A new original superhero film!

[victoryman]

I'm the writer-producer of SIDEKICK, a new, ORIGINAL, feature-length, superhero movie currently in post-production in Toronto, Canada.

I'm a huge fan of superhero movies in general so SIDEKICK is a true labour of love for me. As an aspiring screenwriter, I was realistic about the fact that I'd likely never get the chance to work on one of the big franchises no matter how much I wanted to. Still, I realized i had my own superhero story to tell and SIDEKICK is the result.

Here's the synopsis:

Mild-mannered computer consultant Norman Neale has two great loves in this cruel world: Comic books and his office's effervescent main receptionist, Andrea Hicks. Norman spends his days dreaming of Andrea from the isolation of his cubicle and his nights dreaming of fighting crime from the solitude of his apartment.

Then one fateful day, Norman discovers that a fellow co-worker, Victor Ventura, a swaggering, pretty-boy salesman, has slight telekinetic abilities beyond his understanding. After discussing his mind-blowing discovery with his only friend Chuck, a know-it-all comic book store owner, Norman comes to the outlandish conclusion that he should train Victor to become a real-life superhero by helping him refine and expand his extraordinary ability. Norman envisions an exciting new future for himself battling the city's criminal elements as Victor's faithful sidekick.

But as Victor grows in power Norman is faced with the heartbreaking realization that not all people with extraordinary abilities are meant to be heroes.

DANIEL BALDWIN, the Baldwin brother from such hits as Homicide: Life on the Streets and John Carpenter's Vampires, plays Chuck in the film, relishing the chance to play a different type of character for him - not a cop or a killer but a sarcastic, eccentric comic book store owner.

Also, KEN LASHLEY, the supertalented comic book artist behind some really excellent X-men and Spiderman comics and founder of Draxhall (www.draxploitation.com (http://www.draxploitation.com)), makes a cameo appearance as himself.

If you get the chance, check out the website. Lots of cool stuff to look at, including a kickass POSTER (be sure to place your cursor on the comic book!)and TEASER TRAILER. As I'm in the process of getting ready to take this project to market, I'd appreciate any comments you might have.

http://www.sidekickmovie.com

[lboinyamouf4sho]

good luck!!!!

[Inkthinker]

The plot device of a comic-book fan taking in a person with unexplained abilities under his wing to train him as a hero is somewhat reminiscent of Unbreakable... not that your film necessarily has anything else in common with that work, but you might expect people to draw the same parallel upon hearing the synopsis as you've laid it out here.

Still, it sounds as though it could be interesting!

[victoryman]

Yeah, people have mentioned that my synopsis sounds a bit like Unbreakable. And admittedly, there are some parallels that could be drawn. But, as you already guessed, the 2 films are quite different. Although the synopsis doesn't do it justice, Sidekick is actually a Raimi-ish dark-comedy, not a drama. And Sidekick's "big twist" is...well, different, too.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. In a franchise driven genre like this, it's nice to know there may actually be an audience out there for an original project.

[victoryman]

Just letting everyone know that a NEW TRAILER is now online at www.sidekickmovie.com. This one's got lots of VFX, dialogue and actual storyline stuff. Much better than the montage teaser trailer that was previously posted. Check it out if you get the chance. It's only High Res at the moment. Med and Low Res will be posted tomorrow. But if you've got High Speed, this is the way to see it.

Only a few weeks away from completion BTW. Things are heating up on the Distrib front, too, so hopefully there'll be news to report soon...

[Artemis1]

Will this film be in theaters?

[stealthwise]

Interesting, I'll remember that one. There's NO chance in hell that it's hitting the theater in my town.

[victoryman]

You only have 1 theater in your town? So I'm guessing you only get big budget mega hits and nothing else. Well, maybe they'll remake SIDEKICK as a big budget movie and you'll get to see it afterall. Or maybe the sequel?

[victoryman]

Sorry for the long delay in posting some news about Sidekick. It's been an oh so busy year, which means there's lots to tell...

First of all, Sidekick is now complete. It had a sold out preview screening in Toronto in June that was a huge success. The audience laughed and cheered at all the right places. 2 more preview screenings are scheduled for Sept 12 & 13 in Toronto...

Secondly, Sidekick will have it's Official World Premiere at the 2005 Calgary Int'l Film Festival (Sept 23-Oct 2). Screening dates and times TBA.

Thirdly, Sidekick will have it's Official US Premiere at the 2005 Idaho Int'l Film Festival (Sept 29-Oct 2). Screening dates and times TBA.

Fourthly, and this is big, Sidekick's screenplay was recently purchased by Focus Features (Lost in Translation, Constant Gardener), Universal Pictures' specialty arm. Focus plans to produce a big budget remake. I've also been hired by Focus to write a bigger budget version of the screenplay for the remake.

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

Who would've thought when I gathered my friends together in 2003 to pitch them this movie that it would go this far? People keep telling me these days how lucky I am. And they're right, I am. But it's amazing how much hard work it took to be this lucky. Thanks to everyone in this forum for your kind words early on. Hopefully you'll all have a chance to see Sidekick someday.

Check out www.sidekickmovie.com for all the latest info.

[victoryman]

BIG SIDEKICK NEWS!!!

For anybody who lives in San Francisco, or knows anybody who lives there, SIDEKICK will be playing at the 2006 San Francisco Independent Film Festival in 2 weeks time. It will be the World Premiere screening of our new 35mm print.

Here's the screening info:

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2006
4:30 P.M.
THE ROXIE CINEMA
3117 16th Street (at Valencia)

AND

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2006
4:30 P.M.
THE ROXIE CINEMA
3117 16th Street (at Valencia)

Please come out and support this awesome original superhero film!

In case you're wondering, our screenings at the Calgary and Idaho Int'l Film Fests were all huge successes. Audiences loved the movie - laughing, cheering, the whole works. And we also won the "Overall / Audience Choice Award" at the Eureka Springs Film Festival in November.

SIDEKICK is a superhero movie made by real fans for the real fans. It's dark, cook, funny and it's full of "awe" - which is in my opinion the single most important emotion a superhero movie should evoke in its viewers.

Check out www.sidekickmovie.com (http://www.sidekickmovie.com) for all the latest info.

[victoryman]

I forgot, to order tickets in advance visit the SF Indie Fest's website as this address:

http://www.sfindie.com/indiefest06/film/?film=Sidekick

And, Sidekick's director is being interviewed by Tim Sika, host of the radio show on KSKS called "Celluloid Dreams" this coming Monday - Jan 30th at 5 pm. Check it out if you get the chance. Tim saw the movie and loved it (his words).

[Watchman]

Whoa.

Good on you, man, good on you.

[Murrocko]

Congrats man. I know if it hits New York I'll check it out.

[victoryman]

Thanks for the kind words guys. And MURROCKO, NY screenings may be in the cards. I used to live on Orchard Street in the LES and miss it terribly. I'll let you know how things develop.

In the meantime, tell all your Bay area buddies to check it out!

www.sidekickmovie.com

[victoryman]

BIG SIDEKICK NEWS!!!

This Saturday (April 1st), Canada's very own superhero movie, SIDEKICK, embarks on a month long journey across Canada, screening in theatres in 8 Canadian cities, literally from coast to coast.

And what better way to kick off a cross country adventure than with a trophy...

That's right, last weekend, SIDEKICK celebrated its Opening Night Gala Film status at the 2006 Canadian Filmmakers Festival by not only selling out its screening (and at the Varsity!), but by also walking away with the "People's Pick for Best Flick" Award. How cool is that?

And not only that, but SIDEKICK was featured in articles/segments on Rogers' Reel to Reel, SPACE Channel, EYE Magazine and the National Post. And over the next few weeks you're going to see additional features in/on the Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, National Post (again), City TV, CTV, Global and the list goes on and on. Totally crazy. Especially when you consider that this was a movie financed on credit cards and shot on weekends. It completely blows my mind anyway.

If you're an Indie filmmaker and/or you love superhero movies and you live in or near Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary or Vancouver, please come out and see/support SIDEKICK when it rolls through town in April. My director, lead actors and I will be at each screening to introduce the film and hold Q&As (if anyone has any questions).

Here are the dates:

April 5 - Halifax
April 7, 8 & 9 - Montreal
April 12 - Ottawa
April 15 - Toronto
April 19 - Winnipeg
April 22 & 23 - Regina
April 26 - Calgary
May 1 - Vancouver

Venues & times can be found at www.sidekickmovie.com.

And just in case you aren't sold, here's what the critics have had to say:

"A smart, fun Film" - National Post
"Highly Recommeded" - San Francisco Examiner
"A smart, twisted take on superhero flicks & comic book culture" - CBS 5
"A gem of a movie" - Tim Sika "Celluloid Dreams"

[Crinos]

sounds like a good movie, but I should warn you, there was already a movie called Sidekicks, and it starred Chuck Norris.

Just giving you the heads up, I wouldnt want Chuck to track you down and beat your ass.

[victoryman]

actually my movie is called SIDEKICK, no "S" at the end. and yeah, i'm aware of mr. norris's fine feature film, and that people might think of his film when they think of mine, but the title was just way too good to pass up.

[Leslie Lee III]

actually my movie is called SIDEKICK, no "S" at the end. and yeah, i'm aware of mr. norris's fine feature film, and that people might think of his film when they think of mine, but the title was just way too good to pass up.

They'll write this on your tombstone.

[Gargus]

Eh Id rather see that one where uma thurman is a superhero and her boyfriend leaves her so she spends the rest of the movie torturing him.

That sounds, kinda lame and generic sounding. Even I could write that.

And you didnt have to tell me you had anything to do with it. That was obvious by how much you were touting its greatness over and over and over again with resposting of dates and so on. Obviously new to this game to if thats what you call promoting a movie.

[victoryman]

thanks for the vote of confidence, gargus. honestly, man, if i'm coming on too strong for you, i sure didn't mean it. i'm just a regular guy who made a movie with my own money that people seem to really dig. any hey, i understand your cynicism about being promoted to, but i'm not a studio planting shit. i don't have millions of dollars to put trailers into theatres and tv. i'm paying for this tour out of my own pocket because i believe in it. if no one comes out to see it, at least i can say i tried. you don't want to see it, that's cool. if you can write a better movie, i say get cracking. i love superhero movies. i can't wait to see yours.

[victoryman]

Beyond great news...

SIDEKICK is coming to DVD!

In Canada that is. I'm just finalizing a deal that should see the movie hit shelves (and online - which means you can order it) sometime mid-November. It'll be in widescreen with a Dolby 5.1 mix, deleted scenes, commentary and everything. Holy crap, huh? Never would have thought I'd see this happen in my wildest dreams.

Some more great news for Toronto area peeps:

SIDEKICK TO SCREEN AT
CANADA'S LARGEST COMIC BOOK EVENT -
THE 2006 COMIC BOOK EXPO!

HERE'S THE SUPER-EXCITING DETAILS:

SIDEKICK SCREENING
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2006
8 PM IN THEATRE 2
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE
222 BREMNER BLVD, SOUTH BUILDING

ADMISSION IS FREE TO ANY AND ALL PASS HOLDERS

CAST AND CREW WILL BE ON HAND FOR Q&A!


AND BE SURE TO VISIT OUR TABLE ON
THE EXPO FLOOR ALL WEEKEND LONG!!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO: www.sidekickmovie.com

[victoryman]

As you know from my last post, SIDEKICK is coming to DVD! Well, now I've finally got the details...

On November 14th, Maple Pictures (the distribs of Crank, Saw, Crash) will be distributing SIDEKICK in stores across Canada including Blockbuster, Rogers, Movie Gallery, HMV and more.

And best of all, Maple Pictures truly believes in our movie. They're impressed with the great reviews (100% on Rotten Tomatoes!), awesome word-of-mouth and the staggering amount of media attention the film has generated. I'm hoping to reward their faith in our film by making SIDEKICK one of their better/best sellers.

Amazon.ca currently has SIDEKICK available for presale at 30% off the suggested retail price so feel free to buy a copy for yourself (and/or all your family and friends) today! Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000IB0DA8/imdbca-20/

And just to make sure you feel SIDEKICK is a movie worthy of being included in your collection, I've compiled over 45 minutes of extras, including: filmmaker commentary, bloopers, deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews and much, much more. Oh, and the movie is also available in 5.1 Dolby Digital to boot! And yes, Amazon.ca does deliver to the US (and beyond).

And good news for all you Sydney, Australia-based forumers, too. SIDEKICK will be screening in Sydney in early December! And I'll be there to present it, too! More info coming soon.

Honestly, I still can't believe how far things have come since my first post here when SIDEKICK was still in production. What a dream come true.

Check out www.sidekickmovie.com for more info.

[Buzz Dixon]

I hven't seen SIDEKICK, haven't even looked at the trailer, the website, or anything.

But major props to you, victoryman, for seeing it through! You're on the scoreboard in a game where most wannabe playas don't even suit up.

[malephoenix]

thanks for the vote of confidence, gargus. honestly, man, if i'm coming on too strong for you, i sure didn't mean it. i'm just a regular guy who made a movie with my own money that people seem to really dig. any hey, i understand your cynicism about being promoted to, but i'm not a studio planting shit. i don't have millions of dollars to put trailers into theatres and tv. i'm paying for this tour out of my own pocket because i believe in it. if no one comes out to see it, at least i can say i tried. you don't want to see it, that's cool. if you can write a better movie, i say get cracking. i love superhero movies. i can't wait to see yours.

Don't worry about their post. Every time someone accomplishes something big, it's internet law that someone has to come along and pee in the lemonade. (Borrowing a phrase from an old neighbor from back in the day.)

Props on what you've accomplished. Hope you get to keep doing what you enjoy.

[Captain_Video]

Congratulations Victoryman, are you now going to look into getting worldwide distribution deals or are you satisfied with just Canada ?

Must be incredibly cool knowing you took your dream from a thought in your head one day "say I am going to make on of them feature films" to completion, distribution being most indy film makers holy grail.

[victoryman]

Thanks for the vote of confidence everyone. I'm getting better at not letting the naysayers bother me. It was harder when I was still working on the movie and had no clue how it would turn out. But now that I've screened it over 30 times with audiences all across North America I feel pretty good about how the movie plays. It was made for comic book and superhero movie fans specifically, but it seems to have found a wider audience overall with is still mindblowing.

As for distribution outside Canada, yeah, I'm definitely interested. I just wanted to sell my own territory first before branching out. When I get my first batch of shrink-wrapped DVDs this week (sooooo can't wait), I'm going to start looking at the US and beyond. But at least Amazon.ca ships everywhere.

To let you in on some more news, I'm now being paid to write my next screenplay (a horror-comedy about Bigfoot!). And I've got more $ to write it than I had to produce SIDEKICK it total. How crazy is that?

[Dark Soul # 7]

Sounds interesting.
How long until it gets to Sweden?

[vrempire]

Wow!! That's a really happy ending of the year 2006.
You gotta miss 2006, victoryman...
Congratzzzzz..
:D

[victoryman]

i've been thinking the same thing about 2006. i believe when i look back on my life that 2006 will be one of the greatest years for me.

briefly, here's the lowdown:

january - i got the financing to blow my movie up from digital video to 35mm.

february- i premiered the print at the san francisco indie film fest to packed houses.

march - sidekick was the opening night gala at the canadian filmmakers fest and it won the audience choice award.

april/may - i travelled across canada with my director and lead actors screening the movie in theatres in 8 cities in limited engagements.

june - i was flown back to vancouver for a repeat screening.

july - i had my first meeting with maple. a deal was struck soon after.

august/september/october - we screened sidekick at 4 more Canadian fests in sudbury, kelowna (b.c.), edmonton and toronto. oh, and i confirmed my deal to write my next movie.

november - the dvd release is on the 14th!!!!! (check it out!)

december - i get to fly to sydney, australia, to screen sidekick for the first time internationally.

it's almost too good. i'll likely be hit by a bus sometime around christmas just to even things out.

[Cyke]

The fact that you got a 100% on Rottentomatoes.com is no mean feat. Good job on that :)

[victoryman]

oh, yeah, i should've added that to my september list (which is when we had enough reviews to be awarde a numerical rating). getting on Rotten Tomatoes was a bigtime thrill for me. i visit the page at least a couple times a day.

[victoryman]

SIDEKICK is on TV!!!!

That's right, as of Dec 29th, Sidekick is now available on Pay Per View (PPV) and Video on Demand (VOD) through both Rogers and Cogeco Digital Cable here in Canada. So now you can order Sidekick and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. How friggin' crazy is that?!

I know one day I'll get used to it, but I can't tell you how cool it was to dial in channel 100 on my Rogers' digital box and watch my trailer and film last night. I can't wait for the 1st TV Guide with Sidekick in it!

Hey, if you're looking for a nice Boxing Week/New Year's gift for yourself, why not pick up a copy of Sidekick for yourself? The DVD is still available in stores or online at Amazon.ca! Or you can rent it anywhere across the country.

www.sidekickmovie.com

[Erebus]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10007167-sidekick/
Props to you, man. You've gotten great reviews on it (100%!), and I hope I can watch it pretty soon.

[victoryman]

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Audiences have bee supportive of the film for a while now, but to have critics get behind the movie like they have is out of this world.

And I'm hoping to have some news re: a US release sometime in the near future so hopefully you will have the opportunity to see it. Keep your fingers crossed.

www.sidekickmovie.com

[victoryman]

BEYOND SUPER BIG NEWS!!!

SIDEKICK IS FINALLY COMING TO DVD IN THE U.S.A.!!!

That's right, on June 10th, Warner Home Video will be releasing our dark, awesome, cool, original superhero movie in the good ole U.S. of A. I can't believe it. This is truly a dream come true. It's been 4 years of hard work (honestly, check out my posts!!!), but it was all worth it!

Check it out on Warner's site: http://whv.warnerbros.com/WHVPORTAL/Portal/product.jsp?OID=49450

Dig that DVD box art!? Honestly, I'm over-the-moon with excitement.

It's already available on Amazon.com for pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/Sidekick-Std-D...dp/B00180OU5M/

MORE BIG NEWS: SIDEKICK has also been picked up in a whole bunch of international territories including Israel, India, Russia and the Middle East.

For more info, check out the official site:
www.sidekickmovie.com

[Toku King]

I'm ready to buy it!

[2-4-5_Trioxin]

Its one thing to talk and discuss something your doing, but just coming in and copy/paste news in a forum is just spamming it. Surprised this hasnt been locked by now.

[victoryman]

I am discussing something I'm doing. Sorry if the copy/paste aspect of the big announcements bother you, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to participating in a conversation. I'd relish the chance to take about it. It's all I think about day and night. Honestly, all I'm trying to do is get the word out on something I've been working on for half a decade. And something I particularly love. I'm terrified to have the DVD to come out and have no one know about it.