|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny Knoxville may be an actor, but he's no faker. Talk to him about "Lords of Dogtown" and he'll tell you straight up that his skater cred is minimal, though he's playing a pivotal figure in the '70s Southern Californian skate and surf scene. MTV News' Ryan J. Downey caught up with the ultimate 'Jackass' on the set, where he gave us the inside scoop on the movie, filled in some back story on legends Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, and gave props to John Waters.
Johnny Knoxville: This has kind of been a cool set to work on so far, because Catherine Hardwicke's directing it. She directed "Thirteen," and I think she totally gets it. It's not like some Hollywood big-shot director came in and poached a really good story that means a lot to different people.
Plus Tony Alva's on the set all the time; Stacy Peralta — everyone's really closely involved with it. So I think it's gonna turn out good. I kind of hope we're making "Over the Edge" here. (It's a great teenage film in the '70s. And I don't know if this is a teenage film, but it's got that general vibe.)
I'm no skater. I don't claim to be. But most of our actors are pretty good skaters and they do a lot of their own stuff. They have doubles, but they do most of their own stuff. But, you know, don't look for me for being an authority on skating.
MTV: So how's the movie coming along? Get a chance to show off your skateboarding skills? How did you get involved with the project?
Knoxville: My friend John Linson is producing this, and he said there's a role in it I could play. I was really excited because I loved the documentary ["Dogtown and Z-Boys"]. And back when I did skate for two seconds, my first board was an Alva board.
Tony Alva and the character I play, Topper — whose real name was Bunker Spreckles — they were really good friends. And Bunker did make good on all the things he promised Tony, and he never charged Tony one cent for doing all the things he did for him, which I thought was cool.
Topper / Bunker Spreckles — they don't cover it in the movie, but Bunker OD-ed when he was like 27 in Hawaii. You see Topper's decline a little, but it ain't my movie — I'm just in it.
MTV: Did you know Stacy and Tony before the movie?
Knoxville: I don't think I had met Tony. I met Tony at the production office before this, and I've seen him out at a party before, but I really didn't know him. And I met Stacy on the set. They're so laid-back and cool. And they're really psyched because it's the story of their life and it's in the hands of people who care about it and who can handle it. Catherine Hardwicke's the perfect person to make the film. She's really cool.
In the scene coming up, I arrive to the event — Tony Alva and I arrive to the event in a Rolls Royce. Tony had just gotten back from Europe, where he was skating demos in Paris. And Tony's now a big rock star now and making lots of money, selling lots of boards. And there seems to be a little division between Jay Adams ... with Tony now, because I think, in the story, Jay's more about pure skating and Tony wants to be a rock star. And he is.
MTV: What else are you working on right now?
Knoxville: I just finished three films like back to back.
I have a John Waters picture called "A Dirty Shame." Very psyched about [it]. John Waters is one of my heroes, and he contacted me a couple years ago with this, I don't know, one of his naughtiest and funniest films in years. It's like old-school John Waters. It's about a town full of sexual deviants, and they battle the neuters for control of the town. And I play the head sexual deviant; my name's Ray. Looking forward to that one.
And I did a Farrelly brothers picture in Austin, Texas, called "The Ringer," where I fake like I'm mentally challenged and enter the Special Olympics because I'm really in debt and my uncle's in debt and ... It sounds maybe like a mean movie on the surface, but it's totally not. All the mean stuff happens to me, and we cast real mentally challenged kids in the roles and they're awesome. So, it's actually a sweet movie, and funny. And we don't treat it like an after-school special, either. We put everyone in real situations.
I'm very excited about both of those.
|
|
|
|
Photo: MTV News
|
|
|
|
|
