To get into the movie, Kevin Bartkowski knew he had to do something crazy.
So, he did.
On Sunday, the 27-year-old Bartkowski -- aboard his Specialized heavy-duty mountain bike -- plunged off a cliff face at the top of the Nechako River cutbanks. His free fall was about 16 feet, and that was just the start of his worries. Bartkowski, one of the most experienced professional riders in the province, had to hit his landing spot with absolute precision and then get safely down the rest of the hill at an alarming rate of speed.
"You've got to land it, and it's exposed to your left, so if you fall off to the left you're falling off more cliff," Bartkowski said, describing the stunt from his own perspective. "Then the part I kind of underestimated was the run-out. When we walked up there three months ago [to survey the jump site], the ground was pretty soft so I wasn't worried about my run-out. I thought it would be soft but because it was hot and sunny [on Sunday], the ground was hard. That was the hardest part about it. I was just cruising down. When you come off the cliff, you're going like mach 10 and it's like, 'Oh, God, am I going to be able to stop?'"
Bartkowski, fighting his way through fissures in the sand and gravel, screamed down the slope and then bailed over top of his handlebars about 10 feet from the bottom because he had run out of real estate.
The whole time, local filmmaker Jeremy Smith had his camera rolling. Later that day and Monday, he worked the hair-raising footage into a flick that has been three years in the making. The BushLeague Movie will premiere June 9 at the Treasure Cove Show Lounge.
In the movie, the 26-year-old Smith tried to capture the essence of Prince George, but a side of life in this northern logging town that most people never see.
"I always felt there was a weird sense of humour around here, kind of a hillbilly backyard stuntman sort of thing," explained Smith, who has been editing The BushLeague Movie full-time for the past six months.
"I tried to make a movie about Prince George but not a documentary. It's a sports video that's got snowmobiling, mountain biking, skateboarding, people doing smoke-shows and blowing up their tires and blowing up propane tanks -- just stuff that everybody kind of does around here. It's what people do on the weekends and I just made a video about it."
The movie trailer can be viewed on The Citizen's website -- www.pgcitizen.ca. Smith also has his own website, www.bushleaguetv.com.
The movie, Smith's first, is mostly filmed in and around Prince George. About 60 minutes in duration, it features the talents and temerity of locals like Bartkowski, snowmobilers Steve Taylor, Jason Gorman and Dusty Roads, snowboarders Brad King and Logan Short and skateboarding genius Justin Welygan. Kenny Smith, a professional mountain biker who is Jeremy Smith's older brother, also appears in the film.
The BushLeague Movie has elements of the Jackass television show and feature films but has so much jaw-dropping footage that it's more akin to reality TV's Nitro Circus. One stunt has a snowmobiler sailing over traffic across Carney St.
Smith, who learned his trade at the Art Institute of Vancouver, can't wait for an audience to see his work.
"I'm pretty pumped," he said. "I'm so happy that it's all actually happened. I've spent so much time and so much money. And I don't have money to sponsor people. People are just doing it because they want to be part of a video. The premiere is just going to be so much fun. Everybody's families are coming and everybody's really excited."
Bartkowski, who spent 10 years honing his mountain biking skills in Whistler, has seen most of The BushLeague Movie and recommends it to those who want to get their blood pumping a little bit.
"I think people are going to be completely blown away because it's a mix of everything," he said. "It's a little bit of redneck, it's mountain biking, it's sledding. I've seen some clips of it and it's absolutely crazy."
Tickets, $20 each, are available at Summit Power Tools, Ruins Board Shop and Print Werx.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the movie will start at 8 p.m.
