| Supremacy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Deon Taylor |
| Written by | Eric J. Adams |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rodney Taylor[nb 1] |
| Edited by | Richard B. Molina |
| Music by | Mike Einziger |
Production company | Hidden Empire Film Group |
| Distributed by | Well Go USA Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million[2] |
| Box office | $116,885(rentals)[3][4] |
Supremacy is a 2014 Americandramathriller film directed byDeon Taylor, written by Eric J. Adams, and starringJoe Anderson,Dawn Olivieri andDanny Glover. The film chronicles the real life events of March 29–30, 1995, perpetrated byAryan Brotherhood members Robert Walter Scully Jr. and Brenda Kay Moore. After fatally shooting a police officer, neo-Nazi Garrett Tully, along with his companion, Doreen Lesser, breaks into a house and takes an African-American family hostage.
The film premiered at theLos Angeles Film Festival on June 12, 2014, and was released in the United States on January 30, 2015.
Recently paroled after serving a fifteen-year prison sentence, Garrett Tully meets Doreen Lesser to complete a drug errand for their incarceratedAryan Brotherhood boss, Paul Sobecki. After fatally shooting a cop, Tully breaks into a house, where he and Doreen take an African-American family hostage. An ex-con himself, the family patriarch, Sonny Walker, attempts to understand the neo-Nazi's motives and get his family out alive.
Supremacy is based on the true story of Robert Walter Scully Jr. and Brenda Kay Moore.[5][6] On March 29, 1995, between the cities ofSanta Rosa andSebastopol, California, Scully and Moore were parked in a pickup truck outside the Santa Rosa Saddlery. Believed to be pondering a nearby business to rob, they were confronted at approximately 11:30 PM by Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff Frank Vasquez Trejo.[7] As he approached the truck, Trejo was shot and killed instantly with a sawed-off shotgun by Scully,[8] who then took Trejo's weapon and fled with Moore to a nearby house on Lloyd Avenue, taking an African-American family of six hostage. After twelve hours, Scully and Moore surrendered to deputies.[6]
Scully was a member of theAryan Brotherhood, but insisted during his trial that the killing of Deputy Trejo was an accident and not racially motivated;[8] Trejo was Latino.[9] Scully was nevertheless found guilty offirst degree murder andsentenced to death plus 274 years (for 11 "related" felony convictions) on June 14, 1997.[8] He is currently on California's death row, awaiting execution (as of 2015).[10] Moore was sentenced to 14 years,[11] and was later sentenced to a further seven years for her "involvement in a prison gang whose members included Scully".[12]
Trejo was a 35-year law enforcement veteran; he had been serving the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office for 15 years, and was 58 years old at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter. His funeral was attended by more than 2,400 people and he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Valor for dying in the line of duty.[9]
After "floating around [for many years] as an independent filmmaker",Deon Taylor began looking for a "more serious project" to direct;[2] one that would take him "out of the [horror] genre".[5] In most cases, he couldn't find any that were "motivating".[2] At the time, he had just finished directingChain Letter, an independent horror film. It didn't "hit [Taylor]" the way he wanted, and Taylor claimed the only thing he learned fromChain Letter was "how to shoot [a film] quickly with no money".[5]
While in Los Angeles, Taylor met with producerVincent Cirrincione, who was "a fan of [his] work at the time". Cirrincione said he had "this script", but "didn't know" if it was right for Taylor because it was "one of those movies that could go either way". Taylor asked for the script and read it while flying back to Sacramento. He claimed to have called Cirrincione "immediately" after landing, and asked for a "few more days to wrap [his] head around the project". After reading the script a "few more times", Taylor "fell in love with [the] movie" and "called [Cirrincione] back". After "[making] a deal" with Cirrincione, Taylor had to find a producer willing to finance the film; he "ended up finding about a million dollars".[2]
Taylor stated he "spoke with the family" that was taken hostage;[5] having an "incredible conversation" with them about everything that "went down". He didn't "have enough time" to speak with Scully; who was on "death row" at the time, so he "couldn't get [an] entire story". Taylor said he "[solely] went with the family's perspective" because it was all "[he could] do".[2]
The screenplay was written by Eric J. Adams.
Anderson, Glover, andDawn Olivieri were the first to be cast; the announcement was made on February 9, 2012, byIndiewire.[13]
On March 7, it was reported byDeadline thatAnson Mount had signed on to portray Sobecki, the "nasty villain" and "head of the Aryan Brotherhood". Mount signed on for the role while taking a break from starring as Cullen Bohannon inHell on Wheels, a western television series. The casting ofDerek Luke,Lela Rochon, andEvan Ross was announced the same day.[14]
Taylor couldn't achieve the "look [he] wanted" with an "HD camera", so he shot the movie on16 mm film instead. Reportedly expensive, Taylor had to consult "all of the producers" beforehand, and although he didn't "have enough money" to use 16 mm film as much as he wanted, he did have enough to shoot "one or two takes" of each scene and "move on".[5] Due to time constraints, principal photography lasted just 17 days.[15]
The ethnic slur "nigger" is used heavily in the film; this caused "one day" of "really tough" filming for Taylor. The first day of principal photography involved a scene where "a black teenager, a young black baby, and Danny Glover" are all threatened with a gun; while being referred to as "niggers". Taylor said it was "very difficult to work" this way, and he had to sit down with each of the actors and explain to them what was going to happen beforehand. According to Taylor, it took "a few days" for everyone to "[get] into a rhythm".[2]
The worldwide premiere took place at theLos Angeles Film Festival on June 12, 2014;[16] Deputy Trejo's family members were in attendance.[2] On June 26, 2014,Well Go USA Entertainment acquired the North American distribution rights.[17] A "red carpet event" was held at the Esquire IMAX Theater on January 14, 2015, inDowntown Sacramento,California.[18] This was followed by a limited theatrical release on January 30 in the United States.[5]
The film received mostly negative reviews. On thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 3.9/10.[19] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[20]
Drew Hunt, ofSlant Magazine, awarded one out of four stars, he wrote: "Taylor completely fails to visually represent any sort of interpersonal human dynamic", and "[It] isn't long before we feel like hostages ourselves, bound by the filmmakers' strained moral outrage".[21] Chris Klimek, ofThe Dissolve, awarded one and a half stars out of five, describing the film as an "unpleasant exercise that is well-acted".[22]
Martin Tsai, of theLos Angeles Times, gave a positive review. He praised Eric J. Adams for upping "the ante by creating dissent among the hostages", and was equally complimentary of Taylor, who "impressively paces the film with unrelenting tension".[23]
On May 6, 2014, Film Independent announced Taylor as one of eleven film directors nominated for the LA Muse Award.[24] He ultimately lost to Delila Vallot; she won for directingCan You Dig This, her first feature-length documentary.[25] Nominees for the 11th edition of theAMA Awards were announced on June 20, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.Supremacy was one of three film's nominated for theBest Diaspora Feature,[26] and on September 26, 2015, it won.[27]
| Year | Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 18, 2015 | Los Angeles Film Festival | LA Muse Award | Deon Taylor | Nominated |
| September 28, 2015 | Africa Movie Academy Awards | Best Diaspora Feature | Supremacy | Won |
There is no information on the film's box office performance or gross.[3][4]
The film was given an R rating by theMotion Picture Association of America.