Acclaimed filmmaker Larry Clark plans to
celebrate the upcoming release of his new skater movie, "Wassup
Rockers," at a block party Saturday in Bushwick.
Starting at 4 pm at Knickerbocker Avenue and Thames Street, the
event is expected to feature food, giveaways, performances by
live bands and skaters, as well as a special appearance by skateboarding
great Chad Muska. At 8:30 pm, Clark, the director of "Kids"
and "Bully," is scheduled to present an outdoor screening
of his latest cinema verite work. Kico Pedrasa, one of the film’s
stars, is also slated to attend.
Shot in Los Angeles, the R-rated film follows a group of real-life,
punk music-loving, Latino teen skaters as they experience culture
clashes from South Central to Beverly Hills.
Clark says the idea for the film came to him about three years
ago, while he was in Los Angeles for a magazine photo shoot to
promote his previous skater film, "Ken Park."
"I came out here with (’Ken Park’ star) Tiffany Limos, and
I was going to photograph her with some of the kids from ’Ken
Park,’ but they weren’t around, so I said, ’Well, let’s find
some skaters,’ " the 63-year-old Oklahoma native told GO
Brooklyn.
"And we went down to Venice Beach and met Kico and Porky
who were about 13 years old and looked totally different – all
raggedy and their shoes were falling apart and their boards had
no pop at all, but they had this style."
The filmmaker says he and Limos struck up a conversation with
the engaging teens who offered to take them to meet the rest
of their friends in South Central. After a few days of photographing
them with Limos all over L.A. and Hollywood, Clark says he began
to develop the concept for his film.
"We got to know their story – that they had to fight to
be who they are," he explained. "They’re not wearing
baggy clothes and dressed like gangsters; they have to fight
just to be kids. I thought that was really interesting – that
the peer pressure in the ghetto was stronger than the peer pressure
anywhere else because [they are at] the age when we can try out
different guises and be a punk rocker one day and a gangster
the next and a death metal-head the next. That’s the age when
you can see what’s comfortable for you, and these kids didn’t
even have that."
Clark says that before he actually started work on the film,
he spent a year getting to know the teens – most of whom were
fans of his controversial 1995 cult classic, "Kids"
– and building a relationship with them based on trust.
"The first half of the film is basically recreations of
things that happened to them, their stories that they told me,
plus things that I saw when I was out there," he recalled.
"It kind of wrote itself, because it’s their stories."
The second half of the film was made up, crafted simply to give
the boys an adventure outside South Central, Clark adds.
"I just started tripping one afternoon, saying, ’Well, this
is funny, then what would happen?’ And it turns out that I’m
mixing all these genres," he said. "It starts out foremost
as a documentary and then recreating their lives and then there
is this fantasy-adventure-chase-action-crazy thing. But somehow
it all works together."
As much as he enjoyed making the film and working with the youths,
Clark admits there were some rough patches along the way. A 19-year-old
skater, who was supposed to be in the film, was gunned down just
before principal photography began.
"I included that in the beginning of the film just to show
what a dangerous place it is to grow up," he noted.
The filmmaker also says he and his rag-tag cast were chased from
the pristine grounds of Beverly Hills High by police.
"I see skaters there all the time It’s a famous skating
spot," he said. "I took the kids there to show them
the spot [he would use in the film] because they had never been
to Beverly Hills High, and the cops would not let the kids go.
I showed him my Directors Guild of America card and said: ’Look,
I’m making a movie here; it’s all permitted. I’m just showing
the location today.’ "
But, the officer, whom Clark describes as being a dead ringer
for Robert Patrick – the badge-carrying villain in "Terminator
2" – refused to listen, instead detaining the kids and slapping
them with tickets.
"Latino kids from South Central anywhere near Beverly Hills?
It was totally racist," Clark said, adding that the overall
effect of starring in the film has been positive for the underprivileged
– yet talented – youths, instilling in them new-found senses
of confidence and self-worth.
"It will give them a lot of opportunity and it does open
up the world for them and makes them feel good about themselves,"
observed Clark. "Now they know they’re worth something.
I just watched them open up and blossom. I think that’s a big
change; that they really see that they’re OK."
The "’Wassup Rockers’ Free-For-All Block Party" is
being presented by First Look Studios, in association with Skate
Park Association USA, a 10-year-old, non-profit group dedicated
to promoting the safe practice of skateboarding and biking.
" ’Wassup Rockers’ Free-For-All
Block Party" – featuring food, giveaways, performances by
live bands and skaters, including Chad Muska – takes place on
June 17 at 4 pm at Knickerbocker Avenue and Thames Street in
Bushwick. At 8:30 pm, director Larry Clark is scheduled to present
an outdoor screening of "Wassup Rockers." Because of
the film’s rating, only those ages 17 or older will be admitted
without a parent or guardian to the Bushwick screening, which
will be held in front of Office Ops at 57 Thames St. "Wassup
Rockers" opens June 23 at the Angelika Theatre [18 West
Houston St. between Broadway and Mercer Street in Manhattan,
(212) 995-2000] and nationwide next month.
