July 2005

Good Jammin' News

The 4-1-1 on the NY Roll Bounce Premiere Bill Butler (BB) recently traveled to Harlem, New York for the Urbanworld Film Festival which premiered Roll Bounce as its opening night feature, June 22.  Prior to the showing, which took place at the Magic Johnson/Loews Theater, he participated in a skate performance put together by his long time assistant, Michael Johnson, the key skate choreographer for the movie.  After returning to his home in Atlanta, he spoke with (RST) and shared his reactions to the premiere experience. BB - When we got [to the theater], I had to sweep.  They were sweeping outside, because we were skating outside, and the management they were very good about it. I had called in advance, and so did Tyrone [Dixon], to tell them about the outside area.  You know me, just because that's the way I am, I went there and swept and swept and swept until I thought it was what it was supposed to be.  Then, it rained but we stuck in there and it dried up, the sun came out.   Everything turned around. [Our] outfits were very simple, we had white and purple T-shirts with ‘Chicago’ on the front, and ‘Roll Bounce’ on the back.  All of it came out well and with short notice.  Michael Johnson, as usual, was at the helm.  All I do these days is just critique. If Michael needs my help, I'm there for him, otherwise, he's in charge of the choreography - he's always been that.  He's the man and I rely on him all the time.  I just tell him, 'we have to do thus and so,' and he says, 'okay, what music are we going to use?' Once he gets it, he just starts doing a lot of patchwork.  His application would be all the various moves within skate stop. He starts the process to come up with the end result and he's just a natural at doing that.  I'm very blessed to have been in his company for 30 years.  Nothing happens without his input. I just want people to know that I'm the person that loves skating to the extent that he wants to see to it that it gets proper treatment or recognition.  I think skating is open to everybody to be as good as they want to be. RST -  What songs did you skate off of? BB - 'Pick Up the Pieces,' by Average White Band, and I forget the name of the other one. RST -   Did [the skaters] know they'd be skating outdoors? BB - Yes, everybody was aware.  Michael went up to Harlem and did some scoping to find out the best spot.  Tyrone was also on the case ... he pulled this all together. Bow Wow was very, very sweet. He greeted his people and is just a cool kid who is smart enough to know that fans are the ones that make people what they are in the entertainment world.  I think Angelina Jolie said, ‘Without [fans], none of us would be here.’  I agree with that.  Bow Wow, I think he's very much aware of that and he just doesn't hassle anybody.  I've never known him to be that way even when we were making the film. He'll go a long way because of that and that's the way I was brought up.  My mother said, ‘You don't have to be mean. It doesn't cost you anything to be nice.’  There are some people who are just not nice for whatever the reason.  All in all, things worked well and [the performance] came off without a hitch. The movie itself, I think was a good movie but a lot of the work we put into [it], they had to cut.  I don't understand that part of the industry but there was a lot of stuff they didn't put in that was exciting.  I understand the concept, but when you're telling a story with film and you're controlling the behavior of people in the eyes of others, you have to make decisions based on a lot of things and I don't know what all those things are. RST -  An example of something you were surprised was cut out of the film? BB - The Cocky Boys - they cut that and we worked very hard on that piece.  I'm sure if it was edited again, it would be different.  It's kind of like when I'm skating, if I skate to a particular piece and you let me skate to that piece again, I won't skate it the same.  The first time you might say, ‘Bill was great,’ and then I skate that piece again 10 minutes later and you may not like it. The way the deal was with The Cocky Boys, the word ‘cocky' is exactly what it was - they were cocky and were there to show up the other teams - to mimic.  They made a boo-boo of it but it was very funny, it was a good part, so I'm figuring it wasn't that important in the editing. Sigourney Weaver in an interview, said she worked so hard on a particular scene and when the movie came out, that part wasn't in it.  I guess if they can jack [her] up, we don't have to sweat it.  The Cocky Boys should be proud. RST -  So they're not in there at all? BB - No, they're not in it period.  [The editors] left in the part of [Bow Wow’s] group doing [the same routine], but you don't get the concept.  If you see [the movie] without seeing The Cocky Boys, then you don't have that to measure against, but if you [never knew about them], you can't miss [them]. RST -  You don't sound like you have a lot of enthusiasm. BB - You can tell when someone's like, “Wow!” as opposed to “okay," or when the word 'alright' is used when you're dealing with millions of dollars, that's not good. RST -  So was there less skating in the film than you thought would be in the final cut? BB - When you think about it, for what you see, it's cool but the movie speeds up only to the people who were involved in it.  For the people who weren't there to see the movie made, it won't speed up. RST -  What do you mean ‘speed up?’ BB - They get to the point sooner. RST -  Because you know what's going to happen next, right? BB - Yes.  For what is currently in the film, it's a good film.  It has, I think, great potential to make a better film and there's room for a heavy sequel, in terms of the writing.  From what I understand, the script writer was a floor guard at one time so he knew how the rink worked.  That's how the story was born originally - he had some insight about the inner workings of a rink, so he added characters and of course, he created a story out of it. Movie making is about being able to tell a story, and when the story is uniquely written and acted out, it is  public worthy.  You now have to match the characters with various actors and actresses to pull it off. RST -  Did you meet anybody new on the red carpet? BB - The only new people, were some of the people from Fox.  I didn't actually meet them but we were all told by Egypt, a DJ who was the Mistress of Ceremonies, and she was making announcements in that way.  But some of the big money people from the film were there. RST -  What's the status of the skate tour, do you know where your next stop is? BB - No, I don't and I don't know if it is....  We'll see. RST -  On the tour, will you be skating outside? BB - I think the venues will vary, I don't think it will all be outside, some will be inside. These are things that were told to me. RST -  So is it to be a tour or just a competition? BB - It is a tour by virtue of different cities but the venues will be different.  I think the primary reason for us to skate in these venues is to give people that electrical charge that a child gets from playing with his friends in this particular setting. In other words, it is to promote the fun and partnership that takes place in the skating world and to bring about awareness of an art form.  Also to get a cross section, that was a big thing as evidenced in the age category which spanned from 16 to 71. That was important.  RST - Thank you. Posted 07/01/05 Do you have a specific question on the above information or the Jammin technique?  Ask Bill Back to Top