The idea for a film centred in the world of skateboarding first came to Producer Bill Gerber from Lance Sloane, then-head of music development and production for Warner Bros. Online. Sloane's unique concept - and his distinctive qualification in the action sports world as a former professional motocross racer - intrigued Gerber.

"If you ask any high school guy if he'd like to live the life of a pro skater, he'll tell you 'hell, yeah!'" exclaims Gerber, who explains the attraction pro skateboarding holds for a younger generation. "In skateboarding, going 'pro' means becoming 'sponsored' by a skate-affiliated corporation and basically getting paid to travel across the country to perform in skate demonstrations. Skaters become a celebrity in their circle, they get to meet girls, sign autographs and get all the free gear they could ever want - which is pretty much the ultimate in wish-fulfilment for any young guy."

Gerber then brought in Hunt Lowry, President and CEO of Gaylord Films, to join the project. Armed with a concept that appeals to a hip generation raised with the action-sport world showcased in the X-Games, filmmakers Gerber, Lowry and Casey La Scala (also of Gaylord Films) began reading every spec skateboarding script and hearing every skateboarding pitch in town. Screenwriter Ralph Sall, who has impressive credits as an executive music producer as well as true passion for skateboarding, delivered a fully realised comedy pitch that hit exactly the right tone. The filmmakers immediately engaged Sall to write the script for this irreverent comedy about radically ambitious friends who will do just about anything to go pro and live the dream.

"Grind spotlights the outrageous behaviour of this posse of young guys who spontaneously decide to follow the summer tour of a skate pro," Lowry relays. "Our characters are just having a blast while pulling every trick in the book in order to get noticed and grab a sponsor."

With a script in place that used skateboarding as a backdrop for the comedic antics of gung-ho skate guys who must overcome extreme obstacles in pursuit of their dream, the producers next needed to match this gnarly story with the perfect director.

Producer Casey La Scala, who was closely involved with the story development and pre-production process, stepped forward to make his feature film directorial debut. It was a natural fit for La Scala, whose expertise encompasses not only the half dozen films he's produced as President of Production for Gaylord Films, but also includes his teenage years as a Southern California pool skater. "The comedy really stems from these madcap characters and their crazy journey, and I wanted to infuse the film with a light, fun energy," says La Scala, who recently executive produced the quirky ensemble comedy Welcome to Collinwood. "I also love that skateboarding facilitates the action because I can really relate to the pull of that world from my experience skating when I was a kid."

casting the skaters
The story of blunder-prone friends clowning around in pursuit of their pro-skateboarding pipe dream depended on key casting for the quartet of equally important, but very different characters. In the grassroots spirit of the film, the producers held an open casting call for skaters and actors on July 13th, 2002 at Val Surf skate/surf shop in North Hollywood.

The filmmakers chose the legendary Val Surf location for the casting call because, as Gerber says: "It's a mecca; this store has 40 years of surfing and skating history. Trends are born here."

Although the tryouts were scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., by 5:30 in the morning kids were lined up around the block, vying for a chance to be discovered and land a role in a major motion picture. More than 500 hopefuls auditioned for their shot at stardom, bringing memorable accounts from people who had travelled across the country from as far away as Phoenix, New Mexico and Florida.

"There were a couple of guys who drove all night from Phoenix without sleep just to appear at our event," recalls La Scala. "A lot of the people who auditioned were skaters and it was exciting to see such tremendous enthusiasm. The stories we heard from kids about travelling for days just to try out for the film provided further inspiration for our movie about following your dreams."

Ultimately, the main characters were cast via more traditional avenues. The role of Eric Rivers, the dreamer who motivates his friends to join him in pursuit of skateboarding stardom, went to Mike Vogel, perhaps best known for his recurring role as Dean on the television series Grounded for Life.

Centred at the heart of the film, Eric's passion for skateboarding propels the riotous search for stardom - it's Eric that persuades his three best friends into giving up their summer plans and hitting the road with no guarantees whatsoever. "He's set on this goal and nothing's going to deter him from that," says Vogel about his character. "Eric's whole thought about going to college after graduating from high school is this: that's the way everyone else does it. I'm doing it my way."


rock star skaters
Although several of the cast members brought some skateboard experience to the film, the vast majority of skating is handled by professionals. In order to fully capture the reality of skateboarding at its best, as producer Bill Gerber states, "We knew we were going to need experts in the field." To highlight the skating aspects in the film, producers Gerber, Lowry and La Scala, wearing two hats as both producer and director, met with 900 Films, the production company owned by Morgan Stone, Matt Goodman and professional skateboarding champion Tony Hawk.

"While talking with Morgan and Matt about how to shoot skateboarding and recruit the right athletes, they showed us the stuff they did with Tony Hawk for ESPN and we were simply blown away by their footage," Gerber recounts. By bringing Morgan Stone on board as executive producer and Matt Goodman as the second unit director, the filmmakers solidified their objectives for the film. La Scala emphasises, "With 900 Films, we achieved the authenticity we were looking for within the skateboarding community, and we were also able to involve star skaters in the film."

With support from leaders in the skating industry, Grind boasts the talent of the last four X-Games Vert Champions: Bob Burnquist, Pierre Luc Gagnon and Bucky Lasek. Skating double for the main characters are renowned pro-skaters Brian Patch (for Eric Rivers), Brian Sumner (for Dustin Knight), Matt Ball (for Matt Jensen), Chad Shettler (for Sweet Lou) and Lauren Perkins (for Jennifer Morrison).

Incorporating the input of people who are immersed in the world of skateboarding was essential to Lowry. "We wanted to make sure that our vision retained its relevancy to the community we're portraying. We're telling a very funny story, but it's set in the world of skateboarding. We secured the participation of so many amazing skaters for the film because they understood that we want to protect the integrity of the skater world as much as they do."

Also making special appearances in the film are street skater Bam Margera, of Jackass fame; pro skater Chad Fernandez, playing Eric's rival; young skating phenom Ryan Sheckler; street skater Paul Rodriguez Jr. (son of the successful comedian Paul Rodriguez); old school skater Willy Santos; gnarly brawler Mike Vallely, who was once part of the legendary Powell-Peralta team; and eminent pro skaters Remy Stratton, Jesse Fritsch, Chris Gentry, Kareem Campbell and Neal Hendrix. "We're doing our best to make sure the skateboarding you see on-screen is as credible as it can be," attests 900 Films' Morgan Stone.

"Having Morgan Stone on the film was a really wise decision because he knows so much about skating and he definitely knows what skaters are good," says Bam Margera, a "sponsored" professional skater both in real life and in the film.

Pro skater Brian Sumner, who moved from England to California to join the skateboarding community and professionally skate for a living, contributed to the film's authenticity as a skate double for the Dustin Knight character. "I just know about passion, and that's what I want to give kids who will be watching this movie. If five of these kids, or even just one, goes out and gets a skateboard, that would be cool."

Margera, who excels at "street" skating tricks as opposed to the flashier "vert" ramp skating that skaters like Tony Hawk and Bob Burnquist are famous for, stresses that the one thing all skaters must possess is a lack of fear. "Skating can be really dangerous, and once you accept the fact that you're going to slam really hard once in a while, then you'll have fun. You just can't skate when you're scared."

"There's a rock and roll side to this sport," actress Jennifer Morrison notes. "The athletic aspects mix with a sort of rock star exposure, spiced with elements of real danger."

board on location
On location, director Casey La Scala set a relaxed tone, cruising on his skateboard to transport himself around the set, often with his dog Bogie in tow. In fact, with skate ramps and other obstacle courses set up for production, both actors and skaters could be often found practising their skills in-between takes.

Although Adam Brody already had skating experience, he admits that having an empty skate park and half pipes at the cast and crew's disposal has vastly improved his proficiency on a skateboard. "I'm definitely the best I've ever been. In any other situation, you're never going to have a chance to skate this stuff empty. If we went to regular skate parks during the day when it was crowded, we'd be heckled by serious skaters. I see a nine-year-old who can do a heel flip and I just feel like a dork."

"I've loved just getting to skate around between takes," reports Mike Vogel. "It's our best chance to try to nail tricks we're working on, and it's also been incredible just getting to hang out with these pros and watch them skate."

Executive producer Morgan Stone couldn't help but notice the remarkable interactions between the actors and skaters. "The actors are like kids in the candy store. When cameras aren't rolling, they're running over to the skaters and watching them and trying to learn tricks. And vice-versa, the skaters are excited to be on a film set and they really respect the actors and what they do."

"The pros have really made this all possible because of their desire to advance the sport and have it be portrayed in the right light," actor Mike Vogel imparts. "It's been great to have the pros there to pick us up when we couldn't handle it, which was quite often."

Joey Kern also gives props to La Scala, who "just kept everything on set so light, so fresh, and so fun, which really flavoured the tone of the movie."

rolling on production
Grind was shot in the fall of 2002 over 29 days at 16 locations in the greater Los Angeles area. Malibu, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Lancaster, Glendale, Marina del Rey and Vasquez Rocks are among the variety of locations that stand in for Chicago, Kansas City, Colorado, Tucson and the Arizona desert.

The production team was challenged to use the notorious palmtree-strewn Los Angeles terrain to stand in for varied cross-country landscapes. For the Colorado location, production designer Perry Blake discovered a perfect L.A. substitute in the Santa Monica Mountains. "We found an old restaurant called the Rock House that was surrounded by pine trees," describes Blake. "It had a coolness to it that matched our needs exactly. We used the restaurant virtually unchanged and only had to build a small street course."

For the Chicago location, trees again were of paramount importance to the production design. Says Blake, "We found a functioning skate park in Long Beach that had a Midwestern look with big weepy trees and, even more importantly, it didn't have any palm trees in the shot.

"We were really lucky and found great locations," continues Blake. "We tried to be smart about using some spots for more than one use. For example, at one location we even shot two skate demo events by just turning the camera around and redressing."

At the climactic skate event in the film, set in Santa Monica, California, the production team was able to fully maximise the local hot spot, constructing an extreme thirty-foot vertical ramp and an eight thousand square foot street course. "The courses had to be right for the professional skaters so we made sure we did our research. We really tried to be exacting in our recreated reality of the skate world," relays director La Scala.