Nothing in ski season is quite as dependable as the annual Warren Miller movie. "Playground," his 58th film, will be shown at Merrill Auditorium twice this Friday evening.

The Warren Miller formula changes a bit each year. Nowadays it's mostly radical freestylers, extreme skiers and snowboarders who visit gorgeous locations around the world to huck off monster cliffs and perform sick tricks.

The photography is spectacular; ditto the skiers and snowboarders. Please enjoy a few still pix from the film with this blog entry.

The formula for the annual Warren Miller movie involves filming in gorgeous locations around the world.
GEOFF DYKE PHOTO

Also let me reproduce some excerpts from their press release on "Playground."

Warren Miller’s 2007 feature showcases stunning global destinations from Sweden to Canada, Alaska to Japan, and several others. Warren Miller’s "Playground" also exposes the most unlikely winter sports destination, a resort found directly within the Arabian Desert called Ski Dubai. Olympic Gold Medalist, skiing innovator and pop icon, Jonny Moseley, adds a new title to his resume as he serves as the film’s narrator.

This year’s invigorating action display includes: a rare and insightful segment on ski racing king and perceived industry bad boy, Bode Miller; a trip to Alaska’s untouched Chugach Range with X-Games Gold Medalists, and brothers, Zach and Reggie Crist; unbelievably deep powder in Utah and British Columbia; and astonishing aerial acrobatics from Sweden, and so much more.

"Playground" also highlights the future of snowboarding in a segment featuring the youth-infused Burton Smalls Team in which these young prodigies teach us that size truly isn’t everything.

The current Warren Miller formula involves incredible skiers hucking themselves off sick cliffs.
WILL WISSMAN PHOTO

This year’s film is complimented with a high-energy soundtrack delivered on a state-of-the-art digital sound system and includes world renowned bands like the Beastie Boys, Maroon 5, Queens of the Stone Age and several other A-list recording artists.

Multiple exposure shot of freestyle skier performing inverted trick with grab.
MATTIAS FREDRIKSSON PHOTO

When asked about the inspiration for "Playground," the film’s director and producer Max Bervy avowed, “The playground is a place where authority figures cease to exist, where fun and challenge are the only goals and creativity and freedom the only rules."

Two screenings: 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday. at Merrill Auditorium. Giveaways include lift tix to Sunday River, Sugarloaf and Smugglers Notch (northern Vermont).

(Some strings are usually attached to the freebie tix, and I don't know exactly what they are this year.)

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