Deadpool
Today’s film pick is not your average superhero flick.
Ryan Reynolds’ potty-mouthed, sword wielding, latex wearing, fourth wall breaking, not an X-Man, definitely a mutant, kind of superhero (maybe?) stars in our Lockdown Rewatch of the day – Deadpool. Reynolds returns (after a misguided first pass of the character in X-Men Origins Wolverine) as the Merc With A Mouth in the hit R rated superhero flick. Directed by Tim Miller, and produced by Reynolds (a longstanding passion project for him), the film is everything that modern superhero blockbusters aren’t: rude, crude, and about a not entirely good dude.
But did you know…
1) Production wasn’t granted until the people spoke. A three-minute test reel was shot in January 2012 in an attempt to convince the heads of the studio to move forward with the movie. In 2014, the footage was “leaked”, with an overwhelmingly positive response. Per Reynolds, “Within twenty-four hours, we had a green light.” Rumour has it the leaker’s name rhymes with Byan Beynolds…
2) In the comics, Deadpool is a massive fan of Golden Girls star Bea Arthur (can’t blame him), so Reynolds made sure that fandom was included in the movie with Deadpool wearing a shirt with Arthur’s face on it. Reynolds had to get permission from Arthur’s kids as well as pay $10,000 to use her likeness; they donated the money to charity.
3) Deadpool had a lower budget than any of the other superhero movies. Even though it was made on a ‘shoestring’ budget of $58 million, Deadpool grossed $491 million worldwide despite a ban in China, the world’s second largest market for Hollywood movies.
4) In the film, Wade Wilson requests, “Don’t make the super suit green – or animated!” This is a reference to Ryan Reynolds’ previous role as the DC superhero Green Lantern (2011) in which the green costume he appeared in was a jarring SFX creation.
5) The taxi driving character “Dopinder” is a tribute to a “really cool guy” Ryan Reynolds knew in elementary school, who died when he was hit by lightning.
The clip is part of the test footage, which was shown at San Diego Comic Con in 2014.
