TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
A long journey to the screen for local superheroes
Fantastic foursome: Indonesian superheroes (left to right) Valentine, Gundala, Volt and Garuda are set to take to the skies â and movie screens â in big-budget productions in the next few years
Change Size
Fantastic foursome: Indonesian superheroes (left to right) Valentine, Gundala, Volt and Garuda are set to take to the skies â and movie screens â in big-budget productions in the next few years. (JP/Swi Handono) (left to right) Valentine, Gundala, Volt and Garuda are set to take to the skies â and movie screens â in big-budget productions in the next few years. (JP/Swi Handono)
F
span class="inline inline-none">Fantastic foursome: Indonesian superheroes (left to right) Valentine, Gundala, Volt and Garuda are set to take to the skies ' and movie screens ' in big-budget productions in the next few years. (JP/Swi Handono)
With many years passing since the last Indonesian superhero feature film, local filmmakers are in uncharted territory when looking to bring men (and women) of steel to the screen.
Marcelino Lefrandt, co-founder and co-creator of Skylar Comics, said filmmakers were left to their own devices to produce the next generation of superhero films.
With Garuda Superhero set for release in December and three others in pre-production; producers and filmmakers face the challenge of reestablishing the genre from scratch.
'It's a film genre that has not been touched for a very long time in Indonesia. We don't have any references to look to,' said Marcelino, who is planning to make films about two Skylar heroes, Volt and Valentine, over the next couple of years.
'I think when Garuda Superhero is released later this year, it will provide us with some sort of a benchmark,' Marcelino said.
Garuda producer Dhoni Ramadhan admitted that although he had produced a number of movies, the superhero genre had different challenges and a steep learning curve.
'This was my first experience of producing a CGI-heavy film,' Dhoni said. 'I feel like I have to go back to school and learn everything over again.'
Dhoni said he was first offered the project in 2010 by director and creator X-Jo, but took a lot of convincing before he agreed to produce the movie.
'Up front, CGI was the principal challenge. It took a number of meetings and discussions with the director about the CGI elements of the movie before I was confident enough to continue,' said Dhoni, who recruited a group of animation and design students to help make the movie.
The producer said he also had trouble finding a person to shoot the film. 'I talked to a number of cinematographers, but many were reluctant and pessimistic about the project.'
Garuda, which Dhoni claimed was budgeted at under Rp 10 billion (US$816,500) ' an average amount for Indonesian dramatic features ' is expected to pave the way for other superhero movies.
Marcelino, one of the producers of the Volt movie, said he looked at the success of American superhero franchises.
'Volt and Valentine have so far only lived in the comic-book world. Learning from Hollywood, we feel the need to create a strong cinematic universe for these characters,' Marcelino said.
With an established narrative in the comics, Marcelino said he wanted to tell a different story for the big screen.
'We have created a new narrative for the characters. There are also other characters in the comic books, so this universe will accommodate them in the future. Volt and Valentine are just the first,' he said.
The production company behind the films, Skylar Pictures, is set to open with Valentine and then Volt. 'The strategy is to grab people's attention first with Valentine and hopefully create the hype for Volt, much like the Captain America movie did before the Avengers,' Marcelino said referring to the Marvel franchise.
the Volt movie, which is slated to begin production next year and expected to cost upwards of Rp 15 billion, has been thoroughly researched and carefully prepared, he says. 'We have laid the groundwork meticulously: the story, the CGI, the costumes, everything.'
Gundala Putra Petir's Hanung Bramantyo, famous for dramatic features such as Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) and ? (Tanda Tanya), said he spent a lot of time on the script.
'We have yet to finalize the script. We're now on the fourth draft. Everything starts with the script, so I don't want to rush it. I haven't even thought yet about the cast,' Hanung said.
Hanung said he was consulting with Gundala creator Hasmi for the characters and the story. 'Gundala has a strong Javanese flavor and background,' Hanung said. 'I don't want to lose that.'
The director, one of the most influential of the last decade, has high expectations for the movie. He is planning to bring in an animation director from the US as well as ordering costumes from overseas.
'I think for this story and this kind of movie, a budget of between Rp 20 and Rp 25 billion is reasonable,' Hanung said. The Gundala movie is slated for release in 2016, with production beginning early next year.
Hanung said he thought about shooting in the US. 'We don't have good infrastructure here yet. Take the issue of stuntmen: We have a very limited number of skillful stuntmen. A movie like Spider-Man, for example, used dozens of stuntmen.
'We can bring those experts here, or go ahead and shoot there. But then people would say it wasn't very Indonesian; that's the dilemma,' he said.
Hanung said he was optimistic that a good superhero movie could attract a large audience in Indonesia. 'An Indonesian movie reflecting Indonesian culture and spoken in Indonesian for local audiences is profitable,' he said.
Dhoni and Marcelino also shared hopes that the release of several domestic superhero movies over the next two years, boosted by the success of Hollywood films in the genre, would lead to a sustainable rebirth of Indonesian superhero movies in the future.
'I think sooner or later it's going to happen,' Marcelino said. 'I long for many more Indonesian superhero films.'
