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TIFF 2010 Buyer’s Club: #8. James Gunn’s SUPER

The market says that movies about backyard super-heros are dead, but awkward ensemble cast of Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon and Nathan Fillion could certainly make this the breakout specialty item of the festival. It’s certainly the most sought after item from the Midnight Madness section, but the film’s tone and buzz coming out of TIFF will make or break the film.

#8. SUPER

The Gist: Rainn Wilson plays Frank, a seemingly average Joe who is madly in love with his troubled wife Sarah (Tyler). But when Sarah leaves Frank for Jacques (Bacon), a smooth-talking drug dealer, Frank transforms into pseudo superhero The Crimson Bolt, stakes out Jacques sleazy hideaway, and wages a one-man war on crime. What he lacks in superpowers, he makes up for with a trusty pipe wrench. Every superhero needs a sidekick and so enters Libby (Page), a cute sociopathic teen working at the local comic book store, who morphs into ‘Boltie’ and teams with Frank to take Jacques down.

James Gunn SUPER

Director: James Gunn — Sales Agent: HanWay Films

Selling Point: The market says that movies about backyard super-heros are dead, but awkward ensemble cast of Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon and Nathan Fillion could certainly make this the breakout specialty item of the festival. It’s certainly the most sought after item from the Midnight Madness section, but the film’s tone and buzz coming out of TIFF will make or break the film.   

Suited For: Distributor who choses a smart domestic date and really knows which demo to pitch to. 

 
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Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).

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