Indonesian Superhero Movie "Garuda Superhero" Premieres On Jan 8

Jakarta, Jan 6 (Antara) - The first Indonesian superhero movie titled, "Garuda Superhero" will hit theaters across the nation on January 8, 2014. "This movie is the first local film, which breaks the grounds of the national film industry in the action superhero genre, a theme that has been lost for more than 30 years in the history of Indonesian cinema," Dhoni Ramadhan, the producer of the Garuda Superhero, remarked here on Tuesday. It took a decade to bring the movie into production. Around 90 percent of the movie was created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) as most of the scenes were shot in front of a blue screen. The level of difficulty to produce the movie was high, Dhoni said, as only nine CGI artists were part of the main team, with several supporting animators. All the CGI artists and animators were Indonesians. The movie features newcomers such as the main character Rizal Alaidrus as Garuda, Alexa Key, Kia Putri, and Agus Kuncoro. It is also supported by some senior national-level actors such as Slamet Rahardjo as the main antagonist character, Robby Sugara, Piet Pagau, and Rudy Salam. Dhoni Ramadhan said that he was working towards making the Garuda Superhero movie available in the ASEAN countries. The movie centers on Garuda, a superhero, who fights the terror of the Durja King (Slamet Rahardjo) and the threats from giant asteroids. In 1981, another superhero movie titled, "Gundala Putra Petir" (Gundala Son of Thunder) was produced in Indonesia. It was adapted from a comic character of the same name created by Harya Suraminata Hasmi. Gundala first appeared in a comic book in 1969 titled, "Gundala Putra Petir" and published by Kentjana Agung. Gundala is a superhero who can fire lightning at varying intensities from his palm and can run at lightning speed.