When I saw that a movie about the folks that dress as superheroes on Hollywood Boulevard (“Confessions of a Superhero”) was about to drop on DVD I knew I had to check it out. The documentary is really one of my favorite films that I’ve seen recently and I highly suggest it to anyone with a DVD player. The film is moving, engaging and beautifully shot.

I got a chance to speak with the films director, Matt Ogens, by phone the other day. Read it, comment if you like, then buy or rent a copy of this film and see it.

The Comic Book Guy: First off I was wondering where you got the idea (to do this film)?

Matt Ogens: I was directing a commercial on Hollywood Boulevard and saw “the characters” hanging around and was drawn to them right away. I’ve driven by there a couple of times but, y’know, it’s like any tourist area. I didn’t really pay that much attention. But when I was up close and near them, I really wanted to know more. I was really curious, not so much about what they did on the Boulevard so much as, “What would draw someone to do that for a living,” “What are they like when they go home,” “Are they married,” “What do they do for a living besides this?” So that’s how I became interested.

CBG: And you decided to focus on the heroes just for consistency or something else?

MO: Actually, yes that’s exactly right. The first person I met out there was Chris Dennis who plays Superman and for whatever reason I was drawn to him so I knew he was going to be part of it. And yeah, it was for consistency. I thought that anyone in any generation would know who Superman and Batman were. They’re always redoing movies as well as comic books. Where as, if you do something on Marilyn Monroe or someone else, someone that’s younger may not know who that is anymore. And I thought “Superheroes are timeless and iconic” and I also thought they were pretty good metaphors for life.

CBG: And you did stick with superheroes with a long history. I don’t think any … Lets see Superman, Batman, the Hulk, they all have at least a 50 year history on them.

MO: Just coincidentally that they were ones that had long histories. That wasn’t necessarily by design. Actually we had a Spider-Man at first. And when we tried to include him in early cuts … He didn’t give us enough access and it just didn’t work. So then we picked up the Hulk. And we definitely met everyone through Superman, he was sort of our guide into that world. So we never really thought of it. I’m not a huge, huge comic book fan. I’m not an avid reader to where I knew when one character was created over another so it was just what I was drawn too. The characters, when I was a kid, that I knew of were those.

CBG: Yeah and Superman is pretty timeless.

MO: Exactly.

CBG: Um, Chris Dennis, I’m kind of curious about him. What was your take on him? Because he’s been doing this for an awfully long time. I get numbers that range from 2 years to 15 (years).

MO: I get different numbers too. (Both laugh.) I think he gives a different number every time he’s in an interview and someone asks him how long he’s been out there it changes. He’s told me from 13 to 16 years. I know he, allegedly, was one of the first ones out there. I wasn’t around so I can’t vouch (laughs) for exactly when he started but I do think he’s been out there the longest and is certainly, in the press, the most recognized. Whenever there’s any press or “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” or any press, they usually include him.

CBG: I noticed in the interviews after that there seems to have been a falling out between Chris and Max (Maxwell Allen who dresses as Batman) as well as, it seems like, you and Max.

MO: Yeah, y’know, towards the end of the filming there was already a falling out that was happening between Max and Chris. According to Max, at the time, Chris would get most of the press and I think Max started getting jealous. But Max felt like Chris was sort of hogging up the limelight for himself. So it was sort of starting in-fighting between them. But is was also at about this time that Max started drinking more and started getting in trouble with the law more so … It’s kind of a “chicken or the egg” sort of thing. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

You know, he doesn’t like how he was portrayed and it’s easier to be against me and against the film. What’s interesting is, whatever he said in the movie … it’s a documentary. That’s his thoughts. His opinions. His life. I’m not in the documentary and there’s no voiceover giving anyone else’s opinion so it’s a pretty objective documentary. There’s no way for me to really have injected my opinion unless I started editing up words to create something that didn’t happen but that’s not the case so I think it’s just easier for him to be angry at us. And as you see in the movie he is a character … by a character I don’t mean Batman, I mean Max himself, is a person who doesn’t seem to take a lot of self responsibility. Whether he’s getting arrested or whatever’s going on, he seems to blame everybody else. He blames (George) Clooney for his lack of acting work.

CBG: Yeah, I kind of caught that (in the film).

MO: Yeah, instead of … well, it never crossed my mind that he looked like George Clooney, until he said it. So it’s just, he’s just…You know, it’s a real great, I think, character study of different people and how to succeed. Because how I feel, as a director, is what I need to succeed is to work my ass off every day and to look at myself. And he’s someone that seems to think that you’re just supposed to get it right away and blame everyone else and, um, that’s how he lives his life.

CBG: He and Chris wind up, probably taking the lion’s share of the movie just because they’ve got…

MO: So much drama.

CBG: And one of the things that I notice is that both of them have somewhat questionable histories.

MO: Yeah absolutely.

CBG: The other two were straightforward. And Jennifer (Gehrt who dresses up as Wonder Woman) was kind of … Well she was in kind of a weird position in that she had so much drama going on in her life but it was, I don’t think it was so easy to show, because so much of it was internal.

MO: And it was real. But yeah, a lot of it was internal I mean, and she’s also younger so it’s probably harder for her to show certain things. She’s also a woman and the only woman in our cast so it’s probably harder for her to show certain things. But her, I guess you’d say character arch in the show is probably more traditional, normal. It’s almost cliché. Small town girl, prom queen, comes to the big city and is a small fish in a big pond. And then going through personal stuff with getting married and eventually getting divorced.

CBG: And being a woman it looked like it was a whole different world for her in the way she was seen and the way things were done. I mean there’s not a lot of pictures of girls ogling the guys as opposed to, there’s that one shot that of her that I think shows up twice in the film and I kind of cracked up both times where she’s getting something out of her car and the valets are kind of leaning over to get a look.

MO: That’s also probably why she makes more money than the guys on the boulevard.

CBG: Yeah, in my initial review, it’s one of those things that got cut out for space, but in my initial review I said that she’s a favorite of the guys in that she’s a good looking girl so they’re going to flock around.

MO: And give her the bigger tips.

CBG: Heh, yeah. But um, Max … sorry, I mean Joe (McQueen who dresses as the Hulk) is the character that got the least amount of time and it seems it’s because he had the most straight arch.

MO: Yeah, there’s a couple of reasons. One, he’s logistically weak because he’s the one that replaced Spider-Man and so we really didn’t have a lot with him. And he has a much straighter arch like you say. It’s almost more of a physical arch than an emotional one. The arch is sort of him getting that role. But at the same time, people seem to react, when we’ve had screenings, to him more than anyone else. He’s been the one that gets standing ovations and that kind of thing. He seems to be the most loveable character to other people.

(During the filming of “Confessions of a Superhero,” Joe McQueen lands a big part in a feature film.)

CBG: Well, I think, part of it is that you have the other two guys that have some questions.

MO: Yeah, the other two are definitely more complex and you need more screen time for them. To tell their stories.

CBG: And Joe is just pretty easy and he never seems upset. He never seems even a little upset.

MO: It’s interesting because that’s how I’ve always felt about him, and lately I’ve seen him be more upset and angry. And sort of seen more sides of him that we didn’t see during the filming but I sort of found after the fact, you know what I mean.

CBG: Yeah.

MO: It really surprised us. Like being down on himself for not acting enough or not making enough money, like if he’s out there and isn’t getting tipped as much as he likes. I’ve seen sort of flashes of things that surprised me and aren’t in the film because I never saw it during the filming. So I definitely see some frustrations in him.

CBG: Do you think it’s just the limited time since you had so little time with him during the filming, since like you said, you had to replace someone?

MO: It could be that. It could be timing. It’s just, maybe things were going better for him while we were filming. Maybe while we were there it was like, “Hey this is going on for me,” and then when the filming is done … It’s like, even when I did the documentary, after it’s done there’s a little bit of a, I wouldn’t say depression, but it’s something missing from your life. When you’re so used too… I worked on this for two and a half years, me and Charlie (Gruet) who produced it and (was the director of photography for) that. And there’s a little bit of something missing that you’re so used to that. And maybe it’s the same for some of these characters, particularly Joe. That, “Oh, they’re gone now.”

CBG: What has happened to these guys? Have any of them left the street?

MO: Well yeah, um, from that arrest, for Batman. Part of his, I don’t know if you’d call it probation or stipulation, is that he’s not allowed on Hollywood Boulevard for three years, until 2010. (At the end of the movie Max Allen, dressed as Batman, is shown to have been arrested for fighting with some construction workers over his use of their port-a-potty.) After he was arrested, they told him that and of course he couldn’t stay away. He went out there one week later, got arrested again.

(He) got beaten up in jail, pretty bad, he lost a tooth. And I think he’s doing security full time now because he’s not allowed to be on Hollywood, actually in Hollywood. He’s not allowed to be in that zip code.

Jenn is on the Boulevard a lot less now, very rarely. She is, gotten a couple of bit parts in some things, I think she got a bit part on “Mad TV.” She’s an extra a lot in some movies. She studies with The Groundlings which is a pretty famous um, I guess you’d call it an improv group …

CBG: I think Will Ferrell came from them didn’t he?

MO: Yeah, a lot of Saturday Night Live people did. I don’t know how involved she is but she does study there. I don’t know if she’s quote unquote, part of The Groundlings. But she studies there, she takes her acting seriously. She does little videos on YouTube, she has a new agent, she’s out there trying to do it. In the more traditional way.

CBG: She really did seem to be fighting for parts.

MO: She is in that in-between because she is a very pretty girl, but we’re in LA you know. There’s a million of them.

CBG: It was one of the comments that I made, while watching the film. This is going to sound really awful, I was surprised at how well she acted.

MO: Yeah, yeah.

CBG: You almost don’t expect them to have much acting chops because, like the “mayor of Hollywood says” they’re pretty much panhandling.

MO: It is. They’re not working for the city.

CBG: They couldn’t do this anywhere else.

MO: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Um, the Hulk (Joe McQueen) finished that movie, “Finishing the Game” so that was a legitimate movie. It was at Sundance 2007. Justin Lin directed it who had directed one of the “Fast and the Furious” movies (“Tokyo Drift”), he directed a movie called “Annapolis” a movie called “Better Luck Tomorrow.” Legit director. That came out, I think in December so that’s a legitimate movie that was in our film.

CBG: I do remember seeing the press material when it came out. When I saw that part in your movie, I definitely remembered that.

MO: Yeah, but Joe doesn’t have an agent. I don’t know how people get a hold of him always, his phone number changes sometimes. So I don’t know what he’s doing acting-wise. I know he’s trying. There’s something to be said for that. I know Chewbacca is living with him now, helping to pay rent I guess. Superman is really the one who’s status quo, same thing. Apartments filled with Superman stuff, there’s always press about him someone always wants to do something with him. There’s no roles that I know of but he kind of seems to be an optimistic guy, kind of even keeled.

CBG: It was kind of weird, because at some point in the beginning of the film I felt like he’d just kind of given up, like he’d just decided this is where I’m going to be the rest of my life. This is where I’m going to stay. Then later in the film you start to realize that this to him is a stepping stone, this is what he believes is going to help him move along.

MO: It’s interesting because I don’t look at what he does to try and make it as an actor as necessarily, I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but its not what I would do. In other words, he’s not taking acting classes. Forget about making it, just practicing your acting chops. I’ve never seen him go to auditions, that kind of thing. So I think he thinks some director is just going to drive by and just sort of pick him out and go, “We’ve gotta have him.” The only issue, which I talked with him about, is that on the Boulevard and any time he’s with his Superman outfit or at a Superman event, they’re only going to associate him with Superman. And there’s no roles for Superman unless you’re playing the lead role in a Superman movie. So sometimes I wish he would distance himself, I don’t mean from his day job, but just sort of being Chris Dennis. And I think there’s a little bit of, that he’s recognized so much as Superman and I’m playing armchair phsychiatrist right now, but maybe he feels like he’s unrecognizable without that outfit on. It’s kind of like Clark Kent you know, he kind of feels like Clark Kent. That no one is gonna know who he is. So except for Jennifer and maybe Joe, these aren’t the traditional ways to become an actor. If you look at Max at the end of the movie who says, “I’m a security guard now, maybe a director will see me and want to put me in a movie.” I don’t think if a director is on set, that it would even go through his mind to cast a security guard in his movie.

CBG: Yeah, cause there’s legitimate casting agencies.

MO: Yeah.

CBG: I did notice that the few times that you see Chris in civvies, so to speak, he’s still got the hair.

MO: Still got the hair, there might be a Superman shirt on.

CBG: Yeah.

MO: Listen, I followed these guys for two and a half years, I’ve maybe seen Chris out of his out fit, I’m not exaggerating, four times. One was traveling to Metropolis on a plane.

CBG: Yeah and he had that DC Comics tee shirt on, or rather a crew shirt.

MO: Exactly, so I’ve maybe, most of the time when I go over he’s right about to go out there or right at the end of the day when he still has his work clothes on. And right now when we’re doing interviews and promotions and stuff. So then it’s nice to have that because it’s part of the movie.

CBG: Yeah, well and at that point it’s almost his working clothes for this.

MO: Yeah.

CBG: I mean if this was 50 years ago you’d have to be wearing the riding pants, as a director.

MO: Yeah exactly.

CBG: I only had one more question and it’s about Chris. Why do you think he’s latched on so tightly to Superman?

MO: Ooo, that’s a good question. Um, I can only guess because I don’t know, I’m not inside his head. Maybe he identifies with him. Maybe he … You know, I think part of what I think my movie is about is people wanting to matter. Wanting to succeed but, part of wanting to succeed is wanting to matter, wanting to be something. Or maybe you need something tangable to hold onto. And maybe that’s it for him. Or maybe it’s as simple as, he just loves Superman. In other words, we all try to dig and dig … not just my movie but people in general … but why people do certain things. And maybe it’s just as simple as, he just loves Superman.

CBG: Well I’m not going to get on him for that, I do write s comic book column for God’s sake. (laughs)

MO: There you go. (laughs) He just takes it to a different level, but I think he does it respectfully and he really honors the character and he knows everything about Superman. For God’s sake he got married in a Superman outfit.

CBG: Yeah. And honestly, he’s got my favorite line in the picture where he’s walking with Ghost Rider, “No, his head’s on fire but he’s not smoking.”

MO: That’s my favorite scene.

CBG: It’s a great shot. Its such an odd deal in that you have, very much, a more modern hero and Superman is walking along with him trying to teach him the ropes.

MO: Yeah exactly. Totally unexpected. We had no idea that that was going to happen. And I love the part where Ghost Rider says … When Superman says you can’t smoke and Ghost Rider goes, “But he’s made of fire.”

(Both laugh.)

CBG: Well, I think I’ve got all I need was there anything you wanted to say?

MO: Just so everyone knows it just came out on DVD and one way to get it is through our Web site which is www.therealsuperhero.com. You can click through to Netflix and rent it or Amazon and buy it. But if you’re a Netflix subscriber or Amazon or whatever, you can go there and buy it. You’re not buying it from us going through there, it’s just to make it easier to click through. You can watch the trailer there and whatever.
Even besides the video there’s over two hours of bonus footage. Chris, Superman, and his wife Bonnie do the commentary not me. And there’s outtakes from Comicon, there’s some fun scenes in there.

CBG: I saw the John Schneider one and that really cracked me up.

MO: Yeah, and there’s some good stuff at Comicon as well. My favorite one is “When Bonnie Met Superman.” It’s where Chris and Bonnie are sitting side-by-side and they’re telling the story of how they met. And they each have their own version. And one is R rated and one is PG rated.

CBG: Yeah and her’s is such a …

MO: It’s a love story.

CBG: Yeah, her’s has this dreamy feeling and such and then he keep, “And what did we do. Tell them what we did.”

MO: He keeps interjecting.

CBG: It’s actually really fun. They definitely come off as a real couple at that point.

MO: Yeah, like they’ve been married for 50 years.

(Readers may also be interested in visiting the film’s MySpace page here.)