UNITED STATES: 'EXTREME' FILM SHOWN IN LARGE SCREEN IMAX FORMAT, TAKES PEOPLE STRAIGHT TO THE ACTION OF EXTREME OUTDOOR SPORTS

Record ID: 388538

  • Title: UNITED STATES: 'EXTREME' FILM SHOWN IN LARGE SCREEN IMAX FORMAT, TAKES PEOPLE STRAIGHT TO THE ACTION OF EXTREME OUTDOOR SPORTS
  • Date: 3rd July 1999
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA (JUNE 3, 1999) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) LONG: "We had great riggers. And they had previously worked on films like "K2" and "Cliffhanger". They were really pushing the boundaries of their limits as well and setting up these amazing systems, counterbalance systems and winch systems to haul this camera up and down these rock faces and ice faces."
  • Embargoed: 18th July 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment,General,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA9F5QGLG6HFPHYKFFKM096X3T9
  • Story Text: Adventure films have been taken to a new extreme.
    Performing at the edge of their abilities, some of the world's most dedicated extreme athletes were captured in the larger-than-life IMAX format in "Extreme", a new film that opened in New York earlier this month.
    Skiing and snowboarding perilous untouched mountain peaks; climbing vertical frozen waterfall and magnificent red-rock spires; surfing some of the largest waves ever surfed and windsurfed and windsurfing "El Nino" strength winds, "Extreme" takes audiences to the action of outdoor adventure sports in the large screen IMAX format.
    Adventure film veteran and "Extreme" director, Jon Long says, "Well, I think a lot of people have seen adventure sports on TV and conventional film.But when you see the stuff in IMAX, its like nothing you've even seen before.Because the screen is so huge and the picture is so clear and the sounds are so real that is actually give you the feeling that you are right there.And it's really the only medium where you can achieve that."
    The filming, conducted during several months in 1998, took Long and his crew from the tops of snow-capped mountains to waves the size of mountains.In January of 1998, El Nino hit the North Shore of Hawaii with the largest ocean swell of recent memory.On the same day that the Eddi Aikau Big Wave Surfing Challenge was cancelled because conditions were too extreme, world-class professional big wave surfer Ken Bradshaw and a handful of others ventured into the surf.Using a fairly new technique known as "tow-in surfing", Bradshaw was able to catch some of the largest waves ever ridden by people.
    Speaking to Reuters Television, Bradshaw recalled that day, "January 28th, 1998 so far is the longest day any human being has been able to be in the water for."
    Though the IMAX format captures his ride larger than any previous footage, Bradshaw admits, "IMAX screens if I am not mistaken are eighty foot wide and sixty foot tall.So its real close to the actual height of the wave.But in reality, some of the wave heights were in excess of of eighty feet.So the screen doesn't quite pay it the tribute that it needs to.But its close.So you get a good feeling.So when you are sitting there in the theatre and you are watching this screen and you are going, 'Wow'.It's actually a tad bigger than what you are watching."
    The film, capturing athletes at the peak performance, also required the filmmakers to push their limits.Vietnam veterans flew the camera mounted helicopters in extreme conditions to get the optimal angles.One cameraman carried the fifty-pound camera while snowboarding behind a world-class rider.
    Complicated pulley and winch systems had to be created to haul the camera up and down vertical rock faces.
    Barry Blanchard, world renown ice climber talks about the materials he used to put together a rig to capture his vertical ice climb, "Basically, bungee cord and duct tape and strung it all together, and PVC pipe.Put Chris' parachute harness underneath it and hung the camera and it worked fine."
    His wife and climbing partner, also in the film, Catherine Mulvihill added, "The real bummer was that we didn't get to go for a ride on this thing before we took it down.Thought we could get to go for a big ride on the glacier."
    The big screen risks should pay off in the box office.
    Since the immensely popular "Everest" last year, the IMAX format has gained momentum, a wave that the makers of "Extreme" expect to ride.
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