‘Superbad’ Trio Riles Up Chicago at Screening, Open Q&A

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I had a blast screening “Superbad” tonight. The theater was packed and people genuinely seemed antsy to laugh after a long day at work. That we all did.

Michael Cera (left) and Jonah Hill in “Superbad”.
Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and first-timer Christopher Mintz-Plasse – or the “Superbad” trio – stole the show. The duo Bill Hader and Seth Rogen were critical faces fused in the mix, too.

The film was made by the same guys who brought you “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”.

While I’ll save the full review until the film opens on Aug. 17, I will share with you my impressions from the open Q&A following the screening. The session had the feeling of nearly complete liberty.

The stars were free to speak, curse, joke and laugh like they’d do normally. Fans snagged “McLovin” bumper stickers that said: “Gangstas, what’s up?”

The charmingly geeky Michael Cera – man, geeky really is the new cool these days – walked in just as the credits were rolling. He innocently pointed out: “That’s us from the movie.” The simple comment started the crowd off with their respect.

Jonah Hill said a lot of the material was improvised. They reflected on particularly having fun with the “genital confession” bit. While I won’t spoil it, suffice it to say the actors e-mailed around ideas about different drawings.

The unfortunate result of an open Q&A can be ridiculously ignorant questions asked by fans who most certainly have not done their research. There were several here. Interestingly, though, the question was posed whether actors really got sloshed on set.

Hill said while looking up at his escorts: “No. That’s the safe answer, right?” In response to why none of the women were on tour with them, he joked: “Because too many babies would get made.”

Christopher Mintz-Plasse (left) in “Superbad”.
The sensitive question came up about a sequel. While actors cannot announce news in this kind of setting, Cera was rather revealing. He said:

If they’d let us make a sequel, we’d walk out of the mall at the end of the film and get shot in the head by the cops (Hader and Rogen). The next film would be about their lives spinning out of control.

Please do not misinterpret this information. This is not a confirmation of a sequel in the works. This is merely an idea they have pondered. Ultimately, they’ve left the film open to a sequel and expressed interest in it if the first film performs.

While taking in the scene and the multi-level theater, I noticed that Hill seemed to squint frequently. He either needed contacts or stronger ones. After the Q&A ended, the trio casually walked about the AMC River East theater.

I bumped into Hill in the bathroom like he was any other guy and Cera had his small video recorder out in the front of the theater to capture fireworks at Navy Pier. Guards were around them, but in general, they were very free, warmly received and certainly entertaining.