- Was considered to direct Batman (1989), and had Mel Gibson in mind for the role of Batman.
- Turned down the offer to direct Alien 3 (1992).
- Originally directed Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) back-to-back, then cut back on filming the sequel to focus on finishing the first one for a Christmas release. A clash with producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind over the material led to Donner being fired before he could finish filming the second one and he was replaced by Richard Lester. Donner later estimated that he had directed 80% of the sequel and saw about 50% of his work in the theatrical film.
- He has directed two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Superman (1978) and The Goonies (1985).
- Was asked to direct the fourth Superman film (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)), and considered it alongside Tom Mankiewicz, who had been the writer of the first two Superman films, but ultimately both Donner and Mankiewicz declined, as they had other projects to deal with at the time.
- Was actively pursued by Michael Crichton to direct Jurassic Park (1993).
- Originally intended to direct The Lost Boys (1987) himself, but as production languished, he moved onto Lethal Weapon (1987) and eventually hired Joel Schumacher for the job. He still served as executive producer.
- Ridley Scott offered him the chance to direct Thelma & Louise (1991). He was keen to shoot the film--he called the script "historic"--but wanted his wife, Lauren Shuler Donner to produce, but Scott was not enthusiastic about that.
- Was interested in directing DragonHeart (1996) and spent six months on it in pre-production before moving on to other projects.
- Kept both One-Eyed Willie's head and a model for the ship from The Goonies (1985). Aside from directing the film, he has an uncredited cameo as one of the sheriffs on the quads as the Goonies exit the cave with the ship. He's the one with the gray hair. Producer Steven Spielberg instructed the cast members to act cold and distant toward Donner on the last week of filming, which puzzled him. Shortly after filming wrapped, Donner went to his beach house in Hawaii, ran into a frenzied neighbor who took up his entire day. When he arrived home, the entire cast was there with Donner to celebrate with a cookout. Spielberg flew them over to Hawaii on the promise that they not speak a word of the surprise to Donner, which prompted them to act the way they were on the last week of filming.
- Was originally to direct Wild Wild West (1999) (he had directed three episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965)). His version would have had a script by Shane Black and Mel Gibson starring as Jim West. Donner and Gibson wound up dropping out to make Maverick (1994) instead.
- Was offered the job of directing Never Say Never Again (1983) but turned it down according to the book "The Films of Sean Connery" by Philip Lisa and Lee Pfeiffer.
- Little Caesar (1931) was his favorite film.
- Directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Diana Scarwid in Inside Moves (1980).
- Has directed his cousin Steve Kahan in 14 films: Superman (1978), Inside Moves (1980), The Toy (1982), Lethal Weapon (1987), Scrooged (1988), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Radio Flyer (1992), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Maverick (1994), Assassins (1995), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Timeline (2003) and 16 Blocks (2006).
- Frequently made uncredited appearances in his own movies.
- On 10/16/08 he and Lauren Shuler Donner received stars in a double ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievements in motion pictures, located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd.
- He got Gene Hackman involved in Superman: The Movie (1978) through trickery. Hackman had recently grown a mustache which he was reluctant to shave off and Donner made a deal that he would do the same if Hackman did so. After Hackman shaved, Donner then revealed that the mustache he had worn was a fake. The two instantly became good friends and had a great working relationship.
- Gene Hackman based his performance of Lowell Kolchek in Postcards from the Edge (1990) on Donner. The two had previously worked together on the first two Superman movies.
- Co-producer of the "X-Men" films directed by Bryan Singer, who later directed Superman Returns (2006), a little more than 30 years after Donner himself directed the first one, Superman (1978).
- Was considered to direct Problem Child (1990), but declined as he was busy in post-production on Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).
- Directed two war veterans turned actors who played the iconic disabled war veteran Homer Parish in the different versions of the same story - The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Returning Home (1975). Donner directed Harold Russell in Inside Moves (1980) and James R. Miller in Scrooged (1988).
- At one point he was going to direct The Flintstones (1994). When the movie went from Warner Bros. to Universal, he stayed around but had to pull out due to conflicting schedules with Maverick (1994).
- His mother, Hattie (Horowitz), was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents. His father, Fred Schwartzberg, was a Russian Jewish immigrant.
- Didn't return to direct either Damien: Omen II (1978) or The Final Conflict (1981). In the former case, he was busy with Superman (1978), while in the latter case he was involved with legal problems involving Ilya Salkind and Alexander Salkind after being sacked from Superman II (1980).
- He directed all 4 of the Lethal Weapon movies.
- Was considered to direct Rambo (2008).
- Was offered the opportunity to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) but declined.
- Lived in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, CA.
- Was considered to direct Judge Dredd (1995).
- Was considered to direct Matilda (1996).
- His father had a small furniture-manufacturing business. His grandfather owned a theatre in Brooklyn.
- The novelization for Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) uses the word "omen"; he directed The Omen (1976) and The Goonies (1985) the same year as Holmes and both were scripted by Chris Columbus and produced by Steven Spielberg. The book also says one of the characters is a superman to Holmes; this may be an in-joke to Donner, who directed The Goonies (1985) and the first two Superman movies; there is a scene in Donner's movie when Sloth reveals a shirt with Superman's "S" on it.
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