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Frank (Rainn Wilson) is an average guy who transforms himself into superhero The Crimson Bolt after his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) hooks up with a smooth-talking drug dealer, Jacques. What Frank lacks in superpowers, he makes up for with a trusty wrench in his one-man war on crime. But every superhero needs a sidekick. Enter Libby (Ellen Page), a cute psychopath working at the local comic book store. Transforming into "Boltie", Libby teams up with Frank to take Jacques down. From the surprising imagination of writer-director James Gunn (Slither) comes Bolt and Boltie, a crazed crime fighting duo for the XBox generation. They're here to save the day, or at least to beat you up.

Offizielle Filmbeschreibung des Toronto International Film Festivals 2010 (von Colin Geddes)

With the recent onslaught of superhero send-ups, it seems as though this premise has become somewhat of a genre unto itself. No stranger to rebel filmmaking, James Gunn cut his teeth writing for Troma before making his directing debut with 2006’s Slither. In a similar vein, his follow-up feature combines absurd humour with balls-out violence to create something that is both unashamed and inimitable. But this time Gunn adds a new ingredient, one that is dark, dramatic and subversive to the core.

When sad sack Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson) sees his ex-addict wife (Liv Tyler) willingly snatched by a seductive drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), he finds himself unable to cope. But when the finger of God blesses his brain (don’t ask), D’Arbo decides to fight back under the guise of a DIY superhero called Crimson Bolt. In order to get his wife back, he must first fight his way up the criminal ranks, and he begins by taking a monkey wrench to the foreheads of a couple who cut in line at the movies. As Crimson Bolt begins to make the headlines, a young woman from the local comic book store (Ellen Page) joins in on the fun as his sexually charged sidekick, Boltie.

The cast is dead-on, with Wilson making the heroic leap to leading man status. Page and Bacon are equally impressive and self-effacing in their supporting roles; both say and do things you could never imagine and we could never print. Rounding out the cast are appearances from longtime genre icons Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) and Troma’s own Lloyd Kaufman.

While Crimson Bolt bears likeness to the Watchmen, Defendor and Kick-Ass, James Gunn has created what is perhaps the definitive take on self-reflexive superheroes. If this outlandish dark comedy is not the zenith of its breed, God help us from what’s to come. Whether you’re new to the graphic novel game or a seasoned fanboy, you will find SUPER to live up to its name.

Auszeichnungen:

• AQCC Prize (Fantasia International Film Festival 2011, 7. August 2011)
• Best Geek Picture (2012 Golden Geeks, 24. Februar 2012)
• Best Geek Actress (Ellen Page, 2012 Golden Geeks, 24. Februar 2012)

Fakten:

• Der Film wurde in nur 24 Tagen gedreht
• Super war bereits geschrieben und in Entwicklung bevor der erste Kick-Ass Comic überhaupt veröffentlicht wurde
• James Gunn schrieb das Drehbuch vor 8 Jahren
• Ambush Entertainment war auch in die “Burma: It can’t wait” Kampagne involviert
• Das (inoffizielle) Filmmaskottchen ist ein brauner Hase, welcher den Namen von Ellens Figur Boltie bekam
• Einige Szenen wurde in James Gunns Haus in LA gedreht
• Super war Ellens erstes Projekt, bei dem Infos vom Dreh und von der Produktion per Twitter verbreitet worden sind
• Super ist eine Independentproduktion mit sehr kleinem Budget. Jedermann hat dabei kaum etwas verdient
• Ellen war die erste Wahl für die Rolle Libby
• James Gunn schrieb das Drehbuch vor 8 Jahren
• Produzent Ted Hope erfuhr über Twitter vom Film und schloss sich kurz darauf dem Team an
• Ted Hope beschreibt den Film als "Watchmen mit extrem niedrigen Budget"
• James Gunns Exfrau Jenna Fischer empfahl Rainn Wilson am Set von "The Office" das Skript zu lesen
• Als Rainn Wilson das Skript zu Ende gelesen hatte, wollte er die Figur unbedingt spielen und den Film in die Tat umsetzen
• Rainn wilson hat eine intime Szene mit Ellen Page, welche er als "großartig und gleichzeitig als eklig beschreibt”
• Es gibt religiöse Elemente im Film, besonders im Bezug auf Rainn Wilsons Figur
• Die Hälfte von Liv Tylers Szenen wurden an nur einem einzigen Tag abgedreht
• Liv Tylers Figur ist drogenabhängig. Um sich in dieser Situation besser hineinversetzen zu können, hat sich sie in ihrem Trailer ständig im Kreis gedreht und dabei einen ordentlichen Schluck Whiskey getrunken
• Super ist Liv Tylers erste Film seit dem Remake "Der unglaubliche Hulk"
• Ellen Page hatte keine Gelegenheit Kevin Bacon am Set zu treffen, da sie in keiner einzigen Szene zusammen zu sehen sind
• Ellen Page sagte auf das Comic-Con im Juli 2010, dass sie ist sehr stolz und glücklich Teil des Films zu sein
• Ellen Page drehte den Film fast ausschließlich mit Rainn Wilson zusammen
• Pro Tag wurden etwa 50 Szenen gedreht, üblich bei einer größeren Produktion sind aber lediglich 15
• Steve Agee hat einen Cameo-Auftritt in einem Comicladen, sagt dort aber nur ein einziges Wort
• Rob Zombie kommt zu einem kurzen Gastauftritt. Er ist die Stimme Gottes
• EPO gab die Premiere des Films beim Toronto International Film Festival noch vor Regisseur James Gunn bekannt ;-)
• Ellen sollte bei der Japan Premiere von “Inception” dabei sein, nahm dann aber beim “Super” Panel auf der Comic-Con teil
• Regisseur James Gunn hat eine kleine Rolle und tritt als Demonswill, dem Widersacher des Holy Avenger, in Erscheinung
• Alle Szenen mit Nathan Fillion wurden aufgrund von Terminproblemen ausnahmslos in Los Angeles gedreht
• Regisseur James Gunn bezeichnet die Arbeit mit Ellen als eines der Highlights in seiner Karriere
• Die Szenen mit Nathan Fillion als Holy Avenger wurden als letztes gedreht
• Ellens Hautfarbe wurde in einer Szene angepasst, da sie beim Außendreh wegen der Kälte blau angelaufen war
• Der Film spielte an den amerikanischen Kinokassen 324.138 US-Dollar ein (April - Juni 2011)

Zitate:

• "The difference is that Super exists in our world. It's actually really based in reality, and a really grounded screenplay. It's about if someone in just a really raw way was, like, 'I'm going to be a superhero.' And that's who Rainn plays. [...] Very dark humor. James Gunn knows his s--t. [...] James Gunn's script is very much like just if you decided to be a superhero and did what superheroes do, but basically your weapon's a lead pipe. Like, what [would] people think?"
  (Ellen Page über den Film; Quelle: scifiwire.com)
   
• “It’s my favorite script I’ve ever written – dark, and funny, and violent, and unlike anything I’ve done. We’re putting a dream cast together.” (Regisseur James Gunn über das Drehbuch und den Cast, Quelle: fearnet.com)
   
• “Honestly, I just want to make the greatest movie possible. Sure, I want it to be a commercial success, but what's truly important is that it blows people's minds and moves people intensely.” (James Gunn auf die Frage an was er persönlich den Erfolg des Films messen will; z.B. Andrang im Kino, DVD Verkäufe, usw.; Quelle: jamesgunn.com)
   
• “Having Liv and Ellen involved takes a lot of pressure off, actually, because it makes this quirky little piece a lot more commercial.” (James Gunn auf die Frage ob die Tatsache Leute wie Ellen Page und Liv Typer an Bord zu haben den Druck auf ihn erhöht hat; Quelle: jamesgunn.com)
   
• "The script is actually about five years old," Gunn told us. "I wrote the script before anything else was out there like this and it just kind of stuck around. I always wanted to make the movie but it's very esoteric and a very unique film. It's sort of a half-serious film about real human beings and it's half this extremely dark comedy with a lot of violence and a lot of sex. It was hard to find a home for it, because it's a very unique piece."
  (Regisseur James Gunn über das Skript; Quelle: www.movieweb.com)
   
• About a year ago, my ex-wife, Jenna Fischer, gave the script to Rainn Wilson, because she kept trying to get me to make this movie. Rainn read it and fell in love with the lead role. I had the money to make the movie before, but I could never agree upon that lead actor. It's a very specific type of person. He's got to have the emotional ability to to really good acting, he also has to be funny, big enough that he can be physically threatened at times, yet also, with all respect to Rainn, dorky enough that you can imagine him being picked on all his life and messed with. A lot of actors wanted to play the role for a long time, but it was a hard role to fit and I didn't want to go in there with the wrong actor. Rainn is perfect for it. He's amazing. [...] Once he signed on, then all of the sudden we have Ellen Page, who was our top choice for that role, signed up immediately and then Liv Tyler, who we couldn't believe we got, signed up for that role and then Kevin Bacon. We made the movie for nothing. Everybody did it for scale, so it's been a really fun project, a very difficult project and emotionally taxing, but I'm really happy with the way the movie is coming out." (Regisseur James Gunn über das Casting; Quelle: www.movieweb.com)
   
• “I play a girl named Libby who is quite the little sociopath ...let's just say I have never played anyone like her. I had an absolute blad shooting this film and an amazing time with Rainn, he is hilarious and just a joy to work with. There is a lot of skin tight spandex action. My favorite. [...] Playing Libby in Super was a blast because she is so extraverted and hyper. Working with someone as funny and brilliant as Rainn [Wilson] made it easy to keep that energy going.” (Ellen Page über ihre Rolle in Super; Quelle: Faces Magazine Halifax - April 2010)
   
• “Super was a wonderful example of team work. We communicated our limitations to everyone before they signed on, and with only one exception, everyone recognizes that we were in it together. Indie filmmaking is a demonstration on the interconnectedness of all things. If you go over on the wardrobe budget, it means you can't license the music you want at the end of the day. The cast and crew got this. No one had anything beyond the essentials. We were lean and mean, a rapid Super shooting machine. It was always about the movie and not the perks. The crew had the best housing -- and Miranda, James, and I had the worst. This isn't the kind of movie that gets made every day and every one indicated that they knew it was a privilege to be part of it. Yet, you can't ask people to do their best work and truly give their all, if such an example of commitment wasn't embraced from the top down. James Gunn's enthusiasm, passion, and preparedness was infectious. He was first to arrive and knew what he wanted. He made his process transparent and was the first to enforce the necessity to move fast. The team organized so well around him that we never had to sacrifice quality.”
  (Produzent Ted Hope über die Opfer, die nötig waren um den Film zu realisieren; Quelle: tiffmidnightmadness.blogspot.com)
   
• "I get raped by Ellen Page, and I make out with Liv Tyler. It’s like I wrote the movie myself, you know what I mean?"
  (Rainn Wilson über seine Rolle im Film; Quelle: splashpage.mtv.com)
   
• “It's what I set out to make - a movie that's powerful to a small group of people. It's certainly not a film for everyone, but many of those people who like it seem to really love it. I've never been involved with a film where people are so intense about it. I love that.” (Regisseur James Gunn über den Erfolg seines Films; Quelle: formspring.me)

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