In Hollywood the saying goes 'art is only a reflection of life' each time the far right blames them for soiling our minds with sex and violence. Well if that's so, then why are there so few movies about cross country mountain biking? As exciting as freeride movies can be, most of us mountain bikers ride good old cross country style, yet this is so rarely depicted on film.
Until Gripped Films came along with it's first movie Off Road to Athens (ORTA) the only video you could expect to see from a cross country riding point of view were grainy helmet cam shots posted on YouTube of some dude's ass riding in front of the 'director.'
Jason Berry is one of the founders of Gripped Films and directed Off Road to Athens, a movie about the top American professional mountain bikers and their race to claim a slot on the U.S. Olympic team. The documentary style film gave mountain bike enthusiasts a rare insight into the heroes of the mountain bike world. Suddenly the riders many of us have read about on blogs and in bike magazines were depicted on film in a very real and personal way.
Berry is putting the finishing touches on a new movie titled 24 Solo to debut at the upcoming Sea Otter Classic cycling festival. While ORTA gave us some insight into the lives of several different riders, 24 Solo aims deeper with focus on a single rider, Chris Eatough, and his drive toward a seventh 24 hour race world championship. Eatough is essentially the Lance Armstrong of endurance mountain biking, yet I fear that he is not a household name save for the most ardent racing enthusiasts.
And that is exactly why this movie had to be made.
I thought it would be worth while to catch up with Jason Berry and get some insight into the inspiration for these movies and maybe stir some love for the cross country side of our sport:
That was one hell of a risk making a movie about cross-country riding at a time when mountain bike movies are all about freeriding. How did you know Off Road to Athens would be so successful?
I did not set out to make a feature length film - I thought maybe a 40min doc with some killer race action. I just knew Jeremiah would have a tough road to pedal if he wanted to make the team headed to Athens. It was originally going to be just about him and Sue but as I got involved I saw the potential for an epic film and took a chance on it (it's an odd sensation when you quit your job AND start spending mad money on a risk). Mountain biking had very little to do with it - it was all about the people and busting your ass to reach your dreams. It continues to be a downer how little support the XC industry (only 50-or so shops in the US carry it) has shown the movie compared to freeride videos that take a fraction of the effort to shoot and edit. So I swore I'd never do XC again...
Tell us about 24-Solo. What's it about? Give us the back-story we can't get from the trailer.
If you can't understand what's going on from the trailer, I have failed part of my job. No real back story should be needed other than I knew Chris and his story was worth the effort.
Editor's note: Ah, ok...duh! Could I be any stupider???
To the every day rider Chris Eatough seems like an animal. What's he really like?
He's inspirational. He's made me a better rider, and likely a better person. He's very serious about his job - a sponsors dream athlete. He deserves to make much more money and I feel honored to have made a film about him. While he is a quiet, humble guy - he IS an animal on a bike. Another person I have to mention is Jon Posner. We get along great, have similar riding styles (he's a bit better than me though) and we can volley the trash talk on a grand scale. He ads a lot of balance to Chris in the movie.
What does it take to make a mountain bike movie of this nature? Did you have a bigger budget to play with due to the success of your first movie? How long were you filming, editing, etc.?
It will be over 1 year in the making by the time it hit's the big screen. ORTA had NO budget so even the reception before the premiere has a bigger budget. Thanks to TREK/VW and Nike I got the chance to make this film and shoot HD. We had 5 cameras rolling for 24 hours during the world's race. The story leading up to that race is amazing too - I followed Chris to China and around the US.
Did you have to do any special acrobatics to get just the right shot? Any challenging locations? Anyone get hurt?
My producer, Ken Bell almost fell 20ft. out of a tree when we were rigging a cable. It cut loose and he was holding onto it. That would have sucked - he's got a family and 3 kids. After that I did all the crazy stuff - and there was plenty. Cable shots over a rocky stream, lot of shots hanging off the back of a trailer on the road, in my truck, on bikes and out the side of a helicopter on a very windy day. Plus - during a race there are no chances to do a second take. You have to have your act together - shooting racing is a massive pressure cooker. (Editor's note: You can find several behind the scenes stories chronicled on Jason's blog).
What are some of your favorite bike movies?
I admire the first effort of the Collective - I watch it a LOT for inspiration and shooting ideas. But there's so few films with any content or storyline. I get most of my inspiration from films by Ridley Scott and it's my goal to break into fiction films.
When you're not making movies for Gripped Films, what do you do?
That is my full time job now. I also do some freelance corporate video work, shoot for ESPN and the odd print design job (my background is in print advertising). I try to ride every second I can. I get depressed if I don't ride.
What do you ride? How often? Where?
I'm on a SEVEN elium road bike and a Santa Cruz Heckler but I've got some love coming from TREK for racing bikes. I also have a SEVEN single speed I raced all last season. Favorite local places, Patapsco, Gambrill, (editors note: which means he ain't no slouch) but when time is short Wakefield and Great Falls. I try to ride in Harrisonburg as well. (Another editors note: Jason lives in northern Virginia like I do, so these are all trails that I ride regularly...ok...just had to get that out.)
What's the next movie for you and Gripped Films?
Short term we might do a windsurfing film for a company in Hawaii. That was my passion years ago and I'm coming back to it. Funny though, that sport is less popular than XC racing but that would be a labor of love more than anything. The next big project will be "Great Falls" - the film I put on hold to do "24 Solo." That is a kayaking-based fictional film I hope to finish first as a short then pitch to the big studios as a feature.
Kayaking??? Well what ever floats your boat buddy. Just kidding!
Actually, maybe a year from now we'll see some other compelling stories to come out of the mountain bike world just begging to be told as only Gripped Films can tell them. One can hope, right.
Go to the Gripped Films store to pre-order 24 Solo or buy tickets to one of the local showings.
