Johnny Knoxville will star in 'Action Park' movie based on N.J. water park

[Maxman]

By Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 
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on February 01, 2017 at 7:01 PM, updated February 01, 2017 at 7:51 PM

 

 

 

Action Park's notoriety as a water park where visitors in the '80s and '90s suffered slips and more serious injuries -- some called it "Class Action Park," "Traction Park" and "Accident Park" -- is now reportedly bound for the big screen. 

Johnny Knoxville ("Bad Grandpa," "Jackass") is set to star in an "Action Park" movie based on the Vernon water park. He'll produce the film via his company, Dickhouse Productions, for Paramount Pictures. 

The report says the movie will be "in the spirit" of "Bad Grandpa," Knoxville's last collaboration with Paramount. 

 

Action Park shutters water slide after spate of injuries

Cannonball Falls at Action Park, a water slide with one of the highest number of reported injuries in the state, was shut down last month after state officials learned of several similar injuries sustained on the ride.

 

So far, no word on any Jersey filming locations, but it looks like Knoxville's park will set up shop safely outside the bounds of the Garden State. Deadline reports that production is scheduled to begin in South Africa this March. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky ("Silicon Valley," "King of the Hill") wrote the script with Knoxville and Tim Kirkby ("Veep") will direct.  

"The goal is a big, fun '80s-type comedy," Knoxville, 45, told Deadline in 2015, saying the film would have more narrative than "Grandpa" but also plenty of stunts. "It's about this park in New Jersey. It actually existed. I don't know if we'll call it this, but there was this park called Action Park and it was like as if us, instead of doing 'Jackass,' decided to open a theme park. It has that same spirit, like all the safety was left up to the people who walked in.

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"...The design of the rides was built about as cleverly as we build things," Knoxville said. "I mean most of the kids were like early 20s or teens, and I suspect they were not sober a lot. The stories about Action Park are well documented. In our movie, we have this theme park where I'm the designer of the rides."

Despite the amusement park's questionable safety record -- the fair-weather mainstay had been linked to six deaths between 1978 to 1984 -- for many who spent their younger days in North Jersey, sending your body soaring through the daunting tubes and down the manmade rivers of the water park was a summertime rite of passage. (Check the 8:15 mark of the video below for footage of the insane, short-lived Cannonball Loop.)

 

The most dangerous amusement parks in New Jersey

Much like a roller coaster, amusement ride incidents in New Jersey are up one year and down the next. In 2014, they were up again.

 

Following years of dormancy, the park's name was restored in 2014, when the attraction reopened as part of Mountain Creek, which had operated the park under its brand from 1998 to 2013 after the original park shut down in 1996. The amusement park routinely topped the list of state attractions with the most injuries. In 2015, after six riders reported injuries, the park's Cannonball Falls water slide was shut down by state officials. The same summer, the park was forced to close early one day after chlorine fumes made lifeguards sick. The park again changed names to Mountain Creek Resort Waterpark in 2016.  

Action Park 80's Live Action and Cannonball loop

 

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

 

[nyjunc]

Action Park was the best

[chirorob]

I loved that place.  Loved it.

[Bugg]

Had a friend who's pal was part of management. We (and not only us) were allowed to walk around with a cooler in a wagon swilling orange whips all day. Basically you had a mess of buses and minivans of teens and 20 somethings converging on the place with various intoxicants pretty much every summer day, and nobody much cared. One guy with us was ....fond...of jumping/sliding without the benefit of his jammies. And nobody really cared much, just laughed off. 

[#27TheDominator]

 

2 hours ago, Maxman said:

Action Park's notoriety as a water park where visitors in the '80s and '90s suffered slips and more serious injuries -- the fair-weather mainstay had been linked to six deaths between 1978 to 1984 

Yes, I would say that death is a more serious injury than slips...

That place ruled.  

[Dcat]

I'll never forget the kids waiting on line for the now defunct "alpine slide" with sticks of wax for the skids to make an already treacherous unsafe ride almost guaranteed to cause injury.  While the workers just ignored it.  That alpine slide is where more of the serious injuries occurred.  Place was an injury fest without proper oversight.  Never mind the repeated bankruptcies, lawsuits, tax evasion claims.  Really... there was nothing sound with that business for anyone.   

And then there was the Playboy resort just up the road.  Failure at its finest.

[#27TheDominator]

Ah, the Alpine Slide!  Kids I went to school with used to work there.  They would come back after the summer and compare their scabs and scars.  I remember that at the start of the ride they had polaroids up of the nastiest scabs.  You used to have to hold the front of the car up to keep the brake from slowing you down.  We would also try to wait as long as possible after the last person left to avoid slamming into the back of those damn sightseers. 

Who cares if it was a "sound business"?  It was fun.  It was up to you how much danger you faced. 

[nyjunc]

The alpine slide was my favorite, I saw many people fly off the track but thankfully I wasn't one of them.  That was so much fun.

[JetPotato]

Known as Traction Park by many

[JoeC36]

2 hours ago, Dcat said:

I'll never forget the kids waiting on line for the now defunct "alpine slide" with sticks of wax for the skids to make an already treacherous unsafe ride almost guaranteed to cause injury.  While the workers just ignored it.  That alpine slide is where more of the serious injuries occurred.  Place was an injury fest without proper oversight.  Never mind the repeated bankruptcies, lawsuits, tax evasion claims.  Really... there was nothing sound with that business for anyone.   

And then there was the Playboy resort just up the road.  Failure at its finest.

residents of the resort are now being evicted

[Dcat]

25 minutes ago, JoeC36 said:

residents of the resort are now being evicted

did it turn Section 8?  Like Spring Street Newton?

[JoeC36]

15 minutes ago, Dcat said:

did it turn Section 8?  Like Spring Street Newton?

I don't know the specifics, but peole who owned the condos were renting them out to people who were living there full-time. The township stepped in and began fining the owners who were allowing people to stay there more than 30 days, or something like that. 

[HighPitch]

Lol good times

[HighPitch]

I remember hearing the stories.  Then i went.  First thing i went on was the alpine slide.  I knew about the stories but it looked like it was safe n fun. 

So there i am on the ski lift going up with the sleds passing under me.  All of a sudden this kid came around a turn and his sled came out from underneath him.  He went belly first down the metal track for about for about 30 feet screami g bloody murder.  I dunno what happened as i kept going up but man that was an eye opener. 

[chirorob]

3 hours ago, nyjunc said:

The alpine slide was my favorite, I saw many people fly off the track but thankfully I wasn't one of them.  That was so much fun.

So, I am curious, how many of us went, and how many of us did the alpine slide, and how many fell off it.  They had 3 "levels".

First time, I did the easy.  I was maybe 13 or 14.  I spent the whole run behind someone who would not get off their brake.  Second time, a little older, did the "medium".  It was fun, I never really had to use the brake, but fun.   Third time, a little older, but for sure still in HS going with my dad.  I did the "expert".  

"Well, I never had to use the break on "medium", I'm sure I don't have to use the break on this one either."  I was so dumb.

I did flip it, and slid a solid amount on my side.  What makes this more fun is, it's summer.  So I'm wearing 1988 shorts and a T shirt, sliding along on my side on semi smooth concrete.  Then, to make it more fun, you are still on a freaking big ol hill, so I have to walk back to the cart thing, flip it right side up, not get hit by another cart flying down, and get the rest of the way down.

I did do it again on other trips, and the expert runs, but I also learned to use the brakes.

[chirorob]

2 hours ago, JetPotato said:

Known as Traction Park by many

I believe it had the first ever wave pool.

Also, had the first ever drowning in a wave pool.

[nyjunc]

3 minutes ago, chirorob said:

So, I am curious, how many of us went, and how many of us did the alpine slide, and how many fell off it.  They had 3 "levels".

First time, I did the easy.  I was maybe 13 or 14.  I spent the whole run behind someone who would not get off their brake.  Second time, a little older, did the "medium".  It was fun, I never really had to use the brake, but fun.   Third time, a little older, but for sure still in HS going with my dad.  I did the "expert".  

"Well, I never had to use the break on "medium", I'm sure I don't have to use the break on this one either."  I was so dumb.

I did flip it, and slid a solid amount on my side.  What makes this more fun is, it's summer.  So I'm wearing 1988 shorts and a T shirt, sliding along on my side on semi smooth concrete.  Then, to make it more fun, you are still on a freaking big ol hill, so I have to walk back to the cart thing, flip it right side up, not get hit by another cart flying down, and get the rest of the way down.

I did do it again on other trips, and the expert runs, but I also learned to use the brakes.

as far as I remember I did all the levels and I always remember pushing that lever all the way down, not sure why I never crashed- maybe I was too light?

[chirorob]

Just now, nyjunc said:

as far as I remember I did all the levels and I always remember pushing that lever all the way down, not sure why I never crashed- maybe I was too light?

I was real skinny too, and that crap hurt.

I also remember the giant Tarzan Swing into the insanely cold water.  The park was fed by a natural spring, so the water was year round 56-58 degrees for the Tarzan swing and the Cannonball.

[#27TheDominator]

We went a couple of times when it was Mountain Creek. 

We used to try and go on overcast weekdays, my cousin would call me and tell me to take the day off and if a few of us could swing it, off we'd go.  I remember 2 of us walking up the stairs to that kamikaze slide.  The wedgie maker.  A little kid is walking with us.  Probably around 10.  We get to the top and the kid running it seems high school age.  We are the only people even thinking about it on that day and the worker pulls out the "you must be this tall to ride" t-square.  The little kid has spiked hair and stands on his toes.  His hair taps the height limit and the worker sends him off and tells us, that little kid has the balls to come up here, I'm not going to make him take the stairs down. 

I remember being on the cliff dive.  As we went back they kept restricting it.  First you couldn't dive, then they closed the higher one.  I remember my cousin standing there psyching himself up.  People are coming to the edge to watch.  I am getting vertigo waiting for him and step off and then back up.  The spectators thought we were afraid, but no... my cousin insisted that we jump up in the hopes of getting as high as the higher banned cliff.  We got close.  I was kind of glad they banned the diving.  From the high one it felt like breaking a 2x4 over your head. 

[CotcheryifyouCan]

best amusment park ever. i went every year as a kid. loved it all. i actually went back last summer and was so bummed to see that they eliminated the tarzan swing and cannonball. cannonball was the best. also i did survive the alpine slide. not sure how i did but that thing was awesome 

[thadude]

gay

[Dcat]

7 hours ago, chirorob said:

I believe it had the first ever wave pool.

Also, had the first ever drowning in a wave pool.

followed by the 1st ever lawsuit for drowning in a wave pool.

[peebag]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/danm3/35-horror-stories-that-prove-action-park-was-the-6wr

[Maxman]

On 2/2/2017 at 6:14 PM, #27TheDominator said:

We went a couple of times when it was Mountain Creek. 

We used to try and go on overcast weekdays, my cousin would call me and tell me to take the day off and if a few of us could swing it, off we'd go.  I remember 2 of us walking up the stairs to that kamikaze slide.  The wedgie maker.  A little kid is walking with us.  Probably around 10.  We get to the top and the kid running it seems high school age.  We are the only people even thinking about it on that day and the worker pulls out the "you must be this tall to ride" t-square.  The little kid has spiked hair and stands on his toes.  His hair taps the height limit and the worker sends him off and tells us, that little kid has the balls to come up here, I'm not going to make him take the stairs down. 

I remember being on the cliff dive.  As we went back they kept restricting it.  First you couldn't dive, then they closed the higher one.  I remember my cousin standing there psyching himself up.  People are coming to the edge to watch.  I am getting vertigo waiting for him and step off and then back up.  The spectators thought we were afraid, but no... my cousin insisted that we jump up in the hopes of getting as high as the higher banned cliff.  We got close.  I was kind of glad they banned the diving.  From the high one it felt like breaking a 2x4 over your head. 

Going to Mountain Creek soon. We go every year and this is our ritual:

1. Swimming in an outdoor heated pool

2. Racquetball

3. Skiing \ Snowboarding (I ski, my son boards)

4. Not seeing Joe Carlson and avoiding all of his text messages while I am nearby

5. Snow tubing

6. Lots of good food

7. Family time

[rillo]

I remember going as a kid Alpine slide was fun as hell, but dangerous. Definitely watching this

[Panzer Division Marduk]

Loved that place. Went a few times in the mid 80s and early 90s, managed to avoid injury. Even on the Alpine Slide.

And there was always a huge crowd at the end of the Kamikaze waterslide. The bikini top always arrived at the pool at the bottom at least a few seconds after its owner.

[JOJOTOWNSELL]