The other day, we published our review of Pretending I’m a Superman, a new documentary that focuses on the rise and fall of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise. It’s a fascinating watch that talks about its creation, and how skateboarding as a whole pushed to a new medium – and millions of new fans.
We had a chance to sit down with the film’s director, Ludvig Gur, to discuss its creation, inspiration, and what fans can expect when they give it a watch. It’s available for on-demand viewing now through a variety of providers, and you can see the trailer below!
First off, congrats on the film! The timing on its release alongside the remastered Pro Skater games is pretty nuts…even if it wasn’t always planned that way. Or was it?
Thanks! No, it wasn’t planned that way. We were obviously aware of their timing but the development of the game actually started in 2019. In 2016, when we started working on the film, the only skateboarding game known to be in development was Session. This was two years prior to Skater XL. The genre remained untouched for a very long time.
How did the idea of a documentary come about? Were you guys playing Tony Hawk Ride and going, “we should make a movie about this…”?
I always wanted to make a documentary about the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise and when I met Ralph we were suddenly able to, with his contacts and knowledge (he had worked for Neversoft and then went onto work for Tony Hawk for many years).
Was Tony on board right off the bat to talk about the series? What other skaters joined in?
Pretty much! As soon as I mentioned the documentary, he wanted to do it almost immediately. Four months later, we shot our first interview with him, which remains in the final product. Rodney Mullen was one of the first to join as well.
What was your favorite part of making the film? Revisiting the nostalgia or something else?
Talking to some of the most legendary skaters of all-time about the video-game and the art- form itself. As a skate nerd, it was a wonderful experience in every way. I would dream every night of hanging out with Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska and Tony Hawk growing up, and all of a sudden it became a reality.
Does this cover the entire Tony Hawk series or just its early, more successful days?
Mainly the earlier days with the franchise.
Is there any great behind the scenes footage from the heyday of Neversoft to enjoy? Any fun stories?
I really wanted to focus on the skaters aspect of the whole story, and how the video game changed the perception of the art-form and introduced it to millions of kids across the globe.
There’s been a lot of hype for the film…namely for its title using a familiar song name. Whose idea was that, yours or the band’s? (And was Police Truck ever an option? Heh.)
That was Ralph’s idea. We had to come up with a title and he suggested we name it Pretending I’m a Superman. Not only is it a fantastic song, it also reflects what kids felt like playing the game, like supermen on skateboards.
What was the most difficult part of making the documentary? Activision clearance, perhaps…?
There were a lot of issues in post-production with music clearances, fair use, etc., but Ralph did a fantastic job with all of this, and almost nothing that we were using prior to reviewing the film for fair use etc. ended up being cut. I cannot thank him enough!
Finally, with this movie likely to be a success, will you give other classic game franchises the spotlight for their own documentaries? We could always use a Blur movie…
Thanks! Probably not, I haven’t played any other classic game franchises as much as I’ve played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, so I wouldn’t be right to make anything about Halo, etc. But, if anyone wants to see a documentary on Harvester or Eternal Darkness, I’m down!
