Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez, usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a Mexican film and television producer, known for his contributions to three of the four live-action Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s alongside his father, Alexander Salkind.
13 Facts About Ilya Salkind
1.
2.
Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez was born July 27,1947, in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of Berta Dominguez, a Mexican novelist, and French producer Alexander Salkind.
3.
At the age of one, Salkind was photographed sitting on the lap of Zsa Zsa Gabor.
4.
Ilya Salkind's grandfather, Mikhail Salkind, was a pioneer of silent films and produced Joyless Street, featuring then-relatively-unknown Greta Garbo in her first major role.
5.
William Goldman was approached to write the script, but chose not to do so, as Ilya Salkind had personally cited certain creative differences with Goldman.
6.
Steven Spielberg expressed interest and Ilya Salkind felt comfortable in hiring him upon being impressed with his work on Duel and The Sugarland Express, though his father was skeptical, feeling that Spielberg was not famous enough and claimed they needed to wait until "that fish movie of his" was released.
7.
Richard Lester, Guy Hamilton, George Lucas, John Guillermin and Ronald Neame were then considered, though Lucas was dropped as Ilya Salkind found out he was too committed on Star Wars.
8.
Mark Robson was then in negotiations to direct after Ilya Salkind was impressed with his work on Earthquake.
9.
Ilya Salkind had several major motion pictures slated for the coming years.
10.
Ilya Salkind appeared in the 2006 television documentary Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman talking about his time producing the Superman films.
11.
Ilya Salkind provided audio commentary along with producer Pierre Spengler for the 2006 DVD releases of Superman: The Movie, Superman II, and Superman III.
12.
Ilya Salkind, who was born in Mexico City, traveled south of the border to handle a family property owned by his mother, who died a few years earlier.
13.
Ilya Salkind was married in 1976 to Skye Aubrey, with whom he has two children Anastasia and Sebastian.