Whip It Featurette

Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival later this month. In anticipation of the big screen debut, Fox Searchlight has released a new behind the scenes featurette.

I actually want to see this film, for a variety of reasons which I've listed previously on the site , but listening to Barrymore discuss the empowerment theme of the movie, "Be Your Own Hero", almost makes me not want to see it. I'm not sure why I'm so turned off by the discussion of that theme. It might be because it's so obvious, and the trailer and footage I've seen thus far looks far more subtle than Barrymore's pitch. Watch the video for yourself after the jump.

Watch the featurette in High Definition on Apple.

Based on the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, the film stars Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar, "an indie-rock loving misfit" who finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin Texas. Bliss tries out as Babe Ruthless for a team named the Hurl Scouts, where she hopes to skate alongside the likes of Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore). The movie also features Marcia Gay Harden as Bliss' disapproving mother, Jimmy Fallon who is a cheesy hungover announcer named Hot Tub Johnny, Zoe Bell (skate name: Bloody Holly), Eve, and Juliette Lewis (skate name: Iron Maven) play for the Hurl Scout's rivals, the schoolgirl-themed Holy Rollers.

Whip It hits theaters on October 9th 2009.