First time film-maker Steve Sale talks about his fly-on-the-wall documentary Superhero Me and proves that you do not have to be superhuman or certifiable to want to fight crime dressed in spandex.

Superheroes are no strangers to the big screen. For the last decade comic book adaptations portraying the adventures of masked marvels and caped crusaders have dominated the cinema box office; Christopher Nolan’s 2008 hit The Dark Knight currently stands as the sixth highest grossing film of all time, having taken over a stupendous $1billion at the worldwide box office. As wonderful as a majority of these adaptations have been they tend to follow the same tired and tested plot; a scientific accident/personal tragedy befalls our hero that leads them to develop superpowers/guilt and feelings of duty/revenge drive them to fight evil/crime (see Spiderman, Batman, Dare Devil, etc). It was extremely refreshing when Matthew Vaughn’s addition to the genre Kick-Ass was released in March earlier this year, bringing with it a new concept for the superhero world; what if a mild mannered nobody woke up one day and decided to be a superhero just for the hell of it? Not because they had the misfortune of an undesired career battling crime thrust upon them due to a life altering event such as being bitten by a radioactive spider or seeing their parents brutally and mercilessly slaughtered in front of them, but because they simply wondered why nobody had done it before.

It was a good concept for an action packed comical feature movie and although set in a hyper-reality it still managed to keep the superhero firmly in the realms of fantasy. From it one may gather being a masked avenger would be exciting, but surely there is no ordinary citizen in the real world who would don a spandex outfit and put their life at risk to fight crime; is there? They would surely be certifiable. Well it just so happens that one man is in fact that crazy. One man has risen up from the crime ridden streets of Britain and decided to take a hilarious stand against the scum and villainy that populates our streets. Furthermore, and luckily for us, he has filmed himself doing it.

When first time film-maker Steve Sale talks about his experiences making his debut documentary Superhero Me, the 32 year old comes across as a level headed and all round nice guy. “Everyone thought I was crazy but my friends were really supportive.” Sitting in the Edinburgh International Film Festival’s (EIFF) delegates centre he wears a pair of jeans and a blue casual jumper that with his messy brown hair make him look like Mr Joe Average; with no disrespect intended he does not look much like a superhero. It is his lack of physical presence and athletic agility which is exactly why he fits the traditional superhero mould; like Peter Parker and Blake Edwards you would not expect Sale to lead a double life as a fighter of crime. It is not his muscles that define him as a superhero, but his determination.

Sale’s main motive for producing the documentary was first and foremost to create a film project he had been thinking of for years. “The idea came into my head a few years ago and just grew and grew. I have always loved film and thought one day I might have a go at making something.” Superhero Me documents his research into the world of superheroes and his attempts to become a bona-fide caped crusader. After enlisting the help of a selection of comic book experts and martial artists, he becomes a masked crime fighter in the guise of superhero S.O.S. He makes his own costume to disguise his true identity, buys a petrol powered scooter to transport him quickly to crime scenes and most importantly records a catchy theme song and then sets about attempting to clean up the dangerous urban ghettos of…Epsom and Sutton. Sale’s account of becoming a superhero is often hilarious for the cringe worthy situations he gets himself in to; a prime example being when he walks up to a group of Policemen handcuffing a drunk on a busy street and asks if they need help. It is due to many moments like these that the film is a joy to watch.

At this year’s EIFF the audiences and critics response to the film was promising. ”It’s mental. Brilliant. We had the premiere last night and it was mad because there were people queuing out in the street to get in. Everyone laughed in the right places which was a really good response.” Sale should obviously be happy with the praise his debut has received, but he should remember that with great power does come great responsibility. “I don’t know how it happened but [at the after party] drinks appeared in my hand. It was like the never ending bottomless glass. I had an education screening the next morning: 200 kids. It’s bloody hard giving a talk feeling [hung over]. Then I had to put a superhero costume on - a lethal combination.”

You would expect the idea for this documentary to come from an enthusiast of superheroes; an individual with a spare room for his comic book collection perhaps. Instead Sale admits, “I’m not a big comic book fan. I’m more into superhero movies, but I’m not a fanatic.” So where did the idea come from? “[I watched] Batman; he’s not got any superpowers, so I just thought surely anyone could be a superhero. I didn’t think anyone had done anything like that, so I thought I’ll do a documentary about becoming a superhero.” What bodes well for Sale and Superhero Me is that Kick-Ass has been so successful both here and in America. At the end of the day it is fiction and now audiences who like the idea of a normal guy becoming a superhero can see there is actually someone doing it for real in this documentary. “It would be good if people saw it that way for sure. Kick-Ass is a good feature film. It is not someone actually doing it for real [and] there are a lot of people doing it for real.” Although Sale seems to be one of the first superheroes in Britain his films shows there is an entire community of them around the world. See http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com or read Joshuah Bearman’s article in Rolling Stone magazine’s 2008 December edition if you don’t believe it.

Sale’s background is in music production and his love of punk and energetic beats shows throughout the film. His alter-ego S.O.S. uses gadgets and gizmos utilized from sound equipment; a set of industrial headphones, a high pitched rape alarm – not the most effective of crime fighting devices but they make for entertaining viewing when he try’s them out. The lack of x-ray goggles and Batarangs’s can be attributed to the films minute budget; Sale created the documentary with very little funds. “I didn't know where to start in regards to getting funding for a movie idea so I thought I would have a go at making it myself. No budget; just little bits of my own money. I had a crappy hand held camera. I borrowed equipment from wherever I could.” This adds to the charm of the film as it shows the level of devotion he had to making it; no lack of money or equipment was going to stop him. He recorded the soundtrack himself or got his friends’ bands to perform. “For some reason punk and me running around as a superhero works. I guess it’s energy.” Despite getting to work his life long passion into the process of film-making and although the fun Sale had producing the project shines through on screen, the film is by no means all fun and games.

There is a very noticeable change in tone after the hilarity of the first hour. The final third of the film sees Sale postpone his honeymoon to fly off to Florida to meet with a twenty year veteran of the superhero circuit, Master Legend; a noble man with a just cause, but who can only be referred to as a little bit crazy. “I got in touch with him on MySpace – not Facebook – all the real life guys are into MySpace.” says Sale. “I said do you fancy meeting up in Florida? I don’t think he thought I was going to come. He wasn’t too keen on me filming him without a mask.” What arises from this last half hour with Master Legend is an insightful look at the homelessness situation in one of the richest nations in the world. “It’s mental.” Sale attests. “You’ve got Disney Land, Sea Land, they’re all in this area and then literally not much of a drive away the city parks are full of hundreds of homeless people everywhere.” Some of the scenes in the film see Sale and his companion driving through some of the derelict and drug rife areas of Florida and although Master Legend seems a little odd, there can be no denying the big heart he hides behind his armour. “Master Legend is a really interesting guy. I’ve been saying this a lot when people ask “Don’t you find these guys funny?” the fact is there are major homeless issues out in America and he is the voice of the homeless.”

Master Legend really is an interesting character; his father used to play Russian roulette with his head, at the age of seven he tried to drown him and by ten he was making him fight for money. He was homeless himself and in the time he has been cleaning up the streets and helping the city’s vagrants he has died twice. Sale tells how “He wears a metal helmet because he goes into some places and they throw stuff at him. We went back to his place and it was just me and him having a beer and he brought out this massive iron glove and I was thinking “Oh shit”.” There is no doubt that Master Legend’s life has followed the superhero formula. If all a superhero is, is an individual who has some tragedy befall him that leads him to develop a purpose of duty that is fighting for a cause, then sale has worked with a real superhero.
With the danger that followed his American friend and the life he had led, did Sale realise what he was getting himself into and how did his new wife react to the possibility of being a widow after two days of marriage? “[My wife] Charlotte is really understanding and supportive. I don’t think at the time I realised what I was getting myself into. I wanted to go out there and do it.” Although the tone of the film does significantly change for this last segment, so much so that it appears like a different movie, Sale had to go out to Florida and hit the streets with Master Legend because quite simply, this is what superheroes do.

So having received great feedback for his first film-making effort and his plan of breaking into the film industry a success, what does the future hold with regards to new projects? “I’m itching to go. I’ve got a few ideas in mind. It’s a big commitment so I want to be 100% sure. I might try and do a feature.” If he creates a feature with the same level of enthusiasm he poured into Superhero Me and learns from this experience then this new addition to the British film making scene could find himself in possession of a very successful career.