The mighty filmmaking duo of J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg teamed up on the nostalgic alien monster movie, Super 8. With Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment producing, Abrams directed this 1980s throwback adventure that is clearly inspired by Spielberg's own movies from the decade.
While Super 8 never received the acclaim or legacy of Spielberg's classics, it remains a fun ride worth looking back on. With a decade already ing since it was released, fans can look back on how the movie came together and revisit Super 8 for themselves.
Abrams Meeting Spielberg
It was always apparent how influential Spielberg was to a filmmaker like Abrams, so it makes sense that they would find themselves collaborating on a project like this. However, the first seeds for Super 8 were planted long before in the first meeting between Spielberg and Abrams.
When speaking with the director of the The Batman, were asked to assist Spielberg on a project way back when they were young teens. As it turns out, that project was helping Spielberg restore his own Super 8 movies.
Directing Kids
Much like many of Spielberg's memorable 80s movies, Super 8 focuses on a group of young kids as the main characters. While the young actors assembled for the movie do a fine job carrying the story, it presented challenges for Abrams as a director.
During his director's commentary for the movie, Abrams itted he was nervous leading up to the first day of filming with the young cast. In order to help him get a sense of directing child actors, he sought advice from the likes of Spielberg and Rob Reiner who were known for getting great performances from young stars.
Spielberg Posters
Another important aspect of the movie is its love letter to movie-making in general. The young kids in the story are in the midst of making their own zombie movie and seem to share a ion for movies Abrams and Spielberg did at that age.
According to the commentary, the era of the movie provided a complication in presenting the kids' love of movies. He itted that kids of that age would have posters of Spielberg movies around their room but felt featuring the producer's own work would be too much.
Realistic Family Homes
There are so many aspects of the story and the feel of the movie that make Spielberg's influence feel very apparent. However, there are even small little details that Abrams picked up on from his favorite Spielberg that helped to make Super 8 just a little more special.
According to the commentary, Abrams got the idea of depicting the various family homes in the movie as cluttered and messy from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He felt that was more realistic than pristine homes.
Walking Distance
While Spielberg may very well have been the main source of inspiration, Abrams did draw on some of his other favorites when making Super 8 and paid homage to them in clever ways. The military is heard carrying out a mission known as Operation: Walking Distance throughout the movie.
Abrams confirmed on the commentary that he got the name of the operation from the title of his favorite episode of The Twilight Zone. The episode follows a man who visits his hometown and finds that he has gone back in time.
Jeremy Renner
Leading the adult cast of the movie, Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb, the father of the main character and the deputy of the small town where the story takes place. However, Chandler's role was nearly given to someone else.
In an interview with Variety, Jeremy Renner discussed meeting Abrams to talk about taking this role in the movie. Though Renner ultimately turned it down, the meeting turned into another opportunity as he ed Abrams to meet up with Tom Cruise which resulted in him ing Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
Making Jackson More Relatable
As with most of Spielberg's stories, the big genre elements of the story surround a more personal and grounded story at the movie's center. In Super 8, the relationship between Joe and his father Jackson provides that element as they both attempt to cope with losing their mother and wife.
Jackson is shown to be a father who has trouble connecting with his young son and Abrams explained in the commentary that the character was disliked in early test screenings. Editing helped to reshape the character as less mean and more of a broken man.
Elle Fanning's Driving
In one of the early scenes in the movie, Alice (Elle Fanning) picks up the other kids in her father's car though its that she doesn't yet have her driver's license. This moment mirrored real-life as Fanning didn't have her license at the time either.
In the commentary, Abrams explained how they filmed the driving scenes. Since it would be illegal for Fanning to operate the car herself, it was controlled by a stuntman using a small remote steering wheel as he laid on the floor of the car.
Making The Creature
Certainly, one key aspect of the movie was the creature at the center of the mystery. Like Cloverfield, which Abrams produced, the creature is hidden for much of the movie only to be revealed near the end.
When deg the creature, Abrams told going for the friendly aliens Spielberg was usually known for.
The Train Crash
Without a doubt, the biggest and most memorable set-piece in the movie is the epic train crash. It was the moment used in the trailers as well as the moment that really kicks off the action of the movie.
Despite Spielberg's love of practical effects, Abrams explains in the commentary that the whole sequence was made with CGI. That allowed him to go for a deliberately over-the-top sequence as he wanted it to seem as chaotic and big as it would to the kids.
