VT: Hi Brian, so this project your Cross Documentary Pure Sweet Hell has been in progress for 3 years
Brian: Right...

VT: Both you and Willie Bullion your partner and co-producer are both long time Cross racers?

Brian: Yes, Willie started cross racing in 88' in Ashland, OR. His friend Jed Fox got him into it.
I started in 93' as a Jr. Racer and my friend Justin Robinson got me into it. Willie has managed cross teams for years while working for Bontrager and Santa Cruz Bicycles. Most of his teams have had riders who made the National Team and raced in Europe.
Willie and I kept meeting at BBQs and we always talked about films, especially by Lynch and Wong Kar Wei, but also non-fiction films. We both thought Cross could be a great film subject.

VT: What races in the last three years were filmed?
Brian: In the last three seasons of cross we shot film in Portland, Utah, Gloucester, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Tacoma, Olympia, the Coyote Point Races, and DFL Urban Outlaw races in....xxxxxx(I'm not a liberty to say).

VT: Hahaha! No time for secrets Brian. So what is your personal favorite aspect of Cyclo X?
Brian: Cross is beautiful and ugly at the same time....like most things worth loving.

VT: Your personal motivation for making the film?
Brian: For most cross racers CycloCross is a community.
I guess I feel a certain responsibility. I've helped build courses, Willie has managed teams, but I think we both wanted to do something personal which reflects a commitment to that community.

VT: Movie Style? You told me you grew up seeing some of the great Surf movies and first Cycling movies like “Endless Summer” and “A Sunday in Hell” (Paris/Roubaix), “The Impossible Hour”; did you shoot and edit the your film to have the same feel and excitement of these Classics?
 Brian: I think the surf films I saw as a kid, as well as the cycling films from 30 or so years ago, have richness in content and image which I'm not seeing in sports coverage on television, or in the big hit video rack at the bike shop.
The older films were shot with film, and I think film represents motion in a way that feels more real and alive, but that is technically less accurate. Kind of like our memory. So we shot film.
Also, these older films had some great music and so we thought a lot about sound. we are lucky to be working with Andy Kortman (of Oma Yang/ see Slowdance Records). We have some original music, and also previously recorded Oma Yang tracks.

VT:  Have to say Brian I saw the trailer at http://www.pilarcitos.com and I loved the feel of the film, well done. The music was great too. I understand you and Willie did the Camera work but you often recruited your "Crew" on the spot for sound and other tasks…
Brian: Thanks, CycloCross has always been low on the pole in American cycling and so the community of cross has been very DIY (do it yourself).
Pure Sweet Hell was made in a similar way.
Friends shot a lot of film for us. Sometimes we asked them to try for certain angles, or to capture certain people, but most of the time we just said "have fun." There isn't one tripod shot in the entire film.

VT: You mentioned a feel about the X World being more like a family and close knit… did you try to capture this in the film.
Brian: In interviews we always asked questions about the community of Cross. Jeff Clark (long time Surf City promoter) had a memorable answer. He said that most of the people who have raced for 15-20 years straight aren't the ones who ever placed top five, or top ten, they are the mid-packers.
They keep coming out to see their friends that maybe they only see during the cross season. In my experience this is true. There are many people I only seem to see those 3-4 cross months of the year.

VT: How did you choose the name for the film, Pure Sweet Hell? Man! That conjures up some great images for me; especially in Cross with the mud and the non-stop action.
Brian: It's that beautiful/ugly contradiction. Sometimes we do the stupidest things and somehow convince ourselves we're better for it. CycloCross isn't sweet like Singletrack, its sweet like the whip.

VT: What really turns you on about X racing compared to the other styles of racing like road and track?
Brian: While racing cross the rider is on display. There is social pressure, and fear of humiliation. I guess I like that when a racer cracks everybody sees it. even if its me.

VT: How long is the film? Are you reaching for a larger audience than most documentaries would?
Brian: The film is about an hour. We have so much extra film we could already make a sequel. The film is made for the cross community.
It will certainly educate people who don't already know about the sport, but we wanted to make a film which reflects American Cyclo Cross racing as we see it: a contradiction of pain and goodness which just isn't for everyone.

VT: So the premiere is at the Cross Nationals this year in Portland; are you looking forward to the races as much as the Premiere?
Brian: Willie and I have similar goals for racing. Look smooth and don't worry about that guy in last place who's about to come by on the inside.
VT: Ok Brian, who do you think on the American Cross Circuit can take it to the Euros this year in the Worlds?
Brian: I don't even know who is in the running for National Team spots, but I would like to see Barry Wicks do well because he was so enthusiastic about Cross.

VT: You told me that X is bigger in the states at the lower levels; but larger in Europe at the Elite level, could you explain?
Brian: That was a recent discovery because I've never been to a European cross race. We spoke with Danielle Pontoni the former World CX Champ about the difference between American and EU Cross and one thing he said, was that there were never as many competitors in Italy, as in the US. The emphasis there is on the elite racing. The promoters I know here have all spoken up about who they know to be their most important customers: the amateur categories. I have the impression that the B men’s race is usually the largest group here.  

VT: What other riders are interviewed in the Film?
Brian: The featured riders in the film are Justin Robinson, Barry Wicks, Gina Hall, and Rick Hunter (a frame builder). We also talked to Pineapple Bob, Thomas Frischnect, Mike Ferrentino, Paul Sadoff, Dannie Nall, and a mob of drunken DFLers at Zeitgeist (a biker bar), in San francisco.

VT: What is your favorite race footage in the Film?
Brian: My favorite pieces of film were from the Napa and Portland nationals. Both places were very complicated for filming because of the weather, but the images really look like Cross.

VT: Your cast? Who are the riders you followed and feature for the three years?

Brian: We spent the most time with Justin Robinson. He gave a lot to the film by taking the time to understand what we think about cross while not changing his own view. He caught me trying to lead him to a response and it made me aware of my bias. That was a good personal moment during production.

VT: After the premiere will there be DVD's available for sale at the Premiere? Or will the sale of Pure Sweet Hell be a bit later?
Brian: We won't have DVDs for sale at the premier, but we plan on getting those out as soon as possible. We are trying to work out distribution through bike industry channels, and are still unsure what THE DEAL will be.
Jim Gentes, the founder of Giro Helmets, and 1975 Jr. National Cross Champ, has been volunteering his expertise in the Bike Biz. If anyone wants a copy when available we'll certainly be taking names in Portland or you can e-mail me.

VT: So if someone wants to arrange a showing in their area are you interested in talking to them?

Brian: Yes they can contact me at: redcowboy66@yahoo.com

SEE THE PURE SWEET HELL WORLD PREMIER AT THIS YEARS NATIONAL CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS.
A CycloCross documentary by Brian Vernor & Willie Bullion.

 

Saturday December 11, 2004
Screenings at 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30
Overton Room at the Doubletree Jantzen Beach