Skateboarding is a cool extreme sport. When making a movie, all kinds of wonderful skateboarding shots are absolutely indispensable. There are many professional skateboarders in this film, and their names may not be known to the Chinese audience, but their performances add a lot to the film. You don't need to know their names to enjoy their performances. Human skills. Even the title of the film is a proper name for a skateboard action, and the film is probably full of such terms and moves that dazzle skateboarders.
The most important thing about sports movies is to show the charm of the sport. Whether it is baseball, golf, horse racing or rowing, the splendor of sports is the key, otherwise the movie will lose its support. And skateboarding is getting more and more popular in Hollywood. The director of this film is also the first to direct, and the biggest challenge for him is to get the recognition of skateboard enthusiasts, including the professional world. "The hardest thing is getting recognition in the skate world. It's not about finding actors, finding photographers, it's about making people who do or love skateboarding feel like it's a real movie, not popcorn." Skateboarding itself, being a pro is the dream of many high school boys, and that means corporate sponsorship, touring, meeting lots of girls, signing autographs for supporters, and everything a young man dreams of. Several of the film's producers are very focused on the sport, always searching for the right opportunity and script, and a most suitable director. Kathy Lazcala was a wakeboarder in Southern California as a teenager. "This comedy revolves around those crazy boys and their crazy journeys, and I wanted to fill the film with a lighthearted, fun energy," he said. Skateboarding also reminded him of his teenage years.
Screenwriter Ralph Sal is writing a screenplay for the first time. He has previously directed and produced music for more than 20 films, including "Three Kings", "Life and Death" and "The Wicked Girl Opposite." ". He also has a road comedy in the works with skateboarding champions in production.
The main obstacle to the film's box office is the lack of stars, not to mention first-line stars, not even relatively appealing names, but this also greatly reduces the production cost of the film. To be regarded as a success, unlike many films with big-name stars, the remuneration alone would have to take away tens of millions, plus other production costs, and the box office would have to be at least hundreds of millions to be considered good. In the summer, there will always be some movies about teenagers chasing their sports dreams, and the same is true for this movie. As long as the positioning is clear, the audience target group can still be harvested as expected.
In the grassroots spirit of the film, the producers openly recruited actors at the Val Surf skate shop in North Hollywood. The store is 40 years old, and "trends are born here," the producer said. Even though the audition was scheduled to start at 8, there was a long queue at 5:30 in the morning. More than 500 people attended the interview, including children who had driven hundreds of miles from far away.
Such enthusiasm also infected the producers. These teens come with a dream, just like the characters in the film who are determined to chase their skateboarding dreams. However, the actors were settled through a more traditional way, and several high school graduates with different but equally important personalities were settled.
While the actors have some skateboarding experience, the real highlights are done and produced by the pros. To gain support from the skate world, production company 900Ffilms, which has funding from famed skateboarder Tony Hawk and helped produce some of the best footage from last summer's hit Xtreme (XXX), was invited to join the production. Morgan Stone, one of the company's funders, said of working with Hollywood, "It's an exchange, but it's a good process. They're very open and let us change a lot of content. It's still not completely real, But when has Hollywood ever been completely real? So we're just trying to show the best we can. That's our goal." And, "We'll try to be believable."
And while famous skateboarders love the attention their sport gets, they still have some qualms about breaking into Hollywood. Neil Hendrick said, "It's cool that Hollywood appreciates our sport, but I still find it kind of funny. I remember one time I went to an interview for an ad and there were twenty of the best skateboarders out there, The best in the world. And the guy who ended up getting that opportunity wasn't very skating at all, but he was going to do some gimmicky moves, and that's what they wanted. So I always thought there was something weird about Hollywood stuff."
But the filmmakers also wanted to keep the charm of skateboarding, saying, "We're telling a funny story, but it's happening in the world of skateboarding. We've got the support of so many great skateboarders who understand. , we share their desire to maintain the integrity of the movement."
Famous skateboard stars who act as stand-ins for their characters in the film understand best their characters' passion and commitment to their dreams. Brian Sumner, who acts as Dustin's stand-in, said, "I know passion, and that's what I want to give to the kids who watch the film. If five of those kids, or even just one, watch the movie Go out and pick up a skateboard, that's cool."
Passion and courage. One skateboarder said, "Skateboarding can be very dangerous. You can't play if you're afraid." And Jennifer Morrison, who plays the girl who caught Eric's attention, said: "It's a bit of rock and roll. It's mixed with rock and roll. Add a little risk factor."
Sounds like what young people want. The filming scene was even more lively and relaxed. The director patrols the set on his own skateboard, followed by his dog, and the actors and skateboarders practice between sets. Actors love having such an empty skateboard garden for their own use. "I've definitely had the best performance I've ever done here," Brody said. "You can't have such an empty place to play under any circumstances. If I go to a normal park, when it's crowded, we'll be blown away. Serious skateboarders were terrified. I felt like a fool when I saw a nine-year-old doing difficult moves."
The cast faces the pros like "kids in a candy store," Stone said. “As soon as the cameras stopped, they went to see the skateboarders perform and learn some tricks. And vice versa, the skateboarders were happy to be on set and respected the actors and everything they did.”
The film was shot as a documentary at the beginning, but some clips could not be connected during filming. The producer did not want to give up like this, and finally got Warner's approval and changed it into a feature film.
The release date was moved up from its original August 22nd to 15th, in part to avoid a head-on collision with a documentary about skateboarding.
Filming began on October 21, 2002, and shot in 16 locations over 29 days.
