At Sender Films, we’re always trying to discover new on-screen talent, and snag the penniless unknowns living in their cars before they become big stars and headline makers. We’ve watched with pride as folks like Alex Honnold and Timmy O’Neill have gone on to worldwide media fame after first appearing in a Sender productions.

When we decided to make a film about Andy Lewis, the slackline master and star of REEL ROCK’s “Sketchy Andy” film, we knew we could rely on his major athletic talent and a bombastic personality to deliver a crazy film. But we didn’t foresee that, several months later, he would be doing back flips at the Superbowl and getting smooched by the Material Girl in front of 115 million viewers. There was something about the dude with the Caligula outfit and golden fro (4,999 FB friends and counting) that really hit a collective American nerve. Suddenly Andy was the subject of CNN reports, Youtube responses and hilarious spoofs on Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live. Check out Andy Samberg’s impression at the end of this SNL skit:

Congrats to Andy on his star turn, hope he still returns our calls.

In case you missed Sunday’s Super Bowl madness, REEL ROCK 2011 star “Sketchy” Andy Lewis rocked the slack-line during Madonna’s epic halftime performance. With 115 million people watching live, Andy — wearing some sort of Greek tunic — bounced and flipped his way along the line as Madonna encouraged him with sexy moves and a kiss. Check out the performance here (start at 4:10). We knew this guy was bound for stardom, but this is next-level. Hats off to Andy, who is apparently taking his show on the road with Madonna for over 100 more performances.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 2011 REEL ROCK DVD, you can buy it here as a DVD or HD download to watch Sketchy Andy perform his death-defying stunts thousands of feet off the ground, often ropeless, sometimes naked, in the eponymous film that won Best Adventure Movie at Kendal Mountain Film Festival, and has left REEL ROCK audiences debating which side of the insanity/genius line this guy falls on. At least we know Madonna’s opinion on where he stands on that one. HERE is the REEL ROCK DVD trailer, which features all 6 of the amazing films from the 2011 Tour — Ice Revolution, Cold, Project Dawn Wall, Origins:Obe and Ashima, Race for the Nose and Sketchy Andy — plus an hour of bonus footage, hilarious outtakes and behind the scenes.

Here’s to following your passion, and going big — thanks for the inspiration Sketchy Andy!

Cheers,
The REEL ROCK crew

Each year we travel to Mountain Film Festival in Telluride to get inspired by filmmakers who have captured stories of everything from first ascents to social and political campaigns and efforts in environmental activism. We never leave disappointed. The selection process for the 2012 Mountain Film Festival has started and we strongly encourage all filmmakers celebrating achievement in adventure and activism, culture and environment to apply. The submission deadline is February 3rd, 2012. Visit the Mountain Film Festival website for submission details.

We were psyched to participate in the line-up of 2011 films. Our team continues to be motivated by the honor of the mountain film festival selection as we work on our 2012 documentaries.

Not a filmmaker? No problem! Anyone can attend this incredible film festival to see the latest and greatest in documentary film, with plenty of opportunities to meet the filmmakers and attend workshops.

Check out Mountain Film and get pumped for the 2012 festival. We hope to see you in Telluride this May!

Happy holidays! ‘Tis the season to shop for gifts, and we’ve got everything you need at the newly revamped Sender store! From our latest DVDs and downloads — including the award-winning REEL ROCK 2011 — to our brand new line of organic, sustainable T’s, hoodies and hats, you can do all your holiday shopping for your favorite climbers right here.

We’ve got exclusive products, cheap shipping rates, and great special offers!

THE 2011 REEL ROCK DVD AND HD DOWNLOAD

After touring to over 250 locations around the world with packed houses from Boulder to Sydney, the critically acclaimed REEL ROCK 2011 DVD and HD download are here! Featuring six outrageous climbing films, REEL ROCK 2011 is the definitive adventure DVD of the year.

Check out the trailer, and treat yourself to the wildest adventure cinema from Sender Films and Big Up Productions. We’ve packed the DVD with bonus footage, hilarious outtakes and behind the scenes with the filmmakers. And – for the first-time ever – we offer all the bonus footage FREE with your HD download purchase.

SENDER’S NEW LINE OF APPAREL

We are also proud to announce the launch of the Sender Films line of apparel!
First up, the Sender Films sustainable T’s. In five colors and featuring the iconic Sender Dog logo, the Sender T is a sure-fire holiday hit for every climber you love. Check out all our color options at the Sender store.

And we’ve got three styles and weights of Sender hoodies, with great color options.


Lastly, we have the Sender embroidered logo hat, and the infant Sender onesie!

Happy shopping at the Sender store, and happy holidays from all of us!
-The Sender Crew

Alex Honnold on 60 Minutes

In case you missed it on Sunday, the venerable CBS show 60 Minutes aired a 13-minute segment that we helped shoot on Alex Honnold’s free-soloing exploits. The piece can be seen online at the links below, along with two entertaining “Overtime” segments that get behind the scenes with Alex and the film crew.

The Ascent of Alex Honnold

Click here to read CBS News Article

Filming Mountain Climber Alex Honnold

Click here to read CBS Article

The Quirky World of Alex Honnold

Click here to read CBS Article

Hats off to 60 Minutes producer Jeff Newton and host Lara Logan for doing a great job presenting climbing, and free-soloing, to a broad audience, and for capturing Honnold’s unique personality. We’re honored to have been a part of the show, and to be able to continue following Honnold on his amazing journey. Big thanks to the rest of the crew that joined Pete, Frosty and Kyle on the wall, including filmers Mikey Schaeffer and Ben Ditto, and rigger Dave Turner.

After a long summer of editing and a big year of filming, we have just wrapped this year’s REEL ROCK movies and they are looking great! Check out the trailer above.

The tour kicks off September 15th, with two big shows at Boulder Theater, before heading to over 200 locations around the world. Check www.reelrocktour.com for a show near you. And if there isn’t a show in your area, don’t hesitate to contact us about how to bring REEL ROCK to your town.

So get psyched for the fall climbing season and a stack of our best new flicks. We’ll see you at REEL ROCK.

We showed up to El Portal on Sunday night for a dinner gathering to kick off a week of filming with Alex Honnold for a piece that “60 Minutes” is doing on the goofy Sacramento kid that soloed Half Dome. At around 10:30 that night, Alex quietly mentioned to me that he was considering soloing Phoenix in the morning before our 8:30 “safety meeting” with the rangers. I asked if I could tag along and, perhaps realizing how preposterous the whole thing would sound, he said he liked the idea of having some sort of record of his ascent.

At 5:30 we drove into the park with the early light, and by 6 we were walking to the top of the Phoenix. Alex rapped the route as I got into place on two filming bolts set off to the side of the crack. He warmed up by rehearsing the route for about 20 minutes on mini-traction before lowering to the base. He then tied his harness and sweatshirt to the rope, and asked me to pull it out. Cascade Falls, which flows about 300 feet behind the Phoenix, was flowing with such intensity that it seemed the wall was shaking, and its crash was so loud that I couldn’t understand Alex from even 70 feet away. Alex started up the 12d dihedral that begins the route and it was clear that a fall from even the third or fourth move would be critical, as the wall quickly drops away below the start ledge into Cascade Creek. But he continued up, undaunted by the exposure, the roaring water, or the hard moves that he said felt like 13b, and in 8 minutes he fluidly soloed the first-ever 5.13 crack in Yosemite. By 8:00am we arrived at 4-Mile trail, half an hour early for our safety meeting.

Soloing Pheonix (5.13a)

Pete filming Alex on Pheonix

Alex on Sentinel's Choinard-Herbert

Mason Earle has been quickly rampaging through the desert’s hardest routes, and on April 20th climbed what he considers his most difficult desert crack yet. To finish off our 10 day shoot in and around Moab, we shot Mason’s FA send of the project known as Hot Pork Sunday, a 5.13+ two pitch splitter in Indian Creek. (We’re hoping he’ll rename the thing.) Mason completed the burly 70-meter climb with grit in his teeth, blood on his joints, and the secret beta: no underwear. Congrats Mason! For more details, check out his blog: http://masonearle.blogspot.com/

We just finished a 10-day shoot in Moab, UT and have some great footage coming together for REEL ROCK 2011. Highline slack-master Andy Lewis went for the highline backflip (among other death defying antics), while Steph Davis executed the perfect BASE off a desert tower. We also spent time with young desert rat Canyon Cain who, at 14, is sending hard crack and fearlessly took a 60 meter rope swing plunge off a cliff.

The REEL ROCK/Sender crew was joined by Chuck Fryberger, (“Core” and “Pure”) and his state of the art RED camera. Chuck captured 120 frames per second of first ascents, painful whippers and Kyle’s hilariously unintentional butt-bounce into rope swing.

Now we are back in the Boulder office editing away for REEL ROCK 2011. Stay tuned for more..

We are proud to announce that the First Ascent Series has been nominated for a 2010 Sports Emmy! We were nominated in the “Outstanding Camera Work” category alongside some of the biggest sporting events of the year, including the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics.

Thank you to all the fans for your support. The winners will be announced on Monday, May 2, 2011. Fingers crossed!

Outstanding CAMERA WORK:
2010 FIFA World Cup ESPN/ABC
24/7: Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona HBO
Fly or Die (First Ascent) Travel Channel (Sender Films)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets HBO
NFL Films Presents: Shots of the Year NFL Network (NFL Films)
XXI Olympic Winter Games: Discovery NBC