Pre-Release LORDS OF DOGTOWN

[The Rain Dog]

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2005/IJKLM/LordsOfDogtown/images/main-page.jpg



Emile Hirsch as Jay Adams
http://www.filmstew.com/Users/DailyNews/7702/EmileHirsch(Christina).jpg AS http://www.obeygiant.com/merch/2003-posters/lrg/2003-jay.jpg

Victor Rusak as Tony Alva
http://members.aol.com/Russtifer20/atogt/rasuk1.jpg AS http://www.nrk.no/img/171922.jpeg

John Robinson as Stacy Peralta
http://models.com/oftheminute/archives/images/imgrobinson.jpg AS http://www.reel.com/Content/Reelimages/features2002/dogtown/peralta.jpg

Heath Ledger as Skip Engblom (first left)
http://www.aimchange.com/upload/store/Heath%20Ledger05.gif AS http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/dtown/images/pop.jpg



Cast: Emile Hirsch, Heath Ledger, Johnny Knoxville, Jeremy Renner, Eddie Cahill, John Robinson, Victor Rasuk, Nikki Reed, Shea Whigham, Elden Henson


Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Producers: David Fincher, John Linson,
Art Linson, Joseph Drake, Kareem Elseify,
Writers: Catherine Hardwicke, Stacy Peralta

Heath as Skip: http://www.heathbaby.com/images/data/media/273/dogtown003.jpg

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/lordsofdogtown/

This is easily one of my most looked forward to films for the simpel fact I can't get enough of the Z-Boys of Dogtown (thank the doco).

Hardwicks (director of Thirteen) involvement is very promising and the fact that this has been a dream project for one of my favourite directors David Fincher for a long time now AND the fact that Peralta's helped write the script leaves me, frankly, fucking amped.

Anyone else even know this is coming, let alone looking forward to it?

[ferriferous foodi]

well, i saw the doumentary a while back, and although it was good, i for one could never figure out what on earth drew Fincher to this property in the first place. i was so looking forward to him tackling The Black Dahlia..
that would really have been something to look forward to. then he goes and drops that as well.

infact.. i have no idea why people are so eager to make a dramatization of these skaters. im sure the movie will be nice.. judging by the people involved. i just cant seem to get very excited about it at all.

so they were cool. and they were good skaters. exactly where are they thinking of taking this?
where was Fincher thinking of taking this?

[The Rain Dog]

They weren't JUST skaters and they weren't JUST "cool".

Through nothing more than doing what felt right, through doing the very thing most people told them would get them nowhere, they changed the face of american sport and became the punk rockers of modern physical achievement.

People seem to take for granted that skating is consiedered legit today - when these kids were doing it, it was a JOKE. Up there with the fuckin yo-yo as another forgotten kiddie fad. THEY changed that completely.

They took the soul-less poor urban sprall they grew up around and made something out of it its original architects had never intended. They took soul-less urban sprawl and created art.

I mean those guys truely were the punk rockers of sport - not pussy fuckin pretend punk rock, they were the pistols/clash/kennedys/flag of physical acheivement. They were a fist in the face and fuck you to sport in general - not just skateboarding.

And in the process of doing what came naturally - the very things that they were told would never get them anywhere, something that at the time was considered about as socially constructive as public graffiti - they not only changed the face of one sport, but basically a dozen or so frikkin dispossessed twelve year olds opened the doors to an entire sub-culture thats still going strong to this day.

There would be no X-Games, no Tony Hawk, no modern fucking extreme sport if not for those guys.

Add to that they make a fantastic study of alienated youth in the middle of an american culture coming to grips with itself after Vietnam and Watergate and just before the rise of punk rock itself (much of which took cues for its ethos from the Z-Boys) and, to be blatently honest, I don't see why a film hasn't been made of these guys BEFORE now.

Its a story of alienated youth staying true to what they believed in, saying fuck everyone else, and in the process giving birth to a sub-culture that didn't just sweep a nation but the world.

Do you still not see what Fincher saw in this?

[ferriferous foodi]

no. i dont.
i admire your enthusiasm, but i dont share it.

everything you just described was dealt with in the z-boys documentary.

what in the heck will a dramatization of these skaters' lives bring to the table?

so they were the original bad boys of sport.

they started out as just a bunch of nobodies fooling about. its not like they were seeking fame and fortune.. it completely blind-sided them. i guess im just having a difficult time imagining something terribly different from what ive already seen in peralta's documentary. what do we have to look forward to that we havent already seen?

infact, i actually felt the documentary was even a bit overlong.

[The Rain Dog]

Tis cool - obviously the story itself doesnt grab you.

It does plenty of others though.

And plenty of films have been made about more mundane and less influential stories than this one.

To be honest, (and correct me if Im wrong obviously) it sounds more like you're just annoyed at Fincher for not directing his own film.

[poopoodle]

I understand both sides of your argument.

I think the story of the Z-Boys is an incredible one. And it was told incredibly well in the Z-Boys and Dogtown documentary.

So I'm curious as to what the movie will add, if anything. But I'm definitely excited to see it. I think the directoral choice is a good one.

[The Rain Dog]

Well, the doco never got into the personal lives of the Z-Boys (and girl) themselves, it never dealt with the personal stories set against the poverty of the area, the paternal influences of Skip Engblom and Jeff Ho, the drama of these two guys creating this team only to watch them get poached by big money companies the moment they went anywhere...

Sure, the doco is truely brilliant, but I see many personal and emotional dynamics and stories left to be explored personally.

Stories Im dying to hear myself.

[ferriferous foodi]

... it sounds more like you're just annoyed at Fincher for not directing his own film.

Fincher on Black Dahlia, man.. just think of it..

heheh.. there may be some truth to what you say..
well, he's off the Dogtown project anyway.. (as director, atleast) so wahtever..

make no mistake..ill still be interested in checking this out .

[The Rain Dog]

Fincher on Black Dahlia, man.. just think of it..

heheh.. there may be some truth to what you say..
well, he's off the Dogtown project anyway.. (as director, atleast) so wahtever..

make no mistake..ill still be interested in checking this out .


Ellroys LA Quartet is one of my favourite book series ever so I hear ya mate.

Isnlt DePalma having a crack at it now?

Either way - its not like Finchers directing this one either anyway.

Im guessing he grew up in the shadow of the Z-Boys, hence the interest.

Its the same reason Penn insisted on doing the narration for Peraltas doco for free - he grew up in Dogtown during those days.

[moovyphreak]

Well, director Catherine Hardwicke has lined up a great fucking cast for this. It'll be interesting to see how proficient they are on skateboards, as I am sure they will have doubles for the big stuff.

[Indifferent]

Wasn't Fred Durst attached to direct this at one point? I'm glad a real director was hired, since this looks promising.

[moovyphreak]

Heath as Skip: http://www.heathbaby.com/images/data/media/273/dogtown003.jpg

The remote linking didn't work out. Here's the page with the photos (http://www.heathbaby.com/images/categories.php?cat_id=273) of Ledger on the set.

Wasn't Fred Durst attached to direct this at one point? I'm glad a real director was hired, since this looks promising.
Yep, as the project grew bigger, the producers deemed that it would be too much for a first-time director, so Durst dropped out.
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1485093/02172004/story.jhtml

Durst was also attached to direct another film titled Wannabe, mentioned in the article above. Ashlee Simpson just signed on for the lead female role in that film opposite Jake Gyllenhaal this past week. More info on that film here (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&id=1808406480&cf=prev).

[moovyphreak]

There's a trailer and some new photos up at Yahoo! Movies:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/lordsofdogtown.html

[ferriferous foodi]

direct link (http://mp3content03.bcst.yahoo.com/bmfroot02/BMFShare02/yahoomovies/8/13514336.mov)
QT 32 megs

[fabfunk]

Aside from the Green Day, that's a neat trailer. If the reviews are positive, I'll see this.

Still, it's no Roll Bounce (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/roll_bounce/large.html)

[Overlord]

I, too, am wondering what drew Fincher to this project.

[otisthecat]

I'll just rent Gleaming the Cube again.

[Jason P. Thompson]

bump

[Zerchi]

I'm sitting on the fence in this case. Don't know whether to wait for DVD or hit up a matinee. I'll probably do the latter but when I saw the trailer a few months ago I was interested so I googled them and did a little reading. Beyond that, I guess I'm with Ferriferous, interested but not to the point that my toes are tingling to get into a theater and watch this.

[ShortRound]

I was really impressed with the Dogtown and Z-boys documentary. It's an interesting story, about how these kids almost on their own helped make skateboarding so popular. I'm definitely gonna check it out this weekend, I think it shows promise of being fun, and should have some good skateboarding shots.

[devincf]

http://chud.com/reviews/3201

[juan23]

Great review, Devin. I enjoyed the doc very much, and now I am interested in seeing this. Keep it up.

[The Sphinx]

Great. First film of 2005 that I'll see that could possibly, conceivably score a spot on my Top Ten of the Year list. And I don't even particularly like skateboarding.

[Chest Rockwell]

And I don't even particularly like skateboarding.

You'll walk out wanting to. Don't, though. You'll fall hard like I did.

[Charlie Brigden]

Fine review, Devin. I used to skate about a decade and a bit ago, so it'll be nice to go back to an earlier time, instead of what the scene seems like now, well, here anyway. I'm also a fan of Ledger, so it's good to hear about his performance.

[The Sphinx]

Very strange goings-on over at rottentomatoes. This is currently stinking up the place at 38%. What's weird is the usual suspects to dump upon a bad film, like NYTimes' A.O. Scott or any given reviewer at the Village Voice, really dig Lord of Dogtown. And the small-time reviewers... who in general are more forgiving of films, particularly films filled with teenage dreamers and rock soundtracks, films that are accessible to youth in other words... These small time reviewers are hating on Lords of Dogtown.

Not what I expected at all, and a little difficult to explain.

[devincf]

The net reviewers hate it because it's about attractive, popular people.

[ShortRound]

Having just seen the film, I would definitely agree with devin's review...hit the nail on the head in terms of capturing whats fun about this movie. Just an enjoyable movie that has a lot of cool skating scenes and gives you a good insight into the rise to semi-stardom of these kids.

And yeah, the other online reviewers must not like it because the movies about people who probably beat them up when they were kids.