"I RIDE PARK CITY" SHOWS STAR RIDERS
It wasn't the Sundance Film Festival, but the premiere of "I Ride Park City was, in many ways, a lot cooler. It was held on the plaza of the Town Lift, an actual chairlift that goes from the mountain to party-on Main Street. In winter, you can stop in the middle of a run, take the Town Lift (that's it's name), eat at one of the many restaurants on Main and maybe do some shopping, then take the lift back up to the mountain and finish off the day with a few powder runs.
At the end of August, when people start getting the snow hornies, holding a snowboarding film on the Town Lift Plaza was a stroke of genius. The Red Bull girls wandered through the gathering crowd, handing out cans of the energy drink. Posters of the movie were free for the taking. As the growing crowds of people slowly filled the rows of chairs, a long line passed in front of a row of tables, where the stars of the film---stars of the snowboarding world---sat signing autographs.
Scotty Arnold, Aaron Bittner, Erin Comstock, Heikki Sorsa and Shaun White were just a few of the riders who signed posters, shirts, hats, bare skin, shoes and more than a few skateboards---even snowboards. Proud parents took pictures of their kids posing with their heroes.
PARK CITY, UT.--Shaun White poses with two of his many fans at the premiere of Park City Mountain Resort's short film, "I Ride Park City."
PARK CITY, UT.--Aaron Bittner waves a poster of Jim Mangan's short film, "I Ride Park City."
"The movie is our second Park City movie, and it's three times better than the first one. Lots of show, lots of powder, lots of helicopter shots and new riders. It's awesome. I was able to ride with all the guys, they pushed my level of riding, so it was really cool to ride with them," said Comstock.
Bittner, who lives in Salt Lake City, said, "It showcases Park City and their team and how much fun it is here."
Media photogs were more than a bit creepy. They stood around, cameras off, as Bittner and Comstock joked with each other and their fans. They ignored all the cute kids and star riders. But as soon as Shaun White showed up and sat down, they moved in like a pack of sharks, shoving fans aside and shoving their cameras in White's face.
White, who is one of the most gracious athletes in any sport, took it all in stride. He tried including the other riders who also starred in "I Ride Park City," but all that the photogs wanted was White. One even surreptitiously snuck his mic behind White as he quietly talked to Bittner to record what was being privately said.
In an exclusive to Adventure Sports Weekly, White said he was not staying in town until the Dew Tour stop on September 15. "I'm in town promoting my video game. It's a snowboard game that's really fun. I've been working on it for two years, and it will be released in November."
The game, with totally realistic images, allows the player to create their own snowboarding world, pipe, park, backcountry or extreme, riding with other gamers or the avatars of friends. (For more info, go to: http://press.ubi.com/gameinfo.php?id=151 )
The film, which is about half an hour long, allows each rider a segment in which to do their best tricks, and the air is amazing. So is the powder and the incredible snow. It may not be the Park City most riders know; the crew found some amazing secret powder stashes. The riding and tricks were sick, sick, sick. The film caught the feeling and spirit of snowboarding, and the playful spirit of riding. The music and banter among the riders will make every viewer smile, whether or not they even like snow.
The only flaw was the constant short shots. After a few minutes of focusing one's eyes on an image for one or two seconds before having to focus on another image for one or two seconds, it all starts to lose continuity and get boring, no matter how perfect each one or two second image may be. Mangan would improve his technique by varying the lengths of his shots more.
Still, it's a film worth seeing and even owning. Krista Parry, the resort's director of marketing, says, "People can buy it online at PCRide.com for $19.95. It's the only movie that Shaun White was in this season."
She added, "By creating a movie that's only about our parks, and having a party at the town lift with all these athletes out here for the premiere, we show that PCMR is trend setting and tends to be a little different. We have the best parks and pipe in North America."
The public party was followed by a private party at Harry O's on Main Street. The main thing people talked about was how ready everyone was for the snow.