The Inside Story "Deck Dogz" is the feature film debut for writer and director Steven Pasvolsky whose previous work, a short film "INJA" was nominated in that category at the 2002 Academy Awards. While "INJA" may have impressed many critics it's fair to say "Deck Dogz" hasn't inspired any critical acclaim. Pasvolsky's inspiration for "Deck Dogz" comes from his own love of skating and a desire to make a film about three teenage friends. "I love skating and I was a skater, I'm into that world and that is what bonds these guys together," he explained. "My goals are always to evenly combine action and emotion. All too often you see films with action for action's sake. There's no investment in the characters." While the three lead characters and everyone else in the cast may be really nice folks in real life there really is not a lot of inspiration to be gleaned from their onscreen performances considering Pasvolsky's comment that, "This film is first and foremost a character piece about three kids coming from dysfunctional circumstances, bonded by some cool skating scenes." Pasvolsky says he drew from his childhood experiences "as an immigrant in a middle-class area with friends from broken homes." He also notes that many of the traits shown by his characters come truly inspired from his own personal experiences. "Although the Deck Dogz are using skateboards to express themselves and to break free, its still something they hide behind. That was all personal experience," he says. And how did that manifest itself in Pasvolsky's life? "I hid behind surfing for ages," he recalls. "I probably used to overdress in a surfing way. I used to bleach my hair so I could belong." And did Pasvolsky have the same problems dealing with chicks as the Deck Dogz experienced? It would seem so considering the obcious connection between Pasvolsky's experience and the lead characters name. "When I had my first experience with a girl I got a spasm in my back and I couldn't move." That must have been truly awesome. "It was like," he explained, "Don't touch me!" The next question is where the hell did he find such 'talent' for his three lead characters? Pasvolsky says it was a difficult task find Spasm, Blue Flame and Poker. "It was so difficult to cast them because of the skating aspect, so it ruled out a lot of actors. If you don't skate, you don't really know what it is to skate," he said. "I realize an actor's an actor and they could study and pick it up, but I really wanted to cast actors that could skate." So what did the Deck Dogz think about their charcters and the roles they would play onscreen? Sean Kennedy who plays Spasm notes, "I am my character. I did do a fair bit of research but he does have a similar background to me, growing up in the western suburbs. And when I finished reading the script I was like, I wanna do that film." Richard Wilson who plays Poker revealed that "The character of Poker really appealed to me because he's nothing like me. When I first read the script I sat down and wrote all the differences between me and Poker and I wrote down a list of something like 20 A4 pages of all the differences." Twenty one year old skater, Fitness instructor and sports administration student Ho Thi Lu came to "Deck Dogz" with no acting experience. He gave up his job and TAFE course to head for Adelaide. "The first day of shooting I vomited like three times on set," he recalls. "It was five in the morning and I was so sacred and so nervous and I get there and start vomiting. All the nerves were building up inside of me." Did Lu manage to make it throught the day without vomiting again? Yo bet he did! "I calmed down and reheared a couple of times, and got used to the people and crew, and just got through it," he said. Perhaps the biggest problem though for "Deck Dogz" is that when it comes down to the real nitty gritty of reality in the cold hard light of day, for all the writer/directors intentions, for all the effort the three lead characters put in, "Deck Dogz" is a film without substance. Sure there are some skate scenes that will appeal to the uneducated skaters sitting in the audience; sure there are a few laughs; but just as surely there is a whole lot to lament over. Perhaps Lu sums it up when he says, "For the first 2 weeks of rehersal, if there was a question or if there was something I didn't know, I would just ask them and they would teach me." And, ""So I'd show them some moves and they'd show me a bit of acting and that kind of worked ." Sorry Lu, it didn't. Crew Bytes "DECK DOGZ" was .......
directed by Steven Pasvolsky ["INJA" and "Deck Dogz"]; screenplay by Steven Pasvolsky; costume design by Sally Sharpe ["Deck Dogz"]; production design by Sam Hobbs ["Cold Turkey", "Queen Of Hearts" and "Roll"]; edited by AUST Screen Critics Award winner Jane Moran ["Witness", "The Mosquito Coast", "Strictly Ballroom" and "Muriel's Wedding"]; AFI Award winner director of photograhpy Denson Baker ["In Transit" and "In The Middle Of Nowhere"]; original music by Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil ["Tangled", "Bang! Bang! You're Dead", "Confessions Of A Campus Bookie", "Run Lola Run" and "The princess and The Warrior"] produced by Jennifer Cluff and Bill Bennett. Casting About "DECK DOGZ" stars .......
Sean Kennedy ["Water Rats", "Home and Away" and "All Saints"]; Richard Wilson ["Tenager", "The Print" "All Saints", "Out There" and "McLeod's Daughters"]; Ho Thi Lu ["Deck Dogz"] and, 2001 & 2003 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner & 12 times World Skateboard Champion Tony Hawk [US TV's "Tony Hawk's Gigantic Skateboard Tour"] as himself. The Story Spasm is a talented skater who dreams of turning pro. His father thinks he's wasting his time and hanging around with the wrong guys isn't good for his sons future. An underperformer in the classromm, Spasm is hounded by his teachers. When Spasm's not skating, he spends his time by creating animated flipbooks. Poker is a budding entrepreneur. Well in his mind at least. He believes in his friend Spasm. With a head full of dreams and a short fuse, Poker is heading for trouble. Blue Flame is a Vietnamese rapper, a homeboy with a liking for pyrotechnics. He doesn't speak normally because he prefers to talk in Eminem type rhyme. These are the Deck Dogz. Three antisocial young men with chips on their shoulders, no regard for the law, bonded together by a pathetic desire to self-destruct. When the local high school goes up in flames, they become the prime suspects in an arson case. Rather than face up to their responsibilities, the guys choose to follow there dream and head off to Sydney for a Skateboard Tournament. With a couple of pissed off drug dealers chasing them and the cops on their tails they follow the plan. Get Spasm to Sydney so that he can impress twelve time world skateboard champion Tony Hawk and gain his sponsorship. The Verdict "If you think the storyline is pathetic wait until you see the film. Will probably go down as one of the biggest flops in 2005. The skateboarding theme is uninspiring and the moral messages the film gives out are totally irresponsible. Real skate fans will feel ripped off having been sucked into thinking "Deck Dogz" actually is a skater's film. Shot in SA and NSW the locations won't fool locals especially South Australians who will notice how badly the film is pieced together. "Deck Dogz" should appeal to those 'young rebels' and wanna be skaters. Dedicated skateboarders should give this a miss and hire a real skate movie from their local rental store." The Cast

Sean Kennedy Richard Wilson Ho Thi Lu Brenan Cowell Mitchell McMahon Thomas Campbell Glenda Linscott Phillip Dodd Anthony Gogin Alyssa McClelland Danielle Rohweder Mat Burn Bob Baines Tony Hawke

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Spasm Poker Blue Flame Kurt Pigeon Stickers Exboobs Brizzo Jack Filkins Baby T Evelyn Dean Headmaster Catwell Himself

The Crew Directed by Steven Pasvolsky Sreenplay by Steven Pasvolsky Produced by Jennifer Cluff and Bill Bennett Director Of Photography Denson Baker Costume Design by Sally Sharpe Edited by Jane Moran Production Design by Sam Hobbs Original Music by Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil Run Time 86 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - UIP - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved