Enjoy some nasty footage from Les Diablerets with Jules Reymond, Alexandre Doumergue, Anthony Holland, Eman Robert, Nico Tille, Christian Weber, and Lukino Ramelli.

We’re really digging these behind-the-scenes doco-style web movies from the guys at Absinthe, as they chart the making of this season’s movie Now/Here. In the latest episode – perhaps our favourite so far, by the way – they give us a look at what went down on their trip to Courmayeur with Brisse, Kalmermatten and co. in tow. Fredi and Dan send it long on a BC wedge, while Sylvain stomps a stick double cliff and Jules feels the pain from a tough landing. Watch it now!

However, their team is finger-licking good: Bode Merrill, Chris Coulter, Jeremy Thompson, Lonnie Kauk, Wyatt Caldwell, Austen Granger, Matty Mo, Jules Reymond, Romain DeMarchi, JP Solberg, Deadlung, and Neil Provo. And they’re all featured in this banging edit. Have fun!

Salt Lake City, along with Helsinki, has for many years been a rail rider’s Mecca. Check out what happened when the Absinthe guys and riders Cale Zima, Dan Brisse and Jules Reymond hit up the Mormon hotspot.

The crew during the presentation. Yes, we were a little late and did not get the best seats...

You see, last weekend they sent me to the Munich premiere of Absinthe’s new movie NowHere. I knew I was expected to take a couple of pictures, and I did. It only dawns on me now that I was supposed to write a lengthy review of the movie, too. I can’t dot it. I did not take any notes. I was semi-drunk. I will give you a two-paragraph summary instead. On a positive note this will save you from scrolling through four pages of senseless drivel.

Dan Brisse. Alive.

Well, as I said things went down in Munich, or in the cinema at the ‘Sendlinger Tor’ to be more specific. The place was packed with around 400 Absinthe fans, friends, and industry folks. Brusti introduced the crew and the riders present, namely Jules Reymond, Dan Brisse, and JP Solberg, and they stoked the crowd out with a classic product-toss/prize draw spectacle. Then lights went dark and they showed the controversial Nike Snowboarding ad (spoiler: Danny Kass gets devoured by Zombies) and a clip from tour sponsor Bench. And then it was all about the movie. There was no official party afterwards, but most people walked over to the obscure Ksar club, which is where the movie was discussed over a beer or three.

JP, Brusti, Kelli, Mr Bench, Shane Charlebois, and Dan Brisse get ready to party!

In terms of movie-making it was a classic Absinthe experience: The riding was top notch, the music once again not your everyday electro pop, the parts edited into each other with an excellent flow, and every now and then the Absinthe logo popped up to indicate some bonus section on the DVD (which was kind of weird, considering we were watching it in a movie theatre). Highlights included the shared Blauvelt/Müller pow fest, Bode Merrill’s part (including a one-footed AK descent and a back rodeo to backside boardslide), the girls section (composed of MFR and Annie Boulanger going bigger than any other girl), and Dan Brisse, who seemed to cheat death in more than just one situation and scored the well-deserved movie ender.

Party!

Add the usual suspects Wolle Nyvelt (with an unseen mastery of his noboard game), Gigi Rüf (with a great yet small part due to his commitments to his many other movie projects), Jules Reymond, Blair Habenicht, Lucas Debari, Sylvain Bourbousson, Cale Zima (adding some mandatory tight pants steeze), Freddie K, Bjorn Leines, Terje and the YES crew, and mix it with some great footage from a Kamchatka trip and a revisiting of Chad’s gap, and you get way more than you would have hoped for. If anything you might moan about a personal dislike of the soundtrack (which is what some people afterwards actually did – losers!) and maybe the fact that you weren’t blown out of your seat from seeing something totally unexpected. All things considered, though, this flick will make you want to go shredding, and that’s what it’s all about!

Absinthe lady Kelli and YES man JP

Well, I said two paragraphs. That’s it, I won’t stretch your attention span of a five-year-old any longer. Go buy and watch the movie, it is one of the best you will get to see this year! And if you have seen it yourself, use the comments section to tell us what you thought!

More party!

Jules Reymond and, well, Mr Bench.

Check out the movie teaser if you’re still not convinced:

Slammin’ teaser for Nitro’s new team movie.

Starring: Eero Ettala, Nils Arvidsson, Markus Keller, Thomas Feurstein, Marc Swoboda, Gjermund Braaten, Bryan Fox, Anton Bilare, Jon Kooley, Basti Rittig, Ben Bilocq, Manuel Diaz, Erik Botner, Justin Benne, Anton Gunnarsson, Will Tuddenham, Elias Elhardt, Jules Reymond.

With the teaser let loose, we hit up director Patrick Armbruster for the scoop on their new shred porno.

The teaser for Absinthe Films‘ highly anticipated shred flick, NowHere, dropped last night and if you have’t seen it yet, stop reading and press Play – it’s heavy.

We wanted more meat with our two veg, so we hit up one of Absinthe’s co-founders, Patrick ‘Brusti’ Armbruster and managed to drag him away from the edit suite for a couple of minutes to answer a few questions about filming and what we can expect from the flick. We can also now announce the Premiere Tour dates for Europe, so check ‘em out at the bottom and book the day off already…

Onboard: How does a new project develop in the minds of yourself and Justin [Hostynek - Brusti's partner at Absinthe]? Do you have a clear idea of what you want from the movie before you start shooting?

Brusti: There is usually a few ideas around that we try to realise every season. At the end of the day the flow of the winter dictates a lot of the feel of the film. It can be a pain in the ass waiting for the goods but other times all the factors come together and magic happens.

OB: How do you manage to improve the team every year? Are you always looking out for new riders?

B: We try to keep a healthy balance. As you can see, you always know at least half of the guys that are in there from the previous movies. In fact, the guys that you keep seeing since almost the beginning seem to just get better every year – still! The riders are loyal to us and so are we. At the same time we are open to suggestions when the riders recommend someone. It’s always that much more fun and productive if the crew vibe is up.

OB: Is it difficult to find a new concept each year or do you just go with the flow of what happens when shooting?

B: The concept really develops over the season. The experiences you had, the snow you rode, the weather, the places you went… all these factors create the rough story line. What we are doing at this very moment is honing it, bringing it all together. Finding this fine balance of conveying the past winter and packing it up so people are looking ahead to that next snow fall is what we are trying to achieve.

OB: Who’s new to the team and what do you think of those riders?

B: Jake Blauvelt, Lucas Debari, Tadashi Fuse and Taka Nakai have never been in an Absinthe movie. It’s also the first time that we have a Japanese presence! Fredi Kalbermatten is back, Terje Haakonsen, Blair Habenicht and Bjorn Leines as well. Jake and Lucas definitely have an impressive debut at Absinthe. Terje has very entertaining footage in there. Bjorn had the gnarliest accident …well, actually that was probably Marie-France Roy who broke her neck. Bjorn broke his elbow very badly on the Pyramid Gap.

OB: What can you tell us about this year’s movie?

B: It’s gonna be great! I’ll have to get right back to it. Get ready and support us by buying your own copy.

OB: What trip stands out most for you guys?

B: For me it was the trip with Fredi, Brisse, Sylvain and Jules to Courmayeur in Italy. Another highlight was the trip with Terje, JP and Fredi to far east Russia – Kamchatka. I always wanted to go there and it was spectacular. Baloo and his crew took great care of us. A trip of a lifetime.

OB: Any part you think will stand out?

B: Dan Brisse is showing a very diverse part. Killer shots on the streets and on the mountain. Everybody has highlights, I think it will be a great movie.

OB: Looking forward to it! Thanks heaps for your time, Brusti.

Absinthe Now/Here European Premiere Dates

presented by Bench and LAAX

07.09.2010 Zurich (Switzerland) – Kino Corso
08.09.2010 Chur (Switzerland) – Kino Apollo
09.09.2010 Innsbruck (Austria) – Kino Metropol
10.09.2010 Munich (Germany) – Kino Sendlinger Tor
11.09.2010 Stuttgart (Germany) – Kino Gloria
12.09.2010 Oslo (Norway) – Fugazi
13.09.2010 Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) – Kino Harmonie
14.09.2010 Lyss zwischen Bern / Biel / Solothurn (Switzerland) – Kulturfabrik Lyss
15.09.2010 Luzern (Switzerland) – Kino Bourbaki
16.09.2010 St. Gallen (Switzerland) – Club Kugl
17.09.2010 Wien (Austria) – Gartenbaukino
18.09.2010 Graz (Austria) – Postgarage
20.09.2010 Rome (Italy)
21.09.2010 Grenoble (France) – Cinema Les 6 Rex
22.09.2010 Lausanne (Switzerland) – Cinéma Atlantic
27.09.2010 tbc – Paris (France)
28.09.2010 Antwerpen (Belgium) – Cinema Zuid
29.09.2010 Den Haag (Netherlands) – Filmhuis
30.09.2010 Hamburg (Germany) – Zeise Kino
02.10.2010 Saas-Fee (Schweiz) – Living Room / Popcorn
tbc St. Moritz (Switzerland) – Kino Scala
30.10.2010 Köln (Germany)

Dan Brisse at Chad's Gap. Photo: Bob Plumb.

Absinthe’s new film looks like it’s gonna be out of hand.

NowHere is the crew’s 11th full-length movie and from what the teaser suggests could very well be it’s strongest to date. No mean feat, that. In the micro-art of teaser making, this gets full marks and is for sure in our top 5. Enough yakking, watch it now!

Starring: Dan Brisse, Jake Blauvelt, Gigi Rüf, Tadashi Fuse, Lucas Debari, Fredi Kalbermatten, Sylvain Bourbousson, Romain De Marchi, DCP, JP Solberg, Taka Nakai, Annie Boulanger, Marie-France Roy, Bjorn Leines, Jules Reymond, Cale Zima, Terje Haakonsen, Blair Habenicht, Bode Merril, Wolfgang Nyvelt, Nicolas Müller.

Here’s what they say, but let’s be honest – you won’t read it…

“Fans of snowboarding everywhere have been eagerly awaiting a taste of the new Absinthe movie NowHere. Today the wait is over. Known for spectacular action and featuring the best riders in snowboarding, Absinthe Films’ latest release NowHere continues the legacy of pure, progressive riding and roots powder exploration. Shot in Super-16mm and stunning HD digital formats, NowHere will take viewers on a vibrant shred trip around the world: from Alaska to Russia and everywhere in between.

Supporters: Billabong, Burton, Oakley, Nitro, Nike Snowboarding, The North Face, Salomon, DaKine, Capita, YES, Levitation, Slytech

Official Movie Release Date: September 1, 2010

iTunes Release Date: October 4, 2010

Connect – www.absinthe-films.com & www.facebook.com/absinthefilms

Following up from their first two movies, Homies and Homies 2.0 – Locked Outside, Nico Droz and co are busy bagging footage for their latest release, Homies Grounds, set to drop autumn 2010. Here’s a taster of the crew getting amongst a backyard session in Les Diableretes.

Like their previous offereings, Homies Grounds is all about showcasing young, talented rippers from Europe and North America with a style that shows their snow and skate roots clearly. This time round they’re focussing on the riders’ playgrounds, and you can keep up to date with their movements and happenings through the Homies Grounds website. As Droz himself states, “The goal of this project is pretty simple: capture good times snowboarding with our friends!” so make sure you check out their site to keep up with their haps.

They’ll be dropping some webisodes throughout the winter from film sessions, parties and the like, and this first installment is some of the crew getting it on with a friendly backyard session at the Budokan chalet. Snowboard, skate and party!

Featuring: Cedric Giovanola, Wojtek Pawlusiak, Kuba Dytkowski, Jules Reymond, David Livet, Morgan Lefaucheur, Nicolas Droz, Stephane Lochon, Pierre Rue, Charles Gagnon and many more… Enjoy the last Homies tour date in Avoriaz with “DJ Naughty J” on the ones and twos!