On Thursday, July 29, BMX fans everywhere will get a taste of something special when the first of ESPN’s “30 for 30s” series airs on the channel. “The Birth of Big Air,” directed by Jeff Tremaine and produced by Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, tells the story of Mat Hoffman, champion and legendary BMX rider.
Mat and wife Jaci Hoffman; "Jackass" stars Dave England and Steve O
At 15 years old, Hoffman began riding in the freestyle BMX circuit and was the youngest rider to do so. With many accolades and president of his own company, Hoffman Bikes (which is the organizing body for worldwide BMX events like ESPN’s X Games), Knoxville, Tremaine and Jonze felt it was time to tell Hoffman’s story, and the film showed earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The group began working on a documentary back in 2006, but it wasn’t until the deal with ESPN that the project had a deadline and a reason to conclude.
The idea for a BMX documentary forms
While shooting “Jackass 2,” Hoffman approached Tremaine to interview Evel Knievel who was close by at the time, and “that’s what jumpstarted the whole thing,” Tremaine, who’s known Hoffman since his career beginning, told LA’s The Place. “Mat’s a very integral part of even organizing the X Games in general, and he doesn’t get enough credit for it, so we kind of honed it in on that story, though we tried to tell Mat’s life story.”
The film is a documentary of Hoffman’s life and the sport itself but also included Hoffman in the process as well as just the subject.
“We didn’t really have a good excuse to commit all of our time to it [until ESPN hopped on],” Hoffman told LA’s The Place. “Then it just came together…I was there for every step of the process, but I let them do their work, and it was fun seeing it through every stage.”
Jonze (“Where the Wild Things Are”) and Knoxville served as producers, and the “Jackass” star is still unsure of what that means.
“I’m just a producer on it, so I did nothing on the film. [Producers] do nothing,” Knoxville joked.
The Many Sides of Johnny Knoxville: (left) Knoxville tries on Jaci's scarf; (right) the "Jackass" star explains how he worships Hoffman's talents
Actually, the star known for his potty humor and ridiculous stunts did not grow up on the BMX sport, but when he was shown tapes of Hoffman in action, he (literally) bowed down. (Knoxville explained this fact as he knelt on the ground and showed his worshipping feelings towards Hoffman.)
“I’m just a huge fan of Mat Hoffman, and I’m really here just to celebrate him,” Knoxville told LA’s The Place. “He’s just the gnarliest guy and does the most amazing things, and you meet him and you would never know that it’s the same person that has accomplished all of these stunts and crazy things.”
When the comparisons between Hoffman’s daredevil side and Knoxville’s antics start, he quickly stops the similarities.
“Me, I’m a ham.”
Third installment of ‘Jackass’ will be in 3D
Speaking of his ham side, the subject of his new film “Jackass 3D” came up several times, starting when Steve O surprised everyone and joined the soiree to support the project.
“I have been bragging to everyone that I saw an advanced copy,” he revealed to LA’s The Place. “[The film has] a bunch of stuff that I didn’t know, and I like to consider myself a real a real aficionado of Big Air. And Mat Hoffman is just such a great guy. I just love him so much.”
With the subject of the upcoming third stunt-filled installment of his own series comes up, Steve O joked that the new 3D version would have gags “never expected of a ‘Jackass’ movie.”
Knoxville said that the audience should be scared when I expressed my discomfort at the thought of an in-your-face “Jackass,” and he said, “I’m going to go ahead and apologize in advance.”
Hoffman’s fellow bikers proud of comrade
Working on the documentary for several years, Knoxville, Tremaine and Jonze felt it was important to let audiences see the truth behind Hoffman’s life and BMX riding in general.
“It’s an important story for people to know, but Mat would never tell it himself, so we had to use our big mouths to,” Knoxville said.
Pro BMX riders Tim Wood with son Elijah and Kevin Robinson
And several of Hoffman’s friends and fellow bikers also appear in the film like Tim Wood, Kevin Robinson and Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla. Each had great things to say about the man of the hour.
Wood, who showed up to the screening with son Elijah, said that Hoffman is the reason he got interested in the sport to begin with, and now he’s building a skate park for the younger generation in Australia.
“I’m so happy to see him getting the recognition for everything that he’s done, and to actually be in the film,” Robinson, who has known Hoffman for 19 years now, told LA’s The Place. “Mat Hoffman is the Michael Jordan of BMX…He took it and resurrected it, virtually himself.”
Escamilla, who also appears in the film, agrees that the final product is something the team should be proud of.
“I think it really does a better job than anything I could possibly imagine, and I think everyone involved did such a good job,” Escamilla said to LA’s The Place. “It really showed the tenacity of Mat and what he has done for the sport and what he has done for pushing the limits of a human.”
The “30 for 30s” series celebrates ESPN’s 30th birthday, which actually came about last year in 2009. According to its website, “30 for 30s is “an unprecedented documentary series featuring thirty films from some of today’s finest storytellers.” The lineup begins with “The Birth of Big Air.” For more information, visit www.30for30.espn.com.
