Gleaming the Cube
Encyclopedia
Gleaming the Cube is an American
movie
released in 1989. It featured Christian Slater
as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted
Vietnam
ese brother.
The Skating Technical Advisor for the film was original Z-Boy, Stacy Peralta
. Among the endless list of famous skateboarders who appear in the film as Stunt Skaters include Mike McGill
, "Gator" Mark Rogowski
, Rodney Mullen
, Rich Dunlop, Eric Dressen, Lance Mountain
, Mike Vallely
, Chris Black, Ted Ehr, Natas Kaupas
, Chris Borst, and Steve Saiz. Tony Hawk
(Buddy), and Tommy Guerrero
(Sam) then members of the Bones Brigade appear in the film as members of Brian's skate crew. Future lead singer of The Aquabats
and creator of Yo Gabba Gabba!
, Christian Jacobs, also appears in the film as Gremic.
The film received only a moderate release in the United States from 20th Century Fox
(in 469 theaters). Although the film had a relatively low box office turnout, Gleaming the Cube garnered a significant cult following after its theatrical release, through basic cable replays on networks such as USA
and the burgeoning VHS (and later DVD) market, as well as notoriety among skateboarders.
The title of the film refers to the gibberish question, "Have you ever gleemed inside a cube?" Garry Davis (GSD) asked Neil Blender in an interview in the December 1983 issue of Thrasher magazine.
, Bart and a young Shelbyville boy skate past a female doppelganger of Groundskeeper Willy, who screams after them, "Slow down, ya sidewalk surfin, cube gleamers!" The movie is referenced again in the episode To Surveil With Love when Ned Flanders tells Bart to "Stop gleaming that cube!" as he is watching Bart skateboard down the sidewalk.
In the season 2 premiere of Robot Chicken
, Christian Slater
plays a skater named Skater McGee, who gets kids to try an incredibly hard trick called the "Monster Cookie Pinwheel". When asked by the skaters what a Monster Cookie Pinwheel is, Skater McGee replies with, "A monster cookie pinwheel is when you skate up to a locomotives cow catch, you 360 punk buster to the second car, do a lemonade hand stand on the third car, a whipping-post ollie to the fourth car, a demon stomper on the fifth car, and a gleaming the cube off the sixth car, before dismounting the train."
In the episode of the podcast, Stuff You Should Know
called "How Mummies Work", Josh Clark
mistakenly claims that the title was changed to "Brotherhood of the Tiger."
The movie was renamed as "Brotherhood of the Tiger" by some cable outlets in the mid to late 1990's.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
released in 1989. It featured Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese brother.
The Skating Technical Advisor for the film was original Z-Boy, Stacy Peralta
Stacy Peralta
Stacy Peralta is an American director and entrepreneur. Peralta was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the professional skateboarding group, the Z-Boys.-Early life:...
. Among the endless list of famous skateboarders who appear in the film as Stunt Skaters include Mike McGill
Mike McGill
Mike McGill is an American skateboarder. He is best known for inventing the McTwist, an inverted 540 degree mute grabbed aerial which he first performed on a wooden half-pipe in Sweden in 1984 and then at the Del Mar Skate Ranch in a concrete bowl when he returned to the US. He was inspired by...
, "Gator" Mark Rogowski
Mark Rogowski
Mark "Gator" Rogowski was a figurehead of professional skateboarding in the 1980s and very early 1990s. His career ended when he was convicted of assaulting, raping and murdering Jessica Bergsten on March 6, 1992...
, Rodney Mullen
Rodney Mullen
John Rodney Mullen is a professional freestyle and street skateboarder. He is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and influential street skaters in the history of skateboarding...
, Rich Dunlop, Eric Dressen, Lance Mountain
Lance Mountain
Robert Lance Mountain was one of the more popular skateboarders throughout much of the 1980s, and one of the five most legendary members of the Bones Brigade, as featured in the 1987 classic The Search For Animal Chin .Mountain was born in Pasadena, California...
, Mike Vallely
Mike Vallely
Mike Vallely , also known as Mike V, is a professional skateboarder. Mike is also a musician, actor, television personality, stuntman, professional wrestler and FHL hockey player.-Early life:...
, Chris Black, Ted Ehr, Natas Kaupas
Natas Kaupas
Natas Kaupas is a semi-retired American professional skateboarder. He grew up in South Santa Monica, California in the area known as Dogtown and is of Lithuanian descent. He attended Santa Monica High School. He is often referred to as one of the first true professional street skateboarders.Kaupas...
, Chris Borst, and Steve Saiz. Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
(Buddy), and Tommy Guerrero
Tommy Guerrero
Tommy Guerrero is an American skateboarder and musician. As a teen, he was one of the prominent members of the Bones Brigade, Powell Peralta's professional skateboarding team that was successful during the 1980s...
(Sam) then members of the Bones Brigade appear in the film as members of Brian's skate crew. Future lead singer of The Aquabats
The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...
and creator of Yo Gabba Gabba!
Yo Gabba Gabba!
Yo Gabba Gabba! is an American children's television show currently airing on the Nick Jr. cable network in the United States and the Nick Jr. networks in the United Kingdom & Ireland, Italy, France and Australia as well as Treehouse TV network in Canada and RTE2 on RTEjr see Raidió Teilifís...
, Christian Jacobs, also appears in the film as Gremic.
The film received only a moderate release in the United States from 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
(in 469 theaters). Although the film had a relatively low box office turnout, Gleaming the Cube garnered a significant cult following after its theatrical release, through basic cable replays on networks such as USA
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
and the burgeoning VHS (and later DVD) market, as well as notoriety among skateboarders.
The title of the film refers to the gibberish question, "Have you ever gleemed inside a cube?" Garry Davis (GSD) asked Neil Blender in an interview in the December 1983 issue of Thrasher magazine.
Synopsis
Brian Kelly (Christian Slater) is a slacker at heart. The only thing he really cares about is skateboarding; trivial things like doing his homework and making the grade in school have little meaning to him. But when his adopted Vietnamese brother turns up dead after discovering an error in the shipping records at his place of work, Brian begins to suspect something more. Refusing to accept the police's theory of suicide, Brian launches his own investigation, determined to uncover the truth of what really happened to his brother.Locations
- The AnaheimAnaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
motel in the movie, the "Atomic Age Lodge," was in reality the Stovall's Cosmic Age Lodge on Harbor Bl., across the street from the then-Disneyland parking lot. It was one of a group of Stovall's hotels in the area with a space age theme (the others being Stovall's Apollo Inn and Stovall's Space Age Lodge and the Inn Of Tomorrow). The Cosmic Age was demolished in the late 90s to make room for the California Adventure expansion. The others have been remodeled and no longer have the space theme.
- Most of the School Scenes were filmed at Woodbridge HighWoodbridge High School (Irvine, California)Woodbridge High School is a public high school located in Irvine, California, serving grades 9-12. Founded in 1980, it has an approximate enrollment of 2,200 students. Woodbridge has many athletic teams which have participated in numerous competitions...
in IrvineIrvine, CaliforniaIrvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- Some introductory scenes were filmed at John Wayne AirportJohn Wayne AirportJohn Wayne Airport is an airport in an unincorporated area in Orange County, California, with its mailing address in the city of Santa Ana, which is also the county seat, hence the International Air Transport Association airport code. The main entrance to the airport is off of MacArthur Blvd in...
(Orange County, California) before major renovation work on the terminal.
Cultural references
In the Simpsons episode Lemon of TroyLemon of Troy
"Lemon of Troy" is the 24th episode of The Simpsons sixth season, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 14, 1995. In the episode, the children of Springfield wage war on Shelbyville after their beloved lemon tree is stolen from them by Shelbyville children...
, Bart and a young Shelbyville boy skate past a female doppelganger of Groundskeeper Willy, who screams after them, "Slow down, ya sidewalk surfin, cube gleamers!" The movie is referenced again in the episode To Surveil With Love when Ned Flanders tells Bart to "Stop gleaming that cube!" as he is watching Bart skateboard down the sidewalk.
In the season 2 premiere of Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
, Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
plays a skater named Skater McGee, who gets kids to try an incredibly hard trick called the "Monster Cookie Pinwheel". When asked by the skaters what a Monster Cookie Pinwheel is, Skater McGee replies with, "A monster cookie pinwheel is when you skate up to a locomotives cow catch, you 360 punk buster to the second car, do a lemonade hand stand on the third car, a whipping-post ollie to the fourth car, a demon stomper on the fifth car, and a gleaming the cube off the sixth car, before dismounting the train."
In the episode of the podcast, Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know, often abbreviated as SYSK, is a podcast created and released by the website HowStuffWorks. It is currently hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant, both writers at HowStuffWorks. Clark has been a mainstay on the podcast since it began on April 17, 2008...
called "How Mummies Work", Josh Clark
Josh Clark
-Biography:Clark was born in Bethesda, Maryland. He studied acting at the North Carolina School of the Arts.His first screen role was in the 1976 TV movie The Other Side of Victory...
mistakenly claims that the title was changed to "Brotherhood of the Tiger."
The movie was renamed as "Brotherhood of the Tiger" by some cable outlets in the mid to late 1990's.
