One that was just incrediblewas Robin Williams.
294 00:14:43 Hello, I'm Robin Williams,
295 00:14:45 and if you don't know that...Hahaha!
296 00:14:47 [Al] Robin Williamshad been Dad's roommate
297 00:14:50 and had thisdeep relationship with him
298 00:14:52 going back so many years.
299 00:14:54 [Chris] I think Robin is oneof the great human beings
300 00:14:56 I'm the godfather of his son,and everything.
301 00:14:59 What you got with Robinis just waves of humanity
302 00:15:01 and respect come from him.
303 00:15:03 [Will] His wife, Marsha,became my mom's best friend
304 00:15:06 and is like a sortof fairy godmother to me.
305 00:15:08 And Robin's approachwas a little bit different
306 00:15:12 than other family members.[laughs]
307 00:15:14 They had just taken him off,you know, the heavy sedation
308 00:15:16 and I thinkhe was just coming back,
309 00:15:18 and I came inas a Russian proctologist.
310 00:15:21 [audience laughs]
311 00:15:22 [Oprah Winfrey] He didn't knowyou were coming in?
312 00:15:24 No, I put... Well, they put mein scrubs,
313 00:15:25 - so I just had the face.- [Oprah] Uh-huh.
314 00:15:27 And I said,[in Russian accent]
315 00:15:29 I'm going to haveto put on a rubber glove
316 00:15:30 and examineyour internal organs."
317 00:15:32 [in normal voice]And I, and I kind of said,
318 00:15:33 [in Russian accent]"Oh, look at the size
319 00:15:34 [all laugh]
320 00:15:36 [in normal voice]And I saw he started to laugh
321 00:15:37 'cause his eyes lit upand he knew it was me.
322 00:15:38 [audience applauds]
323 00:15:40 [Chris] My old friendhad helped me know
324 00:15:41 that somehow,I was gonna be okay.
325 00:15:43 I mean, life's gonna bevery different,
326 00:15:45 but I can still laugh.
327 00:15:48 And Robinis a really good friend.
328 00:15:51 Anything, if you neededanything, he would be there.
329 00:15:54 I think he and Robinwere such good friends
330 00:15:56 because they couldmatch each other.
331 00:15:58 I mean,Chris didn't have Robin's...
332 00:16:00 you know, but he could...he could keep up with him.
333 00:16:03 [applause]
334 00:16:05 All right, somebody's fantasy.
335 00:16:06 [laughter]
336 00:16:09 And not many peoplecould do that.
337 00:16:11 [gentle music playing]
338 00:16:13 [Chris] As I started to facereality in intensive care,
339 00:16:17 moments from my former lifekept popping into my head.
340 00:16:21 It was like a slide show,
341 00:16:23 but the pictureswere all out of sequence.
342 00:16:25 - [audience cheers]- [Chris] My most
343 00:16:27 when I was whole,healthy, free.
344 00:16:32 [upbeat disco music playing]
345 00:16:36 [car horn blaring]
346 00:16:38 [Chris] After graduatingfrom Cornell,
347 00:16:40 I had plannedto go to New York
348 00:16:42 and join the ranksof young hopefuls
349 00:16:44 trying for a careerin the theater.
350 00:16:47 Juilliard is one of the bestschools in the country,
351 00:16:48 and you learn how to move,
352 00:16:50 mime, tumbling,acrobatics, acting.
353 00:16:52 You and Robin Williamswere classmates?
354 00:16:54 [Chris] That's right. We werein the advanced program.
355 00:16:57 And we were trainingto be Shakespearean actors
356 00:17:02 in the English tradition,
357 00:17:03 able to enunciatefor no reason.
358 00:17:06 [Chris] There was certainlynothing they could teach him.
359 00:17:08 Yes, I've alreadycleared the theater
360 00:17:10 with the rehearsal schedule.
361 00:17:11 In the lights, you willthink it was a proper...
362 00:17:12 [Chris] John Houseman
363 00:17:14 had just won the Academy Awardfor best supporting actor.
364 00:17:16 He said, "Mr. Reeve,it is very important
365 00:17:19 you become a seriousclassical actor.
366 00:17:21 Unless of course,they offer you
367 00:17:23 a load of moneyto do something else."
368 00:17:24 [all laugh]
369 00:17:25 It's all yours.
370 00:17:28 [Chris] I probably gravitatedtowards the theater
371 00:17:31 as a way out of uncertaintiesgrowing up,
372 00:17:36 that the theater becamea neutral kind of territory,
373 00:17:39 but that felt like home.
374 00:17:43 I had grown upbetween two families,
375 00:17:46 and neither oneever seemed truly secure.
376 00:17:50 The family backstory is...
377 00:17:53 is complicated.
378 00:17:54 Uh, I'm not sure how much
379 00:17:56 I want to get into the wholeReeve side because
380 00:17:58 they werejust so fucked up.
381 00:18:01 [Chris] My father, the poetand scholar, Franklin Reeve,
382 00:18:04 courted my mother,Barbara Pitney Lamb, ardently.
383 00:18:08 But there was a widening gulfbetween my parents
384 00:18:11 when I was born.
385 00:18:13 When I was three years old,my parents got divorced
386 00:18:15 and there was a kindof acrimony between them,
387 00:18:17 - that was really painful.- Okay.
388 00:18:19 It was sort of, you had tocall out the National Guard
389 00:18:21 to keep peace between them,you know?
390 00:18:22 [Matthew] Both his parentsremarried twice
391 00:18:24 and had other children.
392 00:18:27 So, it was a big family,quite fractured.
393 00:18:31 [Al] I think it felt likehe lived on shifting sands,
394 00:18:33 because he had goneback and forth
395 00:18:35 between his mother's householdand his dad.
396 00:18:38 He never really feltthat sense of home.
397 00:18:41 Franklin, even ifhe wasn't around,
398 00:18:44 he played a big partin my dad's life.
399 00:18:47 [Kevin] I'm sure there wasan element of,
400 00:18:49 you know, how do you satisfy
401 00:18:50 the father that,in a sense, left you?
402 00:18:53 [Chris] So, there'sthis really charismatic man
403 00:18:55 who could do anythingfrom translating Dostoevsky
404 00:18:57 to sailing a boat and choppingtrees and playing tennis.
405 00:19:00 And it was really scary.
406 00:19:02 I thought, I'm nevergonna do anything
407 00:19:03 to impress him, you know?
408 00:19:05 I'd say, "I was in this play,"he'd say, "Eh."
409 00:19:07 "I got good grades here.""Eh."
410 00:19:09 Nothing, nothing seemedto make any difference.
411 00:19:12 [Chris] But I found relieffrom all this uncertainty
412 00:19:14 in playing characters.
413 00:19:16 [nostalgic music playing]
414 00:19:24 I like knowingthe entire storyline.
415 00:19:28 Beginning, middle, and end.
416 00:19:33 [Jeff Daniels] We were castin the same play in 1977.
417 00:19:38 He was just another, you know,
418 00:19:40 good-looking young actorwhen I met him.
419 00:19:44 He had the wholemovie star thing.
420 00:19:47 You're going, "Oh, well.""Yeah, great." You know?
421 00:19:50 What really impressed mewas how smart he was.
422 00:19:53 Now, I ain't stupid.
423 00:19:55 I may have beenin Dumb and Dumber,
424 00:19:57 In the play was anothernew guy named William Hurt.
425 00:20:02 Second to last weekend,Chris says,
426 00:20:05 "I'm going to London tonight.
427 00:20:07 I have to screen testfor a movie."
428 00:20:08 For someone to say that
429 00:20:10 in an off-Broadwaydressing room,
430 00:20:12 [imitates explosion] it just,"What are you...
431 00:20:14 What, when, where, huh?"
432 00:20:15 And Bill said, "What movie?"
433 00:20:17 And Chris said...
434 00:20:20 "Superman."
435 00:20:21 And Bill went right into,"Don't go.
436 00:20:24 You're going to sell out.You're an artist."
437 00:20:26 And Chris said, "No, I just...
438 00:20:28 Brando is gonna playthe father."
439 00:20:29 "I don't care. I don't care.You're selling..."
440 00:20:31 I mean, he justwas really on him.
441 00:20:34 [upbeat disco music playing]
442 00:20:38 [Pierre Spengler]We were frantically looking
443 00:20:40 for a Superman...
444 00:20:42 and the casting director
445 00:20:43 had lined up many, manypeople, dozens of them.
446 00:20:47 The most strange, like,
447 00:20:49 Neil Diamond wantedto be Superman, you know.
448 00:20:52 [chuckles]
449 00:20:54 Robert Redford.
450 00:20:55 We made an offer,immediately got a "no."
451 00:20:58 [commentator] He goes on now.
452 00:20:59 Bruce Jenner.
453 00:21:01 Yeah, that's right.
454 00:21:02 - [commentator] There he goes.- Ahhh!
455 00:21:04 [Spengler] Physically,he was very good,
456 00:21:05 but the acting, not so much.
457 00:21:08 Schwarzeneggerwas running after us.
458 00:21:10 - The main man is back.- Yes.
459 00:21:12 He had, theoretically,
460 00:21:14 the physiqueof the comic book.
461 00:21:17 [chuckles] We cannothave Superman say...
462 00:21:18 [in Austrian accent]"Truth, Justice,
463 00:21:20 and the American way."
464 00:21:21 [bleep] you, asshole.
465 00:21:23 [Spengler] The idea came,
466 00:21:24 rather than castinga well-known Superman,
467 00:21:27 we should go for an unknownand have stars around him.
468 00:21:34 [Richard Donner]We had made a costume
469 00:21:36 out of a blue leotard
470 00:21:37 and Chris was sweatinglike a stuck pig.
471 00:21:39 I took black shoe polish,and we blacked his whole head,
472 00:21:43 and this skinny little kid dida scene with various ladies
473 00:21:48 who were upfor the part of Lois Lane.
474 00:21:50 I mean, why are you here?
475 00:21:53 'Cause I'm here to fightfor truth...
476 00:21:55 for justice,and the American way.
477 00:21:57 [whistles]
478 00:21:58 [Daniels] He flew Sunday night,
479 00:22:00 screen tested in Londonon Monday,
480 00:22:02 and then flew backMonday night.
481 00:22:04 Bill said, "How'd it go?"Chris said, "I got it."
482 00:22:10 [Chris] I realized thatif I could pull off this part,
483 00:22:13 it would change my life.
484 00:22:17 It's urban myth in our family
485 00:22:20 that Dad gotthe part of Superman
486 00:22:22 and told his father,and Franklin ordered champagne.
487 00:22:27 This is a veryun-Franklin thing to do.
488 00:22:30 "Cheers. Congratulations.So proud of you," da-da-da.
489 00:22:32 There was a miscommunication.
490 00:22:34 [Al] His dad thoughtthat he was talking
491 00:22:36 about the famous play
492 00:22:38 Man and Superman,by George Bernard Shaw.
493 00:22:39 [Matthew] Not the legendarycomic book character.
494 00:22:42 Franklin didn't approve.
495 00:22:45 [interviewer]How did he tell you, uh,
496 00:22:47 that he got this partof Superman?
497 00:22:51 It was afterthe contract was signed.
498 00:22:54 It was not serious enough.
499 00:22:57 It wasn't academic enough.It wasn't intellectual enough.
500 00:22:59 It was...
501 00:23:01 embarrassing.
502 00:23:04 [Chris] I was extremely anxiousto please my father.
503 00:23:07 It was difficult to be myself
504 00:23:09 or literally breathe easywhen he was around.
505 00:23:13 [moody music playing]
506 00:23:21 Since the accident,I've had time to look back.
507 00:23:24 Much more timethan I would've liked.
508 00:23:27 [reporter] Reeve tookto the skies this afternoon.
509 00:23:31 He was transferred fromCharlottesville, Virginia,
510 00:23:33 to the Kessler Institute.
511 00:23:47 [reporter 2]In a terrible twist of fate,
512 00:23:50 was as a crippled policemanin the movie Above Suspicion.
513 00:23:53 [applause]
514 00:23:56 [Chris]The physical therapy nurses
515 00:23:59 "This is how you getin and out of the bathtub.
516 00:24:00 This is how you get in andout of a car." You know.
517 00:24:03 Then every time I left thatrehab center, I said,
518 00:24:05 "Thank God that's not me."
519 00:24:07 I was very smug about it.And I regret that so much,
520 00:24:11 because I was settingmyself apart
521 00:24:13 from those peoplewho were suffering.
522 00:24:15 Without realizing thatin a second that could be me.
523 00:24:19 Yeah, left is hard.
524 00:24:21 [Dana] Christopher now faces
525 00:24:23 what hundreds of thousands
526 00:24:25 of disabled menand women face daily
527 00:24:26 in this countryand around the world.
528 00:24:28 Limitations, frustration,sorrow, anger,
529 00:24:32 humiliation, injustice.
530 00:24:34 [Chris] When Doctor Kirshblumtook over
531 00:24:35 the responsibilityfor my care,
532 00:24:38 it was a tremendouspsychological boost.
533 00:24:41 [Kirshblum]I know it's tedious.
534 00:24:43 Feel that here?
535 00:24:45 - No. Nothing, okay.- No.
536 00:24:47 [Kirshblum] After this idea
537 00:24:48 of "Will I live or die?Now what?"
538 00:24:52 "What is life gonna be like?"
539 00:24:54 [moody music playing]
540 00:24:59 [Matthew]You think it's just about,
541 00:25:01 "Oh, you can't move,or you can't breathe..."
542 00:25:02 but there's so much shit
543 00:25:05 that comes withsuch a high level
544 00:25:10 [Kirshblum] The bowel,the bladder, the skin,
545 00:25:12 speech therapy,
546 00:25:14 how to maintaina relationship,
547 00:25:15 husband and wife relationship.
548 00:25:17 [Dana] You can't feel?[Chris] No, I can't feel it.
549 00:25:19 Nope.
550 00:25:20 That is tough.Because I can feel him,
551 00:25:22 but he can't feel me.
552 00:25:27 [Kirshblum]To re-learn the skills
553 00:25:29 that people probablydon't even think about.
554 00:25:33 [Chris] I was stillin a state of disbelief
555 00:25:36 and very afraid.
556 00:25:38 I couldn't take a singlebreath on my own.
557 00:25:41 And the connectionsof the hoses
558 00:25:43 on these ventilatorsare tenuous at best.
559 00:25:48 And you lie thereat 3:00 in the morning,
560 00:25:50 in fear of a pop-off.
561 00:25:52 When the hose just comesoff the ventilator.
562 00:25:56 - [machine alarm beeping]- [gas hissing]
563 00:25:58 After you've missedtwo breaths,
564 00:26:00 an alarm sounds.
565 00:26:04 [clicking convulsively]
566 00:26:08 And now they're saying,"Okay, where is everybody?"
567 00:26:11 Because they haveno air going in,
568 00:26:12 they can't evenscream for help.
569 00:26:14 [nurse]I need assistance, please.
570 00:26:16 You just hang on, okay?You hang on.
571 00:26:18 [Chris] You can lasta couple of minutes,
572 00:26:19 but those are very,very anxious minutes.
573 00:26:23 [doctor] There it is.
574 00:26:26 Okay.
575 00:26:28 - Oh, God.- [machine beeping steadily]
576 00:26:31 [Close] I saw himwhen he was in rehab.
577 00:26:33 He was so terrifiedthat he could die
578 00:26:40 [Al] At first,he really resisted
579 00:26:42 spending timewith anybody else there,
580 00:26:44 because in his mindhe was still thinking,
581 00:26:46 "I'm justa temporary visitor here
582 00:26:49 in this land of disability."
583 00:26:51 And over time, what changedis the magic of rehab.
584 00:26:56 [Chris] Little by little,I began to emerge
585 00:26:59 I found myselftalking in depth
586 00:27:01 with people I wouldn'tordinarily have met.
587 00:27:04 And connectingwith many of them.
588 00:27:08 [Kirshblum] Chris hadjust started to wean himself
589 00:27:10 off the ventilator
590 00:27:12 and he started to recognizea little bit of success.
591 00:27:14 And there wasthis one young boy
592 00:27:16 who had tried to weanbut failed...
593 00:27:21 and I would tryto speak to him
594 00:27:24 But he was just adamant.He was so clear.
595 00:27:26 "I don't want to fail again."
596 00:27:29 And Chris wentand spoke to him.
597 00:27:31 And the boy simply said,
598 00:27:32 "Christopher Reevespoke to me.
599 00:27:34 I'm going to wean."
600 00:27:36 It just showed youthe quality of the individual,
601 00:27:38 that it wasn't all about him.
602 00:27:39 And I wonder if a caselike that made him think,
603 00:27:43 "I can probably do more
604 00:27:45 in helping other peoplewith spinal cord injury,
605 00:27:47 not just myself alone."
606 00:27:53 [Dana] Much of his dayis spent listening
607 00:27:55 to messages sentfrom well-wishers.
608 00:27:57 I can't begin to express
609 00:27:59 how important these...these things are to him.
610 00:28:04 [Matthew] One letterfrom England, it just said,
611 00:28:06 "Superman, USA."
612 00:28:10 [Al] And they'd come every dayin these delivery boxes.
613 00:28:12 And they went the whole waydown the hallway.
614 00:28:14 And then that's whenI got the call from Dana
615 00:28:16 and she said,"Michael, we need help.
616 00:28:19 I can't manage."
617 00:28:21 - When we first met in 1985or whatever...
618 00:28:25 I said, "You look so muchlike that actor,
619 00:28:28 Isn't that funny?I just, I get it all...
620 00:28:30 and more particularlywhen I'm with him
621 00:28:32 and my hair's longer,they're like,
622 00:28:33 - "Are you his brother?"- "Are you his brother?"
623 00:28:36 [Manganiello]She was just funny
624 00:28:37 and could tella really good dirty joke.
625 00:28:40 We had crushes on the sameboys. It was... [laughs]
626 00:28:43 She was just a riot.
627 00:28:45 I started getting thingsorganized and cut.
628 00:28:47 So it was likeother celebrity letters,
629 00:28:49 famous scientists...
630 00:28:50 politicians, nuts... the nuts.
631 00:28:54 Other people who are livingwith spinal cord injury.
632 00:28:57 200,000 peoplein the United States alone
633 00:28:58 have the same problem as me.
634 00:29:02 If the public will demand
635 00:29:03 that the politicians spendthat little bit of money,
636 00:29:07 make that investment,
637 00:29:09 I'll be upand walking around again.
638 00:29:11 [Manganiello] Chris wantedout of that chair.
639 00:29:15 [inspirational music playing]
640 00:29:17 [Chris] I couldn't give up
641 00:29:19 because nervescan find new pathways.
642 00:29:23 [Kirshblum] He hadtremendous work ethic
643 00:29:24 and would push himself.
644 00:29:27 [Robin] Brother Chrisis fighting like crazy.
645 00:29:30 When you findpeople who fight like that
646 00:29:32 but still keep their humanity,that gives you great hope.
647 00:29:35 [Chris] My mind wandered back
648 00:29:36 to my weight trainingfor Superman
649 00:29:38 when I could bench-pressmore than my own weight.
650 00:29:42 [Matthew] He trainedhis ass off bulking up.
651 00:29:45 Two weight sessions a day.
652 00:29:50 [Chris] The guy, actually,who played Darth Vader
653 00:29:52 in Star Wars,
654 00:29:54 Dave Prowse,developed a program for me.
655 00:29:57 He's a former Mr. Universe.
656 00:30:01 The point is,is that when I started,
657 00:30:02 I was a string bean.
658 00:30:03 And Superman'snot a string bean, so...
659 00:30:08 Everybody else said,
660 00:30:10 "You just flushed your careerdown the toilet. Goodbye."
661 00:30:11 Nobody thoughtI was in my right mind.
662 00:30:14 How are they ever goingto pull this picture off
663 00:30:16 and make the man fly?
664 00:30:17 And "It's a cartoon."
665 00:30:19 And very, very skepticalabout the whole thing.
666 00:30:22 [Spengler] When we signedthe deal for Superman,
667 00:30:25 the head of productionat Warner Bros.,
668 00:30:27 who shall remain nameless,
669 00:30:28 said, "It will nevermake a movie."
670 00:30:37 [Chris] The ideawas new in 1977.
671 00:30:40 Superman I was the first film
672 00:30:42 to try to makethis comic book sort of real.
673 00:30:52 [Spengler]Christopher is unknown.
674 00:30:54 He was going to be playingwith Brando,
675 00:30:56 playing with Hackman.
676 00:30:59 Brando was considered
677 00:31:00 the greatest actorof his time.
678 00:31:02 Gene Hackman wanted to bein the film with Brando.
679 00:31:06 [Chris] Hackman,his dressing room
680 00:31:08 I was very gung-ho,24 years old and all excited
681 00:31:11 and I rememberknocking on his door,
682 00:31:13 asking himif he wanted to rehearse.
683 00:31:16 And he was shocked.He was like... you know.
684 00:31:19 [man] 626, take one.
685 00:31:21 This is California.It's the richest,
686 00:31:23 most populous statein the Union.
687 00:31:25 I don't need a geographylesson from you, Luthor.
688 00:31:27 [interviewer] Marlon Brando.
689 00:31:29 Was it exciting to workwith him though?
690 00:31:31 - [Chris] Not really, no.- [audience and Chris laugh]
691 00:31:33 The man didn't care.
692 00:31:34 I'm sorry. He just, you know,
693 00:31:35 took the two millionand ran, you know?
694 00:31:37 Yeah, well,he's here tonight, Chris.
695 00:31:38 - Is he here?- [audience laughs]
696 00:31:40 [applause]
697 00:31:43 [Chris] I just care so much
698 00:31:44 that it hurts whensomeone's phoning it in.
699 00:31:46 [Al] He was taking itso seriously.
700 00:31:48 [grunts]
701 00:31:50 For Dad,Superman needed to be art.
702 00:31:52 Everyone, stand back.Please stand back.
703 00:31:53 It's all right.Nothing to get worried about.
704 00:31:58 [Chris] Think about itin emotional terms.
705 00:32:02 What is it to be an orphan?What is it to be different?
706 00:32:04 What is it to be an alien?
707 00:32:05 What is itto have lost one home?
708 00:32:08 Now you're actingsomething you can understand
709 00:32:10 rather than just posing.
710 00:32:11 [screams]
711 00:32:13 I must give credit to Donner
712 00:32:15 who really supported him,helped him.
713 00:32:19 Hands down,he was Superman from day one.
714 00:32:24 - Say "Hello" to Clark Kent.- Told you, one "p."
715 00:32:26 - Hiya.- Hello, Miss Lane. How are...
716 00:32:28 [Chris] What I likedwas trying to play
717 00:32:30 two people at the same time,Superman and Clark Kent.
718 00:32:32 There's a kind of
719 00:32:33 calculated schizophreniabetween the two of them.
720 00:32:37 There's this amazing scene.It's my favorite scene
721 00:32:39 of my dad's film work,
722 00:32:41 and he was playing Supermanplaying Clark Kent.
723 00:32:46 Uh, hi, can I come in?
724 00:32:48 Kind of like,takes his glasses off
725 00:32:49 and he transforms.
726 00:32:53 [Lois] Put some blush on and...
727 00:32:55 [slow heroic music playing]
728 00:33:09 [breathes deeply]
729 00:33:11 Lois, there's somethingI have to tell you.
730 00:33:14 I'm really...
731 00:33:17 Um...
732 00:33:19 Uh, I mean, I was at firstreally nervous about tonight.
733 00:33:22 [Matthew]Puts his glasses back on
734 00:33:24 and he's Clark againinstantly.
735 00:33:25 I mean,he absolutely nailed it.
736 00:33:28 Hi.
737 00:33:29 The magic was thatyou absolutely believed
738 00:33:32 in their love story.
739 00:33:34 [Chris] I really thinkthat out there,
740 00:33:36 hopefully around the world,
741 00:33:37 that romance is whatthey want to see.
742 00:33:40 [interviewer] Do you have that?
743 00:33:41 Oh, God, yes. But I found it.
744 00:33:42 I'm very lucky.I met this girl
745 00:33:44 while I was makingSuperman in London.
746 00:33:46 - Hi.- Welcome.
747 00:33:47 - Thank you.- Introduce me
748 00:33:49 to your lovely lady here.
749 00:33:50 - Yes, this is Gae Exton.- Hello. How are you?
750 00:33:52 It looks likesomebody gave you a kiss
751 00:33:55 - Did they?- [all laugh]
752 00:33:56 My mum and dad metin the lunch line
753 00:34:01 at Pinewood Studios.
754 00:34:03 [Exton] I knewthere were big films
755 00:34:05 being shot there,like James Bond and Superman.
756 00:34:07 They had this amazingdining room there
757 00:34:10 and it was sort oflike a big buffet.
758 00:34:12 The people,obviously in costume
759 00:34:13 with robes on and stuff.
760 00:34:15 And the chap in front of me
761 00:34:17 was wearing a robeand had black hair.
762 00:34:19 And I thoughtit was Richard Kiel.
763 00:34:21 From James Bond,
764 00:34:23 the one with the teeth.Because he was so big.
765 00:34:26 And this guy turns around
766 00:34:28 and it'sthis amazing-looking guy
767 00:34:31 with an American accent.
768 00:34:33 He needed somethingfrom the bit
769 00:34:35 that I was atand he turned around
770 00:34:37 and he knocked me.And he said, "Oh, hello."
771 00:34:41 I said, "Like, what?Excuse me? Hello?
772 00:34:44 You're supposed to say,I'm sorry."
773 00:34:46 And I had to goand clean myself off.
774 00:34:51 And a few days later,
775 00:34:52 I saw Dick Donner,and Dick said,
776 00:34:55 "Oh, here she is.Hi, Gae, how're you doing?"
777 00:34:57 And he said,"This is Christopher."
778 00:34:59 And Chris just stoppedand said...
779 00:35:01 That I was sorry,and the rest is history.
780 00:35:05 [Matthew] My mom workedas a model agent
781 00:35:07 and was super plugged in
782 00:35:08 to the London scenein the late '70s.
783 00:35:10 They starteda whirlwind romance.
784 00:35:12 [romantic music playing]
785 00:35:15 [Chris] It was good fun.
786 00:35:17 I dragged myself to the setmany a morning
787 00:35:19 and then it's up, up,and away.
788 00:35:23 That's funny.
789 00:35:24 Maybe, I don't know.
790 00:35:25 [interviewer]You believe he could fly? Yes.
791 00:35:27 "I'm not feelingvery well today."
792 00:35:28 [Exton] Just felldesperately in love.
793 00:35:31 At the weekends, we were doingall sorts of things
794 00:35:34 that he should not havebeen doing. Like gliding.
795 00:35:53 [Chris] Thousandsand thousands of feet
796 00:35:54 up above the world.
797 00:35:57 There's a kind of claritythat comes with that
798 00:35:59 and you cannot concentrate
799 00:36:00 on anythingthat's wrong in your life.
800 00:36:05 And all you can hearis "shh, shh."
801 00:36:11 He said, "Trust me,I'll get you back.
802 00:36:13 I'll get you back."
803 00:36:19 [Chris] I havealways loved flying.
804 00:36:21 It's my number onepassion in life.
805 00:36:24 [Matthew] He'd flown acrossthe Atlantic twice, solo.
806 00:36:31 Christopher was determinedthat, come hell or high water,
807 00:36:34 he was gonna make it looklike this character could fly.
808 00:36:41 We're doing somethingwith this picture
809 00:36:42 that no one'sever done before.
810 00:36:44 There is a team,there's a hundred of them
811 00:36:45 called the Flying Unit.
812 00:36:46 They didn't have itall figured out in advance.
813 00:36:48 It was a kind of"learn as you go" process.
814 00:36:54 [Donner] The first timeI ever saw Chris really fly,
815 00:36:57 he came at camera,
816 00:36:59 and for some reasonhe actually banked his body
817 00:37:02 and he flew past us.
818 00:37:04 [dreamy music playing]
819 00:37:12 The camera stopped rollingand there was dead silence.
820 00:37:15 And then, like, 50 people
821 00:37:17 all of a suddenstarted to just cheer.
822 00:37:22 [Chris] The flying happensin the eyes.
823 00:37:24 It must happenas a state of mind.
824 00:37:29 You've never seen a manfly like that before.
825 00:37:33 The one whichI really had to work
826 00:37:35 to sort of achievethe grace that it needed.
827 00:37:36 It called for meto do a flip in the air
828 00:37:38 as I'm going up on a crane,
829 00:37:40 arch backwards and waveall at the same time.
830 00:37:43 Bye.
831 00:37:46 He convinced me when I firstmet him that he would fly.
832 00:37:50 He's also convinced mehe'll walk again.
833 00:38:07 [Chris] I beganto face my new life.
834 00:38:09 I had tried to cover upmy feelings as best I could.
835 00:38:13 But when I saw our home again,I wept.
836 00:38:16 [nostalgic music playing]
837 00:38:19 [Matthew] I do wonderwhat it was like
838 00:38:20 for him to look outand be like,
839 00:38:22 "That's the pondthat I skated on."
840 00:38:24 [exclaims]
841 00:38:27 "Now I'm just staring outat the past."
842 00:38:30 Beautiful dayin the Berkshires.
843 00:38:34 [laughter and chatter]
844 00:38:36 [man] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
845 00:38:38 - All the way!- No.
846 00:38:40 - Get it!- Carpe diem, Al!
847 00:38:44 People often ask mewhat it's like
848 00:38:46 to be confinedto a wheelchair.
849 00:38:48 I would saythe worst part of it
850 00:38:50 is havingto make the transition
851 00:38:52 from participant to observer
852 00:38:55 long beforeI would have expected.
853 00:38:58 [Matthew] Dad was 42when he had the accident
854 00:39:00 and Will was almost three.
855 00:39:02 I'm 42 right nowand my son's three.
856 00:39:06 Yeah, it was really onlyafter becoming a parent myself
857 00:39:08 that it really hit home...
858 00:39:13 how hard it musthave been for him.
859 00:39:15 [Dana] It was a typical scene.
860 00:39:18 [Dana laughs]
861 00:39:19 It's the haircut movie.
862 00:39:21 Oh. And there's Dadwaiting in line for his.
863 00:39:23 [Will] He wasstill the same, bright,
864 00:39:26 quirky, thoughtful man.
865 00:39:28 But my mom,she was doing everything.
866 00:39:30 [Dana] Still got it, honey.
867 00:39:35 [Will] She was playingthe role of mother,
868 00:39:38 physical father...
869 00:39:40 [Dana] Whoa, whoa.
870 00:39:41 [Will] ...and caregiverto a husband.
871 00:39:43 [Dana] Papa is doinghis breathing exercises.
872 00:39:46 We do adjust becausewhat are the alternatives?
873 00:39:49 I mean, it wouldbe miserable not to,
874 00:39:52 but do we longfor our other life?
875 00:39:54 Yes, every day.
876 00:39:56 I mean, it's...it's a drastic change.
877 00:39:58 Two, three...
878 00:40:00 [Chris] Even in my own house,
879 00:40:01 I'd never be ableto be alone again.
880 00:40:03 [Will] He needed24-hour nursing care.
881 00:40:07 His care was running around$400,000 a year.
882 00:40:11 While they werebetter off than most,
883 00:40:12 they weren't better offas most people thought.
884 00:40:15 Our insurance cap,as a matter of fact,
885 00:40:17 will run out in two years.
886 00:40:18 [interviewer]What will happen then?
887 00:40:20 [Chris] Then we have to dosome heavy thinking.
888 00:40:22 [Dana] But it is daunting.
889 00:40:24 A lot of peoplein Chris's condition
890 00:40:25 go right to nursing homes
891 00:40:27 with...on a respirator, it's...
892 00:40:29 You just can't...People can't afford it.
893 00:40:31 [Matthew] There was this fear.
894 00:40:33 "I'm an actor,it's a physical job.
895 00:40:34 How am I goingto make a living?"
896 00:40:40 [Chris] In February of '96,
897 00:40:42 I was askedto make a special appearance
898 00:40:45 on the Academy Awards.
899 00:40:47 [Al] It was almost a full yearsince his accident,
900 00:40:49 and I think that's a hardinvitation to turn down.
901 00:40:52 [Chris] No sooner had I agreed,than it dawned on me
902 00:40:55 how challenging this tripwas going to be.
903 00:41:00 [Al] Dad described how tornhe felt about doing it
904 00:41:03 because it really wassuch a public moment.
905 00:41:06 This thing is being telecast
906 00:41:08 to two billion peoplearound the world.
907 00:41:14 But I gotta get to my seat.
908 00:41:15 It was a production
909 00:41:17 just to get my dadout of the house.
910 00:41:19 But Robin and Marsha bought us
911 00:41:21 the specializedretrofitted van.
912 00:41:23 He needed to be physicallytied down to the floor.
913 00:41:26 [tense music playing]
914 00:41:30 [Al] It was this huge kindof cloak-and-dagger thing
915 00:41:34 keeping it completelyunder wraps
916 00:41:35 because they neededthe freedom.
917 00:41:37 That if Dad had some typeof medical emergency,
918 00:41:39 he could pull out.
919 00:41:44 [Chris] Maybe I havethe opportunity now
920 00:41:46 to make senseof this accident.
921 00:41:51 I felt I neededto do something
922 00:41:54 not just for myself,
923 00:41:55 but for everyone elsein the same condition.
924 00:41:58 [tense music intensifies]
925 00:42:12 [presenter] Academy Awards,Whoopi Goldberg.
926 00:42:16 [applause]
927 00:42:18 [Goldberg] You know,it's hard when you hear
928 00:42:20 that somebody's hadthat kind of accident
929 00:42:22 and then you readall these stories
930 00:42:24 and you're just...You don't know.
931 00:42:26 Uh, people were very nervous.
932 00:42:28 [applause]
933 00:42:31 [Chris] Well,it was time for me
934 00:42:34 I wondered, would I spasm,
935 00:42:37 my body jerkinginto an awkward position?
936 00:42:40 Would I have a pop-off?
937 00:42:42 [tense music building]
938 00:42:46 [announcer]Ladies and gentlemen,
939 00:42:48 Christopher Reeve.
940 00:42:49 [applause]
941 00:42:54 Thank you.
942 00:42:58 Thank you.
943 00:43:03 Thank you very much.
944 00:43:09 Thank you.
945 00:43:16 Thank you very much.
946 00:43:22 Thank you.
947 00:43:33 [applause dies down]
948 00:43:35 What you probably don't know
949 00:43:40 is that I left New Yorklast September...
950 00:43:45 and I just arrived herethis morning.
951 00:43:48 [audience laughs]
952 00:43:51 [applause]
953 00:43:52 And...
954 00:43:57 And I'm glad I did.
955 00:44:02 Because I wouldn't have missed
956 00:44:03 this kind of welcomefor the world.
957 00:44:05 Thank you.
958 00:44:06 - [applause]- [emotional music playing]
959 00:44:14 You know, the... [chuckles]
960 00:44:17 the strength to have to dealwith lots and lots of people
961 00:44:22 trying not to look at youwith pity.
962 00:44:24 [Close] And I thinkthe fact that
963 00:44:26 Superman was in a wheelchair
964 00:44:28 and was willing to gopublic with it was huge.
965 00:44:33 [Brooke Ellison]For people with disabilities
966 00:44:35 to be so visible
967 00:44:37 was almost unheard ofat the time.
968 00:44:41 Disability was reallynot understood
969 00:44:44 as a part of humanityworth including.
970 00:44:47 And for Chris to be helpingto change that narrative
971 00:44:51 was life-changing.
972 00:44:52 Well, I know it was for me.
973 00:44:54 [reporter] Robin,this is his first appearance.
974 00:44:56 This must make youfeel good to know
975 00:44:57 that he's getting outlike this.
976 00:44:59 Yeah, it does.
977 00:45:01 [Al] That wasjust a hugely important,
978 00:45:02 pivotal moment for Dad,
979 00:45:04 to then move on and say,
980 00:45:06 "Okay, I'm back outin the world."
981 00:45:10 [Chris] Another completelyunexpected benefit
982 00:45:13 came during my stayin Hollywood.
983 00:45:15 I entered hotels and buildingsthrough garages, kitchens,
984 00:45:19 and I met cooks, waiters,
985 00:45:21 and maintenance crewsalong the way.
986 00:45:23 Many of them saidthey were praying for me.
987 00:45:26 Christopher, we all love you.
988 00:45:29 - Chris, I love you.- We love you, Christopher.
989 00:45:32 [Chris] Others looked at meright in the eye and said,
990 00:45:35 "We love you, Superman.You're our hero."
991 00:45:39 The fact thatI was in a wheelchair,
992 00:45:41 unable to movebelow my shoulders
993 00:45:44 and dependenton the support of others,
994 00:45:46 had not diminished the fact
995 00:45:48 that I was and alwayswould be their Superman.
996 00:45:58 [heroic music playing]
997 00:46:04 - Say, "Jim"! Whoo!- Excuse me.
998 00:46:06 That's a bad outfit.
999 00:46:09 - Whoo!- [man] Okay, Bresslaw,
1000 00:46:10 [women screaming]
1001 00:46:12 [gasping]
1002 00:46:17 [screaming]
1003 00:46:21 [man] God. Look up there.
1004 00:46:24 What the hell's that?
1005 00:46:27 Easy, miss. I've got you.
1006 00:46:29 You've got me?
1007 00:46:31 - Who's got you?- [chuckles]
1008 00:46:34 [Chris] You've never seena comic book brought to life
1009 00:46:37 and they all thoughtit was gonna be a joke.
1010 00:46:41 We, the filmmakers, feltwe could win our way
1011 00:46:43 into people's hearts,and we did.
1012 00:46:46 [Spengler]When the film opened,
1013 00:46:48 huge success immediately.
1014 00:46:50 Superman did $425 million.
1015 00:46:53 [chuckles] It was 1977.That was a lot of money.
1016 00:46:57 [Johnny Carson]The film critics said
1017 00:46:59 the young actor chosento play the lead in Superman
1018 00:47:00 is the best reasonto see the movie.
1019 00:47:01 And he is with usthis morning.
1020 00:47:03 [Susan Sarandon] I saw it.I wish I had been Lois.
1021 00:47:05 Clearly, that would havebeen fun.
1022 00:47:07 Somebody that isthat masculine
1023 00:47:10 and asked to do that
1024 00:47:12 could easily slip into somekind of toxic masculinity.
1025 00:47:14 But he always struck meas being gentle.
1026 00:47:17 [Goldberg] I don't thinkI was lustful like that
1027 00:47:20 until I saw himin that, you know...
1028 00:47:23 little outfit.
1029 00:47:25 He really will alwaysbe the Superman.
1030 00:47:27 Yeah, and I likethat little curl thing
1031 00:47:29 that was going on.
1032 00:47:30 For the Superman opening,
1033 00:47:32 even the Presidentof the United States is here.
1034 00:47:35 [Spengler] And soChris was introduced.
1035 00:47:37 I mean, for someonewho, just a few months before
1036 00:47:41 was actually off off-Broadway,he was now a star.
1037 00:47:45 I'll talk. They went that way.
1038 00:47:46 Hey, yeah, go for it.
1039 00:47:48 [Exton] He and Robinwere walking down the street,
1040 00:47:49 and Robin was like,"God, I love this city.
1041 00:47:52 Nobody bothers you.They don't know who we are."
1042 00:47:54 And I'm trailing behind,and everybody's going like,
1043 00:47:57 "Did you see who that was?"
1044 00:47:59 - "Superman and Popeye."- [laughter]
1045 00:48:02 "Forget Popeye.I want to know Superman.
1046 00:48:05 Yeah. He ain't got tights on,
1047 00:48:07 but I know he can fly.Come on."
1048 00:48:10 [interviewer]Are you feeling like a star?
1049 00:48:12 [Chris] Don't know much aboutit, I'll tell you in a year.
1050 00:48:15 [interviewer] And you'reenjoying it though? It's fun.
1051 00:48:17 Are you kidding?It's fantastic.
1052 00:48:19 Hi, how you doing?
1053 00:48:21 Hi y'all. Hi, how you doing?
1054 00:48:24 [Daniels] I wasvery happy for my friend
1055 00:48:27 in a way that maybeyou aren't with others.
1056 00:48:30 Usually, it's, you know...[imitates puffing cigarette]
1057 00:48:32 "I fucking hate him!"
1058 00:48:34 And it was a great exampleon how to handle it.
1059 00:48:37 Because it is a freight train,fame.
1060 00:48:39 ♪ [both singing]Of the moon ♪
1061 00:48:41 And it hits you head-on.
1062 00:48:43 [Kevin] As he becamemore and more famous,
1063 00:48:45 Gae gave hima security and an anchor
1064 00:48:48 and a support through that.
1065 00:48:50 [Chris] Everybody wants to bearound with somebody
1066 00:48:52 who they think has the juiceat the moment, has the power.
1067 00:48:54 It's an aphrodisiac, you know,for men and women,
1068 00:48:56 and for some people,it's too hard to resist.
1069 00:48:59 Listen, if Gaehadn't been around,
1070 00:49:00 really, the temptationswere enormous. My God,
1071 00:49:03 not only do they thinkI'm an actor in a lead movie,
1072 00:49:05 but they think I'm Superman,for God's sake.
1073 00:49:07 You know,you just can't do wrong.
1074 00:49:13 Matthew Reeve.
1075 00:49:15 Matthew Exton Reeve.
1076 00:49:17 Mr. Potato,[chuckles]we call him.
1077 00:49:19 He's the light of my life.
1078 00:49:21 [Exton] I had Matthew in London
1079 00:49:23 when Christopherwas shooting Superman II.
1080 00:49:27 [Chris] Becoming a father,I really thought,
1081 00:49:28 "Boy, I don't knowwhether or not
1082 00:49:30 I'm gonna be up to it."
1083 00:49:32 [interviewer] Are there thingsthat you'd like to make sure
1084 00:49:34 that Matthew has thatmaybe you never had?
1085 00:49:35 [Chris] Basically,not a broken home.
1086 00:49:37 Having been in a home
1087 00:49:38 that got ripped apartvery early,
1088 00:49:40 I'm quite determinedthat this won't happen to him.
1089 00:49:43 [interviewer 2]Is he old enough
1090 00:49:45 to have any awarenessthat Dad plays Superman?
1091 00:49:47 [Chris] Oh, sure.
1092 00:49:48 [Matthew] There's evidence[chuckles]
1093 00:49:50 that I impersonated him.
1094 00:49:53 I called myself "Soup Man."[laughs]
1095 00:49:56 You know, his little lunchboxwith soup in it.
1096 00:49:59 And he'd go like thiseverywhere. Soup Man.
1097 00:50:04 It was just hilarious.[laughing]
1098 00:50:06 - [heroic music plays]- [wind whooshes]
1099 00:50:09 General...
1100 00:50:11 would you care to step outside?
1101 00:50:13 Superman. Thank God.
1102 00:50:15 I mean, get him.
1103 00:50:17 [Spengler]Superman II did very well.
1104 00:50:21 A lot of critics saidit was a better movie
1105 00:50:23 than number one.
1106 00:50:25 I don't agree, actually.
1107 00:50:27 I think number one wasa masterpiece of its genre.
1108 00:50:30 [reporter] Christopher,were you thrilled
1109 00:50:32 about the reactionthis evening to the picture?
1110 00:50:33 It was terrific.
1111 00:50:35 Played very nicely.
1112 00:50:36 And, uh, I thinkpeople really like it.
1113 00:50:38 So, I'm happy. Very happy.
1114 00:50:40 [Al] My earliest memories
1115 00:50:42 are from whenI went to set with Dad
1116 00:50:44 and was actuallyin Superman myself.
1117 00:50:49 [Exton] Alexandra arrivedon the scene,
1118 00:50:51 and then we just grew.
1119 00:50:53 It just became this family.
1120 00:50:55 [Chris] I was elatedover the birth of Alexandra,
1121 00:50:58 but confused and anxious
1122 00:51:00 about the directionmy life was taking.
1123 00:51:03 [interviewer] Christopher,are you married?
1124 00:51:05 - [Chris] No, I'm not.- [crowd] Yeah!
1125 00:51:10 [interviewer 2] Now,a lot of people might think
1126 00:51:11 that you are notan old-fashioned romantic
1127 00:51:13 because you twoare not married.
1128 00:51:15 [Exton] We talkedabout marriage
1129 00:51:16 when I was expecting Matthew,
1130 00:51:18 but then later, it just...it just was ignored.
1131 00:51:22 We happen to feel that...or I happen to feel,
1132 00:51:26 that marriageis a sort of a license
1133 00:51:28 to take the other personfor granted.
1134 00:51:30 You don't doany more work on it.
1135 00:51:31 You let thingssort of disintegrate.
1136 00:51:32 Well, do you think everybody?
1137 00:51:34 - 'Cause I don't feelthat way at all.
1138 00:51:36 Uh, we were criticized, um,
1139 00:51:39 but quite frankly,
1140 00:51:41 you live your life,and we'll live ours.
1141 00:51:44 [Matthew] She wanted us to haveas normal a life as possible,
1142 00:51:47 but he was at the heightof his career.
1143 00:51:49 Oh, it's terrific, really.
1144 00:51:50 [interviewer]Twenty years from now,
1145 00:51:52 what do you hopewill have happened to you?
1146 00:51:54 [Chris]That I would have tackled
1147 00:51:55 an increasing variety of roles
1148 00:51:57 with greater and greater depthall the time.
1149 00:51:59 And that I would've movedinto directing.
1150 00:52:07 And action.
1151 00:52:09 The appearance on the Oscars
1152 00:52:11 gave me the courageto go back to work.
1153 00:52:14 [interviewer] Were you scared?I mean, this was
1154 00:52:16 you had directed. Am I right?
1155 00:52:18 Nothing scares me anymore.
1156 00:52:21 Yeah, I mean,not to be melodramatic,
1157 00:52:22 but I've beento the edge and back.
1158 00:52:25 [Goldberg] He said, "Listen,
1159 00:52:26 I have somethingI want to know
1160 00:52:27 if you'd be interestedin doing."
1161 00:52:28 And I was like, "Yes."
1162 00:52:30 And he said, "But youdon't know what it is."
1163 00:52:32 I said, "Doesn't matter.Whatever it is, yes."
1164 00:52:34 So, he told me and I said,"Oh, quadruple yes."
1165 00:52:37 I play a very uptight WASP,[chuckles] basically,
1166 00:52:42 which I know something about.
1167 00:52:44 Whose son comes homeand is dying of AIDS.
1168 00:52:48 So, he's made his choice,
1169 00:52:50 and the best thing you can dofor him right now
1170 00:52:53 is love him.
1171 00:52:55 [Close] Those of usin the theater community,
1172 00:52:58 Chris was certainlypart of that,
1173 00:53:00 lost so many people to AIDS.
1174 00:53:04 [Chris] What I'd learnedin my own experience
1175 00:53:06 is you come outof something like that
1176 00:53:08 not wanting to blame anybody.
1177 00:53:10 Now that you realizelife is too short
1178 00:53:12 to want a complete accountingof everything.
1179 00:53:14 By looking deathso squarely in the face,
1180 00:53:17 I think he had the sensitivity
1181 00:53:20 to really doa beautiful job with it.
1182 00:53:22 I feel that,while I'm sitting down,
1183 00:53:24 I've actually landedon my feet.
1184 00:53:27 I was stunned by his readinessto go out
1185 00:53:31 and be proactive,to be able to direct,
1186 00:53:33 to be able to act even.
1187 00:53:37 [Al] Rear Windowwas his first time
1188 00:53:39 in an acting roleafter the accident.
1189 00:53:41 [machines beeping]
1190 00:53:43 [Chris] One of my missions,really,
1191 00:53:45 is to make people more awareof the disabled,
1192 00:53:48 less afraid to lookat the disabled, and, uh...
1193 00:53:51 this movie,in a sneaky way,
1194 00:53:53 I think, accomplishes that.
1195 00:53:56 [Kirshblum]He went back to work.
1196 00:53:58 He succeeded in a industrythat really wasn't
1197 00:54:02 a disability-friendlyindustry.
1198 00:54:05 [Chris] Just imaginewhat it's like
1199 00:54:07 to be me for one day.
1200 00:54:10 And I have it better
1201 00:54:12 than most peoplewith spinal cord injuries.
1202 00:54:14 He wanted to changethe entire picture
1203 00:54:16 for everybodywith disabilities.
1204 00:54:19 [Manganiello] The vicepresident asked Chris
1205 00:54:21 to come speakat the Democratic
1206 00:54:24 And the vice president sent uphis head speechwriter.
1207 00:54:27 He was a brilliant,beautiful speechwriter.
1208 00:54:29 [laughs]And Chris kinda dismissed him.
1209 00:54:33 [announcer]From the United Center
1210 00:54:35 in Chicago, Illinois,live coverage
1211 00:54:37 of the DemocraticNational Convention.
1212 00:54:39 [applause]
1213 00:54:46 [Chris] Thank youvery, very much.
1214 00:54:49 You know,over the last few years,
1215 00:54:54 we've heard a lot about
1216 00:54:55 something calledfamily values.
1217 00:54:58 And, like many of you,
1218 00:55:00 I've struggled to figure outwhat that means.
1219 00:55:02 I think it meansthat we're all family.
1220 00:55:06 [applause]
1221 00:55:08 And that we all have value.
1222 00:55:10 [cheers and applause]
1223 00:55:18 One in five of ushas some kind of disability.
1224 00:55:22 You may have an auntwith Parkinson's disease.
1225 00:55:25 A neighbor witha spinal cord injury.
1226 00:55:28 And if we're really committedto this idea of family,
1227 00:55:31 we've got to dosomething about it.
1228 00:55:34 [applause]
1229 00:55:36 [Kerry] Somehow, the injusticeof what had happened
1230 00:55:40 just seemed so unfathomableto people.
1231 00:55:44 And it sounds silly, I know,but there he was, Superman.
1232 00:55:49 One was so big and powerfuland invincible,
1233 00:55:54 and the other wasso, now, vulnerable.
1234 00:55:59 Now, one ofthe smartest things
1235 00:56:00 we can do about disabilityis to invest in research
1236 00:56:04 that will protect usfrom diseases
1237 00:56:08 That combinationmoved mountains.
1238 00:56:15 That's how it was.
1239 00:56:19 America does notlet its needy citizens
1240 00:56:25 fend for themselves.
1241 00:56:27 [applause]
1242 00:56:29 [inspirational music playing]
1243 00:56:41 [inaudible] Thank you.Thank you very much.
1244 00:56:50 [interviewer] First Supermanpicture came out.
1245 00:56:52 People considered youSuperman.
1246 00:56:54 Oh, everybody's lookingfor a hero.
1247 00:56:56 Everybody,not just five-year-olds.
1248 00:56:58 That was a part.I played the part.
1249 00:57:00 I'm not that man.
1250 00:57:01 It's an image that is createdby other people
1251 00:57:03 but it's pretty faraway from me.
1252 00:57:05 Outside of Superman,
1253 00:57:07 he seems to have chosenvery opposite roles.
1254 00:57:11 Like Somewhere in Time,which was extremely romantic.
1255 00:57:16 Then he did Deathtrapwith Michael Caine.
1256 00:57:19 Deathtrap.
1257 00:57:22 [Spengler] Then he wasa crooked priest.
1258 00:57:26 None of the films he didoutside of Superman
1259 00:57:30 were successful commercially.
1260 00:57:36 [Chris] Worst reviewI ever got
1261 00:57:37 was from the New York Times .
1262 00:57:39 [Exton] He was very sensitiveto bad reviews.
1263 00:57:42 "Mr. Reeve looks likea helium-filled canary.
1264 00:57:44 One more movie like this
1265 00:57:46 and it's backto the cape forever."
1266 00:57:49 [Exton] He was contractedto do Superman III ,
1267 00:57:53 but his heart wasn't in it.
1268 00:57:55 Hollywood suffersfrom a very bad disease,
1269 00:57:57 called sequel-itis.
1270 00:58:00 You take what grossed100 million domestically
1271 00:58:02 and get the key ingredientsback again
1272 00:58:03 and try to pump it upa few more times.
1273 00:58:05 Of course, the qualityis a sliding scale
1274 00:58:07 of diminishing returns.
1275 00:58:09 [dramatic music playing]
1276 00:58:13 [Exton] In the back ofhis mind, he thought,
1277 00:58:15 "This might not be as good."
1278 00:58:17 He was struggling.
1279 00:58:21 [choking]
1280 00:58:23 [Chris] Everyoneshould be allowed in life
1281 00:58:24 to close the dooron certain times
1282 00:58:26 and open other doors.
1283 00:58:31 [Daniels] If you hit big,that big,
1284 00:58:35 that's who you are.
1285 00:58:37 That's what you areand that's what you can do.
1286 00:58:41 And Chris came back
1287 00:58:43 and did Fifth of Julyon Broadway,
1288 00:58:45 and I was his lover.
1289 00:58:47 [Kevin] Some in the audiencewere so surprised
1290 00:58:49 to see Chris kiss a man.
1291 00:58:52 Someone yells out,"Say it ain't so, Superman."
1292 00:58:55 I mean it was just...it was hard for the audience.
1293 00:58:59 He wanted to prove to everyonethat he was a good actor.
1294 00:59:03 And I don't thinkhe had the chance to find out.
1295 00:59:07 "You're Superman."
1296 00:59:15 [man] Cut it. Lovely.
1297 00:59:19 [Exton] And Superman IVcame along.
1298 00:59:21 - I think he thought...- Yeah.
1299 00:59:22 [Exton] ... "I don't thinkI should be doing this."
1300 00:59:24 [Chris] Superman IVwas simply a catastrophe
1301 00:59:27 from start to finish.
1302 00:59:30 When I was young, the onlycooler movie star father
1303 00:59:33 would have beenLuke Skywalker, Mark Hamill,
1304 00:59:35 or maybe Indiana Jones,Harrison Ford.
1305 00:59:38 He was one of the biggestmovie stars in the world,
1306 00:59:41 but by the time I was ten,
1307 00:59:45 he was kind of doing, like,
1308 00:59:47 TV movies of the weekto pay the bills.
1309 00:59:49 [Exton] And that'swhen our relationship
1310 00:59:51 actually started to struggle.
1311 00:59:54 We were living in London, principally.
1312 00:59:57 We had the apartmentin New York
1313 00:59:59 and we talked about
1314 01:00:01 maybe he should justgo over to America for a while
1315 01:00:03 and, um, reflect on things.
1316 01:00:06 [man] All together now.Right here, right here.
1317 01:00:09 I think he wastesting the water
1318 01:00:10 to see what it was liketo be single.
1319 01:00:14 - We're just good friends.- Okay. I'll take that one.
1320 01:00:16 Thank you.
1321 01:00:17 - [laughter]- [kissing]
1322 01:00:20 We're just good friends.
1323 01:00:23 He came back to Londonfor a while.
1324 01:00:26 He says, "This isn'tgoing to work, is it?"
1325 01:00:28 [somber music playing]
1326 01:00:32 And so, we decided that
1327 01:00:34 maybe it was time thatwe went our separate ways.
1328 01:00:39 [sniffles]
1329 01:00:47 So sorry.
1330 01:00:57 [Matthew] It was hardon my mom.
1331 01:00:59 You know, it wasn't like,
1332 01:01:01 "Yeah, this isn't working outfor the both of us."
1333 01:01:02 I think he was like,
1334 01:01:04 "I don't wantto do this anymore."
1335 01:01:06 I think that was hard for her.
1336 01:01:18 You know,my dad had a big issue.
1337 01:01:20 He would not commit.
1338 01:01:21 Every marriage he'd seen
1339 01:01:23 in his own family lifehad failed.
1340 01:01:25 His parents' marriage.
1341 01:01:27 His father's marriageto his stepmother.
1342 01:01:29 He had no experiencewith a successful, healthy,
1343 01:01:33 long-term marriage.
1344 01:01:36 [Chris] Lives repeat themselvesin succeeding generations,
1345 01:01:41 often in the worst ways.
1346 01:01:43 And patterns of behaviorcan be difficult to break.
1347 01:01:51 [Matthew] He was awayso much anyway.
1348 01:01:53 It wasn't likehe suddenly stopped
1349 01:01:54 picking me upfrom school every day
1350 01:01:56 or something like that.
1351 01:01:58 It was just...
1352 01:02:02 He kind of stoppedcoming home.
1353 01:02:04 For most of my childhood,
1354 01:02:06 she was effectivelya single mom.
1355 01:02:11 So, the day afterI was born, he, um,
1356 01:02:14 flew to...
1357 01:02:16 France and went skiingwith friends. [chuckles]
1358 01:02:21 We weren't, you know...that close.
1359 01:02:26 Relationships come downto small moments,
1360 01:02:28 not just big events.
1361 01:02:32 [interviewer] When you've donea role like Superman,
1362 01:02:35 people tend to put you upon a pedestal.
1363 01:02:36 They tend to thinkyou are that person.
1364 01:02:38 And that, morally,you are that person.
1365 01:02:40 [Chris] Yeah.
1366 01:02:42 I get Bibles and letters sentto me from clergymen saying,
1367 01:02:45 "You must think aboutyour religious responsibility.
1368 01:02:47 Superman is a pop cultureversion of Jesus Christ."
1369 01:02:50 I'm going,"Wait. Whoa, wait a minute."
1370 01:02:53 I don't have all the answers.
1371 01:02:55 I don't know what I'm supposedto do all the time.
1372 01:02:58 I'm not a hero.
1373 01:03:00 Never have been,never will be.
1374 01:03:03 [applause]
1375 01:03:09 To people who are watchingfrom hospital beds
1376 01:03:12 or any placewhere they feel shut in,
1377 01:03:16 help is on the way.
1378 01:03:22 [Ellison]When Chris was injured,
1379 01:03:24 it was either a death sentence
1380 01:03:26 or this was the wayyour life was going to be,
1381 01:03:29 without any treatment or cure.
1382 01:03:32 Impossible and unsolvable...
1383 01:03:34 are no longerin the vocabulary
1384 01:03:37 of the scientific community.
1385 01:03:39 And it took a voicelike Chris' to say,
1386 01:03:43 "That's not good enough."
1387 01:03:45 [Manganiello] So, Chris startedthe foundation.
1388 01:03:48 It was called theChristopher Reeve Foundation.
1389 01:03:51 He's like,"You're Executive Director."
1390 01:03:53 I'm like, "Okay."[chuckles]
1391 01:03:55 The board was Barbara Walters,Robin Williams. It was just...
1392 01:04:00 We are here to help my friend
1393 01:04:03 and 250,000 other people
1394 01:04:04 to get backon their feet again.
1395 01:04:09 [Manganiello]He just wanted to fund
1396 01:04:11 the best scienceno matter where it was.
1397 01:04:13 [Kirshblum] He understoodthe importance of advocacy.
1398 01:04:16 He was an advocatebefore his injury.
1399 01:04:21 Chris was serious aboutpursuing environmental issues
1400 01:04:25 and also human rights issues.
1401 01:04:28 Animal rights terroristsor will not pardon...
1402 01:04:30 [Sarandon] We would go to D.C.
1403 01:04:32 Occasionally, Chris flew us
1404 01:04:34 in an airplane,not on his back.
1405 01:04:37 [Chris] Okay, so whatI used to do politically...
1406 01:04:40 taking all those contactsI made in Washington.
1407 01:04:43 I'm gonna go back thereand beat up on them
1408 01:04:45 He made it bipartisan.
1409 01:04:47 He would take itto Republicans.
1410 01:04:48 He would take it to Democrats.
1411 01:04:50 [reporter] After meetingwith President Clinton,
1412 01:04:51 he was told...
1413 01:04:53 [Chris] There will bea $10 million increase
1414 01:04:55 in funding specificallyfor spinal cord injury.
1415 01:04:58 [Manganiello] People werejust throwing money at us.
1416 01:05:04 [Kirshblum] In the early 1990s,spinal cord injury was known
1417 01:05:07 as a field of doom and gloom.
1418 01:05:09 By making it a hot area,his impact was tangible.
1419 01:05:17 [presenter]There is no question
1420 01:05:18 that Christopher Reevehas become
1421 01:05:20 a quite stunning iconfor the paralyzed community
1422 01:05:24 and for the disabledcommunity in general.
1423 01:05:29 Hi, Dr. Peterson.
1424 01:05:30 How's everything goingin Cambridge?
1425 01:05:32 [Al] One of the areasthat he really believed in
1426 01:05:34 was stem cell research.
1427 01:05:36 [Laurie Hawkins]Chris would get all excited.
1428 01:05:38 He's like,"It's going to change science.
1429 01:05:40 It's goingto change people's lives."
1430 01:05:47 [Chris] You can makea new heart,
1431 01:05:49 you can make a new liver.
1432 01:05:51 You can replace the nerves
1433 01:05:52 that were damagedin spinal cord injuries.
1434 01:05:54 [Ellison] Juvenile diabetes,ALS, Parkinson's disease.
1435 01:05:58 A cure for almost everything.
1436 01:06:01 [Will] My dad was obsessedwith tomorrow's cure.
1437 01:06:04 [Chris] I think it's probablythe greatest breakthrough
1438 01:06:06 in the history of science.
1439 01:06:07 He would have been the firstfor any human trial.
1440 01:06:14 [inspirational music building]
1441 01:06:20 [applause]
1442 01:06:29 Disabled groups have reactedangrily to a commercial
1443 01:06:32 in which the paraplegic actor,Christopher Reeve,
1444 01:06:35 is made to get outof his wheelchair
1445 01:06:36 and walk usingcomputer technology.
1446 01:06:39 [reporter]Millions saw it go out,
1447 01:06:41 some of whom rang inwanting to know
1448 01:06:43 where Reeve had been treated.
1449 01:06:44 People with disabilitiesseem to be very upset
1450 01:06:47 by the messagethat Christopher Reeve
1451 01:06:51 [Manganiello] Chris wasincredibly galvanizing
1452 01:06:53 and he was incrediblypolarizing at the same time.
1453 01:06:56 The concept of cureis a very, very dicey one
1454 01:07:00 in the disability community.
1455 01:07:02 Cure connotes the fact
1456 01:07:04 that there's something wrongwith you,
1457 01:07:06 something that needsto be fixed.
1458 01:07:09 Christopher Reeve has not gonethrough the process
1459 01:07:12 of grieving over his loss.
1460 01:07:15 [Manganiello]Absolutely thought
1461 01:07:17 I think he could do whateverthe flip he wanted to do.
1462 01:07:21 The guy got up every dayfighting for everybody.
1463 01:07:25 Time is absolutely critical.
1464 01:07:29 Someone once said,"Oh, you give people
1465 01:07:31 Chris said,"There's no false hope.
1466 01:07:33 There's only hope."
1467 01:07:35 [Hawkins] There's a groupof disabled community
1468 01:07:37 who were againstall the research.
1469 01:07:39 [Manganiello]And they said he didn't care
1470 01:07:40 about people livingwith a disability.
1471 01:07:42 Only he wantedout of his chair.
1472 01:07:44 They're so usedto being in a chair,
1473 01:07:46 they can't imagineanything else.
1474 01:07:48 And I sympathize with that...
1475 01:07:52 But I'm not gonnabuy into it.
1476 01:07:53 That's when Dana stepped inand she's like,
1477 01:07:56 "No, they actually havea valid point."
1478 01:07:58 That's how we startedthe Quality of Life program
1479 01:08:00 at the Reeve Foundation.
1480 01:08:02 - And so...- [Manganiello] It could
1481 01:08:04 from a summer campfor disabled children
1482 01:08:07 to making a theateraccessible.
1483 01:08:10 I mean,there's a million things
1484 01:08:11 that you could give money to.
1485 01:08:13 I'd like to introduceDana Reeve.
1486 01:08:16 She's onthe Board of Directors
1487 01:08:17 of the Christopher ReeveParalysis Foundation,
1488 01:08:19 and she's the Chairof the Quality of Life Grants
1489 01:08:21 and I must say,
1490 01:08:23 she's the heart and soulof this resource center.
1491 01:08:24 Dana Reeve.
1492 01:08:26 Well, about seven years ago,my husband had his accident...
1493 01:08:28 and I will say,because Chris is who he is,
1494 01:08:31 information poured in.
1495 01:08:33 That doesn't happen
1496 01:08:35 for the vast majorityof people.
1497 01:08:36 Having neveractually done this,
1498 01:08:38 having never beena beauty queen.
1499 01:08:39 [laughter]
1500 01:08:41 [Will] Tomorrow's cure,that is all my dad.
1501 01:08:43 Where Dana comes in,is today's care.
1502 01:08:46 Because her whole life becamededicated to caring for my dad
1503 01:08:52 and for me and for our family.
1504 01:08:55 [Chris] She rescued mewhen I was lying in Virginia
1505 01:08:57 with a broken body,
1506 01:08:59 but that was reallythe second time.
1507 01:09:02 The first time she rescued mewas the night we met.
1508 01:09:12 [piano playing]
1509 01:09:13 ♪ Yes,I'm with you always ♪
1510 01:09:18 ♪ I'm with you rain or shine ♪
1511 01:09:24 [Dana] It was June, 1987,
1512 01:09:28 and right at oneof the front tables
1513 01:09:31 sat a movie star.
1514 01:09:33 She was warned against me.
1515 01:09:35 The word was,"Look out. He's on the prowl."
1516 01:09:39 Um, because I guessI had a reputation of...
1517 01:09:42 Love 'em and leave 'em or...
1518 01:09:43 [Chris] Little bit. Yeah.
1519 01:09:44 It was in the old days.I mean...
1520 01:09:46 [Manganiello]She called and she said,
1521 01:09:48 And I said, "Great."
1522 01:09:50 She goes,"It's Christopher Reeve."
1523 01:09:53 [laughs] And I'm like,"Wow, you're dating Superman?"
1524 01:09:56 I had lots of questions,which I... Never mind.
1525 01:09:59 [Chris] But I had to spenda certain amount of time
1526 01:10:01 trying to disclaimmy reputation.
1527 01:10:03 But it's just slowand I gotta tell you that,
1528 01:10:06 anybody out therewho has not been involved
1529 01:10:07 in an old-fashioned romance,it's thrilling.
1530 01:10:11 [dreamy music playing]
1531 01:10:13 They went at night,and something about a pond
1532 01:10:17 and them going in and wading
1533 01:10:20 and their first kissunder the stars.
1534 01:10:24 It all seemed very movie-like,to be perfectly honest.
1535 01:10:29 That was the wayI saw the evening.
1536 01:10:32 [crowd laughs]
1537 01:10:35 But to hear Chris tell it...
1538 01:10:36 [piano playing]
1539 01:10:38 ♪ I was walkingalong ♪
1540 01:10:39 [crowd laughs]
1541 01:10:41 ♪ Minding my business ♪
1542 01:10:43 [Chris] I went down hook,line and sinker.
1543 01:10:46 All my friends who were theresaw it happen.
1544 01:10:50 [Close] They hada wonderful connection.
1545 01:10:53 They both were extremely happyto be in each other's lives.
1546 01:10:57 - You couldn't see 50 yards.- It was bad.
1547 01:10:59 Yeah. It wasinside-a-milk-bottle time.
1548 01:11:01 Anyway.
1549 01:11:02 How much film do we have?
1550 01:11:03 - We're only on day one.- Okay.
1551 01:11:05 [both laugh]
1552 01:11:06 I think that the heroicKevin Johnson role
1553 01:11:08 - has not yet been described.- [Chris and Dana laugh]
1554 01:11:10 Yeah, that's it.
1555 01:11:11 With Chrisit was the excitement
1556 01:11:13 of the pieces of his life
1557 01:11:15 that she reallymatched him with.
1558 01:11:18 Partly it was the actingand the artistic element,
1559 01:11:21 but it was beyond that.
1560 01:11:23 It was the ability to sharepassionately-intense fun
1561 01:11:28 and activity together.
1562 01:11:30 [laughing]
1563 01:11:33 [dreamy music continues]
1564 01:11:35 [inaudible]
1565 01:11:37 [Matthew] I think from the timeit was fully over with my mom
1566 01:11:40 and the nighthe first met Dana,
1567 01:11:43 was like five months.
1568 01:11:44 Yeah, not long at all.It was pretty wild.
1569 01:11:49 - Hold on, I think I'm...- [Chris] I do remember
1570 01:11:50 meeting Danafor the first time.
1571 01:11:52 I didn't really know, like,[laughs] who she was
1572 01:11:54 or why we were meeting her.
1573 01:11:57 Firstly, her smile, like,
1574 01:11:59 it's just this really warm,bright smile.
1575 01:12:03 Oh. [chuckles] Hello.That's kind of...
1576 01:12:06 - [Chris] Hello.- Christmas never ends.
1577 01:12:07 [Al] It was just so clearhow Dad felt about her.
1578 01:12:11 She was his sunshinefrom day one.
1579 01:12:13 - [Chris] Who's that going to?- It's going to Michael.
1580 01:12:17 [Al] You know, she was26 years old.[chuckles]
1581 01:12:18 Like what a world to come in
1582 01:12:20 and suddenly have,you know, a three-year-old
1583 01:12:22 and a seven-year-oldhanging out with you.
1584 01:12:25 [Exton] She wrote to me,and she said,
1585 01:12:27 "Your children are amazing.
1586 01:12:30 But I'm not goingto be a stepmother.
1587 01:12:31 I want to be their friend."
1588 01:12:33 So, I wrote back and said,you know,
1589 01:12:35 "Thank you.Really appreciate that.
1590 01:12:38 Look out for Alexandra.She's the only girl there."
1591 01:12:40 Do you see they have this...
1592 01:12:42 [Sarandon] There wasa real attempt by Dana
1593 01:12:43 to make surethat the kids were around
1594 01:12:46 as much as possible.
1595 01:12:48 You have to decide thatyou're gonna do that.
1596 01:12:51 That doesn't happen naturally.
1597 01:12:53 Dad, she's messing upthe cardboard.
1598 01:12:56 - How far across? I don't know.- Did you read it?
1599 01:12:58 [Al] And she was also the one.
1600 01:13:00 My dad was very competitive
1601 01:13:02 and he didn'tnecessarily slow down.
1602 01:13:08 [Chris] Come on.
1603 01:13:09 [laughs] Like whenwe'd go skiing, you know,
1604 01:13:11 we'd all go upin the chairlift together,
1605 01:13:13 and then he'd, like,[blows sharply]
1606 01:13:15 you know, bomb down the hilland wait for us at the bottom.
1607 01:13:18 And we're like...
1608 01:13:20 He used to say, like,
1609 01:13:22 "Aren't you glad I'm notlike Franklin?" [chuckles]
1610 01:13:23 I put much less pressureon my children
1611 01:13:25 than my father put on me.
1612 01:13:27 [laughing]But Dana would be, like,
1613 01:13:29 "Yeah, you know,there's a couple...
1614 01:13:31 "You know, you're notcompletely unlike him."
1615 01:13:34 [Al] Pretty quicklyit was Dana saying,[laughs]
1616 01:13:36 "Let's actually go at a pace
1617 01:13:37 so that Alexandra and Matthewcan come out."
1618 01:13:39 [Matthew] She was so kindfrom minute one,
1619 01:13:40 as was her whole family...
1620 01:13:42 warm and welcomingand, you know... [chuckling]
1621 01:13:45 I'm not knocking my own familyon the Reeve side
1622 01:13:47 but there was some contrast.
1623 01:13:49 [young Matthew] Oh, my God,Dad. You'll crack the screen.
1624 01:13:52 - Come on.- [laughter]
1625 01:13:53 Hey, man.
1626 01:13:54 - What a dork.- "Dork"?
1627 01:13:57 [young Matthew]I wasn't talking to you.
1628 01:13:59 I'm going to read a poemby Alexandra Reeve.
1629 01:14:01 Oh, Dad, please.
1630 01:14:02 [Chris] Alexandra's gonnaread a poem
1631 01:14:04 - by Alexandra Reeve.- No, I'm not.
1632 01:14:05 [Chris] I'm gonna reada poem by Alexandra Reeve.
1633 01:14:07 - [young Al] No, Dad, please.- "My poetry. By me."
1634 01:14:09 [all laughing]
1635 01:14:13 [Chris] It's finally only inthis relationship with Dana,
1636 01:14:15 where I began to seemarriage is a freedom.
1637 01:14:18 It's an opportunity.It's a team, you know.
1638 01:14:21 Is there anything missingin your life?
1639 01:14:22 A hit movie would be nice.
1640 01:14:25 [Dana] And we got married,eventually.
1641 01:14:28 [audience laughing]
1642 01:14:30 Five years later.
1643 01:14:33 The "I commit" parttook a little while
1644 01:14:36 to, uh, work itself out.
1645 01:14:38 - [audience member laughs]- [laughs]
1646 01:14:39 One person laughing.
1647 01:14:41 The rest of youare all like, "I know."
1648 01:14:43 [audience laughs]
1649 01:14:44 [romantic classicalmusic playing]
1650 01:14:55 I love you. [chuckles]I marry you.
1651 01:14:59 I give you this ringas a symbol of my vow.
1652 01:15:03 [guests cheering]
1653 01:15:08 [Jay Leno] Gonna starta family,
1654 01:15:10 you've got the whole thingplanned?
1655 01:15:12 Yeah, well, actually,we have a son on the way...
1656 01:15:13 who's coming late in June.
1657 01:15:15 I see you've sort ofstarted the family.
1658 01:15:16 We have started the family.
1659 01:15:19 [Dana] Action.
1660 01:15:22 Action, Will.
1661 01:15:29 - Can't you tell?- [laughs]
1662 01:15:32 [Dana] Oh, God, honey,you'll hurt yourself.
1663 01:15:34 You won't be ableto get it off.
1664 01:15:37 We were talking in the office.
1665 01:15:40 He was so angry, and he said,"I wish I could do something,
1666 01:15:43 move a piece of paper,anything."
1667 01:15:47 And it was, um,
1668 01:15:48 where you wouldnormally gesture.
1669 01:15:51 And I was noticingthat when he would do it,
1670 01:15:53 he would go... You know,his finger would move.
1671 01:16:02 [Matthew] He hadn't movedanything in six years.
1672 01:16:05 I don't know what it means,
1673 01:16:07 but it, like, it meanssomething surely.
1674 01:16:10 [Al] They had fun with it, too.
1675 01:16:12 I remember one day Matthewcame home from college
1676 01:16:14 and he had bought a littlegift for Dad's wheelchair.
1677 01:16:16 An eject button
1678 01:16:18 that we put under his finger.
1679 01:16:20 [stirring music playing]
1680 01:16:29 [Al] Dad started regainingelements of movement.
1681 01:16:41 And they were small,but so meaningful.
1682 01:16:46 [people cheering]
1683 01:16:51 Hours' worth of gymright here.
1684 01:16:53 [laughter]
1685 01:16:56 - Push, push, push.- Push.
1686 01:16:59 [man] There he goes.There he goes.
1687 01:17:02 [laughter]
1688 01:17:04 Oh, my God. [laughs]
1689 01:17:07 [woman] Go hard. Real hard.
1690 01:17:15 [Chris] My spirits rose
1691 01:17:17 with the possibility thatI was on the road to recovery.
1692 01:17:28 [Dana] You do have to learnto walk the fine line
1693 01:17:31 between hopewithout expectation.
1694 01:17:34 As soon as you startexpecting something,
1695 01:17:37 the disappointmentis so much more ferocious.
1696 01:17:39 You know, I thinkif he could have
1697 01:17:40 just gotten offthe ventilator.
1698 01:17:42 Oh, my God,and he practiced so much.
1699 01:17:44 It was brutal to watch.
1700 01:17:46 [machine beeping]
1701 01:17:49 [grunts softly]
1702 01:17:51 [grunts]
1703 01:17:53 But the strengthof the muscles weren't present
1704 01:17:56 to give him enough abilityto wean off completely.
1705 01:18:01 All right.
1706 01:18:05 [brooding music playing]
1707 01:18:11 [Al] He wantedto give people hope.
1708 01:18:13 But it was really hard
1709 01:18:16 and he did not show thatto the world.
1710 01:18:19 [Chris] What's really curious
1711 01:18:21 is that in all the timesince my injury,
1712 01:18:24 I've never once had a dream
1713 01:18:26 in which I've beenin a wheelchair.
1714 01:18:29 It's easy to sinkinto a depression.
1715 01:18:32 And you have to get him out.
1716 01:18:34 We had a list of peoplewe'd call
1717 01:18:36 if we weren't good enough.[chuckles]
1718 01:18:37 We'd call brother Robin.
1719 01:18:40 [laughter and chatter]
1720 01:18:44 - Oh, God. What?- No, they were sliding down.
1721 01:18:46 Now, every timeyou move this...
1722 01:18:48 [Close] Another thing thatRobin and Marsha did was that
1723 01:18:51 on the anniversaryof the accident,
1724 01:18:54 every year,they would get a chef
1725 01:18:56 at Chris and Dana's house
1726 01:18:58 and have a great party.
1727 01:19:00 Made it intoa point of celebration and...
1728 01:19:03 appreciate life.
1729 01:19:06 That was Marsha and Robin.
1730 01:19:10 [Chris] Robin and I,we laugh as much as ever,
1731 01:19:13 but we hardlyever talk about disability.
1732 01:19:16 We hardly ever,ever talk about the chair.
1733 01:19:21 [Sarandon]Robin also had struggles
1734 01:19:23 that he dealt withhis whole life.
1735 01:19:25 And I think that there...
1736 01:19:26 Despite the way they lookand their facade,
1737 01:19:29 that they bothwere aware of darkness.
1738 01:19:32 [tapping on back]
1739 01:19:35 One, two, three.
1740 01:19:37 [Manganiello] You know,Chris' level of injury
1741 01:19:40 was so dramatic and so severe,
1742 01:19:43 I just thinkit's a lonely existence.
1743 01:19:46 [Will] Which must'vebeen hell for him.
1744 01:19:48 And must've been hellfor my mom, too,
1745 01:19:50 knowing the manshe fell in love with
1746 01:19:52 had this whole part of himtaken forever.
1747 01:19:57 I found thisin one of her journals.
1748 01:20:01 "I've been studyingthe difference
1749 01:20:03 between solitudeand loneliness.
1750 01:20:06 Telling the story of my lifeto the clean, white towels
1751 01:20:09 taken warm from the dryerand held to my chest.
1752 01:20:13 A sad substitute for a bodypulled in close.
1753 01:20:18 The whole mantook his last walk
1754 01:20:20 away from mefive years ago today,
1755 01:20:23 leaving only mind, soul,heart and heartache behind.
1756 01:20:29 I think of himin certain lights.
1757 01:20:31 Dawn, late afternoon,
1758 01:20:33 bright, windy days that wouldbe perfect for sailing."
1759 01:20:39 [sighs]
1760 01:20:40 "I miss most, even now,his hands,
1761 01:20:43 the expressive graceand heft of them.
1762 01:20:47 The heat of his handson my skin.
1763 01:20:49 The wrap of his arms,
1764 01:20:51 two becoming one.
1765 01:20:54 I carry the stack of towelsupstairs,
1766 01:20:56 carefully cradling themso as not to let them tumble.
1767 01:21:00 Save one still damp,
1768 01:21:02 the top one I had pressedagainst my face,
1769 01:21:06 which needs more timefor drying."
1770 01:21:13 That's what she was enduring.
1771 01:21:16 That's what she had lost...
1772 01:21:23 when my dad got hurt.
1773 01:21:28 - You good?- [Chris] Mm-hmm.
1774 01:21:31 - But...- [both laugh]
1775 01:21:33 You gotta grab on.
1776 01:21:34 I know.
1777 01:21:37 - Ha ha.- [Dana laughs]
1778 01:21:38 - God.- Come on, let's go in.
1779 01:21:40 [Al] Dana did what Dana does,
1780 01:21:42 which was find waysto rally around him.
1781 01:21:46 And Dad did what Dad did,
1782 01:21:47 which was go downthrough the valley
1783 01:21:49 and then go back upto the hilltop again.
1784 01:21:52 [Chris] I seeit's like a game of cards.
1785 01:21:54 And if you thinkthe game is worthwhile,
1786 01:21:57 then you just playthe hand you're dealt.
1787 01:22:00 I think the game's worthwhile.I really do.
1788 01:22:03 I thought it would bea good thing
1789 01:22:06 for me to tellone really good story
1790 01:22:09 about a family dealingwith a devastating event.
1791 01:22:14 [Ellison] The phone rangand it was a man saying,
1792 01:22:18 "I have Christopher Reeve hereon the line for you.
1793 01:22:22 Would you liketo talk to him?"
1794 01:22:24 And he said,
1795 01:22:26 "I have long wantedto tell the story of somebody
1796 01:22:29 who livedwith ventilator-dependent
1797 01:22:32 So people havea better understanding
1798 01:22:34 of what it's liketo live with quadriplegia."
1799 01:22:38 [Chris] She'san extraordinary person
1800 01:22:40 because her mindis sharp as a razor
1801 01:22:43 and the devotion and loyaltyof her family
1802 01:22:46 is totally amazing.
1803 01:22:48 She applied to Harvard,and she got in.
1804 01:22:51 Her mother, Jean,went with her every day.
1805 01:22:55 They lived together.They ate together.
1806 01:22:58 Brooke graduatedwith a degree in neuroscience.
1807 01:23:02 Both my mother and I
1808 01:23:03 have learned so muchfrom all of you.
1809 01:23:07 What we hopeyou can learn from us
1810 01:23:09 and from each other
1811 01:23:11 is to take no onein your life for granted.
1812 01:23:16 [woman on screen]What we really hope
1813 01:23:17 you can learn from us...
1814 01:23:19 is to take no onein your life for granted.
1815 01:23:27 [Chris] It would be greatif this film
1816 01:23:29 would causefamilies everywhere
1817 01:23:32 to think about how they'rereally doing in their family.
1818 01:23:34 You know, what are the bonds?Is the love there?
1819 01:23:37 - [chuckles]- I think it probably happened.
1820 01:23:40 [Matthew] There wasa huge shift in my dad
1821 01:23:42 from the timeafter the accident.
1822 01:23:44 Happy Father's Day, Father.
1823 01:23:46 - Hey.- [Matthew] Hello there.
1824 01:23:48 His entire approachto parenting changed.
1825 01:23:51 He started really to see us
1826 01:23:53 and to connect to usas people.
1827 01:23:55 [Matthew] Being togetherand talking
1828 01:23:57 was far more valuableand meaningful
1829 01:24:00 than doing all those crazyphysical activities.
1830 01:24:03 [Chris] I was a sailor.I was a skier. I was a rider.
1831 01:24:07 I traveled everywhere.
1832 01:24:09 And you realizethat is not the definition
1833 01:24:13 or the essenceof your existence.
1834 01:24:15 What is the essenceare relationships.
1835 01:24:18 [Dana chuckles]You're gonna regret this.
1836 01:24:20 [Chris laughs]
1837 01:24:22 Daddy's inhis off-road vehicle.
1838 01:24:24 [Will] My dad taught mehow to ride a bike,
1839 01:24:26 which is quite remarkable
1840 01:24:28 considering he wasn'table to move.
1841 01:24:31 [Dana] How does it feelto be riding your bike, sir?
1842 01:24:33 - Good.- [Dana laughs]
1843 01:24:36 [Chris] If someone had told mebefore my injury
1844 01:24:39 that you could teach a kidto ride on his own
1845 01:24:41 just by talking to him,
1846 01:24:42 I would have said thatthat was impossible.
1847 01:24:45 In my case,a catastrophic event
1848 01:24:47 was probably necessaryto change my perspective.
1849 01:24:51 I needed to break my neckto learn some of this stuff.
1850 01:24:55 [man] Matthew Exton Reeve.
1851 01:24:57 [cheers and applause]
1852 01:25:05 Oh, so proud of you.
1853 01:25:08 [Exton] It was the accident
1854 01:25:10 that brought uscloser together
1855 01:25:12 without a shadow of a doubt.
1856 01:25:16 Together like this.
1857 01:25:22 [Chris] For the first timesince the accident,
1858 01:25:24 I've seen my lifeas a continual timeline
1859 01:25:28 instead of before and after,
1860 01:25:32 being on my feetand being seated.
1861 01:25:36 It's all partof the total story.
1862 01:25:40 [sentimental music playing]
1863 01:25:46 Things were good.Things were going well enough
1864 01:25:49 that Dana actually tooka play in California,
1865 01:25:51 leaving Dad and Will at home.
1866 01:25:53 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
1867 01:25:57 [Matthew] She had,like, two nights off.
1868 01:25:59 We had a verytotally informal,
1869 01:26:02 - [Dana] Some of themare sparklers.
1870 01:26:05 [Dana] If you blow one out,I'll do the rest.
1871 01:26:08 Put it a little closer.
1872 01:26:11 - Oh, yeah!- [kids cheering]
1873 01:26:13 [Al] Things were good, and then
1874 01:26:16 they weren't.
1875 01:26:23 All right, here comes Will,here comes Will.
1876 01:26:27 [Will] He mentionedthis infection
1877 01:26:29 that wasn't going away.
1878 01:26:30 He was frustrated.
1879 01:26:32 I came home.
1880 01:26:34 Our favorite baseball teamwere playing in the playoffs,
1881 01:26:38 so I would rub his headfor good luck.
1882 01:26:40 The Yankees came back and won.
1883 01:26:44 At some point, after midnight,
1884 01:26:48 my bedroom door slammed openand it was the nurse on duty.
1885 01:26:52 "Will, something badhas happened.
1886 01:26:55 Your dad has falleninto a coma."
1887 01:27:00 [Al] It was the middleof the night
1888 01:27:02 and it was Dana calling.
1889 01:27:03 She just said,"Al, it's really serious.
1890 01:27:06 You need to go home now."
1891 01:27:07 She was tryingto hold it together,
1892 01:27:09 but she sounded so scared
1893 01:27:10 and I'd never heardmy mom scared before.
1894 01:27:13 She was getting homeas fast as she could.
1895 01:27:17 I called my mom, told her.
1896 01:27:19 We were on a planea few hours later.
1897 01:27:23 [Al] There we were,back in an ICU again.
1898 01:27:27 Both Michael and I go in,Chris is unconscious,
1899 01:27:29 and we just start holdinghis hand, chatting with him.
1900 01:27:32 The hope was that they wouldsomehow turn it around.
1901 01:27:36 But he just wasn't stable.His body would keep crashing.
1902 01:27:39 I think he died threeor four times that day.
1903 01:27:42 Um, and the doctorskept him alive.
1904 01:27:44 They kept resuscitating him
1905 01:27:46 to make surethat Dana got there.
1906 01:27:48 And, uh...
1907 01:27:52 And then in front of mesteps my mom.
1908 01:27:55 She came flying in. [sniffles]
1909 01:27:59 And she just yelled,"I love you, I love you."
1910 01:28:02 [sobbing]
1911 01:28:05 Over and over again,
1912 01:28:07 making sure he could hear it.She was going to reach him.
1913 01:28:12 Certainly, a part of herhad just died
1914 01:28:14 in that moment as well.[voice quivering]
1915 01:28:16 And...
1916 01:28:19 I told him
1917 01:28:22 that I loved him.
1918 01:28:24 I would do whatever I could
1919 01:28:28 to make him proud.
1920 01:28:29 [soft music playing]
1921 01:28:31 And then he was gone.
1922 01:28:39 [sniffles]
1923 01:28:42 Um...
1924 01:28:44 I was in the back of a taxion my way to the hospital
1925 01:28:47 when my sister called meand said he was gone. Um...
1926 01:28:55 [sighs deeply]
1927 01:29:01 [somber choral music playing]
1928 01:29:08 [newscaster 1]Good morning, everyone.
1929 01:29:10 Christopher Reeve is beingremembered this morning
1930 01:29:12 as a courageousand inspirational person
1931 01:29:15 who provided hopeto millions of people.
1932 01:29:21 [newscaster 2] Condolencesare still pouring in
1933 01:29:22 around the world todayfor Christopher Reeve
1934 01:29:25 two days after his deathat the age of 52.
1935 01:29:28 Friends and admirers alike
1936 01:29:29 all have one wordto describe him.
1937 01:29:31 "Hero."
1938 01:29:40 [Manganiello] He never rested.He just didn't.
1939 01:29:42 And I think, you know,after all those years,
1940 01:29:45 people were lookingfor some answer.
1941 01:29:47 It was a bedsore,it was... It wasn't.
1942 01:29:49 It was just system breakdown.
1943 01:29:51 [Hawkins] We knewthis day was coming.
1944 01:29:53 You know it's comingat some point.
1945 01:29:54 It's inevitable.
1946 01:29:56 But we'd gottenso used to Chris
1947 01:29:57 just outliving everything.
1948 01:30:03 [applause]
1949 01:30:07 [crowd laughs]
1950 01:30:10 Just have to waterthe stem cells there
1951 01:30:12 - for a moment.- [crowd laughs]
1952 01:30:16 But I've always considered himbasically, uh, my brother.
1953 01:30:20 I was his fool, but that's it.
1954 01:30:22 [laughter]
1955 01:30:23 Someone's got to do it.
1956 01:30:25 As orderedand as all things were...
1957 01:30:28 that he knew were precise,
1958 01:30:29 I was chaos for him.And that was joy.
1959 01:30:33 [Hawkins] I don't knowthat I've ever seen
1960 01:30:35 a sadder person in my life...
1961 01:30:36 like, just, I mean,I look at him and I just...
1962 01:30:39 You wanted to break downin tears. He was just so sad.
1963 01:30:43 I've always feltif Chris was still around,
1964 01:30:45 Robin would still be alive.
1965 01:30:50 I believe that.
1966 01:30:54 Goodnight, sweet prince,
1967 01:30:55 flights of angelssend thee to thy rest.
1968 01:30:57 [applause]
1969 01:31:02 [Dana] I made a vow to Chriswhen we married
1970 01:31:04 that I would love him.And I would be with him
1971 01:31:08 in sickness and in health.
1972 01:31:10 And I did okay with that.
1973 01:31:12 But there's another vowthat I need to amend today.
1974 01:31:16 I promised to love, honor,and cherish him
1975 01:31:19 till death did us part.
1976 01:31:21 Well, I can't do that.
1977 01:31:24 Because I will love...[crying softly]
1978 01:31:32 honor and cherish him forever.
1979 01:31:40 Goodbye to you.
1980 01:31:50 [birds chirping]
1981 01:32:00 [pensive music playing]
1982 01:32:08 [Will] After my dad died,it was just me and my mom.
1983 01:32:11 It felt strange.
1984 01:32:16 [Al] We gave the van to a boyin New Hampshire.
1985 01:32:20 Absolutely changed his life
1986 01:32:21 because he couldn't goanywhere before that.
1987 01:32:25 [Matthew] It was hard'cause the foundation lost
1988 01:32:27 its biggest advocate,its biggest magnet.
1989 01:32:30 But Dana stepped inand helped fill that void.
1990 01:32:34 [cheers and applause]
1991 01:32:36 [Kerry] Despite the sorrow,the loss, the pain,
1992 01:32:40 she thoughtit was important for her
1993 01:32:42 to make Chris' voiceheard through her.
1994 01:32:47 I've been tryingto help the children
1995 01:32:49 start to piece togethera life without their dad.
1996 01:32:53 [Will] She was so full of lifeand full of hope
1997 01:32:56 that while she had losta part of her soul
1998 01:32:59 when my dad died,
1999 01:33:01 I think she stayed trueto her belief
2000 01:33:04 that there's not enough timein the day for self-pity
2001 01:33:06 and you gottaget on with things.
2002 01:33:09 [Hawkins] A Broadway composerasked her to sing.
2003 01:33:12 - ♪ His is the only...♪- [piano playing]
2004 01:33:15 Really, it's like... urgh.
2005 01:33:16 It feels... it's...how does...
2006 01:33:18 It feels like it's maybejust a little tight.
2007 01:33:20 I think it's from my...[forces a cough]
2008 01:33:22 [Hawkins] And she hasthis little cough.
2009 01:33:25 [coughing]
2010 01:33:27 ♪ Never let him go ♪
2011 01:33:29 [Al] She couldn't figure outwhat was going on.
2012 01:33:31 It just wouldn't go away,and her back was hurting.
2013 01:33:34 [Hawkins] I was like, "Dana,
2014 01:33:36 I'm getting youto a doctor."
2015 01:33:44 And sure enough,came back lung cancer.
2016 01:33:50 We got the first results,
2017 01:33:52 and Michael called me up,and he's like,
2018 01:33:55 "Did you guys go to, like,Labs"R"Us?"
2019 01:33:57 Like, "No, we're goingto a real lab."
2020 01:34:01 The diagnosiswas stage four non-small cell.
2021 01:34:04 [Al] And she got that diagnosis
2022 01:34:06 less than a yearafter we'd lost my dad.
2023 01:34:10 [Hawkins] I'm still in shock.
2024 01:34:11 "You've never smokeda day in your life.
2025 01:34:13 You're so healthy."
2026 01:34:15 I mean, it was just so wrong.It was really, really wrong.
2027 01:34:18 [Manganiello]Dana was so brave.
2028 01:34:21 I mean, she was just like,"Okay, I'll do whatever
2029 01:34:23 Because the last thingon this planet
2030 01:34:24 she was gonna dowas leave that kid.
2031 01:34:26 Wasn't gonna happen.
2032 01:34:27 [Oprah] What are youmost proud of
2033 01:34:30 in this past nineand a half years?
2034 01:34:32 - [laughing]He's sitting right there.
2035 01:34:34 That's what I'm most proud of.
2036 01:34:35 - [Oprah] Yeah. Yeah.- [applause]
2037 01:34:36 I'm so... I'm so proud.
2038 01:34:40 [Oprah] Yeah.
2039 01:34:41 I am. We have extraordinary...
2040 01:34:43 We have extraordinary kids.
2041 01:34:46 [Will] Matthew moved homeand was unbelievable.
2042 01:34:50 He was acting as a dad.He was acting as a brother,
2043 01:34:53 as a best friend.
2044 01:34:54 He took care of me.
2045 01:34:56 And he took careof my mom and he...
2046 01:34:58 he made lifefeel normal. Um...
2047 01:35:03 [Matthew] Dana had sat us down
2048 01:35:05 and she made it very clearkind of what...
2049 01:35:08 she had in mind for,
2050 01:35:12 you know,should anything happen to her.
2051 01:35:14 I think we were all in denial.
2052 01:35:17 You know, I don't knowwhat it is with that family
2053 01:35:19 but it's like Chris knewhe was going to walk again.
2054 01:35:23 Dana just knewshe was gonna survive this.
2055 01:35:26 [Dana] Well,I had a great model.
2056 01:35:28 Um, I was married to a manwho never gave up.
2057 01:35:32 He taught me so muchabout courage
2058 01:35:35 and about going forward,
2059 01:35:37 and he really liveswith me in this.
2060 01:35:42 She got sick pretty quickly.It got serious pretty fast.
2061 01:35:49 [Will] Marsha Williams put usup in a hotel in New York.
2062 01:35:52 Matthew, Al, and I in a room.I was on the cot.
2063 01:35:55 At some point,the phone rings...
2064 01:36:00 with the news
2065 01:36:03 that my mom had died.
2066 01:36:07 And I remember being awake
2067 01:36:11 but pretending I was asleep.
2068 01:36:16 Because
2069 01:36:18 I didn't want to face it.
2070 01:36:23 [melancholy music playing]
2071 01:36:32 And so, I waitedfor the sun to rise
2072 01:36:34 and then shook himon the shoulder
2073 01:36:36 and we told him.
2074 01:36:40 So, in 18 months,
2075 01:36:43 Will lost his dad,
2076 01:36:45 his grandmother, who he wasreally close to, and his mom.
2077 01:36:51 Despite the loveand security that...
2078 01:36:56 my siblings provided meand my family provided me
2079 01:36:59 and my adoptive familyprovides me,
2080 01:37:01 that was the moment,
2081 01:37:04 March 6, 2006, that was...
2082 01:37:07 I've... I've been alonesince then. [sniffles]
2083 01:37:21 [slow inspirationalmusic playing]
2084 01:37:30 [Chris] You can say that theuniverse is totally random.
2085 01:37:33 And it's just moleculescolliding all the time,
2086 01:37:35 and, you know,it's totally chaos.
2087 01:37:37 And our jobis to make sense of chaos.
2088 01:37:41 Or you can say, sometimesthings happen for a reason,
2089 01:37:44 and your jobis to discover the reason.
2090 01:37:50 [Al] Suddenly, there we are,and it's just three kids.
2091 01:37:55 You start to pick upthe pieces and think,
2092 01:37:57 "All right, what doesthe future look like?
2093 01:37:59 How are we gonnanavigate this together?"
2094 01:38:03 [Will] My dad and my momand their values,
2095 01:38:06 the way that they were,
2096 01:38:08 the role models, throughtheir words and their actions,
2097 01:38:11 their unwavering love andsupport and encouragement.
2098 01:38:15 That's how we found our pathforward and our meaning.
2099 01:38:18 My brothers and Ijoined the board
2100 01:38:20 almost immediatelyafter Dana passed away
2101 01:38:22 to help give continuityof the family.
2102 01:38:25 [Will] It is nowthe Christopher and Dana
2103 01:38:29 [Kerry] Chris and Dana.They've made a difference.
2104 01:38:31 They are making a differencein the continuation
2105 01:38:36 [Kirshblum] Both Chris and Dana
2106 01:38:37 did a really good job.Clearly,
2107 01:38:39 because now these childrenaren't children anymore,
2108 01:38:42 and look atwhat they're doing.
2109 01:38:44 Fifty-six and a halfmillion Americans
2110 01:38:47 living with disabilities.
2111 01:38:49 Over $130 million in fundingto labs around the globe.
2112 01:38:53 [Will] What's happeningright now
2113 01:38:54 is the beginningof the end of paralysis.
2114 01:38:58 [Hawkins] People who becamedisabled after Chris
2115 01:39:01 are literally walkingbecause of him.
2116 01:39:04 A man paralyzed fromthe neck down walking again.
2117 01:39:10 He wanted to push everybodyto think bigger.
2118 01:39:13 [Goldberg] That's the fireyou want to put under people,
2119 01:39:16 and nobody did it better thanChristopher Reeve. Nobody.
2120 01:39:19 [Ellison] He helped us say,"There are lives to lead.
2121 01:39:22 People withdisabilities have
2122 01:39:24 an integral roleto play in society."
2123 01:39:26 Chris wanted to changethe fuckin' world, and we did.
2124 01:39:30 The Christopher and Dana ReeveParalysis Act
2125 01:39:34 is the first piece ofcomprehensive legislation
2126 01:39:37 specifically aimed ataddressing the challenges
2127 01:39:40 faced by Americansliving with paralysis.
2128 01:39:42 Matthew, come on up here.
2129 01:39:45 He looks like his dad,doesn't he?
2130 01:39:50 [inspirational musiccontinues]
2131 01:39:56 [Chris] When the firstSuperman movie came out,
2132 01:39:59 the most frequently askedquestion was,
2133 01:40:02 "What is a hero?"
2134 01:40:06 And my answer was that a hero
2135 01:40:08 is someone who commits a courageous action
2136 01:40:12 without considering the consequences.
2137 01:40:15 Now my definition is completely different.
2138 01:40:19 I think a hero is an ordinary individual
2139 01:40:22 who finds the strength to persevere and endure
2140 01:40:25 in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
2141 01:40:33 - [wind whooshes]- [music fades out]