Interview: SURGE OF POWER: REVENGE OF THE SEQUEL writer and star Vincent J. Roth on the making of the film

At first glance, Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel might look like a weird movie to make. After all, it's the belated sequel to an indie superhero picture very few people have seen; it's cheap-looking, it's absurd and self-aware, and it's full of random (and mostly brief) celebrity cameos. It's all in good fun, of course, but it might not be for everyone.

This is why I couldn't resist the oportunity to talk (albeit through e-mails) with Vincent J. Roth, the guy who came up with the character of Surge, and who has played him for two theatrical movies. What were his inspirations for this wacky story? Why did he decide to write such a silly film and make it the "indie way"? And most importantly; will a third instalment get released? All these questions (and many more) get answered in the following interview with the mind behind the first openly gay superhero for the big screen.

How and why did you decide to embark on making a sequel 12 years after releasing the first instalment?

Pixar’s “The Incredibles” was released in 2004 and its sequel is due out later this year, 2018, which is 14 years, so I think we’re still within range for superhero movies, haha.  The first movie, “Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes,” started screening in 2004 and was released in 2006.  I was busy promoting the first movie at cons for a few years before I was talked into embarking on the sequel, but homophobia and life interruptions caused us to put the sequel on hold for several years.  This actually turned out to be a blessing, because it allowed us to improve on scenes not yet shot, expand the script to add new scenes, and, of course, we went gangbusters on celebrities, putting them in roles throughout the movie from start to finish, and we enlisted a lot more focus group feedback to give the audience what it wanted.  So, the delays actually allowed us to arrive at a better end result.

What were your main inspirations for the story and characters?

I pretty much watch every superhero movie that comes out, and I keep up with as many superhero TV shows as I’m able, so I feel like I’m keeping up with the genre.  That said, I want Surge to be a little different, and, like the first movie, I want the audience to see Surge doing things that you never get to see other superheroes do.  Surge stops to get gas for the Surgemobile.  Surge picks up snacks in his travels at a convenience store.  Surge uses the restroom.  Fun things like that.  Some of the characteristics of my characters are inspired by the prominent superhero movies and TV shows, but their personalities are wildly different.  For example, the Metal Master is bald like Lex Luthor and has magnetic powers like Magneto, but he doesn’t act anything like either of them.

My main inspiration for the story is really the fans and reviewers.  I listen to what people say.  The sequel is very much the answer to what viewers and commentators wanted.  For example, I heard a number of times that people wanted to see more about the villain and that people wanted to see more gay themes explored.  So, the sequel introduces the homophobic parents of the Metal Master, played by Linda Blair (Exorcist) and Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), and we learn that the Metal Master turned evil because of the rejection he suffered and continues to endure with his parents.  This becomes the underpinning of the movie.  Amid Surge’s zany antics, there is a serious and heartfelt struggle in Metal Master’s family as they try to reconcile.

(This is more relevant to the first film, but) why did you decide to create an openly-gay superhero, and how important do you think this is to American society and the film industry?

I knew that if I was going to introduce a new superhero, especially an indie movie, I would need to differentiate our world, and, as mentioned, I want my characters to be different.  There hadn’t yet been an openly gay superhero on the big screen, so that became my mission.  I also decided to use comedy as a platform, because humor has been an effective vehicle for gay characters to be accepted by mainstream audiences.  Look at the success of “Will and Grace” for example, which, incidentally, was brought back after 10 years, so why can’t Surge return after a lengthy hiatus.

Strangely, while it’s been over a decade, and much progress has been made in society, we obviously can see in this presidency there is a lot of racism, sexism and homophobia in American society that needs to be addressed.  So, Surge’s work is not done.  Fortunately, it seems to be working.  I attended all the screenings and have started off each theater during the theatrical run and have been there with those audiences.  Mostly straight people are coming out to see the movie – boyfriend/girlfriend couples, husbands and wives, dads with their young sons.  I hope that amid the campy fun and laughter, they are picking up the message of acceptance and I hope they carry that out of the theaters (or out of their living rooms) into the world.

Was it hard to convince all these celebrities to have cameos in the movie?

We had 20 cameos in the first movie, and our 3 featured celebrities from the first movie all came back for the sequel – Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek’s Uhura), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) and the late Noel Neill (Lois Lane from Adventures of Superman).  So that helped a lot to give credibility to the sequel.  We’ve developed a shtick with having celebrities show up, kind of like the also campy Batman TV show from the 60s.  So, it’s a staple in our world of Big City to have celebrities.  In the sequel, we take it even farther, by having celebrities cast in dramatic roles, not just cameos, throughout the movie.

How was working with such an experienced actor as Eric Roberts?

Eric was great to work with.  I could tell he had his own particular way of doing things, but, he was quite eager to do a good job and give us the performance we wanted.  He was very open to feedback.  I could also tell he was really enjoying himself, which shines through in his performance.  We won an award for “Best Villain” at the Action On Film Festival in Las Vegas out of over 600 films for Eric Roberts’ portrayal of Augur, who gets introduced in the sequel as the arch enemy of Nichelle Nichols’ Omen character.

Do you like working with special effects and fantastical elements?

I love working with special effects.  I enjoy making and working on the practical effects as well as visual effects.  We even won an award for “Best Special Effects” at that same film festival.  The special effects are what bring the superhero world to life.  Visual effects, while still expensive, are much more affordable 10 years later, so we got much more elaborate with our visual effects.  Surge’s car, the Surgemobile, turns into a robot at one point in the movie - *Zapuva!*
 

Are you an avid comic book reader or consider yourself a geek? Were you inspired by any other hero in particular?

I used to be an avid comic reader, but there are so many superhero TV shows out now, and I’m still so busy with not just the sequel, but our web series, Surge of Power: Big City Chronicles, I can’t keep up with everything.  Yes, I’m definitely a geek.  I think I’m pretty high on the geekiocity meter – I created my own superhero and invited my childhood heroes to come join me in my wacky world of Big City!  I am inspired by heroes that try to do the right thing, but might not get it quite right, that not everything has to turn out perfect, but, they try to, as Omen says, “Make a difference where you can.”

Are you interested in making a third film? Will we have to wait another 12 years for the next instalment?

We actually have already shot scenes with Nichelle Nichols as Omen for the third movie, “Surge of Power: Call of the Champions,” and for our web series, “Big City Chronicles.”  There is a little sneak peek of Nichelle on set for “Call of the Champions” that is on the Blu-Ray and DVD as a Special Feature that runs for almost 5 minutes.  So, Nichelle will appear as Omen throughout all Surge of Power projects.  We also have already shot a handful of cameos for “Call of the Champions.” Now, how many years it takes me to actually make the whole movie, remains to be seen, but, folk can keep an eye on our activities and our progress by watching “Big City Chronicles” episodes, which is a variety show consisting of celebrity interviews, behind-the-scenes looks at all our movies, sneak peeks and new mini adventures of Surge.  Keep an eye out at www.surgeofpower.org