Oscar Winner Brendan Fraser Boards Documentary Short ‘Saving Superman’ as Executive Producer (EXCLUSIVE)
Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser has joined the Oscar-qualifying short documentary “Saving Superman” as an executive producer, revealed to Variety exclusively.
“Saving Superman” chronicles the remarkable true story of Jonathan, a 57-year-old man with autism spectrum disorder and longtime resident of Glen Ellyn, a small suburb outside Chicago. Known for his larger-than-life spirit and signature Superman persona, Jonathan has been a fixture in the town’s Fourth of July Parade for nearly three decades. When his home was threatened by a new property owner, the community — led by his best friend Julie — banded together to launch a grassroots campaign to save it.
Directed by Adam Oppenheim and Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian, the Critics Choice Documentary Award-winning short was released today by Switchboard Magazine and is now available to stream free of charge on the outlet’s website.
“Jonathan is the hero to ask for. And he is the one we need,” Fraser said in a statement. “It has been said that not all of them wear capes. But this one does. And with dignity as he stands his ground, a vision of determination in crimson and azure blue. Not only does he save his home from apathy but he rescues us all in the name of truth and justice. Not with brute strength but with the only real super power there is, empathy. That is the clarion call for The American Way. I stand shoulder to shoulder with Jonathan.”
Fraser’s involvement with the project comes as he is in the Oscar race himself as a best actor contender for his moving turn in Hikari’s acclaimed dramedy “Rental Family.” Distributed by Searchlight Pictures, the film has earned several audience awards on the festival circuit thus far, and has become another celebrated turn for the actor who won his first Oscar for his performance in “The Whale” (2022).
The documentary has been one of the most celebrated shorts on the festival circuit, screening at more than 60 festivals — including 18 Oscar-qualifying events — and winning over 10 awards, the most of any documentary short in its year. Notable stops include the Chicago International Film Festival, Indy Shorts (where it earned jury honors), Mountainfilm, Cleveland International, and DOC NYC.
Produced by Oppenheim, Mirpoorian and Julie Spiller, “Saving Superman” also counts Celia Aniskovich and Duncan Lindsay (for Switchboard Magazine), John Hoffman (“The Barber of Little Rock”), Ryan Mazie, Marjon Javadi, Mike Tudeen, Marcella Tudeen, Stephen Shaya, and Gary Burkart among its executive producers.
Earlier this year, Mirpoorian received a Television Academy Honors Award for his feature-length debut “Greener Pastures,” which aired as part of PBS’ Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning “Independent Lens” series.
“Saving Superman” chronicles the remarkable true story of Jonathan, a 57-year-old man with autism spectrum disorder and longtime resident of Glen Ellyn, a small suburb outside Chicago. Known for his larger-than-life spirit and signature Superman persona, Jonathan has been a fixture in the town’s Fourth of July Parade for nearly three decades. When his home was threatened by a new property owner, the community — led by his best friend Julie — banded together to launch a grassroots campaign to save it.
Directed by Adam Oppenheim and Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian, the Critics Choice Documentary Award-winning short was released today by Switchboard Magazine and is now available to stream free of charge on the outlet’s website.
“Jonathan is the hero to ask for. And he is the one we need,” Fraser said in a statement. “It has been said that not all of them wear capes. But this one does. And with dignity as he stands his ground, a vision of determination in crimson and azure blue. Not only does he save his home from apathy but he rescues us all in the name of truth and justice. Not with brute strength but with the only real super power there is, empathy. That is the clarion call for The American Way. I stand shoulder to shoulder with Jonathan.”
Fraser’s involvement with the project comes as he is in the Oscar race himself as a best actor contender for his moving turn in Hikari’s acclaimed dramedy “Rental Family.” Distributed by Searchlight Pictures, the film has earned several audience awards on the festival circuit thus far, and has become another celebrated turn for the actor who won his first Oscar for his performance in “The Whale” (2022).
The documentary has been one of the most celebrated shorts on the festival circuit, screening at more than 60 festivals — including 18 Oscar-qualifying events — and winning over 10 awards, the most of any documentary short in its year. Notable stops include the Chicago International Film Festival, Indy Shorts (where it earned jury honors), Mountainfilm, Cleveland International, and DOC NYC.
Produced by Oppenheim, Mirpoorian and Julie Spiller, “Saving Superman” also counts Celia Aniskovich and Duncan Lindsay (for Switchboard Magazine), John Hoffman (“The Barber of Little Rock”), Ryan Mazie, Marjon Javadi, Mike Tudeen, Marcella Tudeen, Stephen Shaya, and Gary Burkart among its executive producers.
Earlier this year, Mirpoorian received a Television Academy Honors Award for his feature-length debut “Greener Pastures,” which aired as part of PBS’ Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning “Independent Lens” series.