If JJ Abrams had his way, chances are no one outside of his core group (and producer Steven Spielberg) would see much of anything to do with **Super 8 **beyond the first teaser until it arrives on our screens. But with an original concept to sell and a crowded summer release to survive, even he had to bow to the almighty altar of the Super Bowl spot, and you can watch the new material below.
But Abrams has been as canny as usual: given the short nature of these telly spots, not much can be shown anyway, and the footage comes loaded with a none-more Spielberg attitude, even down to someone – Michael Giacchino, most likely – cranking up the John Williams-style music as images of the various kids in the movie waft by. Then things get tense and we see shots of the heroes under serious threat from whatever escaped from the crashed railway car as seen in the original teaser.
brightcove.createExperiences();And the writer/producer/director has also opened up to The LA Times’ Geoff Boucher, talking for the first time in depth about the film and how it was birthed from two separate projects – one a coming-of-age tale with no supernatural elements, the other a more genre-heavy thriller. “As the process went along I realized I had the potential makings of my favourite sort of movie, which is the one that is the hardest genre to define,” Abrams tells the paper. “That because you could say — and be right — that it’s a science fiction movie; or you could say — and be right — that it’s a love story; or you could say — and be right — that it’s a comedy; or you could say — and be right — that it’s a special-effects spectacle. That sort of cocktail is for me what I love about movies…that was the beginnings of *this *movie coming together.”
The Spielberg connection bored right down into the core of the film: "This is a movie about overcoming loss and finding your way again and finding your own voice,” says Abrams. “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.”
There’s much more in the piece itself, which we recommend checking out.
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Super 8 invades our cinemas on August 19.