FILM-EVEL KNIEVEL/DOCUMENTARY American daredevil Evel Knievel jumps across the movie screen again in the 'Being Evel' documentary film

Record ID: 142895

  • Title: FILM-EVEL KNIEVEL/DOCUMENTARY American daredevil Evel Knievel jumps across the movie screen again in the 'Being Evel' documentary film
  • Date: 22nd August 2015
  • Summary: MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 19, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR AND CO-WRITER DANIEL JUNGE, SAYING: "He wears the red, white and blue but also he embodies a spirit of American exceptionalism, this can-do and if you say you do it then you do it, I think it's also very Western, I mean the guy was from Butte, Montana and I think there's something in the Western American ethos that says if you set out to do something then you're going to do it, and I think that that, I mean it's a very simple message but I think it's pretty profound especially for kids."
  • Embargoed: 6th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8DY2GLSW6HX9MEROEBBDGBU50
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: 'Being Evel,' a documentary about American daredevil Evel Knievel opened in theaters on Friday (August 21).
    The film is directed by Oscar-winning director, Daniel Junge and produced by professional BMX rider Mat Hoffman and Jackass reality star turned big-screen actor Johnny Knoxville.
    Knoxville cites Evel as one of the inspirations for his popular reality stunt show that led to a movie franchise of 'Jackass' films.
    "Evel knew people weren't coming out to see him make the jump, and he knew when he didn't land it that's why people came out and so we're like okay let's just design all our stunts to fail. If we make it, we'll do it again, we kind of just distilled, because I'm so uncoordinated and I just can't do anything so find what you're good at," Knoxville told Reuters.
    The film is filled with archival footage of Knievel's daring stunts, but also touches on the darker side of the stuntman's personal life, weaving interviews with people that knew the man personally into the film.
    "On one hand he inspired all these things and this whole new way of thought and did so many positive things and then there were some sides to him in his personal life that weren't positive and we wanted to be honest about those but not make a documentary about the worst things man has ever done, so we wanted there to be that balance so we went through a lot of cuts to get that," said Knoxville.
    Evel Knievel is seen as an American hero for many kids that grew up watching the daredevil on television and his attitude and personality is something that director Junge sees as distinctly American in spirit.
    "He wears the red, white and blue but also he embodies a spirit of American exceptionalism, this can-do and if you say you do it then you do it, I think it's also very Western, I mean the guy was from Butte, Montana and I think there's something in the Western American ethos that says if you set out to do something then you're going to do it, and I think that that, I mean it's a very simple message but I think it's pretty profound, especially for kids," Junge said.
    Long before the X-Games and modern day reality TV there was Evel Knievel, a man whom Junge calls 'the perfect man for the perfect time'. A time in American history marked with low national spirit and a turbulent political landscape.
    "Well we always need heroes. I say in the documentary that you always need your heroes, but as you said earlier, he, Daniel said, he was the perfect man for the perfect time. We were at the lowest ebb as far as national spirit, coming out of the '68, that terrible year and that whole Nixon thing, he was the perfect man. He was in the red, white and blue doing all these unbelievable things no one's ever done before," Johnny Knoxville said.
    Director Junge won an Oscar for the 2012 documentary "Saving Face," about the epidemic of Pakistani women being victimized by brutal acid attacks.
    The film opens nation-wide on Friday (August 21).
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