There Ain't No Wakeboarding In Iraq (WakinAMovie.com)

NY filmmaker Monroe Mann has been working for years to put together the world’s first wakeboarding feature film, to be shot in Orlando, Florida this fall. That is... until the Army stepped in and told him otherwise.

Despite all the obstacles of being an independent filmmaker, Monroe Mann has been able to line up Avril Lavigne & Sum41 for the soundtrack to their film and gain the support of the entire pro-wakeboarding community. Lieutenant Mann, however, also just got a call from his commanding officer. He and his battalion from the NY Army National Guard are packing their bags, leaving their civilian lives behind, and heading off to Iraq on May 15th.

Despite being confused and nervous about going to war, and despite the lack of funds and time, this Lieutenant filmmaker is still determined to fulfill his dream of making this movie.

"Among the many things I've learned by being in the Army,' says Mann, 26, "I've learned that impossible is not an option when success is the only alternative. Somehow, someway, we're going to make this movie."

How? By enlisting the support of the American people.

Mann and his crew at Loco Dawn Films have set up a website at www.WakinAMovie.com to help raise the money to make their film before he has to ship out to Iraq for war. They are hoping that people will actually go there, donate money, and help make movie history. The website is designed to appeal to wakeboarders, film buffs, those with military affiliations… and to anyone who has ever had a dream.

Wakeboarding is a cross between snowboarding and waterskiing and is the fastest growing extreme sport in the world. In the words of Jason Bingham of Wakeboarding Magazine, “Those who choose to be a part of this film, choose to be a part of a revolution in extreme sports.”

Monroe Mann (26) is a twice published author and the owner of the Unstoppable Actors Business School in Manhattan. His book "To Benning and Back - The Making of a Citizen Soldier" is the country's only first person journal account of modern basic training and officer candidate school.