Genre: Biography/Drama
Director: Taylor Kitsch
Writer: Matt Parker
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Melissa Benoist, Terry O'Quinn, Dan Bakkedahl, David Schwimmer, Luke Wilson, Emily Bett Rickards, Jeremy Allen White, Eric Lange, Glenn Morshower
Plot: 1960.
Bobby Knievel (Taylor Kitsch) speeds his motorcycle down a residential street in Butte, Montanta, before screeching to a halt in front of a house. John Bork (Terry O'Quinn) watches as his daughter Linda (Melissa Benoist) hustles out of the house and hops onto the back of the bike. Linda waves to her father as Knievel speeds off. As they drive down the quaint main drag Knievel tells Linda to hang on tight and does a wheelie on the bike. Linda screams in nervous excitement.
Knievel heads to work at the local copper mines. After his boss yells at him, Knievel grabs the keys to one of the large earth movers and begins joy-riding it around the surface area of the mines. He manages to get the massive machine to do a motorcycle-style wheelie, but he loses control and crashes it into a power line, killing the power to the entire mining operation as well as a section of the city.
Linda and her father have Knievel over for dinner. John begins grilling Knievel about his career goals and interests. Knievel confesses that he doesn't want to be toiling away in the mines like so many others in town, but he does like hockey and motorcycles, so maybe he can do something with that.
Knievel and Linda attend a motocross racing event where Knievel manages to impress the owner of a motorcycle dealership, Don Pomeroy (Glenn Morshower) and is offered a job, but the job is in Sunnyside, Washington. Linda thinks Knievel should take the job, but he refuses to take it unless Linda marries him and goes with him.
1965.
Now married, Knievel and Linda pack up their belongings and drive to Washington. All seems good for a while, sales start to dwindle. Pomeroy asks Knievel if he has any ideas on how to drum up more business. Knievel mentions that when he was a boy he saw a motorcycle stunt show at the carnival, and that's what got him interested in motorcycles in the first place. Together Don and Knievel concoct a jump over a 20 foot box of rattlesnakes and two mountain lions, surely enough to draw in a crowd. Pomeroy offers Knievel a bonus if he does the jump himself rather than trying to hire an outside rider. Knievel rides his motorcycle around the town of Moses Lake, Washington, to promote his upcoming jump. At home, Linda confronts Knievel with the flier and asks when he was planning to tell her about it. Knievel admits that he was hoping to avoid that conversation until after he succeeded. Realizing his passion for the endeavor, Linda decides to begrudgingly support her husband in his newfound passion. On the day of the event, Linda kisses Knievel good luck. Knievel readies himself. He speeds off the ramp. The back wheel of his motorcycle hits the box containing the rattlesnakes, but he manages to lean forward enough in the moment to land the bike safely on the other side. Knievel waves to the crowd and smiles, finally knowing exactly what he wants to do with his life.
Don Pomeroy is not interested in doing more jumps, so Knievel quits his job and decides to out out on his own as a motorcycle daredevil. While looking for sponsors in order to hire help for his new venture, he meets Bob Blair (Eric Lange), owner of a motorcycle distribution company. Knievel tells Blair the name he has in mind for his show: "Bobby Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils Thrill Show". Blair offers Knievel all the motorcycles he will need, but insists on the show being called "Evil Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils". Knievel tells Blair that sounds like something one of those Hells Angels thugs would call it. They eventually compromise with "Evil" being spelled "Evel" and shake hands on the deal.
Knievel places ads in several motorcycle magazines to form a crew. Only one man shows up for an interview: Billy Rundle (Jeremy Allen White). Knievel grills him about his knowledge of motorcycles. Billy admits that he's no expert, but he's a quick learner and has always been mechanically inclined. Without any better options, Knievel hires Billy as his assistant and mechanic.
The first performance for Knievel's new company is in Barstow, California. To get the crowd excited, Knievel attempts to jump, spread eagle, over a motorcycle speeding at him. Knievel jumps too late. The motorcycle hits him in the groin, sending him flying 15 feet into the air and knocking him out cold. Linda and Billy rush over to help him. Knievel wakes up in the hospital. Despite his injuries, once Knievel is cleared to leave the hospital he announces in the local Barstow press that he will finish the show he started. Sure enough, he does finish the show less than one month.
Knievel reads about other stunt performers following in his footsteps of jumping over various animals. In order to differentiate himself from the pack, Knievel announces a new show back home in Montana where he will jump over 12 cars and a cargo van. With Linda, a young son and daughter, and her father John watching on, Knievel drives toward the ramp. It is quickly clear that he does not have enough speed to clear the obstacles. His back wheel hits the top of the van while his front wheel hits the edge of the landing ramp. This sends him crashing as the bike flips uncontrollably. Knievel manages to bail, but he ends up with a compound fracture of his arm. Billy vomits when he sees Knievel's bone sticking through the skin. John tells his daughter that he's glad that Knievel has found his passion and clearly he has a good number of fans, but he does worry about the sustainability of it as a career.
1967.
Now doing quite well financially, Knievel notices the fountains of Caesars Palace while passing through Las Vegas. He decides then and there that it should be his next jump. With the help of Linda and Billy, Knievel creates a fake corporation called Evel Knievel Enterprises in order to get a meeting with the CEO of Caesars Palace, Jay Sarno (Dan Bakkedahl). After Billy calls Sarno pretending to be an editor for Sports Illustrated, Sarno finally agrees to meet with Knievel to discuss a possible event. Sarno seems to take to the idea of the jump and schedules it for New Years Eve. Knievel tries to get ABC to agree to air the jump on television, but they won't commit to sending a film crew out to Las Vegas since most of their camera crews will be busy covering New Years festivities. Knievel is about to hang up the phone when the ABC executives add that if he were to film the jump himself, they would be potentially interested in buying the footage if it is good. While staying in Vegas to prepare for the jump, Knievel meets the charming actor/director John Derek (Luke Wilson) at a boxing match. Knievel asks Derek if he would be interested in filming the jump for him to potentially sell to ABC. Derek doesn't think it sounds very lucrative, but it at least sounds like fun. Together the two scout the fountain area after the fight. Derek realizes he'll need at least two cameras to get a good angle of the jump and the landing, so he brings in his wife Linda Evans (Emily Bett Rickards) to help out in the production.
On the morning of the jump, Billy searches the hotel for Knievel, but can't find him. Billy finally finds Knievel at the blackjack tables. Billy tells Knievel that it's time to go. Knievel places a quick $100 bet, which he promptly loses. As they walk through the casino, Billy can tell that Knievel has clearly had a few drinks at this point and suggests they swing by the bar to see if they have any coffee. Knievel says that is a great idea, but once they get to the bar Knievel orders a shot of Wild Turkey. Knievel exits the casino with a showgirl on each arm leading him to his motorcycle. Derek sets up with his camera at the starting ramp while Linda sets up at the landing ramp. The public address announcer tells the assembled crowd that the jump Evel Knievel is about to attempt is the longest attempt ever recorded at 141 feet. Knievel revs his engine to get the crowd excited. He finally takes off down the ramp. He feels the bike suddenly decelerate on the ramp. Knievel sails over the fountain with a look of concern. He hits the side of the landing ramp. He tumbles over the bike's handlebars and is sent skidding into the parking lot of the neighboring Dunes hotel and casino.
Knievel is visited in the hospital by Linda, Billy, Derek and Linda. Derek excitedly tells Knievel that ABC has made a huge offer to buy the footage, way above what they would have paid before the jump. Knievel laughs, but finds it hurts too much and asks how hurt he is. A nurse reads his injuries off his chart: crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his wrist, hip and both ankles, and a concussion.
While still in his hospital bed, Knievel already starts brainstorming ways to top the Caesars Palace fountain jump. He draws the ideas with a magic marker on his various casts in his hospital bed. When Knievel leaves the hospital, he finds that he has become a household name after ABC aired his fountain jump even though he crashed. Companies want him to appear in commercials for their products and one company even comes to him with the idea of making an action figure. Knievel is stunned by the idea, but gladly accepts almost every offer brought his way. Linda is concerned that he is too focused on the money, but Knievel tells her that it is important that he makes hay while the sun shines. Linda asks him if he's decided on his next jump. Knievel tells her he wants it to be the biggest, grandest jump of them all.
1972.
Knievel writes a letter to the President of the United States asking for personal permission to perform a death-defying motorcycle jump across the Grand Canyon. Linda asks Knievel to take some time off to spend with their young sons, suggesting they take the family up to Montana to visit her father and have some fun in the outdoors. Knievel agrees to the trip.
In Montana, John shows off a new raft he has purchased and offers to take Knievel and the boys out onto the rapids with it. Knievel at first declines, but John pushes his buttons implying that he's not much of a daredevil if he's afraid of a little white water rafting. Knievel bristles and tells John to get ready. On the river all is going well until they hit an especially rough stretch of rapids. The raft starts to get rocked every which way until it is clearly no longer structurally sound. John and Knievel try to steer the raft toward the shore, but are unable to out-muscle the rapids. The raft tips over. John's foot is caught on the raft, and he's unable to free himself. Even though he's in trouble and moving quickly away from the others, John orders Knievel to get the boys to the shore and not worry about him. That night, Knievel and the boys return to John's house without John. Based on Knievel's face, Linda can tell that something bad has happened to her father. She breaks down crying in her husband's arms. While flying back to California following John's funeral, Knievel notices the Snake River Canyon and mentions it as a possible jump location if he can't get permission to jump the Grand Canyon.
1974.
Knievel receives an official letter from the Department of the Interior rejecting his Grand Canyon jump proposal. He tells Billy to get some maps of the Snake River Canyon in southern Idaho so they can try to find the best place for a jump there. Knievel brings the concept of the canyon jump to ABC, but they give him a lowball offer, assuming it won't happen just like the Grand Canyon. Instead of continuing talks with ABC, Knievel arranges a meeting with famed sports promoter Shelly Saltman (David Schwimmer). Knievel takes an immediate dislike to Saltman, but knows that Saltman's connections will get the required permissions and financing the venture requires. Billy begins several motorcycle tests based on the dimensions of the canyon. He finds that no bike can get enough speed to make it all work. Knievel tells him to strap a rocket to the back of a bike or something then. Billy starts contacting different aeronautical engineers until one offers to let Knievel use a steam powered rocket he's built as long as his name and company are prominently mentioned during any telecast. Knievel immediately agrees.
On the day of the jump, Knievel finds out that Saltman has been recording all of their conversations for a book he's writing. Knievel demands the tapes from Saltman, insisting he never agreed to be secretly recorded. Saltman points out that it is mentioned in the contract Knievel signed with him. Knievel demands to see the contract so he can wipe his ass with it. Saltman tells Knievel to talk to his lawyers and that as soon as the jump is done, their partnership is over. Knievel finds a metal pipe and says they might as well end it now and attacks Saltman with the pipe, hitting him over the head and breaking his arm. The police arrive, but agree to hold off until after the jump to take him down to the station.
On the south rim of the canyon, Billy and Knievel get the motorcycle ready and attach the rocket. Knievel notices the wind starting to kick up a bit. Billy asks if they should postpone the jump and wait for better weather. Knievel says that it is now or never. With the steam rocket heated up to 500 degrees fahrenheit, Knievel starts driving down the ramp and activates the rocket. The drogue parachute prematurely deploys as the bike leaves the launching rail, causing a great amount of drag. The bike makes it over the canyon, but a strong gust of wind hits the parachute, dragging Knievel and the bike back over the canyon and down to the bottom, landing only a few feet from the river. Knievel looks up from the bottom of the canyon to see people looking down from both sides cheering for him, including his wife Linda.
The cheers continue as Knievel is escorted into the county jail as every inmate wants to shake hands with the legendary daredevil.
- Knievel and Linda were married until 1997 when they divorced.
- Knievel's son Robbie followed in his father's footsteps and became a motorcycle daredevil. He even fulfilled his father's dream and jumped over a portion of the Grand Canyon.
- Knievel served six months in county jail for assaulting Shelly Saltman. He insisted it "was worth it".
- Knievel died in 2007 after a long battle with diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was buried in his hometown of Butte, Montana.
No comments:
Post a Comment