Trio in "Super" Deal

Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Liv Tyler are set to star in “Super,” a comedy that takes aim at the superhero genre. James Gunn wrote and will direct, with production set for December.

Pic will be produced by Ted Hope, through his Gotham-based This Is That banner.

Wilson, who last worked with Page in “Juno,” plays an average guy who takes on the pseudo-superhero alter ego of The Crimson Bolt, after watching his wife (Tyler) fall under the spell of a charming drug dealer. Lacking super powers, he compensates by swinging a trusty wrench.

As The Crimson Bolt hones his hero character, he takes on the requisite sidekick, a psychopathic teen who works at the local comic book store. Armed with deadly ideas, she becomes Boltie, and aids The Crimson Bolt as he tries to take down the drug dealer that destroyed his marriage.

Gunn scripted “Dawn of the Dead” and two “Scooby-Doo” films, and made his feature directing debut with the 2006 comic horror film “Slither.”

The picture was packaged by UTA and HanWay Films is selling international territories.

Hope partners in This Is That with Anne Carey. The company most recently produced the Greg Mottola-directed “Adventureland,” and are in production on the Anton Corbijn-directed untitled project about Italy, which stars George Clooney.

“I’ve long wanted to explore our worldwide obsession with superhero myths, not the fantasy, but the reality,” said Hope, who added that Gunn’s script was as funny as it was heartbreaking.

Wilson, currently starring in “The Office,” is repped by WME and 3 Arts. Page, who is in Toronto to unveil the Drew Barrymore-directed “Whip It,” is repped by WME and Vie Entertainment, while Tyler’s repped by UTA and Schiff Co.
 
Hanway CEO Tim Haslam adds “Super” to a Toronto Film Fest slate that includes the Paul Bettany-Jennifer Connelly-starrer “Creation,” the Scott Hicks-directed “The Boys Are Back” with Clive Owen and the Michael Caine-starrer “Harry Brown,” among others.