THE STORY

MOVIE FEATURES

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

THE FILMMAKERS

CONTACT

 

 

THE STORY

 

Own the hit movie that hockey fans everywhere are raving about.  Packed with blistering slapshots, big hits and sweet dangles, IN THE CREASE is the action-packed true story of a real life teenage hockey team’s quest to win a national championship.  The movie also features 15 of professional hockey’s biggest stars sharing their own personal stories you’ve never heard before anywhere.  Shot on location in California, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, the movie is the first to go behind the scenes in hockey and tell it like it really is.

 

From day one, Coach Mike Lewis assembles the California Wave Bantam AAA travel hockey team with one goal in mind:  getting to Nationals.  But qualifying is the easy part.  In their final season together, and with only one month to prepare to face off against the best teams in the nation, the Wave must find the strength to battle back against injuries and personal challenges and come together as a team for one last shot at the title.  Making it to Nationals is the dream.  Winning it will take a miracle.

 

See what it takes to be the best and hear from hockey superstars like Joe Thornton, Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez, Brian Rolston, and Martin Havlat how hockey is more than just a sport, it’s a way of life. 

 

 

MOVIE FEATURES

 

Film running time of 90 minutes, plus 20 minutes of BONUS FEATURES including extended interview with pro stars about their playing experiences and personal triumphs, extended interviews with scouts about their programs, and an additional Wave player profile.  This DVD is created for true hockey fans and players of all ages.

 

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

 

Production began on IN THE CREASE in March 2005 in Lakewood, California, immediately after the California Wave won the Pacific District Regional Championship and qualified for nationals.  For approximately one month, the Stickmen Pictures crew spent nearly every day with players, families and coaches filming at practices, in the locker room, and at their homes across Southern California.  The film crew then traveled with the team to Bensenville, Illinois where they covered all the action at nationals over the six days of the tournament and also interviewed scouts, agents, and opposing players and coaches. 

 

After nationals, Stickmen Pictures continued to film the Wave players periodically for the ensuing sixteen months.  In the course of interviewing professional players, the film crew also crisscrossed the country in 2006 shooting on location in players’ homes, at the Kings’, Flyers’ and Rangers’ training facilities, as well as the Excel Energy Center, the United Center, and Honda Center.

 

 

THE FILMMAKERS


IN THE CREASE is a Stickmen Pictures LLC production.  Former Pathe Pictures and Fox Searchlight Pictures production executive Matt Gannon and former United Artists marketing executive Michael Sarner formed Stickmen in 2005.  Gannon co-produced the Oscar nominated “Girl with a Pearl Earring” starring Scarlett Johansson and was co-executive in charge on hit independent films like “Bride and Prejudice,” “Antwone Fisher,” “Quills,” and “Slums of Beverly Hills.”  Sarner managed the marketing campaigns for the Oscar nominated “Hotel Rwanda” and the critically acclaimed films “Coffee and Cigarettes” and “Osama.”  Gannon and Sarner co-directed and produced IN THE CREASE.  Both grew up playing hockey – Gannon for the Ramapo Saints in New York and later Phillips Exeter Academy and Wesleyan University, Sarner for club teams in St. Louis.

 

Director of Photography Jesse Phinney has served as a cinematographer and cameraman on such hit TV shows as “The Apprentice” and “The Simple Life.”  Director of Photography George Dougherty has worked extensively on music videos and behind the scenes documentaries for companies like Capitol Records.  Director of Photography Irving Ong produced the film “Heartbreakers” and has been a camera operator for numerous short documentaries for companies such as MGM.  Award-winning composers We 3 Kings created original score and music for IN THE CREASE, which also includes songs by The Lordz, Jack’s Mannequin, and Autovaughn.   

 

 

CONTACT

 

You can write to Stickmen Pictures LLC by emailing info@inthecreasemovie.com.