The urban psychological-thriller Boy Wonder will screen at the sixth annual New York Comic Con in Manhattan, October 13th-19th, at the Javits Center, 655 W. 34th St. The popular fan event attracted nearly 100,000 enthusiasts from across the country last year and is one of the biggest pop culture gatherings in the country.
Already an underground cult hit, the film is also set to premiere theatrically in New York City, October 21st (AMC Loews Village 7 Theater) and in Chicago, Oct. 28 (AMC River East 21).
In sharp contrast to recent big-budget, Hollywood spandex-fests (even Indiana Jones is fighting aliens), Boy Wonder stands apart as a gritty, realistic tale of loss and helplessness in a world that is far tougher than the fantastic worlds presented in the studios’ superhero films.
New York Comic Con Sneak Peek Screening: Saturday, Oct. 15 @ 6:45 p.m., Room #1B01
Meet the director and stars: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 14 & 15 @ Booth #1839
Boy Wonder was shot entirely on location in New York City and in the same Irish-Italian, blue collar Brooklyn neighborhood of Maine Park, where writer and director Michael Morrissey grew up.
Said Morrissey, “We are very excited to be a part of New York Comic Con and to give a sneak peek of Boy Wonder, prior to its theatrical debut, to the comic book and sci-fi crowd. I have been reading comics for the past 30 years and this indie, superhero movie is meant to appeal to people who love the dark, complicated side of comics and graphic novels. Boy Wonder is not about the tights and a cape … this is about what would happen if Peter Parker was real and had no super powers, just a burning anger fueled by grief. It’s about a complicated teenager who decides to take justice into his own hands, no matter what the cost-about revenge, rage, violence, love and everything in between. I made this movie for comic book fans and am excited for them to finally take a look.”
Boy Wonder, which marks the feature film debut of Morrissey, has received 12 awards – as well as accolades from critics – at film festivals across the country, including Best Feature at the 2011 Vail Film Festival; Best Feature at the 2011 Hardacre Film Festival; Gen-Next Film Award at the 2011 KahBang Music, Art & Film Festival; Best Feature Film and Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the 2010 Sacramento Film Festival; Best Feature, Best Director (Morrissey) and Best Actor (Caleb Steinmeyer) at the 2010 Williamsburg International Film Festival; Best Feature and Best Actress (Zulay Henao) at the 2010 ThrillSpy International Thriller & Spy Film Festival; Best Feature Film at the 2010 Festivus Film Festival; and Best Editing (Ray Hubley & Doug Fitch) at the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival. It was also an Official Selection at another 15 national and international film festivals.
In this riveting and gritty psychological-thriller, a young boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother during a Brooklyn car-jacking … leaving him to be raised by his alcoholic father (Bill Sage, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Handsome Harry, 2010 Best Picture-nominee Precious, American Psycho, If Lucy Fell). Now a 17-year-old loner, Sean Donovan (Caleb Steinmeyer, HBO’s True Blood, ABC’s Lost) is relentlessly haunted by his past and obsessed with finding his mother’s killer.
Drawn into a nocturnal urban underworld, Sean’s consuming rage is vented one night, defending himself from a chaotic attack by a drug dealer. Thus begins his life as a quiet, straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night.
Investigating a series of vigilante murders, hot-shot new homicide detective Teresa Ames (Zulay Henao, Fighting, S Darko, Feel the Noise) – broken by her own troubled life – takes an interest in Sean and his case. Yet the closer Teresa gets, the more suspicious she becomes. Engaged in a twisting game of cat and mouse, Sean and Teresa become allies by day … and enemies by night.
But what is a real hero? Who decides what is right or wrong? As the boundaries between justice and vengeance blur, Sean’s dual life wears on his psyche and his two worlds careen dangerously close to colliding.
Here’s the trailer:
Like a graphic novel you can’t put down, Boy Wonder challenges morality, distorting perceptions of what is right and what is justified, as it races to its shocking conclusion.
Also starring James Russo (Public Enemies, Extremities) and Tracy Middendorf (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire).
