From the NY Post:

I have a feeling in 20 years we'll look back on Joel Courtney's impossibly adult yet utterly age-appropriate performance in "Super 8" with the same "remember when this megastar was so young" reverence we save for Drew Barrymore in "E.T."

While much ado has been made over the special effects in J.J. Abrams' sci-fi exravaganza, I believe it is the young actors who have the most special effect on the film, letting the audience experience this awe-some adventure through their eyes. I caught up with Joel to find out what it's been like now that America knows the "Super" secret!

Check out the entire interview over at the NY Post.

From Opposing Views:

They couldn’t have picked a better person to play Joe than Joel Courtney. He did a fantastically normal job playing a plain kid with extraordinary personality.

From Hollywood Outbreak:

Any aspiring young actor would kill for a chance to star in a movie. For Joel Courtney, who is only 15 years old, his dream came true. He currently stars in Super 8, which will be the number one film at the box office this weekend. The film was directed J.J. Abrams and produced by iconic director Steven Spielberg. Not bad to work with two of the most creative people in Hollywood. Courtney told Hollywoodoutbreak.com that it was a blast to work with them both, and that he loves Spielberg’s classic movies and Abrams’ films as well.

MTV News asked J.J. Abrams the burning question:

MTV News: Why no kiss between Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney?

Abrams: You know, I don’t know who wanted to see the kiss between Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney, but to me … these were kids who, their affection for each other didn’t necessarily need to be played out with a kiss. But I think that hopefully you get the sense that their feelings for each other are profound.

Check out this article over at Comic Book Resources:

The Super 8 opening box office was $37 million, and reviews haven’t been as across-the-board glowing as pre-release suggested they might be — really, is that ever the case? — but it’s essentially J.J. Abrams performing a cover of a Steven Spielberg movie. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Newcomer Joel Courtney is central to the story as young Joe Lamb, a teen dealing with the sudden loss of his mother and the far-reaching implications of that incident. His performance — really, that of all the child actors — is top-notch. It’s an especially impressive feat when you consider Courtney’s virtually non-existent acting background prior to his Super 8 experience.

“I’ve been acting for a year and a half. I’d had six acting classes before [shooting Super 8],” he told Spinoff Online last week. “It’s my brother, Caleb Courtney, who has wanted to act for a really long time.”

“I came down to visit him in LA, and that’s when I got the call about the [Super 8] audition. And so I was really excited. I wanted to get an audition for a commercial and [earn] $100, that was my goal for the summer. And I got Super 8, so …” Courtney trailed off, chuckling somewhat nervously at what is surely the latest bizarre turn in the roller-coaster he’s been riding for more than a year now.

It all started with a call from his acting coach, who’s also a casting director [Seattle's Patti Kalles], with word of the Super 8 audition. Courtney went in and apparently left whoever watched him very impressed, as he received two immediate callbacks on that day alone.

“They had me sit in this other room, so I was kind of nervous, I didn’t know what they meant,” he explained. “They brought me some more scenes and I just figured that’s gotta be good. And then they did that again to me the same day, so that was kind of crazy. And then a while later they had me come back.”

“I came back 11 times, and a lot of them were chemistry auditions to see who would be really good friends,” he added. “Because in the movie, if you notice the chemistry between the kids, it looks like we’ve known each other since we were like really young because the chemistry there is just perfect between the kids. J.J. really wanted that to be spot-on, so a lot of them were inside acting with your friends and the other half was hanging out with all the other actors to see who the chemistry would be the best with.”

From Fox All Access.

At the young age of 15 years old, Joel Courtney is sitting on top of the world. Courtney gives a great performance in JJ Abrams' hit film, Super 8. Many would be surprised to find out that this is his first major role. For anyone, not to mention a young teen, auditioning for a big movie like Super 8 had to be a nerve-racking experience. We spoke to Courtney, who told us about his memories of his Super 8 audition.

Comic Book Movie reviews Super 8:

The movie (other than the few opening scenes) is very action packed - a lot of mystery solving and thrilling scenes throughout the whole movie. The acting core (mostly kids - at least the main ones) are all good especially Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard and Joel Courtney as Joe Lamb. But all of them are great - kids and adults alike. And for those that are early-leavers when the credits start rolling, there is a extra part of the film during the credits, so you might want to stay for that.

As all is said and done, this movie is just flat-out awesome. Non-stop nailbiting scenes and nonstop wondering what will happen next. Which is perfect. Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams both nailed this one. Go see it as soon as you can. You (should) love it.