Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and was released on June 10, 2011[3][4] in conventional and IMAX theaters in the US. The film tells the story of a group of young teenagers who are filming their own Super 8 movie in a small town in 1979 when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town. The movie was filmed in Weirton, West Virginia and surrounding areas.
It was released to critical acclaim; being praised for its nostalgia,
visual effects, and musical score. The film was also lauded for the
performances of its young actors, especially those of Elle Fanning and
newcomer Joel Courtney. It was also an enormous commercial success,
grossing over $250 million on a $50 million budget. It received several
awards and nominations; mainly in the technical categories and for Elle
Fanning's performance as Alice Dainard.
Plot
In the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio, Deputy Jack Lamb (Kyle Chandler) and his 14-year-old son Joe (Joel Courtney) mourn the death of his wife in a factory accident. Jack blames her fellow worker, Louis Dainard (Ron Eldard),
for her death, as she was covering his shift while he was recovering
from intoxication the night before. At the end of the school year, Joe's
friend Charles Kaznyk (Riley Griffiths) decides to make a low-budget zombie movie to enter into a local film competition. Charles enlists the help of their friends Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso), and Cary (Ryan Lee), as well as Dainard's daughter, Alice (Elle Fanning). Joe and Alice, though aware their respective fathers would be furious, become smitten with each other.
Charles decides to film one scene at the local train depot using a
passing train to add authenticity to the work. While filming, the
children witness a pickup truck drive onto the tracks and ram the train
head-on, causing a massive derailment. The children investigate the
wreck; Joe finds a pile of strange white cubes, and believes he
witnessed something large flee the train, while the others discover the
truck's driver as Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman),
their biology teacher. Woodward, barely alive, threatens the children
at gunpoint to never talk about what they saw that night. The children
flee as an armed force from the local Air Force base, led by Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich), secure the scene. Nelec discovers an unused reel of Super 8 film, and assumes the event was captured on film.
While Joe and Charles wait on the development of the film of the
derailment, the town experiences strange events: dogs run away, several
people have gone missing, and numerous electronics components have been
stolen. Overhearing questionable Air Force communication, Jack
approaches Nelec to help quell the rising panic in town, but Nelec
instead orders him secured in the base's prison. Nelec soon orders the
forces to start a wildfire on the outskirts of town, using it as a guise
to evacuate the townspeople to the base. Before they are taken to the
base, Joe and Charles have watched the film and confirmed that a large,
alien creature had fled from the train's derailment.
At the base, the boys learn from a repentant Dainard that Alice has
gone missing, abducted by the creature the night before after Dainard
discovered her being seen with Joe. Joe, Charles, Martin, and Cary sneak
back into town, intent on rescuing Alice. They first break into Dr.
Woodward's storage locker at school, discovering films and documents
from his time as a government researcher. One film shows the scientists,
including Woodward, experimenting on an alien creature and its
spaceship, composed of thousands of the white cubes, in 1958. At point
in the film, the alien grabs Woodward, and Joe surmises that it created a
psychic link with Woodward, leading him to cause the derailment and aid
in the alien's escape. The boys are caught by Nelec and his men, but as
they are taken back to the base by bus, the alien attacks the vehicle.
Nelec and his men are killed covering the boys' escape back to town.
Meanwhile, Jack has escaped from the base's prison and made his way to
the towns-folks, learning from Dainard where Joe has gotten to. The two
men reconcile their differences and work together to get back into town.
In town, much of the military hardware has gone haywire, and Martin
is injured in the confusion. Charles stays behind to tend to Martin
while Joe and Cary head to the cemetery where a large hole leads to a
series of underground caverns. In a large chamber beneath the town's
water tower, the two find the alien has created a device from the
various stolen electronics attached to the base of the tower, and has
kept several of the townspeople, including Alice, hung from the ceiling
as food. They free Alice and attempt to escape from the rampaging alien,
but are trapped in a dead end cavern. The alien grabs Joe, creating a
telepathic bond, through which Joe tries to convince the alien that it
can still live after the painful events of its captivity. The alien,
after a moment, releases Joe and departs, allowing the three to return
to the surface.
As they rejoin their fathers, they and the military are stunned as the water tower starts acting as an electromagnet,
pulling in metallic objects. The white cubes break out of their
containment and form the alien's spaceship around the tower. Joe finds
his locket, containing a picture of his mother and himself, being drawn
towards the tower, and decides to let it go. With the spaceship
complete, the alien enters it; the water tower implodes and the ship
launches itself into space.
During the credits, the viewer is shown the completed film by Charles and his friends.
Cast
- Joel Courtney as Joseph "Joe" Lamb
- Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard
- Kyle Chandler as Jackson "Jack" Lamb
- Riley Griffiths as Charles Kaznyk
- Ryan Lee as Cary
- Ron Eldard as Louis Dainard
- Gabriel Basso as Martin
- Noah Emmerich as Colonel Nelec
- David Gallagher as Donny
- Bruce Greenwood as Cooper[5]
- Zach Mills as Preston
- Amanda Michalka as Jen Kaznyk
- Glynn Turman as Dr. Woodward
- Michael Hitchcock as Deputy Rosko
- Caitriona Balfe as Elizabeth Lamb
- Joel McKinnon Miller as Mr. Kaznyk
- Jessica Tuck as Mrs. Kaznyk
- Dan Castellaneta as Izzy
- Richard T. Jones as Overmyer
- Dale Dickey as Edie
The Case
The Case is the amateur zombie film supposedly being shot by
the youngsters throughout the movie. Brief excerpts are seen in the main
film, along with episodes in which scenes are being shot. It is said to
be written by Charles to be entered in a film contest. It was in fact
written by Basso with assistance by his co-stars and Abrams. The
complete short film is shown through the end credits of Super 8.
It tells the story of a detective named Hathaway who is put on a case to
investigate numerous zombie murders, while fighting zombies on his way.
He meets with the president of a chemical company, a doctor, and his
wife to discuss the murders, before ultimately finding a cure.
Plot
Detective Hathaway meets with a young witness who says he has seen a
zombie attack. He presents Hathaway with a building access pass that
fell out of the attacker's pocket. The pass is for the Romero
Chemical Plant. Hathaway then goes to the President of Romero
Chemicals. He confronts him about an incident that occurred in the plant
that he funded. The President disregards it as an accident, but
Hathaway argues. He tells the President that he is going to look around
the building that was on the note. He leaves, and the President makes an
urgent phone call saying "He knows". He goes to the building and is
attacked by a zombie. He manages to kill the zombie by pressing its head
against exposed nails in the wall. He then calls someone to buy his
wife a ticket to Michigan because it is not safe for her. But that night
at the train depot, she tells him that she loves him and doesn't want
him getting into danger. Seconds later, a massive train wreck occurs
confirming his wife's staying. The next morning they are looking out at
the wreck and are attacked by a zombie, who Hathaway shoots. That night,
Hathaway records in his audio journal that the attacks are putting
stress on his town and his marriage. He then gets a call from an Air
Force officer that served with Hathaway in Vietnam who tells him that an
airman committed suicide because there was a secret he could no longer
keep. He then gives him top-secret information about a doctor that the
late airman worked for. He goes to meet this doctor who says that he has
found a cure for the zombie epidemic and begins to test it on a victim
of the virus. However, the victim wakes up and bites the doctor turning
him into a zombie. Hathaway shoots them both. He goes home to see that
his wife has been turned into a zombie. She attacks him, but he injects
the antidote into her neck. He gets ready to shoot her but she is cured
of the virus and they embrace. The film ends and we hear a small
announcement from the director, Charles Kaznyk, who tells the audience
how much fun they had making it and that he hopes they choose his film
for the festival. Alice, in zombie makeup, then attacks Charles and
bites him, leaving his fate unknown.
Production
J.J. Abrams had had the idea to start a film by showing a factory's
"Accident-Free" sign long before he came up with the rest of the idea of
the film. Super 8 was actually the combination of two ideas; one for a
film about kids making their own movie during the 1970's, and another
for a blockbuster alien invasion film. Worried that the former idea
would not attract enough attendance, Abrams combined the ideas.
Abrams and Spielberg collaborated in a storytelling committee to come up with the story for the film.[6] The film was initially reported to be either a sequel or prequel to the 2008 film Cloverfield,[7] but this was quickly denied by Abrams.[8] Primary photography began in fall 2010. The teaser itself was filmed separately in April.[9] Super 8 is the first original J. J. Abrams film project produced by Amblin Entertainment, Bad Robot Productions, and Paramount Pictures.[10]
Abrams wanted to find new faces to play the parts in his movie. He
conducted a national talent search in order to find the child actors to
play each of the leading roles. Courtney (who was hoping to land a part
in a commercial) was picked out of many boys because Abrams found
something "different" in him. Riley Griffiths sent Abrams a tape of
himself in order to land the part of Charles.
Filming took place in Weirton, West Virginia, from September to October 2010.[11] To promote the film, Valve Corporation created a short video game segment and released it alongside the Windows and Mac versions of Portal 2.
Abrams' original plan was to film all of the sequences for the
film-within-a-film "The Case" in Super-8 using Pro8mm stock and cameras.
However, this approach proved unsuccessful, as visual effects house
Industrial Light and Magic found it impossible to integrate CGI into the
footage due to the format's graininess. For sequences involving CGI,
cinematographer Larry Fong used Super-16 instead.
Music
The score for the film was composed by Michael Giacchino, Abrams' long-time collaborator. Giacchino recruited his team of conductor Tim Simonec, recorder Dan Wallin and the Hollywood Studio Symphony to bring the music to life. The soundtrack was released on August 2, 2011 by Varèse Sarabande.
During the final credits, the songs "My Sharona", by The Knack and "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra are featured. The Blondie song "Heart of Glass" and The Cars song "Bye Bye Love" are also featured in the film.
All music composed by Michael Giacchino.
| Track listing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Super 8" | 1:44 | |||||||
| 2. | "Family Matters" | 0:29 | |||||||
| 3. | "Model Painting" | 0:41 | |||||||
| 4. | "Acting Chops" | 0:40 | |||||||
| 5. | "Aftermath Class" | 5:54 | |||||||
| 6. | "Thoughts of Cubism" | 0:48 | |||||||
| 7. | "We'll Fix It in Post-Haste" | 0:44 | |||||||
| 8. | "Productions Woes" | 0:34 | |||||||
| 9. | "Train of Thought" | 0:35 | |||||||
| 10. | "Circle Gets the Cube" | 1:06 | |||||||
| 11. | "Breen There, Ate That" | 1:12 | |||||||
| 12. | "Dead Over Heels" | 0:48 | |||||||
| 13. | "Gas and Go" | 1:34 | |||||||
| 14. | "Looking for Lucy" | 0:49 | |||||||
| 15. | "Radio Haze" | 1:08 | |||||||
| 16. | "Mom's Necklace" | 1:33 | |||||||
| 17. | "Shootus Interuptus" | 2:35 | |||||||
| 18. | "Thoughts of Mom" | 1:41 | |||||||
| 19. | "Woodward Bites It" | 1:54 | |||||||
| 20. | "Alice Projects on Joe" | 2:29 | |||||||
| 21. | "Neighborhood Watch - Fail" | 4:45 | |||||||
| 22. | "The Evacuation of Lillian" | 3:40 | |||||||
| 23. | "A Truckload of Trouble" | 0:57 | |||||||
| 24. | "Lambs on the Lam" | 2:40 | |||||||
| 25. | "Woodward's Home Movies" | 2:40 | |||||||
| 26. | "Spotted Lambs" | 1:37 | |||||||
| 27. | "Air Force HQ or Bust" | 1:04 | |||||||
| 28. | "World's Worst Field Trip" | 3:36 | |||||||
| 29. | "The Siege of Lillian" | 2:57 | |||||||
| 30. | "Creature Comforts" | 10:10 | |||||||
| 31. | "Letting Go" | 5:18 | |||||||
| 32. | "Super 8 Suite" | 5:54 | |||||||
| 33. | "The Case" | 3:28 | |||||||
|
Total length:
|
69:84 | ||||||||
Viral marketing campaign
Like Cloverfield, an earlier J. J. Abrams-produced film, Super 8 was promoted through an extensive viral marketing campaign. The first trailer for the movie was attached to Iron Man 2, released in May 2010. The trailer gave the premise of a section of Area 51 being closed down in 1979 and its contents being transported by freight train
to Ohio. A pickup truck drives into the oncoming train, derailing it,
and one of the carriages is smashed open while a Super 8 camera films.
Fans analyzing the trailer found a hidden message, "Scariest Thing I
Ever Saw", contained in the final frames of the trailer. This led to a
website, Scariest Thing I Ever Saw, which simulated the interface of a PDP-11
and contained various clues to the film's storyline; the computer was
eventually revealed to belong to Josh Woodward, the son of Dr. Woodward,
who is trying to find out what happened to his father. Another viral
website, Rocket Poppeteers was also found, which like Slusho from Cloverfield plays no direct part in the film but is indirectly related. The official Super 8
website also contained an "editing room" section, which asked users to
find various clips from around the web and piece them together. When
completed, the reel makes up the film found by the kids in Dr.
Woodward's trailer, showing the ship disintegrating into individual
white cubes, and the alien reaching through the window of its cage and
snatching Dr. Woodward. The video game Portal 2
contained an interactive trailer placing the player on board the train
before it derails, and showing the carriage being smashed open and the
roar of the alien within.
Release
The film was released on June 9, 2011 in Australia, June 10, 2011 in
the United States, and August 5, 2011 in the United Kingdom.[14]
On June 8, Paramount also launched a “Super 8 Sneak Peek” Twitter
promotion, offering fans a chance to purchase tickets for an advanced
screening, taking place on June 9, 2011 in the United States.[15] The film opened at #1 in the U.S. Box Office for that weekend, grossing about $35 million.
Home media
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 22, 2011.[16] The release was produced as a combo pack with a Digital Copy, including nine bonus features and fourteen deleted scenes.[17]
Reception
Critical response
Super 8 received very positive reviews from professional critics. On movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes,
the film received a score of 82%, based on 251 reviews, and a rating
average of 7.4/10, with the consensus that: "it may evoke memories of
classic summer blockbusters a little too eagerly for some, but Super 8
has thrills, visual dazzle, and emotional depth to spare."[18] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average
score from 1–100 to reviews from critics, assigned the film a Metascore
of 72 based on 40 critics, signifying 'generally favorable reviews.'[19]
Chris Sosa of Gather
gave the film an A rating, calling it, "a gripping and exciting tale of
finding one's place in the world amidst tragedy." His review concluded,
"While the genre-bending occasionally unsettles, the film's genuine and
emotionally gripping nature make its journey believable." [20]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4 and said, "Super 8
is a wonderful film, nostalgia not for a time but for a style of
filmmaking, when shell-shocked young audiences were told a story and not
pounded over the head with aggressive action. Abrams treats early
adolescence with tenderness and affection."[21] Richard Corliss of Time gave it a similarly positive review, calling it "the year's most thrilling, feeling mainstream movie".[22] He then named it one of the Top 10 Best Movies of 2011.[23] Jamie Graham of Total Film
gave the film a perfect five-star rating, saying, "like Spielberg,
Abrams has an eye for awe, his deft orchestration of indelible images – a
tank trundling through a children's playground, a plot-pivotal landmark
framed in the distance through a small hole in a bedroom wall – marking
him as a born storyteller".[24] Christopher Orr of the The Atlantic called it a "love letter to a cinematic era", while Claudia Puig of USA Today praised it as "a summer blockbuster firing on all cylinders".
Particular praise was given to the performances of the young cast,
especially newcomer Courtney, and Fanning who received numerous
accolades and nominations. Rick Groen of Globe and Mail
says "It's the child actors, heroic indeed, who rescue Super 8 from the
blockbuster grip of its adult makers". Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer
believed that "The worst that can be said about the film is that the
characters are far more compelling than the mystery they solve". A
reviewer from the Newark Star-Ledger stated that "It's as full of rich characters as it is smart popcorn-movie scares."
Many regarded it as one of the best summer movies of 2011. Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly
wrote that "Loving, playful, and spectacularly well made, Super 8 is
easily the best summer movie of the year -- of many years. And I make
that declaration with full knowledge that the season has just begun".
Roger Moore from the Orlando Sentinel
declared that "Super 8 is the movie of the summer, the movie of MANY
summers going back to the '70s. It's a creature feature, a first-love
romance and a movie buff's movie about movie buffs trying to become
movie makers".
Critics and audiences alike were polarized on the film's ending. Some
found it to be emotional, powerful, and satisfying while others found
it rushed and forced. For example, writing for Mubi's Notebook, Fernando F. Croce alleged that "no film this year opens more promisingly and ends more dismally than J.J. Abrams' Super 8."[25]
Other critics commented negatively on the films frequent homages to
early Speilberg films. For example, CNN's Tom Charity felt that "Abrams'
imitation [was] a shade too reverent for [his] taste."[26] David Edelstein, of New York
magazine, called it a "flagrant crib," adding that "Abrams has probably
been fighting not to reproduce Spielberg's signature moves since the
day he picked up a camera. Now, with the blessing of the master, he can
plagiarize with alacrity."[27]
Top ten lists
The film has appeared on the following critics' top ten lists for the best films of 2011:
| Critic | Publication | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Danielle Grimm | The Buffalo News | 1st |
| Woodrow Goldsmith | The News Record | 3rd |
| James A. Molnar | Toledo Free Press | 3rd |
| N/A | TV Guide | 4th[28] |
| Jim Brunzell | Twin Cities Daily Planet | 4th |
| Alex Williams | The Daily Texan | 5th |
| Rick Bentley | The Republic | 5th |
| Richard Corliss | Time | 6th[28] |
| Kyle Smith | New York Post | 6th[28] |
| Caroline Preece | Den of Geek | 8th |
| Peter Paras | E! Online | 9th[29] |
| N/A | The Daily Sun | 9th |
| Joe Neumaier | New York Daily News | 10th[28] |
| Satya Nagendra Padala | International Business Times | 10th[30] |
| Richard Lawson | The Atlantic | N/A[28] |
Box office
Super 8 had a production budget of $50 million. It was commercially released on June 10, 2011. In the United States and Canada, it opened in 3,379 theaters and grossed over $35.4 million on its opening weekend, ranking first at the box office.[31] The film grossed $127 million in North America with a worldwide total of some $260 million.[2]
Awards
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Annual Coming of Age Awards[32] | Best Newcomer | Joel Courtney | Won |
| Best Cinematography | Won | ||
| Special Soundtrack | Won | ||
| 10th Annual TSR Awards[33] | Actress of the Year (Multiple Roles) | Elle Fanning | Nominated |
| Best Visuals: Special Effects | Nominated | ||
| 38th Saturn Awards[34] | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Joel Courtney | Pending |
| Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Elle Fanning | Pending | |
| Best Director | J. J. Abrams | Pending | |
| Best Writing | J. J. Abrams | Pending | |
| Best Music | Michael Giacchino | Pending | |
| Best Editing | Pending | ||
| Best Special Effects | Pending | ||
| 48th Annual CAS Awards[35] | Best Sound Mixing | Nominated | |
| 2011 BAM Awards[36] | Best Picture | Nominated | |
| Best Director | J. J. Abrams | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Larry Fong | Nominated | |
| Best Makeup | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Screenplay | J. J. Abrams | Won | |
| Best Editing | Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey | Nominated | |
| Best Score | Michael Giacchino | Won | |
| Best Sound Editing/Mixing | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| Best Costumes | Nominated | ||
| Best Cast | Nominated | ||
| Best Youth Ensemble | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Child Actress in a Leading Role | Elle Fanning | Won | |
| Best Performance by a Child Actor in a Leading Role | Joel Courtney | Won | |
| Best Performance by a Child Actor in a Supporting Role | Ryan Lee | Won | |
| Best Young Actor/Actress | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| 2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards[37] | Best Editing | Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey | Nominated |
| Best Ensemble Acting | Won | ||
| Best Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Score | Michael Giacchino | Nominated | |
| Best Youth Performance - Male | Joel Courtney | Nominated | |
| Best Youth Performance - Female | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| Breakthrough Performance - On Camera | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| 2011 Satellite Awards[38] | Best Supporting Actress | Elle Fanning | Nominated |
| Best Original Score | Michael Giacchino | Nominated | |
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound (Editing & Mixing) | Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ben Burtt, Mark Ulano, Matthew Wood, and Tom Johnson | Nominated | |
| 2011 Scream Awards[39] | |||
| The Ultimate Scream | Nominated | ||
| Best Science Fiction Movie | Won | ||
| Best Director | J. J. Abrams | Nominated | |
| Best Scream-Play | J. J. Abrams | Nominated | |
| Breakout Performance - Female | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| Holy Sh!t Scene Of The Year | The Train Crash | Nominated | |
| 2011 Teen Choice Awards[40] | |||
| Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie | Nominated | ||
| Sci-Fi Actress | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| Breakout Male | Joel Courtney | Nominated | |
| Scene Stealer Male | Riley Griffiths | Nominated | |
| Chemistry | The Super 8 Crew | Nominated | |
| Hissy Fit | The Alien | Nominated | |
| 2012 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards[41] | |||
| Best Action Movie | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Nominated | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| Best Young Actor/Actress | Elle Fanning | Nominated | |
| Golden Reel Awards[42] | Music in a Feature Film | Nominated | |
| Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film | Won | ||
| Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film | Nominated | ||
| Hollywood Film Festival | Spotlight Award | Elle Fanning | Won |
| YouReviewer Awards[43] | Best Supporting Actress | Elle Fanning | Nominated |
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| Breakthrough Actor | Joel Courtney | Nominated | |
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