The Sidekick at Comic Con: Interviews and Photos
Rob Benedict’s The Sidekick, a short film he wrote, produced, and starred in, made it’s debut at Comic Con a few weeks ago to a packed house in the Indigo Ballroom. Various cast members and producers held a Q & A panel for fans after the film, which was quite a charmer I might say!
The premise of the film was definitely ripe for these Comic Con attendees – a superhero sidekick at 40 has lost his mojo. Max McCabe is having a little trouble keeping up with saving his boss, Captain Wonder (played by Ron Livingston), especially when he’s thwarted by things like slow elevators because there’s too many stairs for him to handle. He loses his job after botching another threat and suddenly has to figure out where to go when he can’t do the only job he’s ever done, and ever wanted to do. He’s naturally replaced by someone younger and more charismatic (played by Jason Ritter).
Everything about this film is relatable to everyday life. After all, sidekicks are people too. Max shares his life woes with his sidekick buddies at the laundromat, where we learn that these humble servants have no real powers, but can bring special things to the table like catch phrases. Max’s job interviews for sidekick with new superheroes are a disaster, including a mistaken one with another sidekick, played by Richard Speight Jr., who also is looking for a job. Things spiral so bad, Max can no longer jump ahead in line at the superhero nightclub. Eventually, with the help of average girl Bailey (played by Lizzy Caplan), Max finds his way to a new start in life, and a new perspective about himself.
This wonderful film features original music by Rob Benedict, who is the leader and songwriter of his own longtime band, Louden Swain.
Before, the screening, I had a chance to talk with some of the cast members and director Michael J. Weithorn (The King of Queens) during press room interviews. Everyone was pretty excited about being part of this project. Rob came up with the idea for The Sidekick when he hit 40 himself and wondered if he wasn’t an actor, what else would be possibly be able to do? I asked him if he was nervous on this big debut day. “I’m not, I’m so excited. I just want to get to it done, putting it out there and hope that people like it. I’m just excited to have all my buddies here with me.”
Jordan Peele and Josh Myers are old friends of Rob’s and were more than willing to help out with this project, especially since he wrote such fun roles just for both of them. Both especially loved the prop glasses they got to wear. Peele’s character, Sidecar Willy, wears driving goggles. Myers’ character, Jimmy T, brought with him these big obnoxious white sunglasses, fitting since he gets to play a total jerk. “Since I bought them the one time I wore them was in this, because I can’t wear them and actually go out. They make me look like such a jerk.”
Michael J. Weithorn said that he hopes that they’ll be able to sell The Sidekick to a cable station or online site so it can continue. The film certainly leaves it open for more stories!
You can hear a lot more from Rob, Lizzy, Jason, Richard, and Michael in these full video interviews:
Interview with Rob Benedict, Lizzy Caplan, and Jason Ritter
http://youtu.be/4pyHYAlYXbE
Interview with Richard Speight Jr. and Michael J. Weithorn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_OeVGwcgoQ
For those of you in Southern California, The Sidekick will be kicking off the 9th Annual Hollyshorts festival at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood on August 15th. Tickets are available at Hollyshorts.com
For more information on The Sidekick, go to www.thesidekickproject.com.
Finally, here are a few more photos I snapped during the event:
Congratulations to Rob Benedict and company on such a successful debut and here’s to hoping we’ll get to see a lot more of The Sidekick in the future.
Leave a Reply