Superman III is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman II (1980). The film features a cast of Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, and Margot Kidder. Although the film recouped its budget of $39 million, it proved less successful than the first two Superman films, both financially and critically. While harsh criticism focused on the film's comedic and campy tone, as well as on the casting and performance of Pryor, the special effects and Christopher Reeve's performance as Superman were praised. A sequel, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, was released in July 1987. Plot The Metropolis-based conglomerate Webscoe hires Gus Gorman, a talented computer programmer. Gus embezzles from his employer through salami slicing, which brings him to the attention of CEO Ross Webster. Webster is intrigued by Gus' potential to help him financially. Webster, his sister Vera, and Webster's girlfriend Lorelei blackmail Gus into helping him. At the Daily Planet, Clark Kent convinces Perry White to let him and Jimmy Olsen visit Smallville for Clark's high-school reunion, while fellow reporter and Clark's unrequited romantic interest Lois Lane leaves for a Bermuda vacation. En route, as Superman, Kent extinguishes a fire in a chemical plant containing unstable beltric acid, which produces corrosive vapor when superheated. At the reunion, Clark reunites with childhood friend Lana Lang, a divorcée with a young son named Ricky. Clark is harassed by Brad Wilson, his former bully and Lana's ex-boyfriend. Later, while having a picnic with Lana, Superman saves an unconscious Ricky from being killed by a combine harvester. Infuriated by Colombia's refusal to do business with him, Webster orders Gus to command Vulcan, an American weather satellite, to create a tornado to destroy Colombia's coffee crop, allowing Webster to corner the market. Gus travels to Smallville to use a Webscoe subsidiary to reprogram the satellite. Although Vulcan creates a devastating storm, Superman neutralizes it. Seeing Superman as a threat to his plans, Webster orders Gus to fabricate Kryptonite. Gus uses Vulcan to locate and analyze Krypton's debris. As one of the elements of Kryptonite is unknown, he substitutes tar. Lana convinces Superman to appear at Ricky's birthday party, but Smallville turns