The Amazing Mr. Mullen

July 13, 2016 8:33 AM

Skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen has released "Liminal," his first video in over a decade, scored by George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison. Rolling Stone interview. Previously.
posted by porn in the woods (14 comments total)

Old school. Bones Brigade represent! Contrast with his That's Incredible performance.
posted by Bob Regular at 8:53 AM on July 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

I watched this the other day. I love Rodney Mullen, pretty much everything about him. But I really don't like this stylized, slo-mo, distracting-effects video. I want to watch him dance, not the camera.
posted by headnsouth at 8:55 AM on July 13, 2016 [3 favorites]

He connected with musician Dhani Harrison (George Harrison's son) and filmmaker Steven Sebring. The latter had created something very special – a geodesic dome lined with 100 still-frame cameras that shoot in sequence, a scenario designed to capture what Sebring's calls "fourth dimension." It was the perfect platform in which Mullen could rediscover his craft and present something new. The result is Liminal, an exquisite and masterful display featuring Mullen flowing through a series of tricks that you simply have to watch to fully appreciate.

Ok wait. So the whole constantly rotating thing is a necessity as the whole damn film is shot with still-cams.
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2016

I thought this was gorgeous. Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 10:13 AM on July 13, 2016

The story of his injury and recovery from the Rolling Stone link is quite remarkable: ...he became relentless in trying to find a way to get back on his board. He took recovery into his own hands, employing a myriad of brutal, self-myofascial release methods – pounding the butt of a screwdriver into his flesh and torqueing his body over fire hydrants. "I didn't know if I would ever be able to film again," says Mullen. But one particular evening, while cranking his body inside the wheel well of his car, his femur bone broke free from its eight-year constraint.
posted by cubby at 10:49 AM on July 13, 2016

How come doctors weren't able to fix his injury? Or was it a matter of money? Seems like a brutal way to heal oneself but I'm glad it worked.
posted by gucci mane at 11:49 AM on July 13, 2016

Here is his excellent Ted talk where he discusses the injury and his methods for fixing it.
posted by HappyHippo at 11:55 AM on July 13, 2016

Not too shabby for someone who turns 50 next month.
posted by subliminable at 2:23 PM on July 13, 2016

That was a cool video. And cool tricks. And cool music.

That was cool!
posted by Bugbread at 10:26 PM on July 13, 2016

That guy is still inventing tricks. Good one!
posted by ostranenie at 7:10 PM on July 14, 2016

There is some god awful "innovation-religion" (ie tech-disruption) talk of him floating around, I don't know if it was the TED one above or another, but in any case I'm not really surprised at the wankery and self-mythologizing in this new video....."scored by George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison" - haha what nonsense.
posted by mary8nne at 10:25 AM on July 15, 2016

Mullen is like the Marquis de Sade of Skateboarding.... a perverse systematically that robs it of actual enjoyment.
posted by mary8nne at 10:28 AM on July 15, 2016

mary8nne: "Mullen is like the Marquis de Sade of Skateboarding.... a perverse systematically that robs it of actual enjoyment."

Yeah all of us who said we enjoyed the video were just lying, because something.
posted by Bugbread at 2:06 PM on July 15, 2016

I wasn't talking about "watching" skateboarding. - I was talking about skateboarding itself. Mullen's attitude to skateboarding is a kind of asceticism reminiscent of self-sadistic hermits.
posted by mary8nne at 2:03 AM on July 16, 2016