I am – Hercules!!
James Gunn, who wrote the 2000 superhero comedy “The Specials” before he went on to bigger projects like the excellent “Dawn of the Dead” remake, “Slither” and the terrible “Scooby-Doo” movies, has written and directed a new superhero comedy titled “Super.”
Rainn Wilson, who had a supporting role in the superhero comedy “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” in "Super" embodies The Crimson Bolt, who doesn’t have superpowers but does punish evildoers with a giant wrench. (The Crimson Bolt may remind some of “Mystery Men’s” William H. Macy character The Shoveler, who punished evildoers with his own enormous tool.)
Joining Wilson in the cast is his “Juno” co-star Ellen Page (who played the third big-screen Kitty Pryde in the third X-Men movie), Kevin Bacon (who plays Sebastian Shaw in the next X-Men movie), Sean Gunn (who played Alien Orphan in "The Specials") Nathan Fillion (who played Captain Hammer in "Dr. Horrible"), William Katt (who played the title role in "Greatest American Hero") and Liv Tyler (who played Betty Ross in “Incredible Hulk”).
Those in "Super" with less superhero experience include Linda Cardellini ("Freaks and Geeks," "Scooby-Doo"), Zach Gilford ("Friday Night Lights"), Andre Royo ("The Wire"), Gregg Henry ("Hung"), and Michael Rooker ("Jumper," "The Walking Dead").
"The Freeman," who just saw it in Toronto, tells AICN:
... pure movie magic, it has everything, gore, comedy, violence, hot ladies, hell of a lot of heart, story and it's got something to say ...
"Supergirl," who also just saw it in Toronto, tells AICN:
... awesome ... the balls on this thing, the sheer exploitationist zeal, is infectious ....
HitFix says:
... I may not love every moment of "Super," but I think it's an embarrassment of riches, and a great personal way into the superhero genre.
SlashFilm says:
... There are moments of brilliance, surrounds by moments of bad sketch comedy. The highlight of the film for me is Ellen Page, who is just hilarious as the psychotic sidekick who is just looking to fight crime (even where/when it might not exist). Super also has some good character-based emotional moments which I’d better expect in a Jason Reitman film, but feel a bit out of place and unearned in this movie. ...
CinemaBlend says:
... Even with limited CGI and not particularly strong action directing skills, Gunn keeps Super at a brisk and entertaining pace, and deftly balances the extreme violence with the feeling that Frank, on some level, speaks for us all. But at the same time a lot of things don't pay off, from the costumed Christian TV superhero (Nathan Fillion) who inspires Frank to Liv Tyler's utterly valueless wife character to the fact that the city eventually accepts Crimson Bolt and Boltie as heroes, even though their violence is always disproportionate to the actual crimes. ... the movie worked for me overall, though others I saw it with were generally appalled-- but it's a tough sell outside the bloodthirsty midnight movie crowd.
The Los Angeles Times says:
... will of course be compared to "Kick-Ass," Matthew Vaughn's film from earlier his year that also featured a regular person deciding to take up the life of a superhero. Yet where "Kick-Ass" could never stop reminding a viewer that it was a movie and that things shouldn't be taken too seriously, "Super" has an honesty and genuineness in its compassion ...
Variety says:
... The cast does what little it can with the disturbingly formulaic material. Playing the bloodthirsty, comicbook-loving Libby, the highly animated Page comes across best, even summarizing the viewer's mood while scratching her itchy trigger-finger in costume as Boltie: "Oh, this is so boring!"
UPDATE: IFC late Sunday acquired distribution rights to "Super."
Press release:
IFC FILMS TAKES U.S. RIGHTS TO JAMES GUNN’S SUPER
FIRST BIG SALE DURING TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
Star-studded cast includes Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon
New York, NY (September 12, 2010) – IFC Films, the leading American distributor of independent and foreign films, announced today that the company has acquired U.S. rights to James Gunn’s shockingly hilarious SUPER after an all-night auction that concluded this morning. IFC Films will release SUPER under its new IFC Midnight banner. SUPER was also written by Gunn, and was produced by Miranda Bailey via her LA-based production company, Ambush Entertainment and Ted Hope, via his Gotham-based production company This is that. Ambush’s financing arm, Cold Iron Pictures, financed the film which was executive-produced by Matthew Leutwyler of Ambush Entertainment and Rainn Wilson. The film which stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon, premiered Friday night at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival to tremendous audience response.
Hanway Films is handling international sales and has already sold the film in over 15 foreign territories including: Italy (M2 Pictures), Australia (Village Roadshow), and Scandanavia (Svensk).
In Super, Frank’s (Rainn Wilson) wife leaves him for a seductive, psychopathic drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), Frank is transformed and the Crimson Bolt is born. With a hand-made suit, a wrench, and a crazed sidekick named Boltie (Ellen Page), the Crimson Bolt beats his way through the mean streets of crime in hopes of saving his wife (Liv Tyler). The rules were written a long time ago: You are not supposed to molest children, cut lines or key cars; if you do, prepare to face the wrath of the Crimson Bolt!
Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, “James Gunn has made one of the most creative and subversive films of the year with an outstanding cast including Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon. This is exactly the kind of film we want the IFC Midnight brand to be associated with.”
“I never had to compromise in the making of this movie and I couldn't be more excited to have found a distribution partner wanting to embrace the extremities and balls-to-the-walls qualities of SUPER” said James Gunn.
“SUPER is special because it has lots of unique qualities that make it an indie film and we are thrilled IFC Films is releasing it because they are independent cinema and totally get the spirit of the film and what it’s about” said producers Miranda Bailey and Ted Hope.
The deal for Super was negotiated by Arianna Bocco and Betsy Rodgers at IFC Films and by Graham Taylor at WME Global and Rich Klubeck at UTA on behalf of the filmmakers.
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