"Superior" Teaser Trailer
Los Angeles-based Beyond the Porch Productions set up shop in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last summer to film “Superior,” a coming-of-age story about two 18-year-olds who bike around Lake Superior in 1969. I spoke with Edd Benda, writer and director of the film, and Alex Bell, director of photography, as they began three weeks of filming in June.
The team posted a teaser trailer in December, and “Superior” will be released later this year. Watch for updates at www.facebook.com/superiorthemovie.
A condensed version of this Q&A originally appeared in our August/September 2014 issue.
LSM: Where did the idea for the story come from?
Edd: My uncle Carl went on this 1,300-mile bike trip in 1971 with his cousin. So that’s the main spine of the story, but then there’s a patchwork quilt of other Benda stories from my dad and his brothers and sisters. They grew up through the late ’60s and ’70s and ’80s, and they were all a pretty adventurous bunch.
LSM: Why did you decide to film in the U.P.?
Edd: We’re entirely within the Keweenaw Peninsula. Big Traverse Bay, we’re in Calumet, Houghton, Hancock, Mohawk, Ahmeek. They all have this wonderful classic sensibility about them that fits the context of our story very well.
And for me, being from Michigan and having a large family in the state of Michigan and a strong network of support here, it was important and necessary for us to be able to make a movie in a state that I love and am familiar with, but also where we have an incredible support system.
LSM: Where in Michigan are you from?
Edd: I’m from Birmingham, Michigan, so I’m from downstate.
LSM: A troll, eh?
Edd: Absolutely, I am troll through and through, I will not deny it. I totally acknowledge my status as a troll.
LSM: What has the Lake Superior experience been like so far?
Courtesy Beyond the Porch Productions
Filming "Superior"
“Superior” writer and director Edd Benda talks with L.A.-based lead actors Paul Stanko (sitting, center) and Thatcher Robinson before filming a scene on a Keweenaw beach in late June.
Edd: There’s a kind of magic ... this sort of allure about Lake Superior. It’s hard to describe. It’s not necessarily tangible. And the other thing is, in California, there’s a predisposition to say no to helping people and to say no to being part of a movie. Whereas coming to the Keweenaw, every single person we have met has reached out and responded with, ‘How can I help? How can I be involved?’ And you cannot find that in California.
Alex: From a photography perspective, too, I have lived all up and down the West Coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, and when I first laid eyes on Lake Superior, I realized this is a different kind of beauty up here.
LSM: You held an open audition in Hancock to fill some parts. How did that go?
Alex: Typically when you have an audition like this in Los Angeles, you’ll have 10, maybe 20 people show up, 30 if it’s a really great day. We had over 85.
Edd: Some people even came in outright and said, ‘Listen, I don’t necessarily want to be a character in the movie, I just want to say how excited I am you’re here and to let you know we want to help.’
Alex: One woman came in and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know what you guys are looking for, but I’m pregnant. If you need a pregnant lady, give me a call!’ We’ve been really excited and almost just humbled by the support of the community.
LSM: How is the cast and crew liking it here?
Edd: I wish I could quantify the amount of smiles, as well as the opposite side of the coin, which is mosquito grimaces. [laughs] To everybody on our crew that’s never been here before, which is all but me, it’s just this kind of magical place. Life feels easy when you’re here. You have beautiful views, you don’t sit in traffic, you aren’t stressed out. And so I’d like to think, speaking on their behalf, they’re just loving it.