{"id":258874,"date":"2021-05-26T00:41:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T21:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary\/"},"modified":"2021-05-26T00:41:43","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T21:41:43","slug":"37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#37 Things We Learned from J.J. Abrams&#8217;s &#8216;Super 8&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a297df1ae29e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a297df1ae29e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary\/#Super_8_2011\" >Super 8 (2011)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/37-things-we-learned-from-j-j-abramss-super-8-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#37 Things We Learned from J.J. Abrams&#8217;s &#8216;Super 8&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits Amblin\u2019s triumphant return to YA action\/adventure, Super 8<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>Steven Spielberg<\/strong>\u2018s production company, Amblin Entertainment, began life with some more traditional comedies, but it quickly became synonymous with with family friendly genre adventures. 1982\u2019s <em>E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial<\/em> started that ball rolling, and the years that followed saw Amblin produce the likes of <em>Gremlins<\/em> (1984), <em>The Goonies<\/em> (1985), <em>Back to the Future<\/em> (1985), <em>Harry and the Hendersons<\/em> (1987), <em>Arachnophobia<\/em> (1990), and more.<\/p>\n<p>The company slowly moved away from such fare, but 2011 brought their first new stab at it since 1998\u2019s <em>Small Soldiers<\/em>. The film was <strong><em>Super 8<\/em><\/strong>, the director was <strong>J.J. Abrams<\/strong>, and the result was a box-office hit. While some argued that Abrams was trying to ape Spielberg\u2019s style, the director\u2019s own touches (ie lens flares) came through clearly. The film is new to 4K UltraHD \u2014 and it looks unsurprisingly fantastic \u2014 so we gave a listen to Abrams\u2019s commentary track.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for <em>Super 8<\/em>!<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Super_8_2011\"><\/span>Super 8 (2011)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: JJ Abrams (director, writer), <strong>Bryan Burk<\/strong> (producer), <strong>Larry Fong<\/strong> (cinematographer)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> Steven Spielberg is notorious for not doing commentary tracks, so Abrams tries to circumvent that by texting him a question during the commentary and then sharing it. \u201cThat will unofficially be his being a part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Abrams had the image in his head of starting a film with a factory\u2019s \u201cDays since last accident\u201d sign being reset for years. He didn\u2019t realize until they were well into <em>Super 8<\/em>\u2018s production that this was that movie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> They recommend listeners stop listening to the commentary and instead check out the featurette showing Fong doing magic. \u201cIt really is what makes making <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a> with Larry one of the best experiences.\u201d He\u2019s also a pretty good cinematographer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Jackson Lamb (<strong>Kyle Chandler<\/strong>) telling Joe (<strong>Joel Courtney<\/strong>) that he\u2019ll be home soon is him \u201csaying to the movie that he will the home for this boy soon, but that he\u2019s not yet.\u201d I\u2019m not convinced this one comes across successfully while watching the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> Abrams didn\u2019t want to add the \u201cFour months later\u201d card, but Spielberg convinced him that audiences need to know where and when they are in a film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> One of the challenges in making a movie about movie-obsessed kids in the late 70s was that they couldn\u2019t put any Spielberg-related movie posters on their walls \u2014 films like <em>Jaws<\/em> (1975) or <em>Close Encounter of the Third Kind<\/em> (1977) would have been the obvious choices, but it would have been too self-referential. Abrams made Charles (Riley Griffiths) a fan of horror movies instead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> Abrams took inspiration in his messy, busy family homes from <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> A reference to the Three Mile Island accident was initially part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>, but Japan\u2019s Fukushima Daiichi meltdown occurred while they were in post-production so they removed it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Early test audiences \u201chated\u201d Jackson. They worked in the editing to shift him into a broken man instead of merely an asshole.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> <strong>Elle Fanning<\/strong> was twelve-years-old during filming meaning she wasn\u2019t legally allowed to drive the car. Instead, they had a stunt person on the floor of the car controlling it with a small steering wheel and monitor. \u201cWhat\u2019s weird is, that\u2019s legal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> <em>Super 8<\/em> was shot on film, but later pick-up shots were captured with the RED digital camera.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> Every shot of a train during that train station scene was accomplished by ILM.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Abrams wanted the train crash sequence to be like the kids would remember it as opposed to how it actually would have been. \u201cSo it\u2019s definitely a larger than life, ridiculous, over the top crash, but that was really part of the fun of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> It was composer <strong>Michael Giacchino<\/strong>\u2018s idea that there should be no music during the train crash. \u201cPart of it is I think he\u2019s just lazy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> They only had access to the child actors for limited hours, so nearly every time you see a reverse shot showing their backs they were stand-ins. \u201cThe kids could only work until midnight and then go back to their cages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> The shot at 28:05 \u2014 looking through the family at the breakfast table as the two boys sit glued to the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> report \u2014 was Spielberg\u2019s suggestion as he visited the set that day. \u201cSo I was sort of forced to do it,\u201d says Abrams.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> Abrams was nervous on the kids\u2019 first day of filming, so he called Rob Reiner and Spielberg for advice. As you do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> The shot at 34:51 between Jackson and the sheriff was a pickup done at Bad Robot\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> The M-38 power line mention at 44:24 is an overt reference to <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>. It is a power line mentioned in that film\u2019s script but never made it into the movie. Spielberg laughed when he read it in Abrams\u2019 script.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> The mention of Operation Walking Distance is a reference to Abrams\u2019 favorite episode of <em>The Twilight Zone<\/em>. \u201cWalking Distance\u201d is episode five of the show\u2019s first season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> It bugs Abrams when actors cry on-screen and don\u2019t wipe away the tears. \u201cIt feels like they\u2019re showing off,\u201d so for the scene at 53:38 when a tear drips down Joe\u2019s face Abrams was just off camera whispering \u201cwipe it off, wipe it off!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> The flies circling Dr. Woodward\u2019s (<strong>Glynn Turman<\/strong>) head were real and attracted to the bloody makeup. \u201cThey were going to get rid of them, but I thought no, it\u2019s just so disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> Much of <em>Super 8<\/em>\u2018s Super 8mm footage was shot on different kinds of film including Super 8mm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> The interaction at 1:03:00 between Alice (Fanning) and her father (<strong>Ron Eldard<\/strong>) concerned Abrams in that he didn\u2019t want it to feel too dangerous or threatening. Rather than have the man stand he instead kept him sitting in the chair. It\u2019s a lesson he learned from Brad Bird who faced a similar experience making <em>The Incredibles<\/em> (2004). \u201cEveryone thought that Mr. Incredible was really beating up on his wife in one of their scenes, and he just reanimated it a little bit, didn\u2019t add any dialogue, and had her get bigger than him at one point, like stretching taller than him, and it changed the entire dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> \u201cFirelight at 0500 hours,\u201d is a reference to Spielberg\u2019s 1964 student film made when he was just seventeen-years-old.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> <strong>David Gallagher<\/strong> plays the camera shop employee. \u201cHe was the little kid on <em>7th Heaven<\/em>, and now he\u2019s a bearded stoner. Sad what time does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> The water tower isn\u2019t real, and this includes the crane shot at 1:05:32 that goes up from the town street and eventually becomes 100% CG courtesy of ILM.<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> <strong>Ryan Lee<\/strong> (plays Cary) already had braces, but they were the modern style so the production removed them and replaced them with the clunkier late 70s style.<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> After arguing about what to actually email Spielberg during the commentary they finally do so at 1:25:00. They asked him why he doesn\u2019t do commentaries. The legend obviously doesn\u2019t get back to them before the film ends.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.<\/strong> The tracking shot starting at 1:28:21 of Joe and Cary running down the war torn street is one of Abrams\u2019s favorites in the film. It\u2019s also actually two stunt women standing in for the boys.<\/p>\n<p><strong>31.<\/strong> Abrams recently watched Joe Cornish\u2019s <em>Attack the Block<\/em> and loved it while acknowledging the similarities. \u201cI thought his movie was just extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>32.<\/strong> \u201cThe whole idea was that this creature was this metaphor for the pain that this kid was going through, having lost his mother, that not until he confronts it can he live and move on.\u201d Abrams still isn\u2019t sure if he gets that across well enough in the face-off between Joe and the creature.<\/p>\n<p><strong>33.<\/strong> The creature\u2019s eyes as it comes into focus around 1:37:50 are actually the eyes of Joe\u2019s dead mother (<strong>Caitriona Balfe<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>34.<\/strong> Spielberg suggested Jackson\u2019s line \u201cI got you,\u201d and Abrams is appreciative.<\/p>\n<p><strong>35.<\/strong> Abrams wanted to end <em>Super 8<\/em> with a shot of the kid looking up towards the sky as the ship flew into the atmosphere, \u201cbut it was literally the end of <em>E.T.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>36.<\/strong> They tried to get George Romero to cameo \u2014 he\u2019s from Pittsburgh, they were filming in Pittsburgh, and they wanted him for the zombie Super 8mm movie \u2014 but he wasn\u2019t in town. Probably for the best as Romero would have told him off for not realizing that zombies need to be shot in the head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>37.<\/strong> The Super 8mm footage that plays during the end credits features train crash sound effects by Giacchino and visual effects by Abrams.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cTo everyone who says we ripped off <em>E.T.<\/em>, I say no. E.T.\u2019s in the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is me and my obsession with lens flares.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks like Elle\u2019s crying listening to our commentary, and I don\u2019t blame her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that this is the first time that digital throw-up has been used in a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you Steven.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><em>Super 8<\/em> remains a fine entry in the Amblin filmography, and while the Spielberg influences are abundantly clear I\u2019d argue that Abrams succeeds in putting his own stamp on it throughout. The new 4K disc is fantastic, and the commentary is a great listen for fans. I\u2019m not entirely convinced they actually emailed Spielberg their question \u2014 should have sent a text at the start of the commentary you bastards! \u2014 but it\u2019s a fun conceit. Still, I do wish someone would convince Spielberg to start doing tracks of his own\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/jj-abrams-super-8-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=jj-abrams-super-8-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#37 Things We Learned from J.J. Abrams&#8217;s &#8216;Super 8&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits Amblin\u2019s triumphant return to YA action\/adventure, Super 8. Steven Spielberg\u2018s production company, Amblin Entertainment, began life with some more&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/super-8.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[22447,38069,37334],"class_list":["post-258874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-jj-abrams","tag-super-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}