Friday, July 11

DC Files: Ken Block, Danny Way Talk

By Dave Finger
EXPN.com

Snagging the star of DC's first skateboarding video and Mr. DC himself at the NYC premiere of The DC Video was no easy task. Between the autograph signings, party invitations and post-movie mayhem, Danny Way and Ken Block were busier than the Ballroom clean-up crew. But we managed to detain the DC duo for five minutes outside the Roseland Ballroom. Fortunately, they talk fast.

Ken Block and Stevie Williams at the NYC premiere of The DC Video.

EXPN.com: Some of your part came together late in the game …

Danny Way: Yeah, the desert sh*t did, but the other stuff, like the indoor ramp, was done. For a while, we just didn't have an idea of what we wanted to do. We wanted something different for the end of the video. Then it was like, "OK, we have two months: one to put this thing together and one to film it. Hopefully it works out." We rolled the dice and it all worked out.

Whose idea was the Mega Ramp?

DW: All of those ideas are completely mine. I wouldn't test-pilot someone else's invention. At that caliber, I want to have it exactly the way I envision it, or I'm not going to throw myself across it.

What made you want to do it?

DW: Exploration of terrain on a skateboard … I was bored on my board.

How long was the Mega Ramp shoot?

DW: It took about a month to film.

Whose part are you most psyched on?

DW: AVE's, he's holding it down.

Have you skated in New York yet?

DW: I'm amped on skating right now. I haven't skated in the city yet, but I'm gonna go skate street tomorrow with Stevie, AVE and the crew. I'm pretty sure Stevie's got the spots handled.

So, more street in your future?

DW: I have some street in the video, but I didn't get enough time with the other stuff I wanted to film. I feel like right now's a good time to solidify some questions about vert, and after this video I got some of those issues out of the way. I love street skating and I'm definitely not a vert guy. I just bounce from one thing to another. Now I've got the other stuff out of my system and I'm going to focus on street.

Has this video been a good thing for you?

DW: The video has been a great thing for me, it takes some pressure off.

Pressure, why?

DW: I think people have a lot of expectations about DC's video and have a vision of me doing all this stuff, and that pressure is on my back. To some degree, I feel like I've fulfilled those expectations, so the pressure's off a bit.

What now?

DW: I'm ready to go film more. I'm on a mission right now. I actually have a few little injuries going on … I have a tweaked wrist and a hurt foot from a couple weeks ago. I need a couple of weeks off just to get that sh*t better, then it's right back to film mode.

Thanks, Danny. Over to you, Ken ...


EXPN.com: Were you and director Greg Hunt pulling all-nighters before the premiere?

Ken Block: I was up late, but I got to sleep. He was up all night. I never realized what it would take to get it done. Luckily, I had a director/editor/producer who was willing to put in the time. We moved the editing suite to my pool room, so he was at my house for the last month or two. It made it easy for me to go to work, come home, go down there, work with him for a couple of hours, then go to bed.

The pressure's off and Danny Way is on a mission.

Why did you move the equipment to your pool room?

KB: It just couldn't get done at the office. Too many distractions for a guy trying to make a pretty big movie. He'd be annoyed by people paging him on the phone every day.

Brief me on the LA premiere.

KB: The LA premiere was amazing. We had a lot of people show up and I was surprised at how well it turned out. We had half the skateboard industry, some celebrities and a lot of friends, so it really worked out well.

And having it at the Chinese Theater must've been cool …

KB: It was really cool. It was the first skateboard video to premiere at Mann's Chinese Theater.

What's been the best part of the video process?

KB: We have a really amazing, diverse team. We do the ads day in and day out, but to show these guys in a video representing DC means much more.

So why did it take three years to produce?

KB: Amazingly enough, DC has been around for over eight years, so the eight years is a bigger deal to me (laughs). But skateboard videos just take a long time to get done. We actually planned on having it done a year ago, but it just wasn't at the stage we wanted it to be. We didn't want to put it out unless it could be one of the best skateboard videos of all time. And I think we took the proper amount of time. You'll see, it was worth its wait.

What did you think when Danny approached you with his ideas about the desert?

KB: Oh god, another crazy Danny idea (laughing). When you get Danny focused, it's pretty amazing. And we're five-for-five on his ideas. Every time he comes up with one and we risk the money to build it, because it's never cheap, he comes through. This was his best idea ever, so it was worth it.

Any last-minute thoughts before you hit the party?

KB: It's great to have all these guys in one place. From the style that Stevie can put down on the street to what Danny can do on a skateboard, make it look like a snowboard, it's a great thing to see. We're proud of this project and Greg Hunt (director) put in the time and effort and did a good job. I can't thank him enough.