Director Phil Bucci Says His Superhero Short Film "Special Forces" Is About Relationships, Humanity, and "The Little Things"

Last month, filmmaker Phil Bucci debuted his long-in-development superhero short film Special [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Last month, filmmaker Phil Bucci debuted his long-in-development superhero short film Special Forces on his personal website, after earning a lot of attention with the official trailer debut with The Hollywood Reporter.

Special Forces 2
(Photo: Aris Millare)

With supervillains spinning out of control the world has been forced to turn to the vigilantes they once feared in an effort to restore balance, creating a revolution in law enforcement "Special Forces." But because life has a strange sense of humor, some of the "super" cops really aren't all that super. Called in as backup mistake Eugene (Mort Burke) and Genesis (Tania Gunadi) discover their powers are a lot more than they're cracked up to be. Now these two unlikely heroes are going to show the world what being super is all about.

Phil Bucci and Marcus Perry wrote the original short, which Bucci directed. The film was shot on location in Los Angeles at the Lacy Street Production Center. Bucci served as the writer, director and executive producer along with Brooke Dooley serving as lead producer on Special Forces.

After placing second in the Key Art Awards student trailer competition, Bucci began his career as a trailer editor, segueing into feature film and television editorial. Some of his most notable projects have been the ShowTime series Submission, feature film's M.F.A., It Snows All the Time, All I Need, ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary Untucked, part of the Emmy nominated series. The multiple award winning web series Destroy the Alpha Gammas and trailer campaigns for Django Unchained, The Mortal Instruments, Skyfall, Real Steel, Tron, Star Trek and Transformers, along with several award winning short films.

Recently Bucci, who has worked on Showtime's Submission and ESPN's 30 For 30 in addition to cutting trailers for the Star Trek, James Bond, and Transformers franchises, has started to transition full-on into his directing career. His short film directorial debut Special Forces is just now getting a wider release, but he followed up its production with the multiple award-winning web series Brooding.

Bucci joined ComicBook.com to answer a few quick questions about Special Forces. You can check it out here, and check out some stills from the film in the attached image gallery.

With superhero fiction being everywhere right now, what is unique to Special Forces, that you're bringing to the table?

I took a grounded approach that I'm not sure has been done before. Special Forces is a world where it's common for people to have powers. People are no longer in awe simply because you can fly, read minds or have x-ray vision. It's an every day occurrence. So we are not about being a vfx powers showcase were more about finding fun everyday way people would use their powers in their every day life.

Do you watch something like Powerless or The Tick, or are you of the mindset that you'd like to be clear of your own superhero comedy before you partake?

I have not seen Powerless but I loved The Tick cartoon when I was a kid. So I will definitely be watching that. there is some thing to be said for keeping clear but I think at the end of the day and some one else got the same exact idea out there before you it makes good sense to adjust your plan.

How does the world of Special Forces differ from the "real" world?

This is a world that can be attacked by a super villain at any moment but what makes the world different? It's all about the little things. Were used to super hero's in their times of action but in Special Forces what interest me more are how do powers effect your normal day to day life, jobs and relationships.

Do you take inspiration from any particular comics or related media?

I really love stories that take a known idea and put a new twist on it, such as Y: The Last Man. I think we all have thoughts of what it would be like to be the last man or woman on earth but the length Brian K. Vaughan's story goes is incredible. I still read and re read works from the golden age of sci-fi writing(60's-70's). This error of writing still has me so inspired.

The trailer has been out there for a while; are you excited for a wider audience to finally see the fininished product?

Absolutely! When you choose to go the festival route you get all the fun that comes with traveling and meeting new friends/film makers but you definitely put a delay on a wider audience seeing your work.

I can't help but notice that while the project is pitched as a short, social media for Special Forces says "series." Are you guys hoping ot make more?

That is the plan. My initial idea was a lot smaller in scale and was planned to be a web series. After playing with the idea more and more the production level I wanted to work at was going to be too large. I decided not compromise and work at the level I wanted and use this short as a proof of concept in hope of getting the larger version made.

Is there a particular stand-out character in the short that you'd like to explore more?

All of them! Eugene(Mort Burke), Genesis(Tania Gunadi) and Alex(Mircea Monroe) have very different origin stories. The way their futures will intertwine will be a whole lot of fun.

Was there a particular reason you decided that your story should involve deputizing vigilantes instead of, say, a cop being forced to work outside of her comfort zone with traditional superheroes?

This goes back again to our more grounded approach. If were in a world where many have super powers they are not all going to be lucky enough to have the money of a Wayne or Stark. They have to work for a living and the powered people who want to save lives become cops, military or other life saving professions.

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