If you’ve never heard of CODE 8, it’s a pretty interesting story. The new movie actually started as a short film directed by Jeff Chan, starring Stephen Amell (CW’s ARROW), his cousin Robbie Amell (CW’s THE FLASH) and Sung Kang (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS films). Produced by the Amells, they asked for money through crowdfunding, far exceeding their original goal through strong fan support. Now the finished full length film is about to come out, a journey that’s taken a few years (the short film hit in 2016), but looks worth the wait. Check out the new trailer below and tell us your thoughts in the comments. With both ARROW ending, it’s safe to say Stephen will be looking for that next job, and Robbie hasn’t locked down a regular TV role yet… considering the success they experienced with this, maybe they could just keep making their own films to stay busy. The industry is changing, folks… this is proof.
Code 8 is set in a world where 4% of the population is born with varying supernatural abilities, but instead of being billionaires or superheroes, they face discrimination and live in poverty, often resorting to crime. Connor Reed (Robbie Amell), a power-enabled young man, is struggling to pay for his ailing mother’s (Kari Matchett) health treatment.
Fighting to earn enough money as a day laborer, Connor is lured into a lucrative criminal world by Garrett (Stephen Amell) who works for Lincoln City’s reigning drug lord, Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryk). Garrett helps Connor sharpen his powers in order to execute a series of crimes on behalf of Sutcliffe, while a militarized police unit, led by Agent Park (Sung Kang) and Agent Davis (Aaron Abrams), hunts them down.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
