Paramount Pictures
It’s been all quiet on the Johnny Knoxville front for a couple years now, which is understandable, given that the once-spry Jackass star is now a 47-year-old father-of-three. However, you can’t keep the dog caged forever, so you knew it was only a matter of time until Knoxville was back on the big screen injuring himself for our entertainment.
And because this is a Johnny Knoxville movie, the stunts are 100% authentic. Even as he approaches 50, the dude is still putting his body on the line. What a legend.
Now, while the fake movie with the real stunts is called Action Point, it’s actually based on a very real New Jersey amusement park called Action Park.
Action Park is a fixture in New Jersey folklore, as it was notorious for it’s shoddy rides and management back in the day. Opened in the late 70’s, Action Park featured three separate areas: the Alpine Center, Motorworld, and Waterworld. In fact, Waterworld was one of the first modern American water parks.
However, while the park may have been as popular as it was modern, it was also known for it’s “poorly designed, unsafe rides; under-aged, under-trained, and often under-the-influence staff, and a consequently poor safety record.” And we aren’t just talking rides that caused broken bombs and knee scraps, as SIX people died from injuries sustained at the park.
The park, which was eventually shuttered in 1996 (before being later re-opened by new owners), went on to earn the monikers “Traction Park”, “Accident Park”, and “Class Action Park”.