Volcom's "Let's Live" Gets US Premiere in Hollywood
Jul 27 2007 / Hollywood, CA
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The Vine Theater in the heart of Hollywood was the site of the premiere, which drew fans from across the Southland and a few international stragglers as well. On hand to promote the film were members of the Volcom Aussie skate team, including Jake Duncombe, Chima Ferguson, Lewis Marnell and Dustin Dollin, who not only had a skate part in the movie but also co-directed and co-edited the movie with team manager Peanut.
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A crowd lined up well before the scheduled start time of 8 p.m., with a ragged crowd of skaters lined up along closed storefronts and the Hollywood Scientology building, gathering more than one look from those coming and going to see the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition. Below their feet, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including the star of screen legend Grace Kelly. If she only knew...
When the doors opened the crowd almost filled the seats to capacity, and a near riot broke out as Volcom swag was tossed out to everyone, including shirts, laces, sunglasses, stickers and more. When the crowd calmed down and sat back, it was time for Dollin and Duncombe to greet the audience.
"Shane Cross lives on in all of our memories," Dollin said, drawing a hearty cheer from the fans. "This is for everyone. Thanks for giving an Australian video a chance in your crazy country."
The nearly hour-long video opened with a quick remembrance of Shane Cross, to whom the film is dedicated and who has a significant part in the film (he passed away after the main filming was completed). While the title credits featured some trademark Volcom animation and music, the focus was on the skating. Dillon's part was up first, and was a crowd favorite thanks to the slam compilation at the start.
The Volcom riders, including Cross, Dollin, Duncombe, Marnell, Ferguson, Joe Pease, Shane Azar and Kiwi Chris Wood (and some non-Aussies including Nick Dompierre and Dennis Busenitz) hit locations across Australia, skating in the shadows of some of the country's landmarks including the Sydney bridge.
During the film, the largest response came for footage of Cross, whose part closed out the movie. His footage included older as well as recent video, and the final scene had him skating away, down the street, becoming blurry before it went to black. Still, after the final credits, more footage of Cross came up, as he played around with the rest of the team and took part in photo shoots. It seemed that the filmmakers were having difficulty saying goodbye.
After the screening, Dollin and other Volcom team members talked with some of the crowd before heading off to the afterparty, while many fans found places to put down their decks and get some skating in, including half-empty parking lots and side-streets.
One of those skaters showed that the memory of Cross reaches further than the shores of the US or Australia. Phillip Sequera, 17, was on vacation from Brazil and heard about the screening.
"It was pretty good," he said. "It's good they did this for Shane. He had the best part."
"Let's Live" will be on tour throughout the US and the rest of the world through mid-August, with a DVD release to follow. Find out the tour dates here.
- Greg Baerg
