In 2001, Sean Penn narrated the Stacy Peralta documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys." The film about skateboarding in the 1970s was co-written and directed by Peralta who, according to Rotten Tomatoes is himself a "skateboard legend-turned-filmmaker." The film gives life to what Rotten Tomatoes calls the "organic American pop culture phenomenon" that is skateboarding and elevates it to what the sport is today — "an extreme and acrobatic sport in its own right," per IMDb. It is no wonder then that the documentary is subtitled "The Birth of Extreme."
Penn's interest in narrating the documentary could be linked to his own personal experience of having "lived and surfed near the Dogtown area," according to IMDb. The film features a mix of past and present interviews and includes footage capturing the lives of the "legendary Southern California skateboarding clique" Zephyr Boys (via TV Guide).
Called "a compelling piece of mythmaking" by the National Museum of American History, "Dogtown and Z-Boys" won the Documentary Audience Award and Documentary Directing Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards (via IMDb).
