Professional skater Tony Hawks documentary, Pretending Im a Superman, has found a home, Variety has learned exclusively. Wood Entertainment has bought worldwide rights to Pretending Im a Superman The Tony Hawk Video Game Story.
Hawk and Activision launched the initial Tony Hawks Pro Skater series in 1999, selling 9 million copies and spawning a total of 17 versions of the game by 2015. The film, directed by Ludvig Gr, tells the story of how Hawk evolved from a skater to a video game mogul, and the near extinction of skateboarding culture before exploding into the mainstream in the early 2000s.
Wood Entertainment CEO Tara Wood negotiated the deal with producer Ralph DAmato, a producer on the Tony Hawks Pro Skater franchise, on behalf of DAmato Productions.
Pretending Im a Superman is a robust, real-life story of our successful video game series as told by those who created it, and many who were inspired by it, Hawk said in a statement.
The movie includes never-before-seen footage and interviews with Hawk, as well as interviews with skating stars Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska and Jamie Thomas.
Im really excited to partner with Wood Entertainment, Gr said. Its been a long journey making the documentary and Im stoked it will finally be released for skateboarding and Tony Hawks Pro Skater fans worldwide. The art form and video game had an enormous impact on Generation Y/Z and the story behind it is even more fascinating.
Wood Entertainment produced QT8: The First Eight, a documentary that chronicles Quentin Tarantinos first eight movies. Wood completed the doc after a protracted legal battle to regain the rights following a production deal with the Weinstein Company back in 2016. She began selling the rights last year at the Cannes Film Festival.