From iAfrica:

The casting of the young filmmakers is a masterstroke. These kids aren't meant to be Disney cutouts – they're cheeky, loud, swear like troopers and are obsessed with blood, explosions and death… In other words, they're real boys. Super 8's star is not the aspiring director, as one would expect, but rather the gentle, quiet Joe Lamb (marvellously portrayed by newcomer Joel Courtney), who is the film's make-up artist and who is struggling to come to terms with the death of his mother.

Here are two new Super 8 trailers.

From the NY Times: Male Archetypes.

The male archetypes populating contemporary movies don’t line up with reality, yet they offer clues about what the men of our dreams look like, or at least what moviemakers are trying to sell us. What do men want? What does it mean to be a man? How does a man relate to other men? And perhaps above all, how does he relate to women, who increasingly occupy a separate sphere on the big screen even as they appear to have more room on television, for themselves and in their relationships with men?

...

The young hero (Joel Courtney) of “Super 8” — with his dead mom and distracted dad — is another fine specimen of this type, one concocted by the writer and director J. J. Abrams in tribute to the American cinema’s own ageless Brave Boy, Steven Spielberg.

Check out this new Super 8 viral website:
http://gonna-be-mint.tumblr.com/

Movierat has an article titled "The Importance of Being Joel Courtney". Here's an excerpt:

Courtney’s case is one of a natural talent being discovered and it benefited not only the film but, as recent stories have shown, Courtney as well.

While some were getting tired of the glut of Taylor Lautner news a while back, as he seemed to be signing deals at a record pace, I saw it as expected and good for him. It’s always been my contention that an actor has to strike while the iron is hot especially if he/she is being offered work they want to do. Fear of over-exposure ought not be a deterrent as it is a high class problem to have. Talent will win out over perception in most cases especially when an actor fits a part perfectly.

Courtney had already shot a two-episode stint on R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, a series on The Hub Network, when it was announced that he was attached not only to a new Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn film but also to an indie horror/sci-fi tale called The Healer. The films’ principal photography will occur in consecutive months (August & September) and shoot in Bulgaria and North Carolina respectively.

From being a cinematic debutant to suddenly in demand has taken about a month. Of course, as with most overnight successes, it hasn’t truly been that fast. There was a long audition process, principal photography and the worldwide press junkets and after all that one might expect Joel and the kids of Super 8 to be wary of taking on new commitments, however, many of them seem to think as I do and are seeking to keep working while there’s demand. Gabriel Basso is still a regular on The Big C and Zach Mills has signed on to be a regular on The Hub Network’s new series Clue.

In closing, I just want to address the fact that Joel is a child actor, which is for the most part virtually irrelevant. The bottom line is he’s a working actor who’s taking advantage of opportunities earned and should serve as a template for future actors who knock it out of the park upon getting their big break and that’s the importance of being Joel Courtney: not being content with or being disoriented by newfound stature but immediately seizing other great opportunities as they come along.

From Vogue:

15 years old, Californian, passionate about Latin, basketball and swimming (he is an agonist ever since childhood), Joel Courtney has an all-American face and eyes full of innocence that opens up your heart.

This story is from Joel's sister, Chantelle. This story happened on the set of Super 8 while filming in L.A.

The Time When Joel Got Locked In His Bathroom

Joel spent four months on set filming Super 8; one month in Weirton, WV, and three months in LA. There were many exciting, embarrassing, and crazy happenings while Joel filmed Super 8, and I thought I should share some of them.

The story that stands out to me the most was while the kids were filming the train wreck. Joel had finished his dinner and went to his trailer to put on his costume. He went into his bathroom and the doorknob broke. He jiggled the doorknob, he slammed against the door, he tried to take the doorknob off, he yelled. But the door remained stubbornly closed. He was locked inside his bathroom.

So he tried something else, a last ditch effort. He climbed onto the bathroom counter, and opened the retractable vent. It was not big enough for him to climb through, but he could stick his head out the top of the trailer. And that's what he did. He looked around for help and caught the eye of his make up lady. He kindly and calmly said, "Um, Deborah, I'm stuck. Would you please help me?" At that moment the base camp manager, Carey, saw Joel's head poking out the top of his trailer. She, being in charge of Joel's safety, demanded, "Joel! What the heck are you doing?!!" Joel answered, "I'm stuck. Would you help me, please?" Carey yelled, "Don't you dare move or I swear..." She ran into his trailer and started pulling on the door. But it would not open.

At this point the other boys had heard that Joel was locked in his bathroom. They dashed into his trailer and one of them yelled, "Dude! You locked yourself in your bathroom?!" Joel yelled back, "NO!! The doorknob broke!" The boys stared yelling out helpful suggestions like, "try jiggling the doorknob" and "throw all your weight against the door." Joel rolled his eyes but to humor them, tried again. The door still would not open.  Ryan started hyperventilating, because he gets claustrophobic, and was really worried about Joel and asked, "Dude, are you okay? Just breath, man. Just breath." Joel, trying to calm Ryan down, said, "I'm fine, Ryan, I'm just fine." Then Joel's teacher and several of the moms piled into his trailer, all concerned about Joel and yelling out suggestions. Three maintenance men and 20 minutes latter, the doorknob came off and the door swung open.

Unfortunately, I missed the whole thing. I was eating dinner. But as I headed back to the trailer, Carey stopped me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Chantelle, I just wanted to tell you that Joel was locked in his bathroom for about 20 minutes." My jaw dropped. She continued, reassuring me, "he's fine, he's fine. I sent him to hair and makeup. But I thought you should know..." She was embarrassed and concerned about Joel. I think she thought he might need therapy after such a "traumatic" experience.

Carey's arm was still on my shoulder when Joel came around the corner. I looked at him, mouth still open, and he looked at me. I broke into a huge grin and said, "You got locked in your bathroom?!!" And Joel said, "I know!!" And we both burst out laughing. Carey thought we were crazy. We laughed all the way to set. And we laughed on set when the boys teased Joel about being a diva actor and locking himself in his bathroom, refusing to come out for 20 minutes.

Poor Joel. He'll never forget being locked in his bathroom - mostly because we won't let him forget. But also because only a week after he returned home he got locked in a A&W bathroom and the store manager had to open the broken door.

I'd tell him to avoid bathrooms but that's not really a realistic or desirable option.