''Supremacy'' is a 2014 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

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 ...

directed by

Deon Taylor Deon Taylor is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Hidden Empire Film Group. Life Deon Taylor was born in Chicago and grew up in Gary, Indiana. During high school, he with his brother and mother moved to Sacramento, California. He has ...

, written by Eric J. Adams, and starring Joe Anderson,

Dawn Olivieri Dawn Orienne Olivieri (born February 8, 1981) is an American actress. She played Lydia in ''Heroes'' and Monica Talbot in ''House of Lies''. Career Olivieri appeared in the Showtime series ''House of Lies'', starting in 2012, playing the compet ...

and

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

. The film chronicles the real life events of March 29–30, 1995, perpetrated by

Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern ...

members Robert Walter Scully Jr. and Brenda Kay Moore. After fatally shooting a police officer, neo-Nazi Garrett Tully, along with his companion, Doreen Lesser, breaks into a house and takes an African-American family hostage. The film premiered at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

on June 12, 2014, and was released in the United States on January 30, 2015.

Synopsis

Recently paroled after serving a fifteen-year prison sentence, Garrett Tully meets Doreen Lesser to complete a drug errand for their incarcerated

boss, Paul Sobecki. After fatally shooting a cop, Tully breaks into a house, where he and Doreen take an African-American family hostage. An ex-con himself, the family patriarch, Sonny Walker, attempts to understand the neo-Nazi's motives and get his family out alive.

Cast

* Joe Anderson as Garrett Tully *

as Doreen Lesser *

as Sonny Walker *

Derek Luke Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film ''Antwone Fisher'', directed and produced by Denzel Washington. ...

as Raymond *

Lela Rochon Lela Rochon Staples (born April 17, 1964) is an American actress, best known for her starring role as Robin Stokes in the 1995 romantic drama film ''Waiting to Exhale''. She also had notable roles in the films ''Harlem Nights'' (1989), ''Boomerang ...

as Odessa *

Evan Ross Evan Olav Ross-Naess (born August 26, 1988), is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film '' ATL'' (2006), and has since starred in the films ''Pride'' (2007), ''According to Greta'' (2009), '' Mooz-lum'' ...

as Anthony *

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali (; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named him one of th ...

as Deputy Rivers *

Julie Benz Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) l is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on '' Dexter'' (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Awar ...

as Kristen *

Nick Chinlund Zareh Nicholas Chinlund (born November 18, 1961) is an American actor. Early life and education Chinlund was born in New York City. He attended the Friends Seminary in Lower Manhattan, later moving to Albany, New York in order to participate in ...

as Hannity * Robin Bobeau as Cassie * Alex Henderson as Jamar * Jenica Bergere as Gerardi * Sean Taylor-Corbett as Pedro *

Tyrin Turner Tyrin Turner is an American film and television actor and writer from South Central Los Angeles. He is most known for playing the lead role of Caine Lawson in the critically acclaimed 1993 urban drama ''Menace II Society''. Career Turner is b ...

as Reggie *

Anson Mount Anson Adams Mount IV (born February 25, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cullen Bohannon in the AMC western drama series ''Hell on Wheels'', as Jim Steele on the NBC series ''Conviction'' (2006), as the Marvel Co ...

as Paul Sobecki *

Hemky Madera Hemky Madera (born January 26, 1977) is an American actor. He began his acting career in the Dominican Republic television production ''Grandes Series Dominicanas'' in which he took the leading parts of the mini-series ''En La Olla'' and ''Tri ...

as Miguel

Background

''Supremacy'' is based on the true story of Robert Walter Scully Jr. and Brenda Kay Moore.Mumin, Nijila
"Interview: 'Supremacy' Director Deon Taylor Talks Race, Horror, Working w/ Lela Rochon (Opens Friday)"

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

, published 01-27-2015. Retrieved 10-19-2015.Horowitz, Donna
" Santa Rosa hostages saved by staying calm"

San Francisco Gate The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

, published 04-01-1995. Retrieved 10-24-2015. On March 29, 1995, between the cities of

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

and

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

, Scully and Moore were parked in a pickup truck outside the Santa Rosa Saddlery. Believed to be pondering a nearby business to rob, they were confronted at approximately 11:30 PM by Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff Frank Vasquez Trejo.Carter, Lori
"KILLER: Life without parole sentence mandated"

The Press Democrat ''The Press Democrat'', with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California. History The newspaper was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley who merged his ''Evening Press'' and Thomas ...

, published 08-28-2008. Retrieved 10-24-2015. As he approached the truck, Trejo was shot and killed instantly with a sawed-off shotgun by Scully,Snyder, George
"Deputy's Killer Gets Death / 274 years for related convictions also added to sentence"

, published 06-14-1997. Retrieved 10-24-2015. who then took Trejo's weapon and fled with Moore to a nearby house on Lloyd Avenue, taking an African-American family of six hostage. After twelve hours, Scully and Moore surrendered to deputies. Scully was a member of the

, but insisted during his trial that the killing of Deputy Trejo was an accident and not racially motivated; Trejo was Latino. Scully was nevertheless found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death plus 274 years (for 11 "related" felony convictions) on June 14, 1997. He is currently on California's death row, awaiting execution (as of 2015)."Death Row Tracking System (Condemned Inmate List) by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Division of Adult Operations"

California Department of Corrections The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacrame ...

, published 10-07-2015. Retrieved 10-25-2015. Moore was sentenced to 14 years,"Aryan member pleads guilty in Trejo slaying"
''www.religiousnewsblog.com'', publishing date unknown. Retrieved 10-24-2015. and was later sentenced to a further seven years for her "involvement in a prison gang whose members included Scully".Smith, Chris
"A Silent Memorial: Thirteen years after Frank Trejo was killed, deputies still gather at the site of his murder to remember him"

, published 03-31-2008. Retrieved 10-25-2015. Trejo was a 35-year law enforcement veteran; he had been serving the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office for 15 years, and was 58 years old at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. His funeral was attended by more than 2,400 officers and citizens, and he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Valor for dying in the line of duty."Deputy Frank V. Trejo"

Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

Retrieved 10-24-2015.

Production

Development

After "floating around or many yearsas an independent filmmaker",

began looking for a "more serious project" to direct; one that would take him "out of the orrorgenre". In most cases, he couldn't find any that were "motivating". At the time, he had just finished directing ''

Chain Letter A chain letter is a message that attempts to convince the recipient to make a number of copies and pass them on to a certain number of recipients. The "chain" is an exponentially growing pyramid (a tree graph) that cannot be sustained indefinite ...

'', an independent horror film. It didn't "hit aylor the way he wanted, and Taylor claimed the only thing he learned from ''Chain Letter'' was "how to shoot filmquickly with no money". While in Los Angeles, Taylor met with producer Vincent Cirrincione, who was "a fan of iswork at the time". Cirrincione said he had "this script", but "didn't know" if it was right for Taylor because it was "one of those movies that could go either way". Taylor asked for the script and read it while flying back to Sacramento. He claimed to have called Cirrincione "immediately" after landing, and asked for a "few more days to wrap ishead around the project". After reading the script a "few more times", Taylor "fell in love with hemovie" and "called irrincioneback". After " akinga deal" with Cirrincione, Taylor had to find a producer willing to finance the film; he "ended up finding about a million dollars".

Background research

Taylor stated he "spoke with the family" that was taken hostage; having an "incredible conversation" with them about everything that "went down". He didn't "have enough time" to speak with Scully; who was on "death row" at the time, so he "couldn't get nentire story". Taylor said he " olelywent with the family's perspective" because it was all "

e could E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

do".

Screenplay

The screenplay was written by Eric J. Adams
an award-winning producer, writer and journalist. Adams also co-wrote Archie's Final Project (aka My Suicide), winner of 21 major international film festival awards including the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival

Casting

Anderson, Glover, and

were the first to be cast; the announcement was made on February 9, 2012, by

.Obenson, Tambay
"Danny Glover Set To Star In Indie Based On Real Story Of White Supremacist Who Takes Black Family Hostage"

, published 02-09-2012. Retrieved 11-02-2015. On March 7, it was reported by ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

'' that

had signed on to portray Sobecki, the "nasty villain" and "head of the Aryan Brotherhood". Mount signed on for the role while taking a break from starring as Cullen Bohannon in ''

Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...

'', a western television series. The casting of

, and

was announced the same day.Fleming Jr, Mike
"'Hell On Wheels' Star Anson Mount To Play Villain In Hiatus Feature 'Supremacy'"
''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'', published 03-07-2012. Retrieved 11-02-2015.

Principal photography

Taylor couldn't achieve the "look ewanted" with an "HD camera", so he shot the movie on

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

instead. Reportedly expensive, Taylor had to consult "all of the producers" beforehand, and although he didn't "have enough money" to use 16 mm film as much as he wanted, he did have enough to shoot "one or two takes" of each scene and "move on". Due to time constraints, principal photography lasted just 17 days.Meyer, Carla
"Fear, racial tension fuel new film ‘Supremacy’"

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

, published 02-02-2015. Retrieved 10-29-2015. The ethnic slur "

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

" is used heavily in the film; this caused "one day" of "really tough" filming for Taylor. The first day of principal photography involved a scene where "a black teenager, a young black baby, and Danny Glover" are all threatened with a gun; while being referred to as "niggers". Taylor said it was "very difficult to work" this way, and he had to sit down with each of the actors and explain to them what was going to happen beforehand. According to Taylor, it took "a few days" for everyone to " etinto a rhythm".

Release

The worldwide premiere took place at the

on June 12, 2014;Obenson, Tambay A.
"Danny Glover, Evan Ross, Lela Rochon Are A Family Held Hostage By A White Supremacist In Trailer For 'Supremacy'"

, published 05-07-2014. Retrieved 10-19-2015 Deputy Trejo's family members were in attendance. On June 26, 2014,

Well Go USA Entertainment A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...

acquired the North American distribution rights.Obenson, Tambay A.
"Deon Taylor's Racially-Charged Thriller 'Supremacy' Picked Up by Well Go USA Ent. (Danny Glover, Joe Anderson Star)"

, published 06-26-2014. A "red carpet event" was held at the Esquire IMAX Theater on January 14, 2015, in

Downtown Sacramento Downtown Sacramento is the central business district of the city of Sacramento. Downtown is generally defined as the area south of the American River, east of the Sacramento River, north of Broadway, and west of 16th Street. The central business ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.Robins, Paul
"Red Carpet Movie Premiere of ‘Supremacy’ in Sacramento"
Fox 40, published 01-14-2015. Retrieved 11-02-2015. This was followed by a limited theatrical release on January 30 in the United States.

Critical reception

The film received mostly negative reviews. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 3.9/10."'Supremacy' (2015)"

, published 10-19-2015. Retrieved 05-02-2018. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews"."'Supremacy' Critical Reviews"

. Retrieved 05-02-2018. Drew Hunt, of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'', awarded one out of four stars, he wrote: "Taylor completely fails to visually represent any sort of interpersonal human dynamic", and " tisn't long before we feel like hostages ourselves, bound by the filmmakers' strained moral outrage".Hunt, Drew
"'Supremacy' Film Review"

, published 01-26-2015. Retrieved 07-16-2015. Chris Klimek, of ''

The Dissolve ''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by Pitchfork and based in Chicago, Illinois. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url ...

'', awarded one and a half stars out of five, describing the film as an "unpleasant exercise that is well-acted".Klimek, Chris
"'Supremacy' review by Chris Klimek"

, published 01-28-2015. Retrieved 10-23-2015. Martin Tsai, of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', gave a positive review. He praised Eric J. Adams for upping "the ante by creating dissent among the hostages", and was equally complimentary of Taylor, who "impressively paces the film with unrelenting tension".Tsai, Martin
"Review: Tension winds tight in 'Supremacy' Aryan home-invasion drama"

, published 01-29-2015. Retrieved 10-23-2015.

Accolades

On May 6, 2014, Film Independent announced Taylor as one of eleven film directors nominated for the LA Muse Award.Film Independent (press release)
"Film Independent Announces 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival Line-Up Including Closing Night Film And Galas"
''www.filmindependent.org'', published 05-06-2014. Retrieved 10-20-2015. He ultimately lost to Delila Vallot; she won for directing ''Can You Dig This'', her first feature-length documentary.Berger, Laura
"2015 LA Film Fest: Women Directors Win World Fiction Award, Audience Awards and More"

, published 06-18-2015. Retrieved 10-20-2015. Nominees for the 11th edition of the AMA Awards were announced on June 20, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. ''Supremacy'' was one of three film's nominated for the Best Diaspora Feature,Mindspace
"List of Nominees: Africa Movie Academy Awards 2015"
''www.nollywoodmindspace.com'', published 06-25-2015. Retrieved 10-25-2015. and on September 26, 2015, it won.Ukamaka
"Africa Movie Academy Awards 2015: Here is the full list of this year’s winners"
''www.olisa.tv'', published 09-27-2015. Retrieved 10-25-2015.

Box office

There is no information on the film's box office performance or gross.

Home media

The film was given an R rating by the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

Notes

References

External links

*
''Supremacy''
at

''Supremacy''
at The Numbers * {{DEFAULTSORT:Supremacy (film) 2014 films 2014 thriller films American thriller films Drama films based on actual events Films about neo-Nazis Films about racism Films directed by Deon Taylor Films scored by Mike Einziger Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area Home invasions in film Works about white nationalism 2014 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films