Adventures in Wild California

The Stars of Adventures in Wild California

Susan Campbell, Aquarist, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Susan Campbell has been working for the past two decades to save one of California’s most loveable yet endangered wild creatures: the sea otters. An ocean lover and experienced diver, the sea has become a second home for Campbell, the place where she can share her own knowledge with orphaned sea otters in need. In ADVENTURES IN WILD CALIFORNIA, Susan Campbell offers a rare glimpse of interspecies communication far from the shores of human experience. Campbell has worked at the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium since 1990, where she rehabilitates orphaned and injured sea otters for return to the wild; tracks rehabilitated animals in the sea; helps to design sea otter holding pools and provides temporary care for otters; and oversees the training of staff and volunteers. She previously assisted with the care and rehabilitation of oiled northern sea otters at the Sea Otter Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Seward, Alaska and worked as a biological aid for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, transporting otters for a translocation project. Campbell’s other wild pursuits include working as a Veterinary Assistant in Monterey, California.

Jeff Clark, Professional Surfer
A native of California, Jeff Clark was born in Redwood City and moved to Half Moon Bay in 1966, where he has remained ever since becoming a local and international hero by pioneering Maverick’s, the surfing spot with California’s, and some of the world’s, most monstrous waves. Clark first surfed Maverick’s in 1975, as a hard-charging 17 year-old, stunned to find hidden 25-foot waves detonating right in his own backyard. For 15 years, he was the secret area’s lone surfer, inventing a form of highly committed surfing in which there can be no mistakes – or you pay with your life. As rumors of Clark’s monster-wave playground began to spread, so did tales of his extreme bravery and ability. He quickly became one of the most renowned and respected surfers in the world. Jeff Clark is one of surfing’s leading innovators in every way. He shapes and designs his own boards, specially engineered to withstand the hard and fast conditions at Maverick’s. He is also the Contest Director for the annual surfing competition at Maverick’s, one of the premier big-wave contests in the world. Clark is sponsored by Quiksilver, the world’s leading boardriding company. When he’s not surfing, he’s busy raising three children.

Troy Hartman, Aerobatics Pilot, Professional Parachutist and World Champion Sky Surfer
Troy Hartman is a true California adventurer who thrives on risk and dances at the very edges of what is humanly possible. A pilot, parachutist, downhill ski racer, rock climber, snowboarder and renowned skysurfer, Hartman takes to the air in almost every natural environment California provides. Hartman is a world champion skysurfer with more than 4,000 jumps to his credit. He has taken first place medals at the ESPN "X-Games, on the "X-Trials Pro Tour" and on the "Destination Extreme Pro Tour." His stunts have been seen in motion pictures and television including the wind tunnel sequence in "Batman and Robin" and skysurfing on "Baywatch," as well as in commercials for Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet. He has also been featured on the news show "Dateline" on a feature about extreme personalities, on the Discovery Channel documentary "Go For It: Big Air" and in several music videos. The Mammoth Lakes native is now the host of a new MTV show entitled "Senseless Acts of Video" which explains the behind-the-scenes tricks behind some of music video’s most amazing stunts.

Joe Jennings, Freefall cameraman
Like many Californians, Joe Jennings is in the movie business. But he does most of his work above 10,000 feet. Jennings’ specialty is skydiving cinematography and still photography. His work has been widely seen in such films as "Airforce One" and on television for such shows as MTV Sports, ESPN, Discovery Channel, CNN, "Dateline NBC," "Hard Copy," "The Pretender," "Current Affair," "Bay Watch," "Conan O’Brian," "Amazing People" and many more. When former President George Bush went skydiving, Jennings was there. He has garnered two Emmy Awards for MTV’s "Drop Zone" special and ESPN’s "Extreme Games" as well as awards at the Gravity Sports Film Festival. His commercial work is extensive including such well-known spots as "Air Delivery," which featured a mid-air pizza delivery, as well as national ads for Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Levis, Dr. Pepper, VISA, MCI, Budweiser, Pentium II, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Infiniti. His Pepsi "Goose" commercial was voted the number one Super Bowl Commercial of 1998 and also was honored with a Clio. Jennings’ still photography has been published in outlets ranging from USA Today and California Magazine to Skydiving and Outdoor Magazine. In addition to his accomplishments as an aerial cinematographer, Jennings is a champion skysurfer. He is currently at work on a new documentary that features the best footage of his career, including flying cars, skydiving at the Arctic Circle, and lots of unusual skysurfing.

Stephen C. Sillett, Biologist
Stephen C. Sillett can often be found by looking up, way up, into the canopies of California’s forests. As one of California’s foremost biological experts on Sequoia trees, his job is a mixture of climbing, exploring, educating and intense scientific research. He has climbed over 250 trees in search of knowledge, seed collection and conservation. Sillett holds a Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology and currently serves as an assistant professor of botany at Humboldt State University. He has published numerous papers on the life and ecology of Redwood and Sequoia forests in scientific journals, as well as co-writing a chapter in the book The Redwood Forest: History, Ecology and Conservation of Coast Redwoods. In the field, Sillett has led several tree research expeditions, including a journey inside the 112 meter-tall Mendocino Tree for a Discovery Channel documentary on redwood forests and several rigging and mapping missions inside Redwood National Park. In Oregon, he installed and monitored the first major forest canopy experiments in the Central Cascades and led an expedition for a National Geographic article on forest canopy research. Among Sillett’s academic awards are the 1995 William Sterling Sullivant Award for Best Bryophyte Paper; a National Science Foundation Fellowship and the Beinecke Brothers Memorial Scholarship.

Brian Iguchi, Professional Snowboarder
Bryan Iguchi is one of America’s premier professional snowboarders, one of those rare risk-takers who flows down snow as if he was born to grace. Iguchi is a California native, raised in the San Fernando Valley, where he learned to skateboard and to surf. Later he transferred his balance skills to the slopes, falling in love with snowboarding at age 15. He quickly made his way to the snowboard parks of California’s Snow Summit, Big Bear, as well as some trips to the Colorado mountains. He joined the Burton Snowboards team in 1992 and quickly made an impact with his riding and image. In snowboarding circles Bryan Iguchi is known simply as "The Guch." He made his name by performing aggressive, technical moves on the International Halfpipe Circuit, nailing many top ten finishes in competition. He has also made his mark on the snowboarding world as a product development consultant to Burton Snowboards, using his intensive knowledge of the snowboarding experience to create better equipment. Iguchi has snowboarded all over the world, has appeared in many snowboarding magazine features, has been spotlighted in several popular snowboarding films and videos and has appeared on MTV’s infamous "Big Air" festival. He recently moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to explore backcountry snowboarding, traveling by snowmobile to remote areas looking for steep liens and new challenges. During the past six months he has traveled to New Zealand to star in a snowboarding movie (Cinemasoane’s "Haakon Faktor"), participated in a promotional tour of Japan and Chile, and managed to get in an early season snowboarding session at Mammoth Mountain in California.

Produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films. Producers: Greg MacGillivray, Mark Krenzien, and Alec Lorimore. Director: Greg MacGillivray. Distributor: MacGillivray Freeman Films. Executive Producer: K2 Communications. Writer: Mark Krenzien. Director of Photography: Brad Ohlund. Editor: Jim Foster. Narrator: Jimmy Smits. Original Score: Lindsay Buckingham and Brian Wilson.

BMZ Reviews:

Westward Education and Ultimate Sports to the IMAX® By Ross Anthony

Outside Reviews:

"A new IMAX film captures the majesty and the minutiae of the Golden State" By Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

"Going Wild in California" By Bob Thompson, Toronto Sun

"Adventures in Wild California" By Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

"Adventures in Wild California" By Chris Gore, Film Threat

"Adventures in Wild California" By Mike Kerrigan, BoxOffice Magazine

Bryan Iguchi: Wild Californian By MacGillivray Freeman Films (Oct 2001)

Big Movie Spotlight: Greg MacGillivray By BMZ Staff (Nov 2000)

FREE FALLING: MTV Host Jumps for WILD CALIFORNIA By Troy Hartman (Summer 2000)

Jeff Clark Charges GIANT Waves By BMZ Staff (Oct 10, 2000)

Rating: Excellent
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Rating: Excellent
Posted by: louie22
Adventures featured some of the best film work I have seen in a while. I particularly enjoyed the sky surfing and big-wave surfing portions. However, the Disney part seemed a little too "branded" for my liking. Overall, I thought it was a fantastic movie and will probably end up seeing it again. ... Read More >>

Rating: excellent
Posted by: landrith1
Wow! Some pretty amazing stuff in here . . . from surfing 40 foot waves to surfing in the sky. And a cool Lindsey Buckingham soundtrack to boot! ... Read More >>