I’ve got a new story over at Paddling Magazine, a Q&A with Sam Dunning, the writer and start of Canoe Dig It, a mockumentary about freestyle canoeing (aka canoe ballet), which was inspired by freestyle legends Marc Ornstein, who actually helped with the film. Here’s how he got involved:

Who got Marc Ornstein and his wife, Molly Gurian, to be in the film?

When we were doing the Kickstarter [crowdfunding campaign], I made a teaser video. And I guess his community caught wind of it. They immediately were like, “Well, this guy sucks.” I had to prove to them that I was not an asshole, and that the comedy was coming from the characters, not from the sport itself.

So I went to a freestyle canoeing symposium in Ohio to show my face for a weekend. When I sat down with Marc, he said, “Yeah, a lot of people told me not even to talk to you.” But I think spending that weekend with them and taking some classes went a fair way. Later on, Marc and Molly said, “We understand you’re making this movie either way, and we want this sport to be reflected properly.” So they agreed to body double for all the actors.

You can read the rest here, and see the trailer below.

Trailer here: