CKY (video series)

CKY (video series)
The covers for all 4 videos: CKY, CKY2K, CKY3, and CKY4
Directed by	Bam Margera, Joe Frantz, Ryan Gee, Brandon DiCamillo
Produced by	Bam Margera and Joe Frantz
Written by	Bam Margera & Brandon DiCamillo
Starring	CKY Crew Brandon DiCamillo Bam Margera Jess Margera Rake Yohn Raab Himself Chad Ginsburg Deron Miller Ryan Dunn Brandon Novak MacGregor Huston (Unreleased Footage)
Narrated by	Brandon DiCamillo
Music by	CKY
Cinematography	Joe Frantz
Edited by	Bam Margera
Production company	Bam Margera Productions
Distributed by	Landspeed, Ventura Distribution, SLAM! Films, Revolver Entertainment
Country	United States
Language	English

The CKY video series were a series of videos produced by Bam Margera and Brandon DiCamillo and other residents of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Four videos were released, Landspeed presents: CKY (later called CKY), CKY2K, CKY 3, and CKY4: The Latest & Greatest. There is also a CKY "documentary" DVD, which is a supplemental item in the hard-to-find CKY "Box Set," as well as two "CKY Trilogy" sets, both of which are compilation DVDs featuring scenes from the previous CKY DVDs. The videos were named after Bam Margera's brother Jess Margera and his band CKY (with Deron Miller and Chad Ginsburg). "CKY" stands for "Camp Kill Yourself".^[1]

The videos feature Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo, their friends and Bam's relatives performing various stunts and pranks, interspersed with skating and prank footage of Bam and other pros.^[2] A trademark of the skating footage was to show unsuccessful trick attempts immediately followed by the same skater pulling the trick off. CKY started when Bam and his friends were in the same Graphics Arts class at school in West Chester, Pennsylvania. During class, they would go out to a field and film skits, eventually being compiled into the CKY series. In a 2002 interview Bam Margera said that more than 400,000 copies of the CKY series have been sold. ^[3]

The CKY Crew

In addition to Margera and DiCamillo, the core members of the CKY Crew included Bam's brother Jess Margera, Ryan Dunn, Chris Raab (Raab Himself) and Rake Yohn (real name Edward Webb). Jess's involvement with the video side of CKY became increasingly limited as CKY the band became popular, and touring and recording commitments took up most of his time.

The first video stars the crew as well as The Gill (Ryan Gee), Mike Maldonado, Chris Aspite aka Hoofbite, and Kerry Getz. Bam's father, Phil Margera, were also featured (uncredited) in the first video. Bam's ex-girlfriend Jenn Rivell and David Decurtis aka Naked Dave starred in the second video, which also features Bam's mother April Margera (uncredited). Chris Raab was called Raab Himself in the third video, which also featured CKY band members Deron Miller and Chad Ginsburg as well as Tony Hawk and Brandon Novak. Bam's uncle Vincent Margera aka "Don Vito" starred in the fourth video. Jenn Rivell's daughter is also seen in some clips.

The CKY videos brought Bam and his friends to the attention of Jeff Tremaine who drafted them into the cast of Jackass which aired for three seasons on MTV. Most Jackass skits featuring the CKY Crew were lifted from previously released CKY material or were recorded by the crew in West Chester, while the Los Angeles-based faction of the Jackass team featuring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and others recorded in California. A subsequent MTV spin-off entitled Viva La Bam followed Bam Margera and his crew as they tortured Bam's family and generally wreaked havoc in West Chester and around the world.

CKY

CKY
Original 1999 VHS release
Directed by	Bam Margera
Produced by	Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo
Written by	Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo
Starring	The CKY crew
Music by	CKY
Cinematography	Bam Margera
Edited by	Michael Nuit
Distributed by	Tum Yeto (1999); Ventura Distribution (somewhere later in 1999)
Release dates	1999 (1999)
Running time	apprx. 45 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Landspeed presents: CKY, the first film in the CKY series, was released on March 1, 1999. The name Landspeed comes from Landspeed Wheels, which was a subsidiary of Tum Yeto Inc. that made skateboard wheels and clothing from 1998 to 2000. The name CKY comes from Jess Margera's band. The video shows a mixed up variety of random, homemade, crazy humor, and mostly focuses on stunts, pranks, and crazy behavior, as well as skateboarding. The music features original songs by the band CKY, including "96 Quite Bitter Beings". Landspeed originally produced the video, allowing Bam to distribute it in the public domain.

Differences between the VHS and DVD versions

• The copyright was taken off because it has Tum Yeto references.
• In the opening credits, the Landspeed title was taken off.
• A scene was also removed. It featured Brandon Dicamillo running around a Christmas parade as Santa Claus, because the real Santa was late. No one at the parade except for Bam and his crew knew that Brandon wasn't involved with the parade.
• In the Round 1 version of CKY there are clips removed, not only the Santa clip, but things such as bits and pieces and extended skits, and to make up for that it has more extra footage at the end than before
• Some skits in the DVD version are edited or cut short. Such as, Bam sings two Bon Jovi songs in the street to strangers in the VHS version (they cut one of them in the DVD version).

CKY Documentary

CKY Documentary is a compilation of footage from the first CKY video, it is in a double pack on the CKY Trilogy Round One DVD and CKY the box set (quadruple pack) DVD and show profiles of each member of the CKY Crew, including some older skits from when Bam was in high school and the story of how CKY was created. It is entirely in black and white.

CKY2K

CKY2K, the second film in the CKY series, was released on May 22, 2000. The video features a trip to Iceland, the rental car, a baseball game, "Bran's Freestyle", and other random items. The music features early versions of Flesh into Gear and Sporadic Movement by CKY; as well as many other artists, including an opening scene with Rammstein, Iceland scenes with Björk and Orbital, and a skateboarding scene with Aphex Twin.

Near the end of the video, there is a scene in which a minor exposes his genitalia in front of a public restaurant. The video explained that "this is what happens when you tell Bam you'll do anything to be in CKY." In 2003, the parents of the minor sued.^[4] During the hearing, a County Court Judge ruled that images of the plaintiff "must be deleted from future versions" of the video.^[5] Subsequently, CKY2K was discontinued due (in part) to copyright issues. The first major issue was from Björk.

Iceland

The video was notable for the documentary of their trip to Iceland. The music features "Hyper-Ballad" by Björk where Bam and the crew hang out on the top of a mountain with gorgeous views from the top.

As they stayed in a hotel somewhere in Iceland (the hotel at the airport), Brandon Dicamillo smeared feces on Ryan Dunn while he was sleeping on the bed. Smeared with feces, Ryan fought back by urinating on Brandon sleeping on the floor. Later, they argued in the car about the incident.

The crew does a variety of stunts, including guys riding on furniture on the road as a sled, featuring music by Orbital playing "Halcyon + On + On". Later, Bam was outside Björk's house calling her.

The rental car

Bam drives a Chevrolet Cavalier after paying $9 for extra insurance. With the car, Bam attempts crazy reckless driving maneuvers, knocking over orange cones and skidding turns. The next day, Rake Yohn finished off the already damaged car by setting fire to the radio, which completely burned the entire car. The music features an early version of Sporadic movement by CKY

Differences between the VHS and DVD versions

• The warnings were taken off from the beginning of the VHS version, and used in the beginning of the DVD menu, which then shows Bam playing with HIM.
• A small note at the end of "Bran's Freestyle" by CKY, and featured some clips after the credits, showing Bam Margera filming for seven teen sips, which includes a short preview of his film at the very end of the video. In the DVD version, the end credits were cut short and instead played "One Last Time" by HIM and featured alternate footage, including more furniture sledding and Bam commanding his father Phil to do push-ups.

CKY 3

CKY 3, the third film in the CKY series, was released in 2001.^[6] Soon after its release Margera and DiCamillo were sued over the fight scene involving Mike Vallely.^[7] The issue was settled out of court in 2006.^[8] It was also the first of the videos to be taken off the market due to copyright restrictions. Some of the musicians (or their legal representation) were unhappy with Margera using their music without their permission. This would later happen with CKY2K and the box set including all three videos and the documentary.

CKY4: The Latest & Greatest

CKY 4, the fourth and final film in the series, was released on November 10, 2002. It has a marked improvement in editing techniques compared to the other films, mostly due to Bam Margera's newly acquired wealth and ability to purchase motion picture film cameras and use advanced post-production facilities. However, it also features a lot of older video material, some unseen, some extended and some off-cuts from previous CKY films. Scenes include Don Vito's 50 Shots of Peach Schnapps (Bonus Feature) and Ryan Dunn rolling off a roof in a barrel.

CKY4 is the only CKY video to be censored, and one of the few DVDs to have been censored three times.

• A DVD Easter Egg showed Bam and his then-girlfriend mid-coitus with altered color mixes to avoid nudity. This wasn't the first time CKY videos have attracted trouble of this sort, but none of the previous videos cut legal sexually themed scenes until this one in mid-2003.
• In 2002, Brandon DiCamillo and CKY drummer Jess Margera wrote a rap about Masters Of The Universe characters Skeletor and Beast Man engaging in extreme homosexual behavior, called Skeletor vs Beastman. Mattel, owners of the Masters Of The Universe franchise, heard about the rap, and were displeased. Margera was sent a cease-and-desist order, and subsequent editions of the DVD have replaced this video with skateboarding footage.
• CKY guitarist Chad Ginsburg, a large fan of punk rocker G.G. Allin, visited his grave one day and after consuming an entire bottle of Jim Beam bourbon (Allin's favorite beverage), he proceeded to urinate on the grave, and left an autographed copy of Infiltrate.Destroy.Rebuild. which was later stolen. Mixed in between the grave footage is CKY performing Allin's song "Bite It, You Scum".
• At the end of the "lil key key" skit performed by Chris Raab, there was a "Secret Easter Egg" also got cut in 2003 for unknown reasons.

CKY: The Greatest Hits

On November 2, 2014 MTV premiered a special in dedication of the CKY Videos, featuring new interviews of the crew, as well us unreleased footage documenting the series as a whole. The special was directed by longtime CKY Crew member and cinematographer Joe Frantz.^[9]

Upcoming CKY Documentary Feature Film (2017)

Joe Frantz has recently confirmed that he is currently directing a documentary feature film about CKY, which will depict the CKY Crew's rise to pop culture, as well as the problems that swift fame brought to their friendships, relationships, and families. This documentary is calculated for release upon the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of CKY, approximately late 2017. The video will have unreleased footage of Ryan Dunn, Bam Margera, Chris Raab, Rake Yohn, MacGregor Huston, Brandon Novak, and Brandon Dicamillo.

CKY Blu-ray re-releases

The CKY Blu-ray re-releases are an upcoming project that CKY Crew member and director-producer Joe Frantz announced on a 2011 episode of Radio Bam. He stated the same will be done with Haggard: The Movie as well. On January 19, 2014, Frantz gave an update on the project via his Facebook page stating:

^[10]

References

External links

• Landspeed: CKY at the Internet Movie Database
• CKY2K at the Internet Movie Database
• CKY3 at the Internet Movie Database
• CKY4: The Latest & Greatest at the Internet Movie Database