RKSS

{{about|the filmmaking collective|the airport with this code|Gimpo International Airport}}

{{Infobox company

| name = RKSS

| type = Filmmaking collective

| founded = {{Start date and age|2004}}

| location = Quebec, Canada

| key_people = {{Plainlist|

François Simard
Anouk Whissell
Yoann-Karl Whissell

}}

RKSS, an initialism for Roadkill Superstars, is a filmmaking trio consisting of Canadian film directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell.{{cite web |last1=Aguilar |first1=Carlos |title=Next Fest: 7 Questions with the RKSS Collective, the Filmmaking Team Behind 'Turbo Kid' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/08/next-fest-7-questions-with-the-rkss-collective-the-filmmaking-team-behind-turbo-kid-170961/ |publisher=IndieWire |access-date=February 3, 2019 |date=August 7, 2015}} They are known for writing and directing their debut feature film Turbo Kid (2015) and for directing the horror mystery film Summer of 84 (2018).

History

The group have been making short films since the mid-2000s, and cited their 2004 short Le Bagman as the first that "got an audience to follow [their] work", additionally crediting Total Fury (2007) and Demonitron (2010) as projects that further defined their style and technique.{{cite web |last1=Whissell |first1=Yoann-Karl |last2=Simard |first2=François |last3=Whissell |first3=Anouk |title=How To Make the Jump from a Short to a Sundance Film Festival Feature |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/01/how-to-make-the-jump-from-a-short-to-a-sundance-film-festival-feature-65650/ |publisher=IndieWire |access-date=May 21, 2021 |date=January 27, 2015}}

In 2011, the trio submitted a short to the anthology film The ABCs of Death, which features 26 short films based on each letter of the English alphabet. The film's producers Ant Timpson and Tim League held a competition seeking unknown directors to create a short for the letter "T", and the group submitted T is for Turbo, which placed third in the competition and was included on the film's home release.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Nigel M. |title="The ABCs of Death" Selects Its 26th (And Last) Director |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2011/11/the-abcs-of-death-selects-its-26th-and-last-director-51116/ |publisher=IndieWire |access-date=May 19, 2021 |date=November 15, 2011}} Impressed with their work, Timpson approached them to develop the short into the feature film Turbo Kid.{{cite web |last1=Nemiroff |first1=Perri |title=Directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell Talk Turbo Kid at Sundance |url=https://collider.com/turbo-kid-francois-simard-anouk-whissell-yoann-karl-whissell-interview/ |publisher=Collider |access-date=May 19, 2021 |date=January 27, 2015}} Jason Eisener, who directed the Y is for Youngbuck section of the anthology, also supported RKSS at the Fantasia International Film Festival's Frontieres Co-Production Market in 2013.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Todd |title=Jason Eisener Talks The ABCs of Death |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2013/01/jason-eisener-talks-the-abcs-of-death.html |publisher=Screen Anarchy |access-date=May 19, 2021 |date=January 31, 2013}} Turbo Kid premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival{{cite news |last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |title='Turbo Kid' Teaser Trailer – Cheeky '80s Action Meets 2015 Park City At Midnight |url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/turbo-kid-trailer-sundance-michael-ironside-1201359838/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127224028/http://deadline.com/2015/01/turbo-kid-trailer-sundance-michael-ironside-1201359838/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 27, 2015 |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=June 16, 2015}} and was theatrically released on August 28, 2015, by Epic Pictures Group.{{cite news |last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |title='Turbo Kid' Gets August Release Date; Eric Goldberg Joins USC School of Cinematic Arts |url=https://deadline.com/2015/06/turbo-kid-release-date-eric-goldberg-joins-usc-school-of-cinematic-arts-1201446080/ |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=June 16, 2015}}

RKSS signed to an agency after the success of Turbo Kid, and during a "tour of meetings" were approached by production company assistant Matt Leslie, who pitched them the idea for Summer of 84.{{cite news |last1=Haubrich |first1=Wess |title=A chat with the filmmaking triforce behind 2015's Turbo Kid and the new nostalgia thriller Summer of '84: RKSS. |url=https://www.thefourohfive.com/film/article/a-chat-with-the-filmmaking-triforce-behind-nostalgia-thriller-summer-of-84-rkss-153 |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=The 405 |date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810093852if_/https://www.thefourohfive.com/film/article/a-chat-with-the-filmmaking-triforce-behind-nostalgia-thriller-summer-of-84-rkss-153 |archive-date=August 10, 2018}} Leslie and co-writer Stephen J. Smith described the film's ending to the trio, and they signed on to direct.{{cite web |last1=Navarro |first1=Meagan |title=[Interview] Director Trio RKSS Talk Balancing Nostalgia with Grim Thrills in 'Summer of 84' |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3512721/interview-director-trio-rkss-talk-balancing-nostalgia-grim-thrills-summer-84-embargoed-august-10/ |publisher=Bloody Disgusting |access-date=February 3, 2019 |date=August 10, 2018}} With the unexpected release and subsequent success of the Netflix series Stranger Things in 2016, the group was afraid of possible similarities between the two projects. Anouk Whissell watched the series and found it "very different", with only a reference to the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons removed from Summer of 84 as a result.{{cite web |last1=Prokopy |first1=Steven |title='Summer of '84 Directors on Crafting Their Nostalgic Horror Throwback and the Status of 'Turbo Kid 2' [Fantasia Film Festival Interview] |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/summer-of-84-directors-interview/ |website=/Film |access-date=February 3, 2019 |date=August 10, 2018}} The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and received a simultaneous release in August 2018.{{cite web |last1=Foutch |first1=Haleigh |title=Watch: Exclusive 'Summer of '84' Clip Goes on a Manhunt for a Murderer |url=https://collider.com/summer-of-84-clip/ |publisher=Collider |access-date=May 21, 2021 |date=August 2, 2018}} That October, it was released to streaming as a Shudder-exclusive film.{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Carla |title=31 movies to watch in October: Summer of '84 |url=https://1428elm.com/2019/10/14/31-movies-october-summer-of-84/ |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=1428 Elm |publisher=FanSided |date=October 14, 2019}}

= Future projects =

In January 2015, the group said that they were developing a revenge film titled Elora.{{cite news |last1=Kay |first1=Jeremy |title=RKSS Collective, Turbo Kid |url=https://www.screendaily.com/interviews/rkss-collective-turbo-kid/5082250.article |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=Screen Daily |publisher=Media Business Insight |date=January 26, 2015}} That August, they were preparing a pitch for that film, now referred to as Elora's Death Wish, along with an adaptation of the comic book series The Zombies That Ate the World.{{cite news |last1=Fillion |first1=Pamela |title=Turbo Kid is a Montreal film scene success |url=https://cultmtl.com/2015/08/turbo-kid/ |access-date=March 10, 2023 |work=Cult MTL |date=August 13, 2015}}

In September 2016, RKSS directed a music video for Le Matos' song "No Tomorrow", which also served as a prequel to Turbo Kid and featured Laurence Leboeuf reprising her role as Apple.{{cite web |last1=Barkan |first1=Jonathan |title='Turbo Kid 2' Officially Announced |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3408328/turbo-kid-2-officially-announced/ |publisher=Bloody Disgusting |access-date=May 21, 2021 |date=September 28, 2016}} The next day, they confirmed that a sequel had been greenlit and that they hoped to begin filming by mid-2017.{{cite news |last1=LaPointe |first1=Bruno |title=«Turbo Kid 2» en chantier |url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/09/27/turbo-kid-2-en-chantier |access-date=May 21, 2021 |work=Le Journal de Montréal |publisher=Quebecor |date=September 27, 2016}} By August 2018, the group confirmed the film was still in development and that they were "deep in the writing process" for it. In February 2020, Timpson said that the script was finished and the crew was seeking financiers as the sequel requires "a little bit more money than [they] had for the first film".{{cite web |last1=Miska |first1=Brad |author1-link=Brad Miska |title='Turbo Kid' Sequel Still Planned; Likened to 'The Road Warrior' |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3603535/turbo-kid-sequel-still-works-likened-road-warrior/ |publisher=Bloody Disgusting |access-date=May 19, 2021 |date=February 5, 2020}} In 2018, the group was also writing adaptations of two comics books, with Yoann-Karl Whissell saying that one is a horror comic and the other is about zombies.