Defendor (2009)

Director:

Peter Stebbings

Writer:

Peter Stebbings (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 2010 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

An unexpected hero will rise.

Plot:

A comedy centered around three characters: an everyday guy who comes to believe he's a superhero, his psychiatrist, and the teenager he befriends.

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Vigilante | Male Crying | Police Captain | One Word Title

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Woody Harrelson	...	Arthur Poppington / Defendor
Elias Koteas	...	Sgt. Chuck Dooney
Michael Kelly	...	Paul Carter
Sandra Oh	...	Dr. Ellen Park
Kat Dennings	...	Katerina Debrofkowitz
Clark Johnson	...	Capt. Roger Fairbanks
Lisa Ray	...	Dominique Ball
Alan C. Peterson	...	Radovan Kristic (as A.C. Peterson)
Kristin Booth	...	Wendy Carter (as Kristen Booth)
Charlotte Sullivan	...	Fay
Tony Nappo	...	Biker Cliff
Ron White	...	Judge Wilson
David Gardner	...	Grandpa Henry
Bryan Renfro	...	Mr. Debrofkowitz
Max Dreesen	...	Young Arthur
Matt Gordon	...	Jerry
James Preston Rogers	...	Biker Bob
Graham Abbey	...	Constable Mike
Michael Cram	...	Blake
Lyriq Bent	...	Wayne
Tatiana Maslany	...	Olga
Peter Stebbings	...	Doctor
Dakota Goyo	...	Jack Carter - 9
John Paul Ruttan	...	Jack Carter - 4
Ryan Dineen	...	Graffiti Artist (as Ryan Dineen a.k.a. Rons)
Jim Ladd	...	Radio Announcer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cynthia Amsden	...	Woman with Poinsettia (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Stebbings

Writing credits
Peter Stebbings		(written by)

Produced by
Tim Brown	....	executive producer (as Tim J. Brown)
Sean Buckley	....	executive producer
Joel Burch	....	associate producer
Leah Jaunzems	....	associate producer
John N. Kozman	....	executive producer (as John Kozman)
Tim Merkel	....	executive producer
Mark Slone	....	executive producer
Nicholas Tabarrok	....	producer (producer) (as Nicholas D. Tabarrok)

Original Music by
John Rowley		(music composer)

Cinematography by
David Greene		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Geoff Ashenhurst

Casting by
Sara Kay
Nancy Klopper
Jenny Lewis

Production Design by
Oleg M. Savytski		(as Oleg Savytski)

Art Direction by
Anthony A. Ianni		(as Anthony Ianni)

Set Decoration by
Cheryl Dorsey

Costume Design by
Gersha Phillips

Makeup Department
James D. Brown	....	first assistant hair stylist (as James Brown)
Linda Dowds	....	key makeup artist
Liz Gruszka	....	first assistant makeup artist (as Elizabeth Gruszka)
Diana Ladyshewsky	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Daniel Bekerman	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sean Buckley	....	second unit director
Sarah Campbell	....	second assistant director
Kira McCord	....	trainee assistant director
Lawrence Ng	....	assistant director
Andrew Shea	....	first assistant director
Raj Singh	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Artchild	....	artist: Defendor mural
J.P. Dame	....	set dresser
Ryan Dineen	....	artist: Defendor mural (as Rons)
Mauro Iacobelli	....	key painter
Alan Letts	....	construction coordinator
Mario Moreira	....	assistant prop master
James R. Murray	....	property master (as Jim Murray)
John Rankin	....	set dresser
Sean Scoffield	....	graphic artist
Adam Smith	....	specialty prop fabricator
Geoffrey Smith	....	leadman (as Geoff Smith)
Rob Valeriote	....	head carpenter
Dawna Weeks	....	on-set dresser
Jennifer Wood	....	set dec buyer

Sound Department
Tobias Bjarnason	....	foley recordist (as Toby Bjarnason)
Tom Bjelic	....	sound designer
Tom Bjelic	....	sound effects editor
Pat Cassin	....	boom operator
Greg Chapman	....	sound mixer
Christian T. Cooke	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Chris Cooke)
Mark Gingras	....	supervising sound editor
Katie Halliday	....	sound effects editor
Joel Katz	....	adr recordist: Maui
Doug Latislaw	....	adr recordist: Burbank
Dale Lennon	....	dialogue & adr editor
Steve Moore	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim O'Connell	....	foley artist
James Robb	....	first assistant sound editor (as Jimmy Robb)
Lucas Roveda	....	re-recording assistant
John Douglas Smith	....	supervising sound editor (as John Smith)
Robert Woolfson	....	sound mixer (as Rob Wolfson)

Special Effects by
Warren Appleby	....	special effects coordinator
Tim Barraball	....	special effects on-set key
Dave Hill	....	snow effects technician
Gregory Jones	....	snow effects technician (as Greg Jones)
John MacGillivray	....	special effects first assistant
Fiona MacPherson	....	special effects shop coordinator

Visual Effects by
Chris Abbas	....	compositor
Andy Asperin	....	lead 3D animator (as Andres Asperin)
Nadine Blackler	....	compositor
Kyle Botha	....	3D artist
Stanislav Enilenis	....	3D effects technical director (as Stan Enilenis)
Elaine Fung	....	3D artist
Jason Giberson	....	digital restoration artist
Sean Gilhooly	....	visual effects coordinator
Louie Hinayo	....	3D animator
Milton Muller	....	compositor
Gordon Oscar	....	3D artist
Richard Patterson	....	CG supervisor
Vasho Pekar	....	compositor
Kenton Rannie	....	compositor
Adam Stern	....	visual effects producer
Adam Stern	....	visual effects supervisor
Brent Veal	....	compositor

Stunts
Tom Farr	....	stunt rigger
Kelly Jones	....	stunt rigger
Billy Oliver	....	stunt double: Defendor
Bryan Renfro	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jonathan Billings	....	key grip (as John Billings)
Sam Bojin	....	best boy electric
Dave Bouskill	....	electric
Carly Brenner	....	camera trainee
Jayson Clute	....	first assistant camera
Ciaran Copelin	....	camera assistant
Ron Forward	....	dolly grip
Peter Gmehling	....	daily video playback
Tony Guerin	....	camera operator
Greg Haddow	....	electric
Colin Hoult	....	director of photography: second unit
Marcel Janisse	....	first assistant camera: prep
Lainie Knox	....	camera operator: EPK
Marek Krawczyk	....	lighting technician
Bernie Lalonde	....	electric
Jason Lenoury	....	best boy grip
Jeremy Lyall	....	camera assistant
Mike McDonald	....	key gaffer
Sheena Munroe	....	camera loader
Steve Myers	....	best boy electric (as Stephen Myers)
Doug Reid	....	best boy grip (as Douglas Reid)
Herb Reischl Jr.	....	rigging gaffer
Dana Rutledge	....	second assistant camera
Tauqir Shah	....	camera operator: EPK
Sean Skarupa	....	generator operator
Jeremy Tabarrok	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Reg Waddell	....	generator operator: night (as Reggie Waddell)
Ken Woroner	....	still photographer (as Ken Woronor)

Casting Department
Rita Bertucci	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Trelawnie Mead	....	costume truck supervisor
Bonnie Sutherland	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Louis Casado	....	film timer: Technicolor Toronto
Michael Dobroski	....	colourist: dailies, Technicolor Toronto (as Mike Dobroski)
Patrick Duchesne	....	digital intermediate project supervisor: Technicolor Toronto
Rob Gyorgy	....	digital intermediate on-line editor: Technicolor Toronto (as Rev. Rob Gyorgy)
Graham Hoselton	....	supervisor: front end, Technicolor Toronto
Jeremy Kay	....	digital intermediate project coordinator: Technicolor Toronto
Mark Kueper	....	digital intermediate colorist: Technicolor Toronto
Margaret Mansell	....	digital film technician: Technicolor Toronto
Andrew Pascoe	....	digital film supervisor: Technicolor Toronto
Brian Reid	....	manager of digital imaging: Technicolor Toronto
Kurt Reid	....	dailies assistant: Technicolor Toronto
Nicole Sison	....	editing intern
Duff Smith	....	editing intern

Music Department
Bernie Cisternas	....	engineer: brass recordings
Charlie Finlay	....	music editor
Jason Logue	....	musician: trumpet
Gord Myers	....	musician: trombone
Brian O'Kane	....	musician: trumpet
John O'Mahony	....	music mixer
Rebecca Pellett	....	orchestrator: brass recordings
Rebecca Pellett	....	producer: brass recordings
Terry Promane	....	musician: trombone
John Rowley	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Rudy Baccuchi	....	driver: W. Harrelson
Dave Kinnear	....	driver: cast
Dwyane Mead	....	transport co-captain
Bruce Raymer	....	transportation coordinator
Reg Reynolds	....	driver: honeywagon
Steven Sacrob	....	transport captain (as Steve Sacrob)
Marco Sousa	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Chris Abbas	....	title designer
Cynthia Amsden	....	unit publicist
Peter Antal	....	craft server
Timothy Ashley	....	production intern
Daniel Baruela	....	production intern
Jim Benson	....	security
Jeff Brush	....	craft server
Christina Buchli	....	legal services
Brynn Byrne	....	production intern
Aaron Champion	....	assistant to producer
Adam Chuckryk	....	stand-in: Defendor
Angela 'Mega' Clarke	....	first assistant accountant (as Angela Clarke)
Jorge Contras	....	location production assistant
Heather K. Dahlstrom	....	assistant production coordinator
Jim Dobson	....	publicist
Sarah Dodd	....	story editor
Ricky Dogon	....	production intern
Claude Forest	....	insurance broker
Ashleigh Gillan	....	stand-in: Kat
Doug Gillespie	....	production accountant
Ryan Greig	....	production intern
Sara Holmes	....	post production accountant
Ryan Hupponen	....	assistant production coordinator
Diana Jackson	....	assistant: K. Dennings
Leah Jaunzems	....	development executive: Darius Films
Susan R. Jones	....	production coordinator
Patricia Joyes	....	script supervisor
Jane Kim	....	assistant: W. Harrelson
Dina Leal	....	account manager: The National Bank of Canada
Jim Lovisek	....	wrangler: animal/wasp
Robert Milicevic	....	set security
Sonia Morris	....	loan officer: The National Bank of Canada
Boramey Ngem	....	production intern
Kyle O'Connor	....	location manager
Daphne Park	....	business affairs consultant
Michael Pivar	....	production office assistant
Jarod Powell	....	intern
Andrew Pritchard	....	set production assistant
Katrina Saville	....	assistant: P. Stebbings
Christopher Warre Smets	....	epk producer
Lindsay Somers	....	set medic
David Steinberg	....	production legal: Heenan Blaikie
Alan Sutton	....	fire safety coordinator
Chris Trebilcock	....	shadow director
Nick Veziris	....	armorer
Eardley Wilmot	....	location manager
Matthew Wygodny	....	production office assistant (as Matt Wygodny)
Jimmy Ye	....	audit & tax accounting: Kudlow & McCann
Igor Zambeli	....	location production assistant
Shannon Chow	....	set medic (uncredited)

Thanks
William Barron	....	very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made, Telefilm Canada
Isaac Clements	....	very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made, Telefilm Canada
Ivonete de Sousa	....	our thanks to: OMDC
John Galway	....	our thanks to: The Harold Greenberg Fund
Martin Harbury	....	our thanks to: OMDC
Andrea Langford	....	our thanks to: The Movie Network
Dan Lyon	....	very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made, Telefilm Canada
Michael Mabbott	....	special thanks
Michelle Marion	....	our thanks to: The Movie Network
Kathleen Meek	....	our thanks to: The Movie Network
Anna Newallo	....	our thanks to: OMDC
Karen Paré	....	very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made, Telefilm Canada (as Karen Pare)
Carrie Paupst Shaughnessy	....	very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made, Telefilm Canada (as Carrie Paupst-Shaughnessy)

Production Companies

• Insight Film Releasing (present)
• Alliance Films (present)
• Darius Films (producer)
• BUCK Productions (producer)
• Téléfilm Canada (produced with the participation of) (as Telefilm Canada)
• Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) (produced with the participation of) (as Ontario - Ontario Media Development Corporation/Société de développement de l'industrie des médias de l'Ontario)
• Harold Greenberg Fund, The (produced with the participation of) (as Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund Le Fonds Harold Greenberg)
• Movie Network, The (TMN) (produced in association with) (as M The Movie Network an Astral Media Network)

Distributors

• Darius Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Alliance Films (2010) (Canada) (all media)
• Blue Sky Film Distribution (2009) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Cinetel (2009) (Hungary) (all media)
• Eagle Films (2009) (Lebanon) (all media)
• Eagle Films (2009) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Film Depot (2009) (Russia) (all media)
• Odeon Films (2010) (Canada) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2009) (Romania) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2010) (Romania) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Greece) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2010) (Argentina) (all media)
• Sony (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Ster-Kinekor Pictures (2009) (South Africa) (all media)

Special Effects

• Artifex Studios (visual effects by) (as Artifex)
• Acme F/X (special effects)

Other Companies

• Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)  acknowledgment (as ACTRA)
• Artifex Studios  special thanks to (as Artifex)
• Artifex Studios  title design by (as Artifex)
• BUCK Productions  special thanks to (as The entire team at Buck Productions)
• Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)  with the assistance of
• Capri Family Restaurant  catering
• Carhartt  special thanks to
• City of Hamilton  special thanks to
• DGC Ontario  acknowledgment (as DGC Directors Guild Of Canada Ontario)
• Entertainment Partners Canada  payroll service (as Entertainment Partners)
• Harold Greenberg Fund, The  our thanks to (as our friends at the Harold Greenberg Fund)
• Heenan Blaikie Lawyers  production legal (as Heenan Blaikie)
• Helios Design Laboratories  special thanks to (as Helios Design Labs)
• Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters  acknowledgment (as Teamsters Motion Picture & Theatrical Trade Division)
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.® affiliated with A.F.L.-C.I.O.-C.L.C.)
• Kudlow & McCann  audit & tax accounting
• Live  catering: raw vegan
• Monkeyland Audio  additional adr recording
• Movie Network, The (TMN)  our thanks to (as our friends at The Movie Network)
• Multimedia Risk Consultants and Insurance Brokers  insurance brokers (as Multimedia Risk)
• National Bank of Canada  interim banking (as The National Bank of Canada)
• Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC)  our thanks to (as our friends at the OMDC)
• Panavision  camera systems by (as Panavision)
• Rancho Relaxo  catering
• Roots  special thanks to
• Stargrazing  craft service
• Stealing Time  editing facilities provided by
• Technicolor Creative Services  dailies by (as Technicolor Toronto)
• Technicolor Creative Services  digital intermediate by (as Technicolor Toronto)
• Toronto Film Studios  production office space
• Toronto Film Studios  special thanks to
• Toronto Film and Television Office, The  special thanks to
• Téléfilm Canada  very special thanks: without whose support this film would never have been made (as our friends at Telefilm Canada)
• Urban Post Production  post production sound editing
• William F. White International  lighting and grip equipment (as William F. White)
• Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company  special thanks to

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for drug use and language throughout, violence and sexual content

Runtime:

101 min | Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Canada | USA | UK

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45809) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:15 | Canada:PG (edited TV version) | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Insight Film Releasing

Trivia:

Ellen Page was rumored to star at one point. She later starred in the similar themed Super (2010).

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, Dooney slaps Kat while standing in one place. In the next shot he is standing at least five feet from her, not nearly close enough to be able to reach her face without moving.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Park:Arthur? Arthur.
Arthur Poppington:Yeah.
Dr. Park:Are you thinking about the question?
Arthur Poppington:Mmm... Are you Japanese?
Dr. Park:No.
Arthur Poppington:Mieko Tatsuri is Japanese.
Dr. Park:Oh. Who is Mieko Tatsuri?
Arthur Poppington:Mmm... She's the leader of Blowback. Her father is a ninja and her mother is an alien from the gamma sector.
Dr. Park:Okay well, I'm Korean from Earth.

Movie Connections:

References "Columbo" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Let's Make Love Again

Fantastic

Wow, this movie was awesome.

I sat down to watch this movie with no high expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised. Finally a "superhero" movie you can relate to, instead of everything being all high and mighty on morals and super powers.

"Defendor" had it all, comedy, action, drama and romance. What made this movie unique was the blend of genres which works really well. Initially I thought it was just a spoof of superhero movies, but "Defendor" is so much more than that.

The characters in the movie are real and believable. Hats off to Woody Harrelson for his marvelous performance as Arthur / Defendor. This role really showed off Woody's acting talents. I think we can all see parts of ourselves in the Defendor character, and that is what makes this movie so powerful, so gripping and so entertaining.

And also to Elias Koteas for his role as the corrupt policeman and Kat Denings as her role of a young woman in drug abuse and harsh life situation. And the supporting roles were nicely portrayed as well.

The story told in "Defendor" easily picks you up and keeps you tight. It is really good and you can place yourself in that story. It is very believable and leaves you very entertained.

I was thoroughly entertained from start till end. Lots of good action, really good and solid story, and spectacular acting. This is definitely a keeper, a movie with enough value to be watched more than once.