Ok, so this is interesting and not just because my hero from 90210, Jason Priestley, is involved. Rolling Stone ran an article titled “Death of a Freerider” a couple months ago about Sam Brown, a promising mountain biker who was leading a double life as a drug smuggler and ended up committing suicide in a Spokane jail back in March (we also wrote about this on the blog). Priestley recently bought an “option” on the article which basically means he now owns the rights to create a screenplay and perhaps (fingers crossed) a movie. Variety says the plan is to start filming by the end of next year.

I haven’t had a chance to read the Rolling Stone article yet but this whole thing sounds kinda like Into the Wild, the Jon Krakauer book (then movie) about Chris Candless and his wandering adventures across the US. Candless was ultimately found dead in the Alaskan wilderness and the movie sorta explores the mysterious circumstances around his journey. Similarly, Sam Brown’s story has many unanswered questions like how he got involved in drug smuggling, why he was flying a helicopter without a license, etc.

In any event, I’m hoping the movie opens with a suitable amount of freeride footage, including the “Deconstructed Wheel” Brown built for himself. After seeing Race Across the Sky in theaters I can’t wait to see more mountain biking on the big screen, even if it’s not the star of the show.

Two videos below: Sam Brown showing off his skills and a news clip about Brown’s life

In case you hadn’t heard yet, there’s an encore presentation of Race Across the Sky, the movie about Lance Armstrong’s epic battle with Dave Wiens in the Leadville 100 MTB race this year, on Thursday, Nov. 12 at theaters across the US. Check out our recap of the movie if you want to know more and buy your tickets online now!

Last night I watched Race Across the Sky, the movie about this year’s Leadville 100 MTB race and I gotta say it was pretty awesome. I was surprised the see the movie theater auditorium mostly full and I’d estimate there were at least 200+ people at my showing. The movie started off a little weird with a panel discussion with the riders (Armstrong, Wiens, Brown, etc.) but once the movie started it was all about riding.

Although I already knew the outcome of the race after watching it live online, I still found myself surprised at many parts and there were definitely some interesting take-aways:

• Lance Armstrong is a boss. At the beginning of the film, Lance is on a MTB training ride with his coach, Chris Carmichael and you see the two grinding it out on a rocky doubletrack climb somewhere in Colorado. Following close behind is a guy on a dirt bike with two spare wheels and probably an entire bike tool kit on board. Must be nice to not worry about your equipment failing. Getting used to that level of support may just come back to haunt Lance in the race
• Travis Brown rode the entire 100 mile race on a mountain bike with drop bars. During the panel discussion afterward Brown said he’s convinced that’s the way to go and it sounds like he’ll do it again next year. It was also interesting to note that none of the top 5 riders rode 29ers.
• Dave Wiens is a super nice guy and you can see it throughout the movie.
• Armstrong makes the comment that no one has approached the Leadville 100 as a team race (yet). Will Lance’s pro cycling team assist him in breaking the 6 hour mark at Leadville in the future?
• I loved the old school rider from Denver who had probably the funniest line in the entire movie: “I’m riding the same bike I bought in the 1990s. Same front tire too.” (I’m paraphrasing)
• Second funniest moment: the overweight woman in the yellow shirt running beside Lance during his ascent of the powerline climb, trying to photograph herself with Lance.
• The third place finisher, Matt Shriver, had a pretty remarkable race. Yet another amazing rider from Ft. Lewis College in Durango.
• Saddest moment? Seeing riders stopped at the 4 hour cut-off and not being able to finish the race.
• Did anyone else notice that Lance just chucked the CO2 cartridge after attempting to fix his flat tire? I suppose a fan rushed over to pick it up and now it sits in a glass case in a rec room somewhere but still… pack it in, pack it out.

If you didn’t get to see Race Across the Sky last night, definitely put it on your to do list. It’s an inspirational film and I definitely left wanting to ride more and move back to Colorado. Stay tuned for word about an encore presentation in theaters and/or the DVD release date.

… or today, depending on when you read this

The movie is playing for one night only in movie theaters across the country and a quick check shows there are still plenty of tickets available. Surprising, especially since the movie features Mr. Dave Wiens himself (oh yeah, and also Lance Armstrong). My hope is that if this movie does well we’ll see more MTB short-run features in theaters. The Collective in IMAX? I can only dream…

I’ve got my tickets to watch the movie at Perimeter Point here in Atlanta at 8pm tomorrow in case anyone else is going. I’ll also post a quick review Friday for the Netflixers out there.