Boxboarders!' Film Finally Sets Off
"Boxboarders!," written and directed by Laguna Beach filmmaker Rob Hedden, is being released on DVD July 29, three years after filming wrapped up.
The independent comedy follows the lives of two surfer kids who inadvertently invent a new sport when they put wheels on a refrigerator box.
The film was shot on location mainly in Laguna Beach and many locals appear in the film as extras alongside other Hedden family members, including the filmmaker's brother Andy and sons Kyle and Corey, who have onscreen roles, and his other son, Ryan, who contributed songs to the sound track. In fact, Corey's inventiveness "boxboarding" was the movie's inspiration.
The film, which was available for theatrical distribution beginning in March 2006, is now on DVD after false starts with several distributors, Hedden said. "Even though we won the outstanding achievement in filmmaking award last year at the Newport Beach Film Festival, many indie movies never get released at all, so we're very happy it's finally coming out all over the world," he said.
Staff photo by Faye Chapman Filmmaker Rob Hedden near the Thalia Street beach access, one of several locations around town where he filmed "Boxboarders!" scenes. The comedy will be released on DVD July 29. Peace Arch Entertainment is distributing the DVD domestically; the foreign distributor is Showcase Entertainment.
Hedden is probably best known for co-writing the screenplay for the Nickelodeon-Paramount film "Clockstoppers," released in 2002. His 1985 documentary on the making of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" was selected for exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution.
The filmmaker attributes "Boxboarders!" appeal to its genuineness.
"I came home one day and saw the refrigerator box flying down the hill beside our house - somebody had duct-taped a couple of skateboards to it," said Hedden. "It crashed and two boys tumbled out - my son Corey was one of them. They had inadvertently invented 'boxboarding,' and it was the more ridiculous things I'd seen in a long time. So I decided to write a movie about it."
The movie stars Austin Basis and James Immekus as the two kids who invent boxboarding and gain instant local fame. Since filming was completed in the summer of 2005, Basis has since gone on to roles on television's "Supernatural," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and other shows. Immekus, too, is a television actor with credits on "Grey's Anatomy," "Medium," "Without a Trace," and many others.
"We wanted our families and friends working alongside the professionals from Hollywood," Hedden said.
Students from Laguna College of Art and Design received credit for working as interns, and hundreds of students from Laguna Beach High School and Thurston, including their families, worked right alongside pros such as Melora Hardin and Stephen Tobolowsky.
Hedden just finished re-writing an action-drama entitled "Busted," which begins shooting next year. He also plans to write and direct a romantic comedy called "Russian Roulette."
"Boxboarders!" will be available July 29 at most major distributors, including Amazon, Best Buy, Netflix, Hollywood Video, and local video stores.
