PICTURES OF SUPERHEROES

With director Don Swaynos and John Merriman

SUNDANCE 5 | SUN NOV 11 | 7:00 PM | Q&A

USA, 2012
Director, Screenwriter and Editor: Don Swaynos
Producer: Kelly Williams, Don Swaynos, Tate English
Cinematographer: Nathan Smith
Cast: Kerri Lendo, Shannon McCormick, John Merriman, Byron Brown
Running time: 70 min.

Pictures of Superheroes is the debut feature comedy by Austin-based filmmaker Don Swaynos, who previously has directed numerous music videos, short films and documentaries. One of Swaynos’ short films, Six hundred and Forty-One Slates, made on the set of Swaynos’ recent production, Cinema Six, will be screened before the feature.

Marie (Kerri Lendo) is hired as a maid by businessman Eric (Shannon McCormick) who also asks her to pretend to be his wife to impress his clients. While cleaning his home, Marie becomes close to Joe (John Merriman), an aspiring superhero artist who also lives in Eric’s house, although unbeknownst to Eric.

The film received its world premiere in October at the Austin Film Festival. Its producer, Kelly Williams, is a significant force in low-budget feature filmmaking in Austin. Williams
commented on this film’s production: “We called in favors and were lucky enough to pull in some of Austin’s best comic talent. Don’s story lives in an odd, absurd world and fortunately our three lead actors — Kerri Lendo, Shannon McCormick and John Merriman — knew how to fit in that world nicely.” According to Swaynos, there wasn’t a large amount of improvisation, but “a lot of my favorite lines from the film are things that were said on the fly”.