The Christian Science Monitor has a huge article about Joel Courtney and Super 8.
Well worth reading.
J.J. Abrams’ new discovery, Joel Courtney, talks about keeping the secrets of ‘Super 8,’ feeling the shock waves from massive explosions and hitting Abrams with the perfect April Fools prank.
According to the UK's Female First magazine, Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning are one of the top Sci-Fi couples of 2011.
Joel Courtney & Elle Fanning (Super 8)
It’s been a while since we had seen a J.J. Abrams directed movie on the big screen until he returned this summer with the highly anticipated Super 8 - which proved to be one of the best movies of the year.
Abrams risked a lot giving the central roles to young an inexperienced actors - but the young cast that were assembled were nothing short of superb.
Joel Courtney is a very engaging lead character as he struggles to cope with the death of his mother. It’s a very innocent relationship that develops between Joe and Alice - which is a real breathe of fresh air to this genre of movie.
From Capsule Computers:
The actors behind the characters were amazing, especially the two mains Joe (Joel Courtney) and Alice (Elle Fanning). Both characters go through an amazing and intense emotional journey, and they both pull it off effortlessly.
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For the Triple-play Blu-ray release there are seven more featurettes including The Search for New Faces, Meet Joel Courtney, Rediscovering Steel Town, Scoring Super 8, Do You Believe in Magic? and The 8mm Revolution. On top of this there is Deconstructing the Train Crash and the deleted scenes.
Here's the writeup that People's Choice did about Joel Courtney.
Joel Courtney
Age: 15
What He's Done: Courtney came to Los Angeles from Idaho hoping to make $100 on a commercial shoot; instead, he auditioned for Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams and -- 11 callbacks later -- earned the leading role in 'Super 8'; the film grossed $259 million worldwide after its release in June.
What's Next: After the box-office success of 'Super 8,' Courtney booked two roles: he'll play a disgruntled teen in the supernatural thriller 'The Healer,' and take on the iconic role of Tom Sawyer in 'Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn' with fellow up-and-comer Jake T. Austin playing Huck. Both movies are scheduled to hit next year.
Did You Know? Despite taking place in Missouri, 'Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn' was shot in Bulgaria to keep costs down.
From People's Choice Award:
Turns out, youth is the new black. Or something like that.
Did you vote for PCA nominees yet? You still can, you have just a few days left, and if you don’t weigh in on today’s category you just might be kicking yourself down the road, because… well, you could be shaping Hollywood’s future. I’ll explain.
Movie Stars… Under 25. The fun category. The one everyone wants to vote for, because - let’s face it – it’s the one everyone wants to be in.
25 years is a long time for many people. A twenty-five year old car is considered a “classic car” – and when it hits forty, it enters what they call the “antique class”. If you work at a job for 25 years, chances are someone’s going to give you a gold watch when you step down. Maybe gold plated, but still.
In Hollywood however, if you’re a popular actor under 25, you’re in about as desirable a category as anyone on earth could be. 25-year-old actors have it all – choice roles, attentive agents, great skin, plenty of hair, they’ve not yet hit the reality show circuit, and they’re often charming and still quite self-effacing. This is that golden period in an actor’s life before plastic surgeons, divorce lawyers, and comebacks. It’s when they shine very, very bright. And it’s when the youth of America can pin their hopes and dreams on them as role models; these are the kids who bring everyone’s favorite books, adventures, stories, and graphic novels to life on the big screen.
Thus, we’ve teamed up with Moviefone once again to present what’s easily one of my fave awards categories: the Favorite Movie Star Under 25. Last year’s winner was Zac Efron, and my personal pick, Twilight’s Rob Pattinson is now officially too old for the category. (!!) But what remains is a splendid array of adorable dudes and enchanting young ladies.
Maybe you like action heroes…or wizards…or people who will soon mature into action heroes …we’ve got a few mythological icons, and even some princesses in there …a hairwhipper or two…a karate kid…some sultry vixens and a few brooding loners…there are several actors’ cute siblings plus some “ordinary” girls with “extraordinary” powers of attraction. And having a met a few of them, I am still shocked at their poise, their skill and their professionalism. This is a crop of truly amazing young people with talent for days. What do you think? Are to ready to rate them?
Here’s how it works – you pick your Top Five from the Under 25 group here, and then some ultra-high-tech computer somewhere tallies all the votes. Then it presents us with a list of the Top Five Movie Stars Under 25 Finalists. Then, starting on November the 8th you can vote AGAIN for one of these actor/actresses – which point the star with the most votes wins. And you’ll get to see him or her up close on January 11th at the People’s Choice Awards.
So let your voice be heard and cast your votes today.
Joel Courtney has been nominated for Favorite Movie Star Under 25 (presented by Moviefone) for the 2012 People’s Choice Awards! And "Super 8"has also been nominated for Favorite Action Movie.
Please vote for him over at the People's Choice Award site: http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/nominations/vote.jsp?pollId=110011
The 38th Annual People’s Choice Awards will be held on January 6, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
Super 8 won the 2011 Scream Awards in the category of "Best Science Fiction Movie.
See http://www.spike.com/events/scream-awards-2011/voting/best-science-fiction-movie
