When seeking out the opportunity, Bennett didn’t take the traditional application route by doing the typical 10-step application process.

“I got involved through, basically, a convoluted process of finding a contact that worked on the movie and sending them a resume and just crossing my fingers,” Bennett said. “Someone took a chance on me.”

After getting the job, Bennett moved down to Cleveland, Ohio for his role as a production assistant for DC Studios/Warner Bros Discovery in the summer of 2024. His next few months were full of the seemingly menial tasks of a production assistant.

“I drove around town running errands and, you know, picking up gaff tape and unlocking a warehouse, setting up cameras. Just, you know, small tasks here and there but I mean that’s what production assistants are there for,” Bennett said. “The project kinda falls apart without them.”

Bennett got to switch between working in the actual office and getting to be on set and watching the filming process. He often worked in the catering area, allowing him to interact with the cast and other crew members working on the project.

Digital storytelling junior Aiden Myerson, a friend of Bennett’s, received updates from Bennett while on set, or at least as much as the NDA Bennett signed would allow.

“It was fun seeing him in the credits,” Myerson said. “It kind of shows a lot of us within this major that that’s accomplishable.”

Bennett credits his motivation to pursue the opportunity to professor of practice Amol Pavangadkar. Bennett had Pavangadkar for Filmmaking I: Foundations of Filmmaking, where he learned how to enter the industry. In class, Pavangadkar provided Bennett with advice that helped push Bennett to reach out.

“We talk about the process, we talk about the job market, we talk about different avenues students can take with learning those basic skills,” Pavangadkar said.

Pavangadkar often helps his students with finding job opportunities as he believes that only so much can be taught in the classroom. It is imperative for students to have real world experience to have a sense of what the job actually looks like, he said. It's important to find students who are determined to find a role in the industry .

"He (Bennett) was very inquisitive, he had a lot of good follow-up questions," Pavangadkar said. "More importantly, he wanted to understand the history to some of these projects. And that’s the sign of somebody who really wants to succeed in this line of work."

Bennett’s ultimate dream is to be able to write and sell screenplays or direct one day. Getting on set was his first step.

“It is not something they can teach you in classes,” Bennett said. “They tell you how to behave on set and how to do this and how to do that and you get on set and it’s just completely different.”

Now, with some experience under his belt and "Superman" at the top of his resume, Bennett has completed another job working on Apple TV project Parallax. Bennett's one gripe? Having to leave Michigan again.

Bennett was born and raised in Lansing and has continued living there through his time at Michigan State University. He remembers back in 2015 when Michigan lost its film tax incentive, which offered production companies rebates on production costs for filming in the state.

One of the last movies filmed in Michigan back when the state still offered the film tax incentive was "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" in 2014, Bennett said. Scenes of Lex Luthor's mansion were shot at the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum. 

“I’ve heard tales that a lot of film students at the time worked on the movie as production assistants," Bennett added.

So, even if Bennett wanted to remain in Michigan, the opportunities are far lower than in established film hubs where film tax incentives still exist. Cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City are popular locations, but even they have begun to face their struggles.

“After the California fires … a lot of production got displaced,” Pavangadkar explained. “In addition to that, there were multiple strikes by the production unions and a lot of studios moved production out of the U.S.”

Regardless, Bennett’s dedication to filmmaking far surpasses a potential location change. He remains committed to his dream and anywhere it will take him, even when it may be frustrating.

“The beauty and the awful part of this job...getting into filmmaking—it is not stable,” Bennett said. “I’ve made peace with it in my head. Now I just have to make peace with it in my bank account."