httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSfWGcD78v4
It’s a reality audiences won’t see in “Max Steel,” the long-delayed, locally shot film opening Friday.
It’s a slimy reality Ben Winchell grew to know all too well.
In the teen film – based on the Mattel action figure – Winchell plays Max, who discovers he can harness the most powerful energy in the universe and must bond with a extraterrestrial named Steel to contain it and defend the planet.
The hourlong process to get into the sleek Max Steel suit was laborious, to say the least.
“Spider-Man doesn’t have lubricant, but Max Steel sure does,” he said laughing.
The long road to the screen for “Max Steel,” which began shooting in April 2014, did not go unnoticed by the cast and local crew.
Winchell was 19 when he won the role of Max, a stunt-heavy job that required months of physical training, including learning jiu-jitsu, karate and boxing with stunt company 87Eleven Action.
The production lived in the plant for much of filming, building an elaborate set on the bottom floor and filming Max’s training on the second.
Local film fans will recognize Max’s on-screen home as the same Masonboro Sound residence used later that year for Nicholas Sparks’ “The Choice.”