Friday, March 16, 2012

Skateboarding Legend 'Waiting For Lightning' At SXSW

By Matt Goodhue, with reporting by Sam Hendrick

Attending South by South West is an exciting, unique, and exhausting experience. You don?t sleep. You eat a lot of barbeque. And at this year?s festival, you probably got stuck in the rain for most of the day. But, not only do you get to see the latest buzz worthy films, you get to sit in a room with the amazing cast and creators of some of the most anticipated movies of the coming year. For Danny Way, star of the autobiographical life story, ?Waiting for Lightning,? directed by Jacob Rosenberg, the veteran skateboarder upped the ante for all the other SXSW stars by bringing the festival?s feature film to life.

MTV News met up with the skating legend and director at a local skate park in the festival?s city, Austin, Texas. ?We?re here to celebrate the film,? Rosenberg stated, ?and for Danny to have the opportunity to come to the skate park, to see the locals and see the kids is great.?

For a young skater to board in the same park as one of the greatest ever, get an autographed movie poster, and just speak to a guy who has achieved so much in the skating world is an opportunity that will never be forgotten. Plus, it gives them plenty of bragging rights in class Monday morning.

?It?s a really inspirational film just about how much obstacles and difficulties he?s overcome,? Rosenberg said. Danny, who has been skating since he was a little kid, gave much praise and credit to his friend and director for the success of his skating and the footage that captured it. ?Jake and I have a tremendous history,? Danny explained about their twenty-plus year friendship, ?Collectively, I think we?re going to achieve something unique and probably, you know, invent some new way to do something with cinematography and skateboarding because we have a pretty unique platform we?re working on right now.?

Danny and Jacob could not get into too much detail about the surprises the film, and possibly future films, have in store for fans. But, just as the local Austin skaters were surprised to see Danny in their park, ?Waiting for Lightning? promises to give the audience a taste of something that has not been done before. ?I don?t want to give too much inside to what we have going on,? Danny laughed, ?But, yeah, I think people will be definitely surprised.?

Danny?s interaction with his skating fans certainly proved his dedication and inspiration to the dangerous sport and those who support him. ?He?s been through the ringer,? Rosenberg acknowledged about the thirty-five year old skater, ?He?s done it all so much to where he had to create something completely new to skate.?

Audiences will have to wait for the film?s release date after the SXSW festival. But, whether you skate or not, Danny?s story and impact on those around him is certainly one to admire and enjoy.

Are you psyched to see what Way and Rosenberg have in store in their documentary, "Waiting for Lightning?" Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!

Tags Danny Way, South by Southwest, SXSW

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