Plot:

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.

Facts:

• The movie was shot in only 24 days
• Super was written and in development before the Kick-Ass comic ever came out
• Ambush Entertainment was also involved in the “Burma: It can’t wait” campaign
• The (inofficial) mascot is a brown bunny named after Ellen’s movie character Boltie
• Parts of the movie were filmed in director James Gunn’s house in LA
• Super was Ellen's first project where the cast and crew actively used Twitter during the filming and production process
• Super is a low-budget independent project. Everyone involved did it for scale
• Ellen was the first choice to play Libby

Tweets (Ellen / SUPER related, contain spoilers):
(Please credit EPO if you're going to use this collection elsewhere)

• james_gunn @ellenpagenet Thank you!! Ellen is going to rock it! (11:56 PM Dec 6th, 2009)
• rainnwilson Back to Shreveport for the second half of SUPER shoot - working w/Ellen Page again, Yippee Kai Yai Dooo! (7:16 PM Jan 5th)
• james_gunn Ellen Page just told me about micro pigs and it is suddenly very important that I have a micro pig as a pet! (@vonspears, don't eat it!) (3:05 AM Jan 6th)
• lloydkaufman ellen page and the a wilson from Office and Sean Gunn are in the scene with me (7:10 PM Jan 6th)
• TedHope Part Two of SUPER really begins now: EllenPage and car crashes, blood & crunching metal. (7:39 PM Jan 6th)
• lloydkaufman I just know that Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page were very very impressed with the performance James pulled out of me.I could just tell. (1:57 AM Jan 7th)
• lloydkaufman Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson are amazing in this movie and they are incredibly devoted to James and nice people (3:18 AM Jan 7th)
• lloydkaufman gave Rainn Wilson a Tromeo and Juliet DVD.He is showing it to Ellen Page at this very moment! (3:22 AM Jan 7th)
• Sheri_The_AD Bolite the bunny is hyper tonight, running around, jumping off tables, think she is channeling her superhero namesake Ellen Page (4:35 AM Jan 7th)
• rainnwilson "my nipples could cut diamonds" -Ellen Page dictating her first tweet to me as she's sitting in the backseat of my Buick in her bra. (6:12 PM Jan 7th)
• james_gunn I'm loving working with Ellen Page, who is not on Twitter, but says many Tweets in actual life. (5:57 AM Jan 8th)
• james_gunn No, @LizRECords and others, if @theellenpage is claiming to be the actress Ellen Page, she is a fake. Ellen does not have a Twitter. (6:28 AM Jan 8th)
• BuckJHamstein 14hrs of work/25mins of BCS - impossible to complain about being physically/emotionally exhausted after seeing Ellen Page work today. #SUPER (6:56 AM Jan 8th)
• TedHope If you factor in that it was 15degrees & windy, Ellen was in her underwear, Rainn just street clothes, 17 set ups before lunch is damn good. (12:32 AM Jan 8th)
• rainnwilson S U P E R! RT what's the name of the upcoming movie with ellen page? (via @polyethylene87) (8:08 PM Jan 8th)
• Sheri_The_AD Thanks for the @Boltie_Bunny support @ellenpagenet and btw Ellen Page has been a dream to work with, so lovely, sweet and talented (9:31 PM Jan 11th)
• TedHope You should be here w us: Rainn & Ellen are in the weeds, lights bounce off the pond behind, fog (fake) rises & drifts, explosions, gun shots (4:48 AM Jan 15th)
• ambushent Boltie and the crimson bolt just sat down for a candid interview. I'm lucky to still be alive. (9:02 AM Jan 15th)
• rainnwilson Ellen Page and I have decided to make a coffee table book on the history Pajamas. (1:37 PM Jan 15th)
• james_gunn Just wrapped. May have murdered Ellen Page with an aerobics routine. Film wrapped Liv Tyler, who I'm going to miss like hell!! (2:30 PM Jan 15th)
• BuckJHamstein Although I think I could take roughly 82% of the cast and crew in a fight, I'm certain Ellen Page would kick my ass. (2:31 PM Jan 15th)
• ambushent ok. so Ellen Page may just be the cutest actress in the world. (2:25 AM Jan 17th)
• Sheri_The_AD #Super proud of @IllWilliamX who stole the scene from @rainnwilson & Ellen Page. Very funny Will. (4:46 AM Jan 17th)
• james_gunn Hey @diablocody I'm standing with Ellen Page & she says 'let's get together for a beer & watch The Cove.' (5:02 AM Jan 17th)
• rainnwilson Ellen Page & I are going to start a band called "Forehead". (8:38 AM Jan 17th)
• rainnwilson Were going to try and get Christina Ricci, @actuallyNPH and Wharf the Klingon to join as well. (8:41 AM Jan 17th)
• Free_Spirited_ I dreamed I was at a party with Ellen Page and everyone had fake beer, and @RainnWilson was wearing garbage bags. Oh wait. That happened. (8:06 PM Jan 17th)
• james_gunn I've finally adjusted to nights! And I go back home tomorrow. Last day shooting in the Shreve... (9:50 PM Jan 17th)
• TedHope Tonight's the last day. In Shreveport. For SUPER. Hopefully just the 1st of several movies I will get to make in this SuperFilmTown. (9:55 PM Jan 17th)
• Sheri_The_AD Last night of #Super shoot in Shreveport I going to miss my crew but I have a feeling I'll be back to make more movies in this awesome town (10:30 PM Jan 17th)
• rainnwilson 5 pm call for "Super" in Shreveport - shoot strait til 4:30 am. 6 am flight to LA. Drive to Office. Shoot all day. #yikes (10:47 PM Jan 17th)
• rainnwilson Going to miss this Louisiana "Super" crew! They've been amazing. One of the best I've ever worked with. #hollywoodsouth (10:58 PM Jan 17th)
• TedHope What are the best costumed hero love scenes? What else do they do "between the panels"? We will be on the list for sure. (3:39 AM Jan 18th)
• TedHope Everyone is watching #GoldenGlobes but I am watching superheroes have sex. How did I get the lucky hand? (4:02 AM Jan 18th)
• JoeBluhm @rainnwilson has a sweet gig- plays guy who gets to "get" both Liv Tyler & Ellen Page within 6 weeks, while Kevin Bacon & james_gunn watch! (7:22 AM Jan 18th)
• Sheri_The_AD We did it! That's a wrap in Shreveport. Thanks to the awesome #Super crew! (12:40 PM Jan 18th)
• james_gunn That's a Shreveport wrap. I'm not the easiest guy to work for & this isn't the easiest movie. I was blessed with amazing folks around me. (12:58 PM Jan 18th)
• TedHope SUPER shoot was FREEZING. Now it's pushing 70 degrees. Still: Great place to film. Fantastic crew. Thanks Shreveport! Goodbye! (4:28 PM Jan 19th)
• Sheri_The_AD Happy Birthday @rainnwilson let's celebrate this weekend by shooting the rest of #Super (10:26 PM Jan 20th)
• ambushent prepping SUPER LA shoot. the gun range should be fun! (7:44 PM Jan 21st)
• james_gunn Oh my God doing green screen effect shots is so boring I want to blow my brains out. (8:49 PM Jan 22nd)
• ambushent Of anyone ever wondered what Rainn Wilsons brain looked like I now know. Gooey! (10:26 PM Jan 22nd)
• james_gunn On set with @Rainnwilson & Ellen Page. Made the mistake of shooting a fight scene in my house! (8:18 PM Jan 23rd)
• maryrocks33 Ellen page smashing Zach Gilfords face is amazing! (11:13 PM Jan 23rd)
• TedHope What's more damaged by this scene? @james_gunn 's house or Zach Gilford's body. Rainn & Ellen have beaten the poor guy to a pulp. (11:36 PM Jan 23rd)
• Sheri_The_AD New set crush Zach Gilford, so cute! Too bad we smashed his face in with glass (11:44 PM Jan 23rd)
• rainnwilson I'm not at Sundance w/'Hesher' & Im not at SAG awards w/the Office cast... shooting the last of SUPER with Ellen Page. Fun but exhausting. (12:37 AM Jan 24th)
• ambushent Ellen Page just made Zach Gilfors cry like a little girl. Lol (1:50 AM Jan 24th)
• Sheri_The_AD My boyfriend @matthewmedlin got mad about my last tweet, sorry baby set crushes are part of the job my last one was on Ellen Page (1:57 AM Jan 24th)
• ambushent So good seeing LivTyler stoping by set to give us all hugs ! (3:19 AM Jan 24th)
• TedHope In between the panels: Is that where Superheroes clean house & use the toilet -- or do they go in a more R-rated direction? (3:38 AM Jan 24th)
• TedHope On list of transgressions, where does superhero getting it on w/teen sidekick rate? On the list of 1s to see on screen that is. (4:13 AM Jan 24th)
• TedHope Watching dailies has convinced me Ellen Page comes from same gene pool as Springsteen: throws so much energy into performance. (8:12 PM Jan 24th)
• ambushent Ellen Page and Rainn Wilson are my new favorite actors to watch! Can anyone say Chemistry! (9:02 PM Jan 24th)
• TedHope "I'm no different from you or anyone else, Holly. All it takes to be a superhero is a choice to fight evil." Choose or lose. (9:09 PM Jan 24th)
• TedHope It's almost 24hrs until my panel at Sundance. And we still have at least 9hrs of SUPER still to film. (10:20 PM Jan 24th)
• Sheri_The_AD Shooting in a comic book store & as I look at all the female superheros I wonder how they flight crime w/o their boobs getting in the way (10:23 PM Jan 24th)
• james_gunn Just wrapped Ellen Page. She's been an incredible partner on this journey! I'll miss her! (2:00 AM Jan 25th)
• falsemaria1 Very sad Ellen is wrapped. Wow was she funny. (3:12 AM Jan 25th)
• Sheri_The_AD We picture wrapped Ellen Page & soon the whole film loved working with her a true joy & I hope to get the chance again. #setcrushonEllenPage (3:43 AM Jan 25th)
• Sheri_The_AD That's a wrap on #Super (5:45 AM Jan 25th)
• maryrocks33 Just finished SUPER! What an amazing filming experience! i am going to miss this cast and crew soooo much! (6:16 AM Jan 25th)
• james_gunn And that's a wrap on SUPER principal photography! Oh man! I'm about to collapse with emotion and relief. Thank you, everybody involved! (6:35 AM Jan 25th)

Formspring Quotes by James Gunn (Ellen / SUPER related):
(Please credit EPO if you're going to use this collection elsewhere)

• Q: How much money did you get for directing Super?
  A: Like everyone involved, I took only the guild minimums. I'm not sure how much that is, but for directing and writing I think it was under 150 grand.
• Q: Is Ellen Page in Super a lot?
  A: Yes, her role is extremely prominent.
• Q: Do you have a particular casting agent/ agency you use or do you your own casting calls?
  A: I almost always have used a casting person, but they've changed. On SUPER we used a local casting agent in Louisiana for a few small roles - but almost all the roles in the film were cast by me from stars either myself, Ted Hope, or Rainn Wilson would get the script to, or friends. A very good percentage of the film and most of the small roles are actually friends and people I've worked with over the years on other films, web stuff, etc. Some of these folks - like Valentine Miele, from Tromeo & Humanzee, are going to blow your mind. They're amazing small performances.
• Q: When will SUPER be out?
  A: We don't know. It will be finished this summer, but our distribution deal is not settled yet (and probably won't be settled until then).
• Q: Seriously looking forward to SUPER. I know you just wrapped and I don't want to be a little piggy, but when is it coming out?
  A: We don't know yet (answered earlier).
• Q: What do you think of Rob Zombie?
  A: I mean this in all sincerity - Rob Zombie is one of my very favorite people in this business. I think he's a talented guy, and, more importantly, he's just about the nicest guy around. He just gave us the use of one of his songs for SUPER for free. He's the best.
• Q: How did your assistant/intern work out? Would you hold another online search again?
  A: Justin was awesome!! In all fairness, he came to me through my friend Mary, but, still, he was great. From that same search, though, we got two other onset PA's who were also great. One of them, Will, even has a pretty hilarious featured extra role in Super. I would definitely do it again.
• Q: What sort of comics do you enjoy? You mention them every now and again and I know SUPER is obviously based in the culture. Maxx fan?
  A: I think Maxx is okay. I read a lot of comics, both underground (recently finished Joe Sacco's Footnotes in Gaza and David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp) and mainstream comics (really enjoying Bendis's Siege stuff right now). If you do a Google search, you can probably find some lists of my favorite books here and there.
• Q: When you write a screenplay, how often do you create characters with specific actors in mind?
  A: Sometimes. In my new movie Super, I wrote the role of Hamilton with Andre Royo in mind, for instance. But most of the roles were written without specific actors. Sometimes I will imagine one of my friends as the characters, however.
• Q: How did you and mia meet?
  A: We met on MySpace two years ago. I friended her because she was cute, she wrote me, and I read her blogs, which I loved, and became interested. We chatted a bit, but lost touch. After I broke up with my last girlfriend, we reconnected again and started dating on a trip to New York. As a side note, I met Mia the same day I met Liv Tyler in person and Liv agreed to do Super! Liv was the most important part of our raising funding for the film, so it was quite a big, joyful day in my life.
• Q: How involved are you in the editing of Super? And does your editing involvement vary much depending on the project?
  A: I'm in the editing room every day for a few hours. I give notes, watch changes, and go back the next day for the same thing again. Yes, the projects vary. On Slither I was next to the editor the entire time, looking at every little edit. I give Cara Silverman, on Super, a bit more freedom. On PG Porn though, Pete Alton is truly in charge of the editing - I give him perhaps two rounds of notes, and that's it.
• Q: Is it lucrative being you? how much do you make from a script?
  A: It depends. I did Super for guild minimum, which is something like fifty grand (not sure). However, I've made over a million on other scripts. If you add in my residuals on the movie, I can make three or four million off a single script. This is the first time I've ever answered this question straightforwardly - like the relationship questions, I may regret it!!
• Q: What's the best camera to shoot with? Is it the same as your favorite? If not, how do they differ?
  A: I shot SUPER on the Red and really liked it for its ease and speed. If I had a bigger budget, though, I'd probably still prefer a 35.
• Q: Will you take Super to the Toronto Film Fest?
  A: Possible.
• Q: OMG James, is so many questions here! Thank you for your answers! Maybe you can persuade Michael Rosenbaum to be registered here? For short time))
  A: I get asked to try and get my famous friends to do this or that all the time. I never do. Except Twitter. I did harass both Liv Tyler and Ellen Page throughout the filming of SUPER to sign on to Twitter. I was completely unsuccessful.
• Q: Will you be infront of the camera at all for Super?
  A: Yes, I do have a role in Super. It's not large, but it's larger than my cameo in Slither.
• Q: Since you walked away from Belcoo and Pets, is there anything else on the horizon?
  A: I'm trying to figure that out now. I'm ready for something new. Super has fucked me up!!
• Q: Do you make your way into canada very often for projects? How else am I going to get a photo with you??
  A: I've shot three movies in Canada! But, fortunately for us down here, the U.S. is now competitive in many States because of tax breaks, and I was able to shoot Super in Louisiana. I'm sure I'll go back to Canada sometime soon. Vancouver is like a second home - I've spent over a year of my life there shooting movies!
• Q: What are you're thoughts about Kick-ass and how it may affect Super?
  A: Not sure. It looks like it's going to make 19 million this weekend, which is not so great considering the amount of advertising they put into it, and the amount the movie cost. If it was a bigger hit, it might help us more. I am, of course, a little bummed out - I wrote the script for SUPER five years ago, and already had a producer attached, before Mark even began writing the Kick-Ass comic book. However, our movie is much, much different. It's an independent black comedy with a tragic, dramatic center. We'll see!
• Q: Is Super going to get a theatrical release, limited or straight to DVD? How is this determined and do you have much influence on this?
  A: We haven't sold to a distributor yet, but we certainly hope for a theatrical release.
• Q: What are your plans for today?
  A: I'm going to make notes on my cut of SUPER, mostly. It's an open day, which is nice. I have no plans tonight, so I think I might stay in and watch the second half of Red Cliff.
• Q: I've been following you since I saw you were filming Super in my hometown in Louisiana. I was curious what you thought of the place-- the good and the bad? My beef with S'port is the airport situation.
  A: I like Shreveport and think the people are kind. There are a couple of good restaurants (Bella Fresca my favorite of them), which really helps. The airport situation IS bad, because so many flights are cancelled. It makes it a huge problem when shooting there. Rainn was flying back and forth between us and the Office, and we could have had our film ruined by a cancelled flight at the airport, which almost happened so many times - we were just lucky. It's hard to make a movie there because there are no direct flights.
• Q: How much does it set production back when/if you have had to fire an actor from a project?
  A: It depends. I fired a huge actor a couple weeks before shooting Super, and replaced him with another big actor, and it didn't cost us anything at all. However, on Tromeo, we fired an actor after we shot for a day, and had to reshoot all his scenes, which was a pain. It really depends on how much work you've put into the person, or how much you've shot with him (or her).
• Q: Will Mia be making an apperance in any of your future films?
  A: She will make a very small appearance in SUPER, yes.
• Q: How did you come to be so awesome?? Slither is my favorite movie! Oh, and will there be another Scream Queens?? You were too cute on that show!
  A: I don't know how I came to be so awesome, but there will be another Scream Queens. Unfortunately, because I had to shoot Super, I couldn't be a judge, so my friend Tim Sullivan took over for me. I will hopefully be back for Season Three (if there is one - so be sure to watch Season Two!)
• Q: Does Von Spears have a cameo in SUPER? Why the fuck not?
  A: He doesn't because he wasn't in Shreveport with me, and the scenes shot in L.A. weren't conducive to a dog cameo.
• Q: Would you ever work with Lloyd again?
  A: I work with Lloyd all the time. I just shot the BluRay intro for Tromeo & Juliet, and he has a small role in Super.
• Q: Who's the most under-appreciated person on set during production (not in post)
  A: 1st Assistant Camera - because if that dude isn't keeping things in focus, you're fucked! On Super, we had once focus puller who was absolutely incredible, and he saved us a lot of time by being so great.
• Q: Was Ellen Page your first choice for the role in Super?
  A: Completely.
• Q: When will Super be out? I can't wait to see it!
  A: We don't know yet!
• Q: Do you and Mia plan to work on some projects together?
  A: We've talked about one thing, and she has a small part of Super, but I'm more interested in partnering with her in life than I am with creative or career projects.
• Q: Are you likely to go back to the studio well following SUPER, or do something else in the indie arena?
  A: It could go either way, but my next project will likely be a studio project. SUPER was the thing I've been most passionate about, but it also almost killed me. I would like a little more down time and money on my next film.
• Q: Just saw 'Kick Ass'. You think Super might be labeled a 'knock off' of it? Ideawise?
  A: Likely. Even though Super was written and had a producer attached before Mark Millar ever wrote the comic book, and Mark even knew about it (because I told him - just a coincidence). Externally the movies seem similar but internally they are very very different
• Q: Will we see a trailer for Super anytime soon? how much did it cost to make?
  A: Probably not until Comicon. I'm not allowed to say anymore how much it cost, but it was very low budget. Everyone worked for scale.
• Q: Was Mia Taft Hartleyed in Super?
  A: No. She doesn't have any lines.
• Q: Why did you not return for the 2nd series of Scream Queens? I thought you made that show.
  A: I had to shoot SUPER, and they happened to occur at the exact same time. It totally sucked for me. But please watch anyway - if it gets picked up I'll be back for the third season. I HATED not being able to do that show. It was one of the most fun things ever.
• Q: Have you seen Ellen's film Peacock?
  A: I have not.
• Q: Would you be willing to answer a short questionaire for my blog, Hollywood Bound and Down, regarding your success in Hollywood?
  A: Ask the questions on here and copy them! I'm actually avoiding interviews right now. I know I'll have to do them when I'm closer with SUPER, so I'm holding off.
• Q: What's your favorite part of making a film, and the most stressful part? Are you just a wreck until it's all over or are there times you can enjoy yourself in the moment? Have you nearly strangled anybody on Super?
  A: My favorite part is definitely post-production. The hours are easier and I enjoy the process of editing. I very rarely enjoy making a film, and I get made fun of for it all the time. Even crew members and actors are surprised when I tell them I almost never have a good time doing what I do. It's the stress in part, but I also just become a sort of machine, and I don't filter in any sort of pleasure as part of the equation - how I "feel" becomes utterly important. All that matters is the piece of work I'm producing. Why do I do it then? (That's what everyone asks me). It's because I feel called to do it, and I'm happy with some of the things I've produced so far. But it's about as pleasurable as childbirth. SLITHER was more fun than SUPER because there was more down time and more time to bond, etc, because the budget was larger. SUPER was a sprint and was extremely physically and psychologically difficult because of that. As for the second person, there are probably about four people on SUPER I wanted to punch at one time or another. One of those people I wouldn't mind strangling.
• Q: I saw the special effects making of Slither on You Tube and it was really interesting. I was wonder if the shots in Grants house was a house or was it a set? (sorry this was so long)
  A: All the interiors of Grant's home were a beautiful set designed and built by our great production designer, Andrew Neskoromny. I love shooting on sets, which I didn't have the luxury of being able to do on Super.
• Q: How long did it take you to finish the script for Slither? Not counting revisions/rewrites.
  A: About a month or a month and a half for the first draft. It was quick (but not as quick as The Specials or Tromeo & Juliet, each of which I wrote in under a week. Super, too, was less than a month).
• Q: Do you have a trailer almost ready for super? do you know when we can expect it? i havent even seen any screen shots or nothing yet for it.
  A: The earliest anyone will see anything is Comicon in July. No screen shots or stills before then. It's like the Cloverfield monster, only with that guy from The Office.
• Q: A lot of people tell me that Sasha Grey and Ellen Page (two people you've worked with) look alike,but I don't see it. Do you think they look alike?
  A: Not in the very least.
• Q: Is there ever a time that you miss the days working for Troma and wish you could go back to films at that budget level?
  A: The budget for SUPER really wasn't much more than a Troma movie, especially if you take out the union fees. So I DO go back and do that. But I do often miss my days of working at Troma. I was discovering the joys of professional filmmaking for the first time.
• Q: Do you have an idea what the rating of SUPER will be?
  A: It will be rated R.
• Q: You stated Ellen Page was your first choice for playing Libby in Super. Was there any special reason for this respectively did you wrote the character especially for her?
  A: No, I didn't write the character for her. But Rainn and I thought it was an opportunity for her to play a different type of character than she usually does, and Rainn liked her a lot as a person (I didn't know her yet), and she was essentially the biggest star/box office draw in that age range/of that type who was also a serious actress.
• Q: Did the actors of SUPER have any input on the scenes or certain things (stunts, violence, nudity) or did you film it as it was written a long time ago?
  A: Every once in a while Rainn would improve a line, but everything else was exactly as it's been written for over five years.
• Q: Are you going to be at comic-con this year? please say yes
  A: I will probably be there with some stuff from SUPER, yes, but this isn't entirely certain.
• Q: What's the hardest thing you've done in the entertainment biz? PG porn or movies?
  A: PG Porn was EASY! The hardest thing I ever did in the entertainment industry was work for Troma, especially for the pre-production period of Tromeo & Juliet. Nothing else compares to that. The second most difficult thing was shooting the scene between Grant Grant and Starla near the end of the movie, where he's wrapping her tentacles around her. A million things went wrong on that day, and Michael Rooker was in agony, which killed me. The next hardest thing was the entirety of SUPER, which pretty much beat the shit out of me. Of all the online stuff I did, Humanzee! was undoubtedly the most difficult.
• Q: I love elizabeth banks!!! did you expect her and n.fillion to become such big stars when working with them?? any chance you'll work with her again in the near future?
  A: Well, Nathan is in SUPER. Elizabeth and I have been talking about working on something together in the very near future. Whatever the case, I'll work with both of them again. They're both good friends, and I love creating with them. And, yes, I expected them both to become huge stars while I was working with them.
• Q: You said you dislike the works of Gregg Araki, but have you seen mysterious skin? because it's awesome.
  A: I heard that. And it's written by Scott Heim, who I like a lot (the novel is very good) and shot by SUPER director of photography Steve Gainer. But I despise those other films so much I've had a hard time forcing myself to watch it.
• Q: Do you storyboard your own films and are they detailed down to every cut or just loose approximations?
  A: On Super I storyboarded every single shot very very specifically. I drew them all myself, and no one can understand them but me.
• Q: What cameras do you use for shooting?
  A: It changes from project to project. We shot SUPER on the Red.
• Q: I'm such a character person in my writing, what's your favorite type of character to write?
  A: The Machiavellian, darkly comic trickster (Murry Martini in Tromeo, Steve in Dawn of the Dead, the Mayor in Slither, Ellen Page's character Libby in Super, etc.)
• Q: Describe Ellen Page's personality.
  A: More of a command than a question, but - she's extremely serious and globally conscious at all times. She's quiet natured yet extremely energetic. She's massively charismatic and equally talented. She's sweet and funny and loves dogs, which puts her over the top in my book. I think she's incredible.
• Q: When is the soonest we could see Super on the big screen?
  A: Probably September - that's the SOONEST. It will likely be later than that.
• Q: So I thought Kick Ass was a pretty good movie, a more "real" take on the super hero thing. What did you think?
  A: I have not seen it.
• Q: What is a typical day like for you?
  A: My days change from day to day. Lately I wake up, eat breakfast, work out, take care of phone calls and internet stuff from home, take a meeting, go to the editing room and work on SUPER, come back and do a little writing, and then hang out with Mia, usually going out and doing something.
• Q: Would you ever film in your hometown, or is it too expensive to film within the States?
  A: I would, sure. I just filmed SUPER in the States. Most of the best deals are now in the States, actually.
• Q: Are you planning on doing promotion of SUPER on talk shows? Or do you leave it up to the actors? I would love to see you promote the film on Chelsea Lately.
  A: I'll do some shows, yes, if the release is big enough. I don't know about Chelsea Lately. I've never even seen that show.
• Q: Over the course of a normal year (to average out highs and lows), how much of your time is spent writing, pitching/looking for deals, directing, and goofing off (non-work)?
  A: This really changes from year to year. I've spent a LOT of time goofing off with Mia this year, perhaps a record amount. This year most of my time this year so far has been spent directing SUPER, secondly with goofing off, then writing, and in a very distant last place, pitching and looking for deals, which takes almost none of my time.
• Q: What does the word "Muslim" bring to your mind?
  A: Well, the first thing I thought of was my friend Shari Davani, who was the first A.D. on Super. She's Muslim.
• Q: Why did you stop PG Porn on spike?
  A: Because I needed to go direct SUPER.
• Q: How was it working with Ellen Page??
  A: Delightful.
• Q: Update on Super? Hows it going? What part of the process is the film in now?
  A: I've turned in the first director's cut, and have to turn in the second cut tomorrow. Tomorrow I lay some music in with the composer Tyler Bates, and I'm very excited about it! Basically, we're very close to being done with the edit. But there's a lot to be done with music, song rights, CGI and 2D animation, as well as the DI color timing and the sound mix. But we're getting to the place where we have a finished movie that we just need to make look and sound like an actual movie! It feels great!! People are going to freak out on Ellen Page, by the way. She is so fucking fun.
• Q: A chance Old 97's on Super soundtrack?
  A: Possibly. There's a very specific sound of the Super soundtrack - a lot of the songs were picked out for the movie in the script-writing stage. Some of the scenes were even shot to specific songs. It is also very Swedish-influenced. And, with that, I must go!! Mia is well awake and I'm ignoring her! Thanks for all your questions! Sorry if I didn't get to yours!
• Q: Will SUPER be a 90min, 120min or rather 120+ movie? Or, to say it in other words, what is the estimated running time?
  A: It will probably run around 95 minutes. It's to the point!
• Q: What's the tone/rating of Super going to be?
  A: It will be rated R, and it is funny but very, very dark.
• Q: When you were filming Super w/ Rainn,Liv,Ellen,and etc did you guys have time to bond/do stuff when you weren't shooting?
  A: A very small amount. On Slither I had a lot of time to bond with the cast. We shot for 47 days and had a lot of down time. On Super we only shot for 24 days and we were constantly going - sometimes doing over 50 set-ups a day (on a normal film it can be around 12 set-ups a day). I was moving constantly. So I didn't get to hang out with the cast outside of filming. That said, I hung out with all of them a small amount. I probably hung out with Liv the most.
• Q: How did you convince Ellen Page to wear nothing but underwear on her first day on the set? :-)
  A: How do you know about that? I didn't have to convince Ellen at all - she was game for anything! And it wasn't so wild that she wore her underwear on the first day, but that she had to wear it outside in the FREEZING COLD.
• Q: Are there any "elements" from your past projects that we will see in SUPER again?
  A: Unfortunately, tentacles will make a reappearance. I swore I was done with them forever after Slither, but they little fuckers wriggled their way back into another movie. Once again, they have been the bane of my existence. Other than that, many of the themes I've been interested in make a reappearance.
• Q: Going to Comic-Con? If so, for fun, work, both?
  A: I think I'll probably be there with SUPER, but this isn't 100% certain.
• Q: Was it difficult to convince such big names like Liv Tyler, Ellen Page or Rainn Wilson (and their legals/agents etc.) to do SUPER for scale?
  A: No. It was surprisingly easy. Rainn already knew me, so he was easy. Both Ellen and Liv read the script, were into it, and then they met me and we got along and they said they wanted to do it right away. Their reps were all surprisingly supportive, because the thought it was a cool, worthwhile project.
• Q: How much is scale?
  A: There are different levels of scale according to the budget of the film. For an actor on a low budget film, I think it's like a couple hundred bucks a day. There is also scale for writers, directors, editors, etc. Everyone on SUPER pretty much worked for scale.
• Q: How far along are you in editing Super? How many effects shots are there?
  A: We are almost done with the actual edit, but there is a lot left to do. We have many many effects shots - both CGI and 2D animation.
• Q: How did you choose Cara Silverman to edit SUPER?
  A: We had a LOT of editors, and many high profile ones, who wanted to edit SUPER. I chose Cara for two reasons: She came highly, highly recommended from my friend Ken Kwapis, and because I liked her personality a lot. You have to spend a lot of time with your editor, and you need to have good communication between the two of you. Oh, also, she understood the movie completely, which not everyone who read it did.
• Q: Just to be curious. When did you send the SUPER script to the main actors (Wilson, Page, Tyler, Bacon) and when did they sign up?
  A: Jenna talked me into giving the script to Rainn over a year ago, which I did. He loved it and we decided to try to get it going together before anyone else was involved. Rainn shared it with Ellen as a long shot. We didn't really think that it was going to happen, but she also was into it. Ellen and I had lunch, got along famously, and she decided she wanted to do it on the spot as long as we could work around her Inception schedule. Shortly after that my agency, UTA, gave the script to Liv. Again, we were shocked, but she was interested. I flew up to NY to meet with her. I remember the date, because it was the same day as my first date with Mia - July 31st. Liv and I had a three or four hour lunch, and she was on board. Kevin, however, didn't become involved until just a couple weeks or so before we started shooting. There was actually another actor attached to the role of Jacques, but some things went wrong and we had to replace him. Kevin had already read the script because we had earlier offered the smaller role of Felkner to him (eventually played by Gregg Henry). Anyway, we asked Kevin and he said he was in, after we had a phone call. And that's it!
• Q: Why didn't you go with peter alton as your DP?
  A: Pete had never shot with the Red when we shot SUPER.
• Q: If SUPER does well at this screening will that help fast tack it into theaters?
  A: No. The screening I talked about on Twitter this morning is only for me and the editor. We just want to see what we have so far on a big screen.
• Q: One of your STL extras here. Thanks again for the opportunity it was great fun for my daughter and I. She did a paper on you for her directing class when she got back. Did I read somewhere that you were introducing the SUPER trailer at SDCC?
  A: This is a likely possibility, but not certain. We will possibly show a scene from Super at Comicon.
• Q: I think you and sam rockwell could make some hilarious and twisted stuff together. will you cast him in your next film?
  A: Sam and I had conversations five years ago about him starring in Super, but things went in a different direction. I'd love to work with him sometime.
• Q: Is Ellen Page really short and tiny like I've heard she is?
  A: She's very tiny. Very small all around.
• Q: To date, what do you see as your greatest professional achievement?
  A: Getting SUPER made.
• Q: I have a friend that was an extra on Super, I think she was a stripper did you guys have fun on the set with all the extras?
  A: Yes! The extras were a lot of fun on SUPER. The most fun day was probably the day we used all the people from Twitter, who drove in from all over the place to be in the movie.
• Q: Who is the leading actress in Super, Liv, Ellen, or are they both leads?
  A: They're both leads.
• Q: When was the last time you talked to Ellen Page?
  A: About a week ago by email.
• Q: For your next project, or even PG Porn, will you use people who are following you on twitter be extras like you did with Super?
  A: Maybe for my next movie, but probably not PG Porn, as we only need a few extras for those kinds of shows, and a few extras are easy to find among my friends. It's only for the big crowd scenes where Twitter is helpful. We only did it in one scene with Super.
• Q: According to the crew's tweets, you shot some scenes of SUPER in the middle of the night (3 or 4 AM). Was there any specific reason for this?
  A: Yes - simply because these were scenes that took place outdoors at night. So we wanted all the night time darkness we could get, and shot overnight.
• Q: Do you think the "Juno"-Fans will enjoy Ellen Page's performance in SUPER?
  A: Yes, definitely. Although Ellen is very different in SUPER than she was in Juno.
• Q: Will there be an official website for SUPER (besides a single page on your own one)?
  A: Yes, there probably will be.
• Q: Would you appreciate if the fan/websites dedicated to the actors involved in SUPER help you with promoting the movie? Or don't you want that kind of support?
  A: Of course! I would love it!
• Q: If Ellen Page would have dropped out of SUPER, who would be your choice to play Libby/Boltie?
  A: Probably Kelli Garner.
• Q: Since Ellen often plays characters younger than her actual age, how old is Libby/Boltie supposed to be?
  A: 22.
• With the end of the post-production for SUPER getting closer, do you already have some "deleted scenes" that might be included in the DVD/Blu-ray release later?
  Yes, we do. But not many.
• If Super gets Ironman box office numbers, what kind of car are you going to buy?
  I like my car just fine, and Super isn't that type of movie at all.
• I just wanted to tell you that Slither is one of my favorite movies. Do you have any plans to make another movie with Nathan Fillion? I think you should
  Nathan Fillion is in my movie Super, with Rainn Wilson, which I'm editing now.
• I'm curious, was there a test screening for SUPER in West Hollywood last night as announced by Dean Mozian or not? If so, how was the feedback?
  Yes, there were two very very small test screenings in Los Angeles and New York. The response was overwhelmingly positive, as long as it wasn't someone offended by the extreme nature of the material.
• Do you plan on doing any future film projects with Nathan Fillion?
  He's in SUPER. Hopefully, if all goes well, he'll be at Comicon with me, Rainn, Liv, and others.
• I'm really looking forward to seeing Super. But it's tough for me to see movies with sexual violence. You just mentioned the film's "extreme nature." I realize you can't really give away any details, but how extreme is "extreme?"
  It's very extreme in a lot of ways - tonally, the violence, the philosophy behind it, everything.
• How could you cut Kaufman's one line in Slither!
  He did it poorly and the line didn't work anyway. Don't worry: He has TWO lines in SUPER to make up for it.
• I thought Nathan Fillion was going to Comicon for Castle? Can he go for Super as well?
  Of course.
• When will Super come out? And when are you releasing the trailers?
  We don't know when the movie is coming out as we don't have a distributor yet. We will be showing some footage at Comicon on Friday, July 23, at 1 pm in Hall H. I am not sure how much of this footage will be available online.
• Which cast members attended the Super screening, if any?
  None. But Rainn has already seen the film.
• So whats the deal- footage or trailer or both or none at comic con? do you have a trailer for super ready but might have to hold out on sharing it?
  No, we don't have a trailer ready. We will be showing footage for sure, and maybe a short trailer as well. We're working it all out now.
• Rainn Wilson tweeted he'd seen an almost finished cut of Super - if you are that close of locking the picture, why aren’t you going to have a trailer for Comic Con? Wouldn't that be the smartest thing to have ready in terms of a marketing position?
  Where did you get that we aren't having a trailer for Comicon? I said all along we're showing footage there. How that footage takes shape is still up for debate. But we're definitely showing something from the movie, and always have been.
• Do you have 100% control over the casting of your films? Say you like someone, but the producers don't; who wins? Or reverse that, the producers want someone, but you don't; who wins?
  It depends on what the project is. On SUPER, I pretty much had total control over the casting as long as the lead roles made our financiers happy (that is, I couldn't cast unknowns in the roles Rainn, Liv, Ellen, and Kevin Bacon are in). On Slither I disagreed about one particular role, and I would have wanted to cast more American friends but was unable to because of Canadian guild agreements, but other than that I got everything I wanted. On PG Porn, etc, I am the owner and get to do whatever the hell I want.
• Do you think you will visit us in Paris France to promote Super ? Do you like the city ?
  I have never been to Paris, though I have been to other parts of France a number of times. I would love to go there to promote Super! Or even just for a vacation. But we'll have to see what the future holds.
• Those of us not going to comic con,where else can we go see you release super footage?
  We don't know where we'll be showing it again after Comic Con, but I do know it's not going to be immediately online.
• What do you think of director's cuts... shouldn't the best viewing experience be reserved for the big screen?
  Well, sometimes the "director's cut" isn't the best cut of a film. Mel Gibson's cut of Payback is much better than the director's cut on Blu-Ray. Yuck! Sometimes producers DO know better than directors. Also, directors' cuts are often just cuts of a movie before the MPAA gets their hands on it - and those versions can't be shown in theaters. It is likely that the first MPAA viewing of SUPER will not receive an R rating and I'd love to have people be able to see the unrated director's cut at some point.
• Are you excited for comic con?
  Yes, very!! I'm so happy Ellen is going to join us!
• How awesome is Ellen Page
  VERY awesome.
• Has Ellen Page convinced you to visit Halifax yet?
  Not yet, no.
• I saw Inception and Ellen Page was great, I'm really looking forward to seeing Super. Did she say anything about working with Leo D.?
  I think we had a conversation about it one day, but I swear to God I can't remember what it was. I'm certain it wasn't negative - I would have remembered that. He's actually one of my favorite actors out there.
• Will Super come out in 2010? I can't wait to see it!
  No. It will probably be out in 2011.
• What's the tone of super gonna be like? Is it going to be aimed more at adults? More comedy than adventure? That sort of thing.
• It's a very dark, sad film, that still has a lot of comedy and violence. It's very much it's own thing.

Quotes:

• "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 on the movie; Source: 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.” (director James Gunn on the script and cast, Source: 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 on what will make Super a success for him personally, in terms of bums on seats at the cinema, DVD sales, etc.; Source: 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.” (director James Gunn on the question if having people like Ellen Page and Liv Tyler on board put more pressure on him; Source: 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." (director James Gunn on the script; Source: 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." (director James Gunn on the casting; Source: 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 on her role in Super; Source: Faces Magazine Halifax - April 2010 issue)