gorilla flicks

mat hoffman talks angry skies and nick piantanida

When it came time to schedule this week's interview there was really only one choice: BMX legend Mat Hoffman. After all, the latest of ESPN's 30 for 30 series to be directed by Tremaine, Angry Sky, premieres tonight at 8pm EST / 5pm PST (with an encore PST presentation at 7:30pm), and Mat played a significant role in getting the story of Nick Piantanida from the pages of Magnificent Failure: Free Fall from the Edge of Space to its now feature length documentary state. So, without further ado, take it away, Rick!

Rick Kosick: When did you first learn about Nick Piantanida?

Mat Hoffman: I got fascinated by him after I get hit by a semi-truck and couldn’t ride for a while. I was trying to figure out what I could do besides ride. I remember I was in an airport and I saw in some science magaizine that had an article about people who go to the stratosphere and test out these suits where they jump from space shuttles in the event of a problem. They could essentially jump from the shuttle and save their lives, and they were looking for people to test this. I was like, “This is it, I can fall in love with this!”  But my wife Jaci balled up and got super depressed. She’s not seeing the joy and the fun and adventure—she’s seeing her husband die and body parts falling off.

So I started studying other people that were doing it, and at the time there was this 60-year-old guy from France who had an online countdown about him going up and doing it. The weather wasn’t right or something, so they ended up rescheduling a few times, but when everything was finally looking perfect, they had his capsule attached to the weather balloon and all of a sudden it just drifted away, putting them out of 250 grand. I was really hoping he would do it, because if a 60-year-old guy could do it, I thought I could too. He ended up not doing it at all, and I was so bummed. A friend who knew I was fascinated with this whole idea led me to the Magnificent Failure book, and I read it while on vacation in 2010 with my family in French Polynesia. 

last call: the angry sky premiere

Last week, Tremaine and company descended upon New York City to attend the premiere of Angry Sky at the Tribeca Film Festival. What is this Angry Sky I speak of, you may ask? Well, even if you didn't, Angry Sky is the latest documentary to be directed by Tremaine for ESPN's celebrated 30 For 30 series, and it details the story of Nick Piantanida, a truck driver and exotic pet dealer from New Jersey who in 1965 decided he could join an elite group of men who had been to the final frontier—space. Although an avid parachutist and free fall skydiver, Nick had no formal training in aeronautics yet set out to take a balloon into the atmosphere and jump out at 123,500 feet, setting a world record as he free fell back to Earth. Nick's willpower and charisma would get him into space with the dream of turning him into what he always aspired to be: a true American hero—a lofty goal that would ultimately lead to his tragic end.

If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, it's probably because I once made mention of it all in a post dedicated to Tremaine's cloud photography. That, of course, was a different sort of "angry sky" deal, because it was all inspired by Tremaine's frustration with the high cost of stock sky photography. He was convinced he could do just as well with his own damn phone, and so inflamed he immediately set out to do so while on a location scout in Tampa Bay, Florida, for a Bud Light spot. The result was nothing short of ... well ... photos of the sky? With clouds? Click here to see!

Anyway, I'm really only prattling on to make adequate room for the Angry Sky poster image at right. The photo potpourri below comes courtesy of phones from Mat Hoffman, Lacey Reilly, Katie Doering, and maybe one or two others that had a hand in the production. Special thanks to everyone who made it out to the premiere that evening, especially the Piantanida clan!