''Sparks'' is a 2013 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

based on the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

written by Christopher Folino and designed by ''JM Ringuet'' and ''Tyler Endicott'' turned into a superhero noir. The movie is co-directed, produced, and written by Christopher Folino. The film was in production in January 2013 and was released in March 2014 in the United States. The film stars

Chase Williamson Chase Williamson (born July 7, 1988) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for portraying David Wong in '' John Dies at the End'' (2012). Early life Williamson was born in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1988. When he was young, ...

as the Sparks, Ashley Bell as the Lady Heavenly,

Clancy Brown Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...

Jake Busey William Jacob Busey is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', Aiden Tanner in the 20 ...

William Katt William Theodore Katt (born February 16, 1951) is an American actor and musician best known as the star of the television series ''The Greatest American Hero''. He first became known for playing Tommy Ross, the ill-fated prom date of Carrie W ...

Marina Squerciati Marina Teresa Squerciati is an American actress. She currently appears as a regular in ''Chicago P.D.'' as Officer Kim Burgess. Early life Marina Squerciati was born in New York City and she is of Italian heritage. She is the daughter of acade ...

and

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

among others.

Plot

Ian Sparks (

) discovers the dark side of heroism, while going after the nation's most notorious super-criminal he manages to leave his life and reputation in ruins along the way. The tragic loss of his parents as a young boy leaves him scarred in unimaginable ways, but it helps shape his desire to become a "super". He manages to team up with fellow “super” Lady Heavenly ( Ashley Bell), but the arrival of a vicious serial killer, Matanza (

), who unleashes a bloody rampage on the city, destroys Sparks and Heavenly’s partnership and relationship. Racked with guilt, Sparks hits rock bottom, only to be saved by a guardian angel Archer (

), a cop whose own tragedy was linked to the fate of Sparks’ parents. Archer and Sparks discover their common enemy, which brings together a partnership of other “gifted” individuals whose intentions are not as honorable as Sparks. Hitting rock bottom again, Sparks looks to make an easy buck, but finds danger along the way. In order to right the wrong done to his life and to his friends, he must face his past and fight for his future. Now all Ian Sparks can do is regain his dignity, seek redemption, and clear his name.

Cast

as Ian Sparks * Ashley Bell as Lady Heavenly *

as Archer *

as Sledge *

as Matanza *

as Dawn *

as Gordon Eldridge

Production

In 2008, William Katt and Christopher Folino came up with idea of Sparks the comic book after working on Mythology Wars, a different comic book. This comic came from scratch with all new ideas from both Katt and Folino. After finishing the writing for the comic, they found Tyler Endicott and JM Ringuet to complete the project with the pictures. In 2011, Christopher Folino along with producers Tyler Endicott and James Sutton started production for the movie that became ''Sparks'' based on the comic book. Executive produced by Angelina Folino, Rose Folino, and William Katt with producers Todd Burrows, Brett Carleton, Max Carlson, Gregg Nolan, Manuel Silva, and Chase Williamson, the movie started production in January 2012 with two crews simultaneously at different locations in a two-week period. Burrows, the director of the movie, tells Filmoria that “ It was a difficult dance, especially when you deal with shooting out of context and out of story order.” However, Folino states that with Bell and Williamson, the film’s lead, and his 80-90 person crew, it was completely possible.

Release

In August 2013, Archstone Distribution announced that they had acquired the rights to the film for international release, while

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

distributed the movie within the United States and Canada. The film premiered at Cinequest March 1, 2013 to wider audiences. It was released on DVD on March 18, 2014.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2234429, Sparks 2013 films American superhero films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films