Party like itâ?Ts 1999… 10 years later

By admin | March 14, 2009 10:08 pm ET

tahoe.com brings us this look back at Scott Gaffney’s ski flick, 1999.

“It’s nice to reminisce. And 1999 was such an incredible year for both skiing and the conditions. Scott Gaffney, filmmaker

Made by Squaw Valley filmmaker Scott Gaffney, who is now part of the core of the talented Matchstick Productions crew, “1999” is a classic low-budget ski movie that still shows up on many hard-core ski movie aficionados’ top-10 lists. Starring now-famous Tahoe ski movie stars such as Shane McConkey, Robb Gaffney, Jonny Moseley, C.R. Johnson, and others â?” many of whom went on to make even bigger names for themselves the film is one of the most laid-back and entertaining ski movies made during the era. Filmed during the 1998-99 ski season, predominantly in the Sierra (with a ton of Squaw Valley footage), “1999” highlights the birth of a new freestyle influence on the Squaw Valley big-mountain scene. “The cool thing about the year 1999 was it was a big time in skiing,” Gaffney said in a phone interview last week. “Fat skis had just finally been accepted by people, so the sport was changing in a big way that way. And the whole freestyle aspect was just starting to blow up. Everyone had seen what the Canadians had done, and this was the next year. So guys were just trying to learn things from scratch. So the combination of those two things, and 1999 really was one of the most incredible years snow-wise… It might not have been the biggest, but as far as quality of conditions around Tahoe, it was insane.” The chance to watch “1999” with a bunch of locals at Squaw Valley is one that should not be missed. Especially considering that Gaffney is currently thinking up the “1999” drinking game to go along with the screening.

Q&A with Scott Gaffney:

Tahoe World: Tell me about the making of “1999” and what that year was like. Scott Gaffney: The movie was a pretty low-budget flick; we didn’t have much in the way of sponsors… It cost me roughly $10,000 that’s without paying myself at all â?” and we really didn’t have any sponsors.

TW: How old were you when you made the film? And where were you in your filmmaking career at that point? SG: I was 30. And I had worked a year for Matchstick Productions, but then I wanted to make my own movie again. I had done a couple of movies did a movie with the DesLauriers brothers for a year, then worked with Matchstick, and then just wanted to do my own flick. TW: What was the inspiration for “1999”? SG: I just thought the industry kind of needed a fun movie, kind of a localized movie… a you-and-your-friends movie not obligated to have a real “pro” feel to it, but just have fun with it. TW: The film seems to poke fun at the “extreme” ski scene of the day… SG: Yeah, we were making fun of a lot of things. The whole opening sequence is a spoof of the year before the [Matchstick Productions] movie I worked on which had an opening where Seth Morrison is talking on radios about his line. And we just figured we’d spoof it. Anything was fair game, even ourselves. TW: Was that risky at the time? SG: I didn’t think so. We were just hamming it up and having a good time. I didn’t think anyone would take it seriously or be offended. TW: Was it more fun to work on a film like “1999” than on your typical ski movie at the time? SG: I would say it was because we weren’t trying to look cool. We were kind of the antithesis of that. And it’s easy when you’re just trying to enjoy yourself. TW: The movie definitely has quite a cult following. Did you ever imagine that would happen? SG: Only because “Walls Of Freedom” kind of had a little following like that too. And I think there’s a place for the high-level, high-profile ski porn film and that’s what I work on now but I think there’s a place for a movie like [“1999”] too. And I’d kind of like to go back to making a movie similar to that; because people can watch it just for pure entertainment rather than to see the sickest stuff possible. TW: What is your favorite segment in the movie? SG: That’s really tough to say. I’d have to watch it again. I actually have to watch it again soon to figure out the drinking game we’re going to make out of it. TW: One of the most memorable segments was definitely the ex-stream skiers… Who’s idea was that? SG: That was definitely fun doing that. I believe it was my idea. It was at a time when the word “extreme” was just way overdone. We were just tired of hearing it. TW: Why name the movie “1999”? SG: It just seemed like such a monumental number. It was kind of funny because I came up with that title and then I heard there was a snowboard flick that was going to be called “1999.” And I was like, “Oh great, now I have to change it.” But then I was like, “Screw that. I’m not going to change mine.” … So there was a snowboard and a ski flick in the same year, both called “1999”. TW: Tell me a little more about living the life of a ski filmmaker for the past 15-16 years. SG: Pretty crazy. It’s pretty crazy that it’s still going. But I still consider myself a skier first and foremost, so it’s not like I’m reaching and trying to hang in there. It’s still simply what I love to do, so I’m in the best spot in the world except for this year, because I just blew four months of income by screwing up my knee. tahoe.com

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