Super 8 is the new J.J. Abrams flick that’s shaping up to be an exciting throwback to the classic sci-fi genre, overrun by a deluge of today’s hi-tech alien invasion stories. In the tradition of ‘Close Encounters’ and maybe even ‘E.T’, ‘Super 8’ is set in the time when those films changed sci-fi adventure stories and replaced the flying saucer paranoia flicks of the 50’s and 60’s with a more intellectual and subtle variant, portraying alien intelligence as possibly friendly and thoughtful, not to mention downright cute.
Steven Spielberg shaped the sci-fi landscape with these early films and is now teaming up with J.J. Abrams to bring a story that’s reminiscent of an era when wi-fi wasn’t invented and when film was still made of celluloid.
Most people would know that Super 8 was the film format of choice for home movies and amateur filmmakers, introduced in 1965 it was used heavily til the 80’s, especially for it’s stop motion advantages. It’s predecessor 8mm was used by Spielberg for his own amateur alien flick, Firefly which he made in 1964 and paved the way for Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
Similarly in ‘Super 8’ we’re introduced to a group of six youngsters who are making their own short film about zombies. It’s Ohio in 1979 in the fictional town of Lillian Heights, and one night shooting on a lonely stretch of rural railroads, a truck collides with an oncoming locomotive, causing an explosive derailment which allows something inhuman to escape from the wreckage.
Check out the original teaser:
Now J.J. Abrams who’s famously secretive about his films – so as not to give away plot spoilers, is also aware that despite it’s charm, the film could be lost amidst the opening summer blockbusters. So going against his instincts, he thinks it’s time to lift the lid – without giving too much away.
Speaking with Hero Complex in his Santa Monica office late last week, J.J. Abrams spoke about his reasons for secrecy, and why he’s cluing people in on his pet project:
Look, I feel we need a little bit of a coming-out party because we are up against massive franchises and brands and most people don’t know what ‘Super 8′ means.
We’re a complete anomaly in a summer of huge films … and we don’t want to be so silent or coy that people don’t care or don’t hear about it.
We have such a challenge on this movie.Yes, we’ve got Steven’s name on it and my name on it — for what that’s worth — but we’ve got no famous super-hero, we’ve got no pre-existing franchise or sequel, it’s not starring anyone you’ve heard of before. There’s no book, there’s no toy, there’s no comic book. There’s nothing. I don’t have anything; I don’t even have a board game, that’s how bad it is. But I think we have a very good movie.
Abrams revealed that the movie began as two separate projects and the stronger components of the two stories were merged together for greater effect. The first story was an ordinary tale of youngsters that see the world and each other through the lens of their Super 8 camera. He and Spielberg brought in some top writers to toy with the subject but nothing came of it.
… there was not much there and it was frustrating because it would not go away in my head. … I couldn’t tell you what the story was. I knew characters, I knew situations, I knew there were issues of class and a love story at the core and that it would be a coming-of-age movie. A lot of the writers were lukewarm.
Over at Paramount, another idea conjured by Abrams was for a spooky film set against the 1970s and the scrutiny of Area 51 – where government officials trying to protect their classified possessions of the notorious military base would move them off site via midnight trains — though one never reaches its final destination.
Abrams then realized just how promising the ideas were combined:
… a pretty cool premise but no characters to speak of … so I was in possession of two halves and it occurred to me after six months or so to put them together.
The hybrid approach was embraced by Spielberg. He told Abrams how he wanted to tell a story of a family experiencing the effects of divorce and melded it with a sci-fi, the result was E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial.
‘Super 8’ has a similar back-beat approach with it’s story, dealing with the death of a factory worker and the heartache that continues to affect the players of the story.
This is a movie about overcoming loss and finding your way again and finding your own voice. A boy who’s lost his mother and the man who’s lost his wife. There’s this father who, because of the era, never really had to be the parent. He’s a good man, he works hard, he’s a deputy in the town, but he’s never stepped up as father.
12-year-old actress Elle Fanning stars in the movie who’s also playing a part in the amateur Super 8 zombie fest. In one scene she’s said to wow the other young filmmakers with ambitions of becoming a movie star.
Elle was born to do this, and she is just eerie in her sophistication and wisdom.
Abrams said that she and the other young performers gave incredible performances, some of whom had not appeared in films:
It was a little bit like being a parent where you kind of have to herd this group. They were all incredibly distinct and just amazing to work with. Two of the main kids had never been on the set of anything before. … I have to tell you after the first day or two I was horrified. It just took them 48 hours, though, to go from being complete neophytes to being on their way. It was incredible to watch, and as scary as it was for me I can’t imagine how scary it was for them.
The new promo debuted during the recent super bowl telecast and looks to be an emotional roller-coaster as well as being a visually stunning film. With a main character who’s yet to be revealed, similar to ‘Cloverfield’, audiences will have to wait until opening day to meet him.
Check it out here:
Super 8 hits IMAX and regular screens on June 10th, 2011.
via: Hero Complex
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