It is unclear if the Cannonball Loop ride is featured. Watch video
It was only a matter of time before Hollywood capitalized on an amusement park that once injured 110 people, including 10 fractures and 45 head injuries, in just one summer.
Yes, we are talking about the infamous Action Park, or as you may know it as "Traction Park" or "Class Action Park" or "Accident Park," in Vernon.
On Wednesday, a trailer for "Action Point," a fictitious movie based on the wild and dangerous amusement park of the 80s and 90s starring Johnny Knoxville was released.
Based on the trailer, Knoxville, presumably based on Action Park's infamous owner Eugene Mulvihill, is the owner of "Action Point" and has to step up the craziness of his raggedy amusement park because of local competition.
"No rules. No speed limits. Just pure fun," is how Knoxville describes the park in the movie that hits theaters on June 1.
Depending on your definition of fun (there were six confirmed deaths at the park), that's an almost perfect encapsulation of what Action Park was in its heyday. An example: The ride that injured all of those people in the summer of 1985, the Cannonball Loop, was reportedly designed by Mulvihill on a napkin and to see if it worked his son, Andy, tested the ride dressed in hockey pads.
The notorious amusement park is talked about as if it is an urban myth, but the craziness of it was reality.
Just look at how Chris Gethard, a writer for Weird NJ describes it:
"Action Park was a true rite of passage for any New Jersey kid of my generation. When I get to talking about it with other Jerseyans, we share stories as if we are veterans who served in combat together. I suspect that many of us may have come closest to death on some of those rides up in Vernon Valley. I consider it a true shame that future generations will never know the terror of proving their grit at New Jersey's most dangerous amusement park."
The original water park, which opened in 1978, closed in 1995 after a slew of lawsuits and filing for bankruptcy.
This movie, which was originally titled "Action Park," but changed the name for unknown reasons, is not the first time people outside of New Jersey will get a look at Action Park, as it has been portrayed in pop culture for years, for good and bad reasons.
Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jatmonavageNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook