Bruce Greenwood’s Super 8 Role Revealed + Poll: Rate JJ Abrams Super 8

JJ Abrams apparently liked working with Bruce Greenwood who played Capt. Pike in the Star Trek movie. Bruce’s name appears in the credits for Abrams new movie Super 8, and now his surprising role has been revealed [spoilers below]. We also have a new poll on JJ Abrams Super 8.

 

Greenwood is Abrams Super 8 monster

Actor Bruce Greenwood appears in the Super 8 credits as "Cooper: Bruce Greenwood," and if you saw the film you may be wondering "who was Cooper?" Speaking to the Montreal Gazette, Greenwood explained that Cooper is the name that JJ Abrams gave to the alien creature at the heart of the mystery for Super 8. And it was Greenwood who did the performance capture work for that alien. Greenwood discussed the work saying:

It’s not your typical acting exercise at all, because you’re really the only person in this room with all these cameras in it. It was a very weird thing to offer up all this big emotion while . . . the rest of the people in the room are picking away at the craft services table. And you never really how it will turn out because it’s all left in the hands of the artists and animators who are putting your work together.

Super 8 was the #1 movie at the box office for the weekend, bringing in $35.5 million (in addition to $1M from some previews on Thursday). The lower-budget film film performed ahead of expectations, and with generally positive reviews (83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) is expected to have good word of mouth.

If you want even more spoilers, here is the full viral video with details on the alien monster.

It is good to know that Abrams is keeping Greenwood inside the Bad Robot circle of trust. One thing Trek fans seem to agree on is that they would like to see Greenwood back in the Star Trek sequel, something Greenwood has expressed interest in as well.


JJ Abrams and Bruce Greenwood at Star Trek premiere – back together for Super 8

POLL: What did you think of Super 8?

If you have seen JJ Abrams Super 8, what did you think? Vote below, and sound off in the talkback.

[poll=660]

 

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I first read about this over at Ain’t It Cool News. As someone who loved his perfgormance in ST09, it’s fun to see him working with JJ again, especially under since unusual circumstances.

Wow – an actor who performed the central capture work in a major film whose name isn’t Andy Serkis! ;-p

LOL Look at the handful of lame JJ haters who gave this a 1 rating. Come on folks, that defies any weak-ass level of credibility you might have had.

Can’t fool me. I noticed the resemblance right away.

if they rate it as 1 its proof they didnt see this excellent little big movie

#5 I agree;and they should give it a shot! I gave it a 10!

I’d be surprised if Bruce Greenwood isn’t in the sequel in some capacity. Would love to see him remain a major presence, but understandably, the new crew of the Starship Enterprise, needs to stand on their own feet as well (no pun intended, due to Pike’s disability).

Any word yet as to what the actual plot of the movie will be?

Agreed. They have not seen it and are JJ haters…hence the number of votes at rating level 1, while there are no votes and levels 2 and 3. In statistics, these 1 ratings would be classified as outliers, and would be thrown out.

@7 “I’d be surprised if Bruce Greenwood isn’t in the sequel in some capacity.”

Wow, a sequel? “Super 9” ???

I want to see more of Captain Pike.

@9: You clearly undetstood what I meant by “sequel”, if you had read my entire previous comment.

Didn’t know the Starship Enterprise makes an appearance in Super 8…

First, not everybody is going to like Super 8. That’s life. I’ve seen it twice because the first theater ran it with a 3D lens. More on that later. Second, I’ve rated it a B+. The kids’ story was more compelling than the science fiction part. And withoug giving anything away, there could be a sequel, but would that be too commercially crass?

Okay, I hate to repeat myself on this new pet peeve but thanks to Trekker Jonbec who told me that SOME THEATERS WILL SHOW A 2D MOVIE WITH 3D LENS. There is a pivotal scene with the alien monster where I’m sure Bruce Greenwood’s performance came into play. And the first time I saw it, it was mud. Jonbec then told me theaters are not changing lenses. Saw it at another theater. Crisp and clean. I’m going to try to leave a note to our guy Bob Orci so he knows of the problem. The reason why theaters don’t change the lenses is because a technician is required and it costs money. Link. So, fellow Trekkers be aware of the problem.

Boston Globe crtitic Ty Burr’s investigative piece, some movie theaters won’t change the 3D lens when showing 2D movies.
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2011/05/22/misuse_of_3_d_digital_lens_leaves_2_d_movies_in_the_dark/?page=1

not a JJ hater by far but I wouldn’t see Super 8 if you paid me, and that’s saying a lot :P

well the spirit of the poll is for those who have actually seen the film, If you haven’t seen it, you dont have to vote

@13 So why are you even here on this post????????????

I saw Super 8 on Friday, and absolutely loved it, I also love Bruce Greenwood, he was also great as the voice of Batman in Batman: Under the Red Hood! (also NPH as Nightwing! Hah!)

Well, he’s marginally less recognizable in “Super 8” than he is in “Meek’s Cutoff” — buried under layers of shag carpet samples, I mean hair. Truly I love the man, but next time I’d like to see his face.

Don’t see “Meek’s,” btw. Unless you’re battling insomnia. Or you don’t have any blank walls to stare at instead.

“Super 8,” on the other hand – fun movie. The ending is entirely too tidy for me, but still, a blast.

Hey, what about a Star Trek TV series about Captain Pike, the few years before he meets Kirk in the bar? That way you could use Bruce Greenwood and not have to worry about him looking too old. We could get some deep and complex Star Trek stories. Come on CBS, make it so. Oops sorry. Wrong captain.

The way I see it, people who didn’t see “Super 8” because of spite have NO RIGHT whatsoever to vote. And their posts lack the credibility to be taken seriously. That simple.

But I would strongly suggest the J.J haters put aside their personal hatred for the man and go see the movie. If they can do that, then they will actually enjoy the movie and have a good time.

On the other hand, that might be the problem. These anti-J.J folks know they have no leg to stand on and are afraid of their “opinions” being proven wrong!

I voted the film as being at 9. It’s an instant classic which, like “E.T.” and “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” does NOT require a sequel or prequel. It’s good on it’s own.

I would say that “Super 8” is even better than “Star Trek”, which is saying something as that film was spectacular in its own right!

“Super 8” can just as easily be called “Super Gr8”!

I wonder how Mr. Orci voted…

Must be why I’ve just always been interested in the aliens … LOL

:-) :-)

I loved Super 8. It was a fantastic movie and I hope it hits 200m. would love to see Greenwood in Trek 12 as well. Make it happen Bob Orci.

I think the sci-fi component was just an interesting detail. It was really about those kids wanting to make their own movie using the latest technology of the time (1979) and happening on what turns out to be a very unusual event… (and the trusty Super 8 gets some of it on film!).

I thought the ending was good. Endings don’t have to look and sound spectacular or gross and noisy showing whole sale destruction (too much of that crap in movies already). Justice prevailed, good outcome.

Somewhere right now at an intergalactic saloon, the alien from Super 8 and the alien from District 9 are exchanging stories on what a shitbox earth is.

And “Kelvin” continues on… LOL

oh yes…. stay through the credits…

Super 8 started of great. It was a terrific watch throughout but the end came too easy (with a capital too).

When i think about it not that dissimilar to Star Trek which was a great movie with an amazing start and an ok end.

Whereas the last 20 minutes of X Men first class was a terrific payoff.

I am telling my friends to see Super 8 despite that overwhelming sense that the last bit just came way too easy.

If Abrams learns to finnish as well as he starts he could go down as one of the greatest directors of all time.

@27. Burnt out on X-Men…been there, done that.

Me too, i predicted the new one to be total crap because it was not moving on. Indeed listening to mutants discovering that they are not alone is painful.

But despite all of that the film is on another level, closer to The Dark Knight than other super hero films. I saw it three times the opening week.

#28

I can understand feeling burnt out after the disappointments of X3 (a mildly entertaining, yet cluttered mess of a movie) and Wolverine (a flatout terrible movie), but First Class really does live up to its name—particularly in terms of the direction and acting. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are excellent! And If you like 60s, Connery era Bond movies, you’ll probably want to check this one out.

As for Super 8, I’m not planning on seeing it in theaters, but I’ll definitely check out the DVD. Looks like a lot of fun.

Hmm, maybe I’ll give it a shot then — thanks for the recommendation.

#31

No problemo.

:)

@ 24

Hey MJ, I’m not trying to start the government UFO conspiracy thing but in Super 8, it was the Air Force that really got draconian in the way they were handling the locals. And you can surmise that they wanted the alien and the ship to back-engineer it. That’s probably not for peaceful purposes. In District 9 the corporation wanted to back- engineeer the aliens weapons. And what weapons they were!

So, if an alien ship landed in your backyard, I would bet money if you tried to help the aliens, the government would swoop down and grab every piece that crashed. The government would probably tell you to shut up. I bet if a ship crashed in my yard, and if I took it to the local university for study, that would be the last anyone would see of it.

Those movies aren’t true stories dude.

If you know Spielberg movies well there are many homages in super 8 almost same scenes sometimes it was kinda eerie to watch but so cool….It was more about the kids and their rite of passage using the super 8 to make movies….which is as it should be….without good character development you wouldnt care about these kids…

I thought the ending was good but no way could it sustain the pace and excellence of the rest of the movie….I really liked the communication with the alien and the kid…..great scene…and the part where his mom locket merged with the ship…meaning he has to let him mom go to live his life…very sweet and kinda melancholy at same time…Good depth and a great little big boys growing up bug eyed monster movie heeheh

I gave super 8 a 9…it deserves it…

Man in [digital] suit? What?!

I gave it an eight but only for the weak ending. Unfortunately the ending let an otherwise great film down.

Seriously, Abrams needs to address finishing his movies.

Fun movie.

I liked Super 8 it was a Nice film, not awesome but better than a lot of other stuff out there. Did anyone else notice the building on the main street at the end of the movie called “James Locke”? Bit of s Lost ref there maybe? I’m sure there were plenty more which I missed but that’s where the film kinda lost me!! Nice film thou, 8/10!

Super 8 was not a good movie. The characters weren’t compelling. I’d encourage JJ to read (or reread) some Stephen King novels if he wants to do more sci-fi/horror movies which pivot on the relationships of a group of children. I found myself not caring much about what happened to the kids, the adults or the alien.

SPOILER ALERT —

And why does the main character have to abandon the memories of this deceased mother in order to establish a closer relationship with his father? Pointless.

I thought that the alien creature wanted the locket as a sort of keepsake (didn’t it have a picture of the boy with his mother?) and Joe gave it up as a gift to the alien. Even though the locket was extra special to the boy, I guess he thought it was not so bad because he probably had other photos of his mum back home.

I am not sure why some people find the ending so bad.

This is not a Stephen King movie, thank God!

“And why does the main character have to abandon the memories of this deceased mother in order to establish a closer relationship with his father? Pointless.”

Who said that? Where was that ever implied? Huh?

The metaphor of letting go of mum and moving forward with dad was there but i thought that part was good. The get away was the easy part.

The relationships with the children was excellent. Particularly the scene where the girl told the boy what happened.

YES,YES, YES—I want to see Bruce Greenwood back as Pike.
Star Trek sequel just won’t be right without Pike.

I saw and really liked Super 8. Good thing I had a heads-up about the role Bruce played in it. Otherwise, I would have left wondering where the heck he was???
Good for him! Not afraid of doing something new and challenging!
I admire him!

NOW—I want to hear that Pike is in the sequel!

Isn’t it out on August 5th in the uk and ireland?

We enjoyed the film a lot. I saw the Kelvin reference but missed the Slusho mention if there even was one.

BTW, the gas station attendent’s name was Breen. Is that a clue to who will be in the next Trek film?? You heard it here first!!! The Breen will be the bad guys in STXII!

42 – I did’nt mention Stephen King films – I wrote “novels” Try reading “It” for example. Or even the kid relationships on display in the film “Stand By Me” were very well done. Far better than JJ’s feeble attempt in Super 8.

As far as trading dead mom for cop dad, the melodramatic scene of the kid finally releasing the mother’s locket which then shoots toward the water tower/alien ship was obvious. I agree that it wasn’t implied. It was quite overt and unnecessary.

I thought the kids in “Super 8” were great. In fact, its been awhile since I’ve seen kids act wtih the gravitas and maturity that these actors displayed. More often than not, kids in movies can be pretty annoying (I’m looking at you, Jake Lloyd!).

I think the scene of Joe letting go of his locket was symbolic of his letting go of his attachment to his mother’s death. It was a very good scene which depicted the incredible maturity of the character.

The kids were great in the film as were the other actors. Great dynamics and relationships amongst all the characters. I think the ending was where the movie was a little off. I can’t quite explain why just yet, but I did like the closure shown by Joe releasing his mother’s necklace to the alien. I think I wanted to know more about the alien- hard to fit in all that into a 2 hr movie!

But, I would still recommend the movie, it was still fun to watch and reminiscent of the older sci-fi movies we loved and grew up with.

J.J. Abrams is on the Daily Show tonight. Will he talk about Super 8? Star Trek? The debt ceiling? Okay, he’s going to talk about Congressman Anthony Weiner’s weiner. :-)

Super 8 was a nearly flawless film. #40 is welcome to his opinion, but that’s all it is to me. I have no idea what he’s talking about. I feel 180 degrees opposite to everything he said.