Dogtown Fever

Once upon a time, I was a poser, a wannabe. I wanted boys to like me, so naturally, I boned up on their extracurriculars. Skateboarding was huge.

A classmate's father owned a surf/skate clothing shop in town and hosted an open-air exhibition of two hot skaters named Steve Caballero and Tony Hawk. I didn't go, but I heard about it. The following Monday, guys from class were trading stories, showing off their signed copies of Thrasher magazine and attempting Ollies and McTwists at recess -- moves they witnessed at the exhibition. Those were some of the dog days I remember from the 1980s -- crushing on these junior Tony Hawks, reciting the Rosary every day after lunch and surviving Sister "The Stare" Francis.

Skater Stacy Peralta has rekindled that folkloric kind of magic from the original dog days of the 1970s, with the new documentary he co-wrote and directed, "Dogtown and Z-Boys," which opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. Narrated by Sean Penn, "Dogtown" tells the story of boys and a girl (tomboy Peggy Oki) from the rundown neighborhoods of Venice, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, looking for the street equivalent of their collective pastime, surfing. Skateboarding was it.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the early days of skateboarding is portrayed here -- from the first time the Dogtown crowd showed up the clean-cut kids still doing handstands on skateboards, to the historic moment when Tony Alva officially caught air on the lip of a a drought-barren swimming pool.

I caught up with Peralta -- who famously teamed with George Powell to make the popular Powell Peralta skateboards -- recently to talk about making the film, upcoming projects and what it was like living in a skater's paradise.

First off, could you explain the title of the film?

Dogtown is a nickname for south Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and Venice areas of west Los Angeles. I believe [photojournalist, artist and "Dogtown" co-writer] C.R. Stecyk came up with the name in response to the number of Chicano gangs that lived in the area. The gangs were notorious for naming their barrios various names like Frogtown, Ghostown, Midtown etc. Z-Boys is derived from the word Zephyr. We were all surfer/skaters and we were sponsored by the Jeff Ho and Zephyr surf shop.

How was it, growing up with such a diverse mix of people and skating in that neighborhood?

As opposed to growing up in Newport Beach in the '70s, growing up in Dogtown was an early wake-up call as to what the real world is composed of. There was a certain charged friction because of all of the differing cultures living in such close proximity. I wouldn't change where I grew up for anything.

Any bumps in the road making this film?

Yes. I was given the best director award at the Sundance Film Festival 2001. I should have been given the best diplomat award because of the constant diplomacy needed to keep all of the original members of the team on board this film. Everyone who was associated with the DT experience, who is in the film, wanted to be in the film, but all of them had different agendas which I had to filter and accommodate. It was like being wedged between two impossible points. I'm so glad it's over as I am weary and exhausted.

What was the price tag on the film?

400K.

Were you involved in the financing? Also Vans reportedly pitched in some money -- how did that happen and was it a large contribution?

Agi Orsi, my producer, is the person who went to Vans shoes (Jay Wilson) and presented the project to them. Jay loved it from the get-go and got 100 percent behind it. He was the greatest, most skilled executive producer I've ever worked for. He and Vans never once asked to see a daily, rough cut or anything. They simply said, "Make the film you want to make and finish it in six months."