We've all wished we could be superheroes, but how many of us have given thought to life as a sidekick?

It's fair to say the creators of the new indie film Sidekick have, given theirs is a darkly comic account of an office drone who learns the telekinetic co-worker he's been "training" may plan to use his powers for something a more nefarious than helping little old ladies cross the street.

Directed by Blake Van de Graaf, Sidekick was the Opening Night Gala show at the 2006 Canadian Filmmakers Festival in Toronto (where it won the People's Pick For Best Flick award) in March.

Its screenplay rights were recently optioned by a specialty arm of Universal, and its writer has even been tapped to submit a draft for a possible remake.

With the help of Telefilm Canada, Sidekick just embarked on a cross-country tour of eight cities, including a local screening tomorrow at the Globe Cinema.

We spoke with Michael Sparaga, the film's writer and producer.

We've seen a lot of big-budget superhero movies, but you took a new approach by telling your story from the perspective of the sidekick.

I'm Canadian. And what could be more Canadian than feeling like a sidekick? The fact that my sidekick believes in wearing a uniform and playing the role of the peacekeeper says it all. Also, I wanted to bring something back to the superhero movies that I think has been missing for some time ... the "awe." In today's mega-blockbusters, I often feel that the characters themselves appear bored by their fantastical powers and situations. I figured that if I told the story through a character who is awestruck by everything he is witness to, the audience would be awestruck right along with him.

Your so-called hero decides he'd rather serve his own interests than the greater good. We can't help thinking this is the same route a lot of people would take.

In the real world, would any of us choose the moral path of the superhero and never stray? I'm not saying stray as in become a villain, but stray as in enforce our own agenda. For instance, I hate graffiti punks ... the idiots who destroy public property and instill fear in the public by tagging their names on buildings. If I had telekinetic powers, I would use them to smash these punks' heads off the walls they're defacing. A real hero wouldn't do that. He'd ... lecture them on being more responsible. I wouldn't be that kind of hero. And a lot of other people wouldn't be, either.

You're pretty well-versed in comic book lore. Any apprehensions about a genre that inspires such fanaticism?

I know the fans are a cynical, fanatic crowd because I'm one of them ... I knew when I set out to make Sidekick that I couldn't compete with the visceral thrills of most superhero movies but if I stayed true to the genre, I could win the comic book crowd over with my screenplay. Plus, Sidekick isn't based on a franchise, so I don't have to worry about betraying people's expectations. So far the comic book crowd has been amongst our greatest supporters ... I think they're happy that Sidekick doesn't pander to them.

You recently cut a deal with the Focus Features (Brokeback Mountain, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), who've apparently got their eye on a remake. How did that come about?

When the remake rights offer came through there was a clause that essentially meant I had to bury the original film I was still working on. I couldn't do that. All of my friends and family had worked on the movie, and I couldn't just sell them out like that ... It took six months to negotiate, but in the end, Focus owns the option to remake Sidekick, and I still own the right to distribute the original picture. Seeing the audience response to the movie I have makes me realize I made the right decision.

Finally, an obvious one: If you could be a superhero, what would your power be?

Flight. That would be the coolest. I'd likely only use it for recreational purposes. I'm not sure I'd use it to be a hero. Certainly not someone in the public eye. I wouldn't want to be a freak and I think the military would likely do experiments on me once they caught me, which wouldn't be too difficult. I know that's probably too real-world an answer, but in the real world, that's what would happen.