Captain Canuck (image copyright Comely Comix)
A few disclaimers up front. I am Canadian; Stratford, Ontario (the same city that spawned Justin Bieber) is my home town; I have stacks of comic books squirreled away throughout the house; I’m all over (most) comic book inspired movies, in a former life I spent time as a music critic; and I have carefully cultivated an appreciation for Canadian bands like Metric, Arcade Fire and Sloan among my progeny, yet one of my 8 year olds blew through a Christmas iTunes card on tracks from the Biebs…
Put all those variables into the blender and you may understand why, when I read this story in Toronto Life, I very nearly put my coffee mug through my iMac’s display. Noting the speculated $15 million budget for the proposed Captain Canuck film (emphasis on “speculated” and “proposed” as all of this seems highly up in the air), quickly changed my mood to just sad. Fifteen million dollars will hardly pay for a few good explosions these days, even if the budget were in Canadian dollars (which would currently net you an extra $150k, which could be used to ensure the craft service table is adequately stocked with Tim Hortons coffee and maple glaze donuts). Mind you District 9 cost only $30 million to make, so this travesty could have legs… To put this somewhat in perspective, imagine that in 1978, Shaun Cassidy had been cast as the man of steel in Superman: The Movie. Toronto Life later expanded the coverage to include potential alternates to play Canada’s red and white tights-sporting superhero. And no, William Shatner did not make that list.
