This might be old news for some of you, but my book Double Take has officially entered development for a feature film with Groundswell Productions (Milk, The Informant) and Katie Jacobs (exec producer, and co-creator of House) – who will direct. The book was optioned almost two years ago, but after finally getting funding, it looks like it’s currently out to writers!

Now, this is still really early in development, so after reading some of the below links – you will officially know as much as I do about where this is going…

Deadline Hollywood article

Rama’s  Screen

Movies and News

I will most definitely post here as I learn more, which hopefully will be trickling down soon…

Doctor's Orders

So for those who were tuning in last weekend, some of you may have noticed my absence.While I was in Aspen, and registered for X Games, I spent most of the weekend on an I.V. rather than snow. After battling with a bout of flu/food-poisoning (after a while the symptoms were pretty similar) for a couple days, I realized it was a far smarter move to take care of my health and head to a hospital than try and race. The above photo is actually from my discharge papers as Aspen Hospital. Orders that specific are tough to ignore…

While I was bummed not to compete, it was great seeing some new blood winning some medals. However – I do have a little bit of ski footage to show you. ESPN filmed a feature on some of the new things that I was working on. Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to embed the video. So if you’re feeling motivated – click anywhere in this sentence and scroll about halfway down. Can’t miss my bearded mug.

I’m currently sitting inside the Athlete Lounge tent where the atmosphere is akin to a circus tent if it was filled by beautiful people in brightly colored clothing. Actually – that is a circus – the only difference maybe being the amount of Gore-Tex contained in each outfit.

So after breaking my back last year (T-10 Compression fracture that left me off snow for the majority of the season), I was really hesitating if I should give this another shot. And while I doubt the move is fully approved by my parents, I’ve decided to give the Mono X another go. One major advantage I have this year is that I’m automatically qualified for the semi-finals as a result of my bronze medal last year. So while I’m still pretty nervous, at least I know I can avoid most of the nasty abuse leading up to the event.

ESPN came up to Montana to film a feature on me last week, so it should be airing sometime prior to my competition, which will on Sunday, January 30th, on ESPN. The semi-final will take place from 3pm to 3.15 pm and the finals will be from 3.45pm-4pm.

Oh! And here’s an article ESPN put out last month about the event. Fleshes out the competition and event a bit better.

Kevin Connolly: Back for More Medals

I’ll be tweeting during the week, so if you have any questions or well-wishes, hit me up at KevinConnolly on twitter.

Howdy! Wanted to drop a quick notice for any Helena folks reading, that I’ll be speaking downtown and signing books tonight. The event is sponsored by the Lewis and Clark Library as part of a series helping to promote diversity in honor of the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. day.

Here’s the official announcement from the L&C site -

East Helena native, author, photographer, and X Games medalist Kevin Connolly will be speaking at St Paul’s UMC (512 Logan) on Wednesday, January 12 at 7 PM in conjunction with celebrations of Martin Luther King Jr Day—MLK 2011. Kevin was recently featured in Outside magazine’s Survivors’ Guide issue. Kevin’s memoir, Double Take, recounts growing up in Montana without legs, competing in the X Games, and traveling the world on his skateboard.

Books will be available for purchase and book signing to follow.

I’d love to see the place packed as it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything in Helena. Hope to see you there!

For those who missed the article when it came out in print in this November’s issue of Outside, the article has just been posted online.

The full article can be found right here.

Here’s a small excerpt:

Daybreak cracks like a runny egg against Montana’s Spanish Peaks as the Cyborg steers his rig toward the slopes.

The Cyborg is thrilled. When his truck rounds a bend obscuring Big Sky’s Lone Peak, he leans toward the windshield. He wants to ski, sure, but by now you’ve spent enough time with the Cyborg to know there’s something else in that eagerness. He is looking forward to crushing you on the mountain today. This isn’t strictly because he has something to prove, though perhaps he does just a bit, the way any guy born without legs could reasonably be expected to have something to prove. What’s more true is that the Cyborg is all guy, and—let’s face it—the favorite pastime of twenty-something guys is gutting the confidence of the other members of the pack. Today the rest of the pack is you.

Go check it out!

Just saw this go up the other day and thought I should share. While I was down in Colorado speaking to students at Colorado Mountain College, I was interviewed by a local journalist, David Frey. Super nice guy, and savvy enough with his questions to get me to eek out more than I should’ve about the next project.

Low and behold – it made it’s way to The Huffington Post! I’ve quoted a little bit for the interview below, but for the full article click right here.

Can you talk a little about this next project?

I’m basically going around the world and trying to find other people who have made really interesting adaptations outside of the kind of Western medical infrastructure a lot of us deal with. Especially from the experience I have had traveling abroad, you really get the sense that this is more prevalent in developing countries than it is in Western ones.

The need is also greater, because there’s less funding, there’s less governmental infrastructure, there’s less access to medical infrastructure. So that is going to be the next project. In many ways it’s the inverse of the Rolling Exhibition: focusing on people who get stared at, maybe because of their interesting adaptations. We have locations like India, Congo, Haiti, Russia, Brazil.

But this is not just an exhibit. This is a book project.

I’m pitching a book, but it’s also going to be delivered through a photo series. So you have portraits of the people who created these interesting adaptations interspersed between each chapter that would otherwise be a massive travelogue. I’m trying to keep the photo project moving simultaneously as well as write about it as well as chronicle other people’s inventions. It’s a bit daunting.

So how did your new cheetah legs come about?

Trying to profile people in developing countries, I realized I had to have something that could take me off the sidewalk, right? The skateboard, despite all its practicality, is limited to the ground rolling beneath it. I found that I needed something that is going to allow me to ambulate without having to deal with pavement.

If people stare at you on a skateboard, they must really stare at you on cheetah legs.

Yeah, if I’m in Saudi Arabia or Haiti, I think I’ll get a few stares on this next project.

Can someone summarize what the book “Double Take” by Kevin Connolly is about?

I have to admit that I was a little sad realizing that someone didn’t want to be bothered with reading my book. This is the first time I’ve seen disinterest or laziness in response to my work, and while it’s more than a little narcissistic to feel any sort of reaction to such a simple request, I found myself staring at the question for a good five minutes. He wanted to summarize me, basically – which felt almost like a bad version of literary speed-dating.

Right below his question was an answer that gave me heart, though:

Some guy who hated doing his homework so he paid people to do so

Now, while I wasn’t totally certain who the comment was directed at, it made me realize that this was quite likely a student having to read my book for homework. With Double Take being a common reader for incoming Freshman at Montana State University, University of Wisconsin, and Colorado Mountain College, I could see that maybe there was some student sweating bullets about an exam he or she had to take regarding Double Take. So – feeling that I was the best qualified to summarize myself, I gave it a shot. The first half of the post is reasonably accurate, but toward the end of my of summary, I began feeling a bit bored. Not just of the summary itself, but also of what I had accomplished within my own memoir! So, I decided to add a little spice.

The final third of the book takes place back in my home of Montana during a long hiking trip. During my hike, I reflect on my adventures over the past summer while keeping an eye out for hungry wildlife. The final tragic chapter takes place on Sailor Lake, where I am attacked by a mountain lion. Surviving the initial encounter, I nevertheless died a tragic death of attrition on the long hike back to my vehicle in search of medical aid. A sad way to end the book, but nevertheless, I’m currently working on a second one. Kinda tough to create a new narrative if you’ve already been killed by a mountain lion, but nevertheless, I am prepared to try!

Maybe it was my middle-of-the-night delirium that led me to rework the entire ending, but I think this makes the book feel much more epic. I also truly hope that somewhere in America, there is a student convinced or confused about my state of mortality.

Here’s the link to the Yahoo! Answers page if you have any better endings to suggest. Can Someone Summarize Double Take?

Ever since I took my first few turns on a ski hill, I dreamed of getting into Outside Magazine. While I’ve been incredibly happy and grateful for all of the press that has been sent my way in the past few years, Outside was always my own sort of “holy grail” for publicity. I would’ve been happy with a little blurb in a page margin – so to be the feature of a 2800 profile has thrown me onto my proverbial heels a bit.

I’d love to post the whole article online, but I’m sure that’d get me in hot water with the Outside powers-that-be. However, if you’re keen to pick up a physical copy – here’s the cover that you’ll be looking for (it’s the November issue) -

A few high points:

1.) I get a nickname that I truly hope sticks (The Cyborg)

2.) The title for the next photo project is revealed (Low Lifes)

3.) The article discusses the Cheetah Legs – excuse me, Connollegs - at length.

4.) I get quoted as saying (for better or worse): “Now’s a pretty rad time not to have legs.”

Sorry for not keeping things too frequently updated, but it’s been hard to stay indoors with all the sun finally pouring down on Montana. We’ve had steady rain and cold temps for the past month, so now that the sun is out, I’ve been trying to avoid the pale glow of my laptop as much as possible.

But while I’ve been avoiding online activities, I’ve been sweating bullets over a speech I need to give this fall to all of the incoming Freshman at Montana State University. See, Double Take was selected as required summer reading for all of the new students arriving at MSU this year, and to cap off the assignment, I need to deliver the big convocation address at the beginning of the semester. Normally, I’m not too afraid of getting up onstage to talk, but this time it’s different. Not only will I be standing in front of thousands of students reasonably close to my age, but I’ll be doing it with all of the pomp-and-circumstance that goes along with a college event of that size. So, in a tidy list – here are my worries*:

1.) The Wisdom – While I have had some pretty incredible experiences in the past few years, I’m not sure if I’ve reached the point of being totally sure of my ability to actually impart wisdom. I’ve only been out of college for two years, which has been just long enough to realize how little I actually know about Adultland.  So while I may be able to talk about traveling the world or skateboarding the Great Wall of China, I’m still reduced to confused child when it comes to doing my taxes, looking at property, or any other of the myriad Adult-ish things that seem to hit you in the face post-college.

2.) The Pomp – Having seen these events before, I’m fairly certain that I’m going to need to wear one of those fancy black robes. I’ve never been a fan of clothes longer than my own torso, but a 5-foot-long robe could really cause some logistical difficulties on stage. I’ve asked the director of the event about possibly tailoring my robe into a cape (which, let’s face it, would be much cooler), but thusfar have yet to receive an answer…

3.) The Circumstance – When the time finally comes to be standing onstage in front of all these people, there is going to be somewhat of a juggling act. Behind me will be the main powers of MSU – from the president to the provost and all sorts in between. In front of me will be a gym full of kids that have yet to even experience college. There is probably something less cliche’d than using “a rock and a hard place”, but it does feel fairly apt in terms of having to try and keep both groups on point.

So – to those reading – is there anything I need to be worried about? For those freshman who may be looking at this blog – is there anything you would like to hear? Also – if anyone out there has the power to make this happen – I totally want a cape.

*Carmen, Greg, or anyone else reading this blog who is also helping to set up the event – don’t let this post get you sweating too much. It’s more tongue-in-cheek than you think. Or is it….

Some good stories are on the way, though! Seducing stray dogs, getting assaulted in a Turkish bath, and getting heavily pet by a couple of gypsies! Right now I’m having to deal with community computers and very limited access, so I’ll just leave a few photos to wet the pallette. Back soon!