“Super Speed Dates” is a short humorous Film by Canadian-born actress and writer Carolyn Bridget Kennedy, the founder of Demure Duchess Pictures. The movie enjoyed success on the festival circuit (it was awarded the title of “Best Original Story” at the Los Angeles Film Awards) and debuted on YouTube on February 13, 2018.
“Super Speed Dates” is the story of a group of women who are looking for love by attending a speed dating event. On one particular occasion, they meet a number of men who seem to be very strange but who, in fact, might be honest and merely misunderstood...or the alter-egos of superheroes.
To date, the unique movie has received thirteen laurels and/or awards across the globe.
Carolyn Bridget Kennedy wrote, starred in, and produced this movie and believes that comic book fans will be especially fond of it. Funny enough, she based certain plot elements on her own experiences with speed dating. Carolyn recently discussed this film, her fondness for superheroes, and her experiences speed dating via a recent exclusive interview.
Superheroes, comedy, and film
Meagan Meehan (MM): “Super Speed Dates” is a short comedy film about meeting the alter-egos of famous superheroes, so how did you come up with this unique concept?
Carolyn Bridget Kennedy (CBK): I was participating in an acting group, and we were all challenged to come up with a short film script and then one of the scripts would be selected for filming with the participation of the group but entirely produced by the selected writer.
What happened was, I went to bed one night with this challenge weighing on my mind. That morning, I woke up a few hours earlier than usual with the idea and frantically wrote it down. The initial concept was to have the “mild-mannered” selves of superheroes being deadpan honest in the face of dating questions to show how weird their honesty would come across and reveal how they might not be “super” boyfriend material.
MM: Overall, how did you choose which superheroes to feature?
CBK: I started with selecting about a dozen possible superheroes. Then I wrote out a bunch of standard questions that get asked at speed dating events (relying on some personal experience). After this, it took some brainstorming of the possible answers each of them could give - searching for the ones that might be funny.
The superheroes with the most numerous and amusing responses were selected to be included in the film. The exception to this, in a small way, was Dick Grayson (Robin). His appearance was more a function of the gag involving Bruce Wayne (Batman) and the persistent rumors about their “relationship” and, at its most benign, a comment about how women sometimes can’t compete with a “bromance.”
MM: Are you a big fan of superheroes and comics?
CBK: I would not say that I meet the definition of a “big” fan. I have certainly seen nearly all of the Movies and some of the animated shows. It’s hard not to find yourself somewhat familiar with these characters because they form part of popular culture. I feel that this film will appeal to anyone with the same level of pop culture knowledge.
MM: What is your favorite part of this film and which segment or line do you consider the funniest?
CBK: I have a number of favorite lines for each of the superheroes enhanced by how each of the actors delivered them on the day. I still get a giggle out of the last line during the credits delivered by Bruce Wayne. I also particularly enjoyed the actors’ individual performances in bringing out the superheroes' key character traits. The original music scored by our composer along with the colors and lighting selected from a cinematography point of view, give the film the comic book “feel” we wanted to achieve.
MM: Be honest, of all the superheroes, which one would you most like to date?
CBK: I personally did not have success at any speed dating events, and I certainly wouldn’t have had success here.
I suppose the commentary I wanted to deliver in this film was that love is hard to find at events like this. And even with the most “super” of men, they somehow still might not be “super” boyfriends.
Movies, cast, and awards
MM: What was it like to film this movie; for instance, how long did it take and how did you find the cast and location?
CBK: The script was written in about a week. I was in pre-production for the next three weeks, before we went to camera. The female actors were all a part of the acting group, as well as one of the male superheroes. I put out casting notices and auditioned male actors to play the balance of the superheroes. When I found it difficult to secure a location for the upscale lounge, we decided to set decorate our basement and transform it into the upscale lounge we needed.
In total, eleven actors, three background actors, and fourteen crew members all came together, and we shot the entire film in one day. I think we pulled it off amazingly well and everyone laughed the whole way through. It was great fun.
MM: How did you find venues to submit "Super Speed Dates" to and what was it like to win so many awards?
CBK: While filming “Super Speed Dates” I did not have film festivals in mind. After we filmed, the Director described the “magic” he felt had happened during filming. He believed we had a “gem” on our hands. So, we thought that we owed it to everyone who had dedicated their time and skills to the project to see what reception it could get at festivals. I signed up at film festival submission websites and then searched for film festivals that had a particular interest in independent short comedy films as well as those interested in comic book and superhero genre films.
The response we received was unexpected and amazing.
MM: Do you have any cool new creative projects, movies, gigs, or other events coming up soon that you wish to talk about?
CBK: I am moving to Los Angeles in March. I have signed up to train at Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) and am excited to work on continuing to develop my comedy skills. I am working on developing my critically acclaimed comedy web-series “Danger Pay” into a half-hour format for television as there has been some network interest. I am also working on creating a new comedy web-series which I will film in LA this coming year.
