LORDS OF DOGTOWN

Year: 2005
USA: Columbia Pictures
UK: Sony Pictures Releasing
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Heath Ledger, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, William Mapother, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Vincent Laresca, Brian Zarate, Pablo Schreiber, Elden Henson, Mitch Hedberg, Benjamin Nurick, Stephanie Limb, Mike Ogas, Cheyne Magnusson, Don Nguyen, Kristian Peterson, Melonie Diaz, Mark Kubr, Rene Rivera, Chad Fernandez, Jim 'Red Dog' Muir, Chris Chaput, Matt Malloy, Jack Smith, Steve Badillo, Bill Cusack, Kirk Ward, Eddie Cahill, Laura Ramsey, Sarah Blakely-Cartwright, Bob Biniak, Eric Tuma Britton, Chuck Hosak, Chelsea Hobbs, Reid Harper , Paulette Ivory, America Ferrera, Sofia Vergara, Raphael Verela, Jay Adams, Ned Bellamy, Tony Alva, Charles Napier, Joe Virzi, Skip Engblom, Stacy Peralta, Daniel Venegas, Tony Hawk, Joel McHale, Bai Ling, Shea Whigham, Lucas Gasperik, Ray Flores, Alexis Arquette, Travis Peterson, Rebeca Silva
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Countries: USA / Germany
USA & UK: 107 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for drug and alcohol content, sexuality, violence, language and reckless behavior - all involving teens
UK Certificate: 12A contains moderate violence, language and drug references
USA Release Date: 3 June 2005
UK Release Date: 16 September 2005

Synopsis

The tough, gritty streets of "Dogtown" in Venice, California didn't look like much to outsiders, but to a handful of teenage surfers (Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams) in the 1970s they were the hard, winding, sloping inspiration for a revolutionary style of skateboarding. Transferring the aggressive wave-riding moves to concrete from their death-defying surfing skills at the Pacific Ocean Park pier, the Z-Boys - mostly kids with rough home lives and rougher attitudes - became sensations, local legends. They were freestyle wizards on urethane wheels, turning empty pools into arenas of wild, beautiful athleticism, the genesis of today's "extreme sports." Skating competitions didn't know what to make of them, girls threw themselves at them, and suddenly marketers and promoters wanted to grab a piece of them and what was fast becoming a worldwide counterculture phenomenon. But would the friendships of this tightly knit group last as a teenage pastime turned into big business, and energetic personalities became out-of-control celebrities?

Columbia Pictures presents a TriStar Pictures release, LORDS OF DOGTOWN, a Linson Films Production in association with Senator International. The film stars Emile Hirsch as Jay Adams, Victor Rasuk as Tony Alva, John Robinson as Stacy Peralta, Michael Angarano as Sid, Nikki Reed as Kathy Alva and Heath Ledger as Skip Engblom. The film also features performances by Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, and numerous faces from the world of skateboarding. Catherine Hardwicke (winner, Best Director at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival for THIRTEEN) directs from a script written by Stacy Peralta (Best Director at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival for DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS).