Key Insights
- Emma Stone has won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, showcasing her exceptional talent.
- Her latest film, Bugonia, is a remake of the South Korean comedy Save the Green Planet!.
- Superbad, released in 2007, significantly impacted the comedy genre and remains popular today.
- The film Superbad grossed $170 million worldwide against a budget of $17.5 million.
Few actors have a better reputation than Emma Stone. She might be just 37 years old, but the star of Birdman and <em>The Favourite</em> has already picked up two Academy Awards for Best Actress, first for 2016’s La La Land and secondly for 2023’s Poor Things. Her talent was on display once again in her most recent performance as high-powered CEO Michelle Fuller in the science fiction satire Bugonia.
A remake of Jang Joon-hwan‘s 2003 South Korean comedy Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia was a wild, timely sci-fi effort from Greek writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos, a long-time collaborator with Stone and a five-time Oscar nominee in his own right. Called “an essential film about the world we live in and just how insane and hopeless it can feel at times” by Collider’s Ross Bonaime in his review, Bugonia was a critically acclaimed gem that earned Stone yet another Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. But all these accolades simply wouldn’t have been possible without the performance that first put Stone on the map.
Back in 2007, an unknown Stone featured in a stacked comedy ensemble in Superbad, one of the defining comedies of the 21st century. A hugely important movie in the career of producer Judd Apatow, the film stars Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as two teenagers who, quite simply, want to get laid before the end of school. Also starring Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the film is considered today a major milestone for comedy, helping reshape the landscape of the genre in cinema and spawning many successful thematic copycats. At the time of writing, Superbad is one of the ten most-watched movies on HBO Max worldwide.
Lebowski(1998)
O Brother(2000)
Fargo(1996)
No Country(2007)
FIND YOUR FILM →
01
A bag of money lands in your lap. What happens next?
Every Coen film starts roughly here. It never goes smoothly.
AI do not overthink it. Rent is paid, evening is free.
BI have a plan for this. It involves other people.
CI hand it in. Somebody is looking for this.
DI am gone before anyone knows I have it.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Somebody is being completely unreasonable with you. How does it go?
Coen dialogue is mostly people failing to understand each other.
AI let it go. It is not worth the energy.
BI talk. At length. Until they are on my side.
CI stay polite and repeat myself until they hear me.
DI stop talking. Talking has not been working.
NEXT QUESTION →
<p01
What is your actual relationship with work?
Everyone in these films is either working far too hard or not at all.
AI have arranged things so I do as little as possible.
BI would rather chase one big idea than hold a steady job.
CI do it properly, including the boring parts.
DIt pays. I do not need it to mean anything.
NEXT QUESTION →
<p04
Long drive, bad weather, nobody else on the road. How are you?
There is always a drive in these films. It is never a good drive.
AMusic on, in no hurry, perfectly content.
B< / spanTalkingthewholeway,whetheranybodyanswersornot.
C< / spanBothhandson thewheel,checkingeveryoneiswarmenough.
D< / spQuiet,watchingthemirrors.
NEXT QUESTION →
<p05
You are offered a shortcut that is not quite legal.
This is the moment where the Coens find out who you really are.
<labelC q-option-btn c q-opt5a"<span c q-option-letter"ANo,butnotonprinciple.Itsoundslikeeffort.
<label c q-option-bt n c q-opt5b"<spYes,andIwillmakeitsoundlikeagreatidea.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt5c"<spNo.AndIwouldprobablysay somethingaboutit.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt5d"<spOnlyifIamcertainnobodyfindsout.
The plan has fallen apart completely. What is your move?
In a Coen film the plan always falls apart.Thatisthegenre.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt6a"<spOrderadrinkandletthingssettledown.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt6b"<spImprovise loudly and hope momentum carriesit.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt6c"<spStartagainfromthebeginninganddoitright.
<label c q-opti n-bt n c q-opt6d"<spCutmylossesandleavebeforeitgetsworse.
Whichofthesesoundsmostlikesomethingyouwouldsay?
NobodywritesalinequiteliketheCoens.whichoneisyours.
<label C q-opti n-bt n c q-opt7a"<spItisreallynotthatserious.
<label C q-opti n-bt n c q-opt7b"<spTrustme,Ihavethoughtaboutthis.
<label C q-opti n-bt n c q-opt7c"<spIjustthinkwecouldallbeabitkinder.
<label C q-opti n-bt n c q-opt7d"<spThatwasalwaysgoingto happen.
Howdoesyourfilmend?
Eightquestionsin,thisistheonethatdecidesyourmovie.
<label C option-btn option8a"<spNothingisresolvedandIamcompletelyfinewithit.
<label C option-btn option8b"<spAridiculouspieceofluckseve rybody.
<label option-btn option8c"<spQuietly,athome.with somebodyIlove.
<label option-btn option8d"<spSomebodyolderadmits theyno longerunderstandtheworld.
YourCoenFilmIs…
Fourfilms,fourcompletelydifferentways ofhandlingmoney.troubleandotherpeople.Thisistheoneyouwouldsurvive,whyitsuitsyou,andwhatitwouldcostyoutobethere.
TheBigLebowski·1998
Youhavequietlyarrangedyourlifesothatverylittlecangettoyou,andasurprisingnumberofpeoplefindthatinfuriating.Youwouldbecompletelyathomehere.
- TheDudeistheonlypersoninthefilmwithnoambition,andtheonlyonewhocomesouttheothersideundamaged.Thatisnotanaccident.
- Youdonotchase things.Youletsituationsarriveandyoudealwiththematyourownpace,whichisagenuineskillhoweverlazyitlooks.
- Thisisafullcrimeplothappeningaroundamanwhomostlywants hisrugback,andthatisexactlytheenergyyouwouldbringtoit.
- Everythinggoeswrong.Youabide.Thefilmends.
OBrotherWhereArtThou?·2000OBrotherYou talk your way through life and it works far more often than it should.Give youabad situationandan audienceandyou willfindawayoutofbothatonce.
- Everettneverhasaplanthatsurvivescontactwithreality.Hehassomethingbetter,whichistheabilitytokeep talkinguntilanewoneturnsup.
- Youaretheoptimistinthegroup,theonewhomakesaridiculousideasoundreasonableattwointhemorning.
- ThisisthewarmestfilmtheCoenshavemade.Itisachase,a comedyandamusicalatonce,andnobodyinitisquitebeyondsaving.
- Youwouldendupfamousentirelybyaccident,andactlikeyouplanneditalong.
Fargo·1996FargoYou would survive Fargo because you aretheonlykindofpersonwhodoes:patient,decent,andcompletely unimpressedbyanybodytryingtobeclever.
- MargeGundersonsolvesthewholecasebybeingpolite,thoroughandunhurriedwhileeverybodyaroundher panics.Thatistheentireargumentofthefilm.
- Youdo the boringpartsofthejob,whichispreciselywhyyouwouldnoticethethingeveryoneelsewalkedstraightpast.
- ThefilmFargoaboutordinarygreedcausingenormousdamage,andaboutonepersonwhosimplyrefusestobecorruptedbyanyofit.
- Youwouldgohomeattheendofit,havedinnerandsleepperfectlywell.
NoCountryForOldMen·2007NoCountryYoudo notexpecttheworldtobefairandyou stoppedbeingsurprisedaboutitalongtimeago.Thatclear-eyedqualityisexactlywhatthisfilmasksfor.
- NoCountryistheCoensattheircoldest:afilmwherebeingsmart,fastandcarefulmightstillnotbeanywhere nearenough.
- Youplanfortheworst,youkeepyourowncounsel,and somepartofyouisalreadyworkingouttheexit.
- LlewelynMossiscompetent,preparedandresourceful,andthefilmishonestaboutwhetheranyofthatiseversufficient.
- Youwouldseeitcoming.Whetherthathelpsistheonequestionthefilmrefusestoanswer.
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How Much Did ‘Superbad’ Make at the Box Office?
Some comedies have to wait until time helps them become cult classics. For Superbad, the success was instant.Made for a reported production budget of just $17.5 million, the film returned a global haul of $170 million, split between $121 million in domestic revenue and a further $49 million from overseas markets. The movie opened at #1 at the North American box office, retaining its top spot for a second week before eventually losing to a debuting Halloween.
Superbad is one of the ten most-watched movies on HBO Max worldwide. Stay tuned to Collider for more.
