American Hollywood Cinema has since its inception of inducing the act, and life of surfing onto its celluloid stock gotten it wrong. Not to be an outright pessimist, but the tendencies of experience have not translated well through the legions of writers, producers, directors, actors and everyone in between. This is at least strange in the sense of Southern California’s representation as the incubator of the modern American surfing movement, why has more cross over of experience and depiction not occurred. In certain instances this overlap has been clear, and rendered the most whole-hearted understandings of the social and physical attributes to the world of wave sliding.
John Milius, childhood Malibu local has posited the two most powerful examples of the dynamics of surfing. His first, is a feat of totality, maximizing all aspects of the dangers of being at that point of adolescent transition in the late 1960’s. Big Wednesday, the perfect coming of age tale, framed by the machinations of California’s explosive surfing community in the mid through late 1960’s. The sense of the ocean as a place of perfect escape, of total exhaustion from reaping her fruits, to the aging shaper who sees change on the horizon and his ultimate outmoding seems to strike home with me at the perfect time. Growing up in the age of the Iraq war in a localized surfing community, many of the precepts and even stereotypes ring amazingly true.
The second punch, is embedded in the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, his additions to the writing included a scene where an Air Cavalry Unit maniacally clears a beach with a river mouth once the colonel, who is an avid surfer, realizes there is a world class surfer in his midst. This rabid desire to access decent waves is one that folds into the surfing giant Billabong’s age old mantra, “Only a surfer knows the feeling” To hell or high water, under fire of North Vietnamese hostile combatants, the psychological damages of war allow that surface inhibition to fall away and the pure fundamental need for surf, to feel the ocean’s energy underfoot take’s charge. All of this Milius accomplishes with the lightest of hand, in the heaviest of war zone.
The Endless Summer has captured generations ideas about the nature of exploration, travel, and total experiential living, to the point of until recently, being the highest grossing independent documentary ever made. The majority of the remaining films in the world of surfing cinema miss their marks in different ways, but all come back to one fundamental cinematic flaw. The surfing shots never line up. Within the structure of a film production, the odds of being able to get all of the shots you need for a sequence on the same day, at the same spot, with the same conditions and surfers is highly improbable. (Big Wednesday did it well) But a film that can tackle this most simple of consistency issues would have a big step out of the way in terms of authenticity.
Bring on Point Break 2!
Below is a relatively complete listing of movies containing or directly related to surfing. This list leaves out surf videos - those where narrative is secondary to action.
Gidget -1959
Due to an accident while swimming in the sea, Francis meets the surfer Moondoggy. She’s fascinated of his sport and starts to hang out with his clique. Although they make fun of her at first, they teach her to surf. Soon she’s accepted and given the nickname “Gidget”. But it’s hard work to become more than a friend to Moondoggy.
Endless Summer - 1966
Director Bruce Brown follows two surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, on a surf trip around the world. Despite the balmy climate of their native California, cold ocean currents make local beaches inhospitable during the winter. They travel to the coasts of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii in a quest for new surf spots and introduce locals to the sport. Other important surfers of the time, such as Miki Dora, Phil Edwards and Butch Van Artsdalen, also appear.
Its title comes from the last line in the film, which expresses the idea that if one had enough time and money it would be possible to follow the summer around the world, making it endless. The concept of the film was born through the suggestion of a travel agent to Bruce Brown during the planning stages of the film. The travel agent suggested that the flight from Los Angeles to Cape Town, South Africa and back would cost $50 more than a trip circumnavigating the world. After which, Bruce came up with the idea of following the summer season by traveling around the world.
The narrative presentation eases from the stiff and formal documentary of the 1950s and early 1960s to a more casual and fun-loving personal style filled with sly humor. The surf-rock soundtrack to the film was provided by The Sandals.
When the movie was first shown, it encouraged many surfers to go abroad, giving birth to the “surf-and-travel” culture, which prizes finding “uncrowded surf”, meeting new people and riding the perfect wave. It also introduced the sport, which had become popular outside of Hawaii and the Polynesian Islands in places like California and Australia, to a broader audience.
In 2002, The Endless Summer was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Apocalypse Now -1979
1979 epic war film set during the Vietnam War. It tells the tale of Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard who is sent into the jungle to assassinate United States Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who has gone AWOL and is believed to be insane.
The film was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, based on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness (1899), as well as drawing elements from Herr’s “Dispatches” (1977), and from Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972); Coppola himself has noted, “Aguirre, with its incredible imagery, was a very strong influence. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.”[1]
The film stars Martin Sheen as Captain Willard (based on Marlow in Conrad’s novella), Marlon Brando as Col. Kurtz, Dennis Hopper as a photojournalist, and Robert Duvall as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore. The movie became notorious in the entertainment press due to its lengthy and troubled production as documented in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. In the end, Coppola had to finance the film with his own money. The film won the Academy Award, Cannes Palme d’Or and Golden Globe awards.
The movie poster art for Apocalypse Now is by Bob Peak, who was considered an influential artist in the world of movie posters.
Big Wednesday - 1978
American coming of age film directed by John Milius. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life, the Vietnam War, and use of the ever changing surf as a metaphor for the changes in life.[1]
Surfing aficionados consider it to be one of the better surfing-related films made, in part because of the surfing cinematography and the appearance of several world champion surfers as stunt performers, plus its verisimilitude, especially when compared to the kitschy 1960s Beach Party films. The director, John Milius, had been a surfer in his youth.[2]
The film also examines the extremes which some young men went to during the Vietnam years to avoid being drafted and shipped off to war, including: faking insanity, homosexuality (which the military then equated with insanity), and all manner of medical ailments. The picture also illustrates the tough decision some made to enlist and the effects that decision had on their friends and families.
The film tells the story of three young friends whose passion for life is surfing. The friends include: Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent) a self-destructive and has a devil-may-care attitude; Jack Barlowe (William Katt), the calm and responsible one of the bunch; and Leroy “The Masochist” Smith (Gary Busey), whose name tells a lot about his personality.
Their surfing lives are traced from the summer of 1962 to their attempts of dodging the Vietnam War draft in 1965, and to the end of their innocence in 1968 when one of their friends is killed in Vietnam. The three make the difficult transition to adulthood with parties, surf trips, marriage, and the war.
The friends reunite years later after Barlowe has served time in Vietnam for the “Great Swell of ‘74.” With this reunion the transitions in their lives becomes the end point of what the 1960s meant to so many as they see that the times have changed and what was once a time of innocence is forever gone.
North Shore - 1987
Film about Rick Kane (Matt Adler), a young fictional surfer from a wave tank in Arizona, who heads to surf the season on the North Shore of Oʻahu and see if he has the skills to cut it as a pro surfer. As he progresses on his journey, he learns the qualities he possesses are not going to pull him through alone.
Kane quickly finds out he has neither the skills nor the attitude to make it. After the Hui, led by Vince (surfing legend Gerry Lopez), take his stuff, he fortuitously runs into Turtle (John Philbin). Turtle introduces him to Chandler (Gregory Harrison), a shaper and soul surfer, who teaches Rick to surf and advises him in the nuances of the North Shore scene. The film’s antagonist is named Lance Burkhart (Laird Hamilton), who plays the role of a violent and often frightening surfer, appearing from time to time to bring an element of danger to the film.
Kane also falls in love with Kiani (Nia Peeples),a beautiful local girl who encourages him to follow his dream.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 1982
American coming-of-age teen-comedy film written by Cameron Crowe (adapted from his book) and directed by Amy Heckerling. The film follows a school year in the lives of freshman Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), freshman Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and their respective friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) who believe themselves wise in the ways of romance and counsel their younger counterparts. The ensemble cast of characters also includes Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), a perpetually stoned surfer who faces off against uptight history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), who is convinced that all of his students are on “dope.” Stacy’s brother, Brad (Judge Reinhold), is a popular senior who works at a local hangout, All-American Burger.
It includes early appearances by several actors who would later become stars, including Sean Penn, Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, and Judge Reinhold. Notably, three of the actors who appeared in the film — Cage, Penn, and Whitaker — would win an Academy Award for Best Actor later on in their careers.
Crowe himself would soon become a celebrated Hollywood director and screenwriter, eventually winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his movie Almost Famous.
Fast Times was filmed in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles (although it is never explicitly mentioned as such in the film), and many people identify the movie with that area and the teen culture that existed there, or was perceived to exist there, in the early 1980s. “Ridgemont” is a fictional name; there is no California community by that name. Crowe likely named it after Clairemont High School in San Diego (Spicoli mentions surfing at Sunset Cliffs, a genuine surf spot near San Diego). Most of the exteriors of Ridgemont High School were shot at Van Nuys High School, and other scenes were shot at Canoga Park High School and Torrance High. The “Ridgemont Mall” shown in the film was actually the Sherman Oaks Galleria, with its exterior shot at Santa Monica Place. The actual mall has since been converted to an open-air mall. Santa Monica Place was also recently closed and the entrance that was used in the film will be renovated. “The Point” was filmed at the Encino Little League Field in Encino. In the DVD Commentary, Director Amy Heckerling tells of how Phoebe Cates was initially reluctant to carry out her character’s poolside topless scene at the house (in San Fernando Valley) because she thought the neighbors might be spying on the set from the surrounding rooftops.
Back to the Beach - 1987
comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903. It received a “two thumbs up” rating from Siskel and Ebert.
The film is an open parody of the beach movies popular in the 1960s, especially those in which Avalon and Funicello had appeared. The plot is merely the means of connecting the various sight gags, homages and in-jokes. All character names are taken from those earlier films.
Tagline: Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a totally NEW WAVE motion picture experience.
Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello are husband and wife living in Ohio — far from the surf and sand of their earlier lives together. Heading to California to visit their daughter Sandi (Lori Loughlin), Frankie and Annette are appalled to learn that she has been making time with surfer Michael (Tommy Hinkley). In time-honored fashion, our hero and heroine set about to make the beach safe for fun-lovers everywhere by driving out Michael’s unsavory friends.
Along the way, Frankie faces a challenge to his title from the younger surfers, and nearly ruins his marriage by dallying with Connie Stevens — one of several pop-culture icons appearing in the film, including Fishbone, Don Adams, Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Edd Byrnes, Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Dick Dale, Stevie Ray Vaughan, O.J. Simpson, and Pee-wee Herman.
In the end, of course, The Big Kahuna proves that he is the king of surfers, and his title is safe.
Point Break - 1991
Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), is an FBI agent and former Ohio State quarterback who, with his partner Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey), is investigating a string of bank robberies. Suspecting a connection between the bank robbers, known as the Ex-Presidents because they use masks of former US presidents, and local surfers, Utah goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. Knowing little of the lifestyle, Utah convinces surfer Tyler (Lori Petty) to mentor him.
In the process, Utah develops a complex relationship with Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the charismatic leader of a gang of surfers who accept Utah into their midst. While Utah goes undercover in the hope of finding the bank robbers, he finds himself increasingly attracted to their adrenaline-charged lifestyle.
The Bodhi/Utah dynamic gets more complicated as Utah begins to zero in on Bodhi as the likely ringleader of the Ex-Presidents. Utah learns that Bodhi and his gang rob banks in order to fund their lifestyle, and as a form of rebellion against a social system that they believe “kills the human spirit”. This creates an internal struggle for Utah, as his fondness for Bodhi and the lifestyle he epitomizes conflicts with his duty and responsibility as an FBI agent.
By the end of the film, Utah lets Bodhi seek his own death surfing the giant waves of Bells Beach, Australia.
Originally, Matthew Broderick and Charlie Sheen were to star in Point Break with Ridley Scott directing.[2] After acquiring the screenplay, the producers of Point Break began looking for a director. At the time, executive producer James Cameron was married to director Kathryn Bigelow who had just completed Blue Steel and was looking for her next project.[2]
Point Break was originally called Johnny Utah when Keanu Reeves was cast in the title role.[2] The studio felt that this title said very little about surfing and by the time Patrick Swayze was cast, the film had been renamed Riders on the Storm after the song by The Doors. However, Jim Morrison’s lyrics had nothing to do with the film and so that title was also rejected. It was not until halfway through filming that Point Break became the film’s title because of its relevance to surfing.[2]
Reeves liked the name of his character as it reminded him of star athletes like Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana. He described his character as a “total control freak and the ocean beats him up and challenges him. After a while everything becomes a game . . . He becomes as amoral as any criminal. He loses the difference between right and wrong”.[2] Swayze felt that Bodhi was a lot like him and that they both shared “that wild-man edge”.[2]
Two months before filming, Reeves and Swayze trained with former world class professional surfer Dennis Jarvis on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.[2] Shooting the surfing sequences proved to be challenging for both actors with Swayze cracking four of his ribs. For many of the surfing scenes he refused to use a stunt double as he never had one for fight scenes or car chases. He also did the skydiving scenes himself and the film’s aerial jump instructor Jim Wallace found that the actor was a natural and took to it right away.[2]
Blue Juice - 1995
British film directed by Carl Prechezer and starring Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta Jones, Ewan McGregor and Steven Mackintosh. It follows JC (Pertwee) as he attempts to reconcile his surfer lifestyle and loser friends with the pressure to grow up from his girlfriend (Jones). Blue Juice was set in Cornwall, England and released in 1995 by FilmFour productions. It was rated 15 by the British Board of Film Classification.
JC seems to have it all figured out. By day he runs a surf school, at night he lies down next to his beautiful girlfriend Chloe. However, when his mates arrive from London unannounced it releases tensions which have long been simmering under the surface of JC and Chloe’s seemingly perfect relationship. His friends, especially drug-dealer Dean are intent on causing mischief and sucking JC back into his old habits which Chloe had hoped were long gone…
Many of the film’s characters are dressed in clothing from the pressure group Surfers against Sewage. A lot of the Characters also wear the Australian Surfwear label Mambo Graphics and Stussy hats. Wetsuits used in the film and in publicity shots were manufactured by Gul. Other surf brands seen throughout the film, in the form of stickers or clothing, include Body Glove and Quicksilver.
Surfers Against Sewage stickers and posters are widely used throughout the film, visible in the Aqua Shack scenes and applied to the blue Bedford CF van driven by JC and Chloe for the surf school.
Pertwee used toupée tape to hold a sock in place, in the scene where JC appears nude apart from a black sock. “…I came up with this ingenious ploy - wrapping toupée tape on my chap. You won’t believe how difficult it is to remove…”[1] In a 1995 interview with FHM magazine Catherine Zeta Jones recalled the filming of the sock scene; “It was a brown Marks & Spencer one, though. If it was a Stussy one, or something like that, it might have been more interesting.”[2]
Professional surfer Steve England was a body double for Peter Gunns character Terry. To replicate Gunns look and larger build he had to have his long hair cut and wear two wetsuits with towels packed around his stomach.[3]
A reference is made in the film to the 1960s comic book character the Silver Surfer. On the way to find the rave, JC, Josh, Dean and Terry pass a man painted entirely in silver carrying a silver surfboard who waves at them. Terry, under the influence of drugs supplied by Dean, then copies this by painting himself silver.
Surf Nazis Must Die - 1987
Film directed by Peter George (no relation to the novelist or the economist of the same name) and starring Gail Neely, Barry Brenner, and Robert Harden. It was distributed by Troma Entertainment, a company known for its low-budget exploitation films.
An apocalyptic earthquake leaves the California coastline in ruins and reduces the beaches to a state of chaos. A group of Neo-Nazis led by Adolf (Brenner), the self-proclaimed “Führer of the new beach,” take advantage of the resulting chaos by fighting off several rival surfer gangs to seize control of the beaches. Meanwhile, an African American oil well worker named Leroy (Harden) is killed by the Nazis while jogging on the beach. Leroy’s mother “Mama” Washington (Neely), devastated by the loss of her son, vows revenge. After arming herself with a handgun and grenades, she breaks out of her retirement home and sets out to exact bloody vengeance on the Surf Nazis.
Surf Ninjas - 1993
is a 1993 American comedic family film involving martial arts, directed by Neal Israel and written by Dan Gordon. The film stars Ernie Reyes Jr., Rob Schneider, Nicolas Cowan, and Leslie Nielsen. Surf Ninjas follows two teenage surfers from Los Angeles who discover that they are crown princes of the Asian kingdom Patusan and reluctantly follow their destinies to dethrone an evil colonel that rules over the kingdom. Surf Ninjas was filmed in Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Thailand. A video game was also developed and released in conjunction with the film. Surf Ninjas was released in the United States on August 20, 1993, being received generally unfavorably by critics. The film was released on VHS in December 1993 and re-released on DVD in September 2002.
Johnny (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) and Adam (Nicolas Cowan) are teenage surfers who reside in Los Angeles with their father Mac (John Karlen). Two weeks before Johnny’s 16th birthday, ninjas attack the teenagers, but they are stopped by Zatch (Ernie Reyes Sr.), a warrior with an eye patch. A follow-up attack results in the kidnapping of Mac, while Zatch is able to get the teenagers and their friend Iggy (Rob Schneider) away from the ninjas. Adam discovers that the video game on his Sega Game Gear correlates with the events happening around him and that he can control some events through his console. Safely away from the ninjas, Zatch reveals to Johnny and Adam that they are the sons of a Patusani king, whose land and monarchy was overthrown by Colonel Chi (Leslie Nielsen) when the boys were young. Zatch tells them that it is their destiny to return to Patusan, overthrow Colonel Chi, and rescue the population. Zatch takes the boys to the Patusani district in Los Angeles, the home of refugees from Chi’s rule. Johnny is introduced to a Patusani princess, Ro-May (Kelly Hu), who has been betrothed to Johnny since childhood.
Ninjas attack the group again, and Johnny finds his inherent abilities as a warrior prince emerge, successfully defeating several foes. With the ninjas dispatched, Johnny, Adam, Iggy, Zatch, and Ro-May decide to travel to Patusan. They are followed by a detective, Lieutenant Spence (Tone Loc), who had been investigating the ninja attacks on the boys. The group reaches Patusan and see the effects of Colonel Chi’s rule, including a burned village and a Patusani chain gang monitored by Chi’s henchmen. When Adam and Spence inadvertently fall into the sight of the henchmen, the group is forced to fight them. The henchmen are defeated, and the villagers are freed from the chain gang.
Zatch then leads the group to uncover a hidden cave in which the weapons of the Patusani monarchy are stored. Using his Game Gear and being helped by a monkey, Adam is able to uncover the cave for the group. In the cave, Zatch arms Johnny and attacks him in a tribulation to prepare the boy for future challenges. Johnny is beaten down repeatedly, but he is able to achieve the upper hand and disarm Zatch. The group rallies the villagers to overthrow Colonel Chi, and they travel to the shore of the mainland across from an island that is the home to the royal city and Chi’s dungeon. Unable to take a boat to the unprotected side of the island due to an impassable reef, Johnny and Adam tell the Patusanis, who are expert at wood carving, to carve surfboards. With everyone equipped with their own surfboard, they swim to the unprotected side.
After landing at the island, Johnny and Zatch lead the attack on the royal city, taking down Chi’s henchmen. Johnny and Adam’s adoptive father Mac is freed, and Johnny confronts Colonel Chi, successfully defeating him with the help of Adam and his Game Gear. With Chi’s rule undone, peace is restored to Patusan. Johnny is seated as the heralded warrior prince with Ro-May as his princess and Adam as a prince. Johnny declares for the monarchy to be dissolved and announces that Patusan would operate as a democracy under the people.
In God’s Hands - 1998
It attempts to convey the story of three young surfers on a roller coaster action tour of the globes most exotic and dangerous surfing spots. They travel to Madagascar, Mexico, Bali and Hawaii seeking the ultimate wave, a 40-foot force of nature that travels at speeds up to 35 miles per hour.
Psycho Beach Party - 2000
Based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, Psycho Beach Party, set in 1962 Malibu Beach, is a parody of 1950s and 1960s beach movies. Besides the obvious references to Gidget and similar early 60s beach movies, the movie also borrows from Alfred Hitchcock movies like Marnie.
Florence Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a Gidget-like character, experiences inexplicable blackouts, and fears that she might be the one responsible for a series of mysterious deaths in her beach-side town. The deaths are investigated by Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch), who also suspects Chicklet’s mother (Beth Broderick), Chicklet’s best friend Bernadine (Danni Wheeler), surfing guru The Great Kanaka (Thomas Gibson) and B-movie actress Bettina Barnes (Kimberley Davies). Florence is determined to learn to surf, and earns the nickname “Chicklet” from the surfer guys, while developing multiple personalities.
Other characters include university drop-out (and Chicklet’s love interest) Starcat (Nicholas Brendon), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), surfers Yo-Yo (Nick Cornish) and Provoloney (Andrew Levitas), Starcat’s girlfriend Marvel Ann (Amy Adams) and the class “queen bee” Rhonda (Kathleen Robertson).
Blue Crush - 2002
Film directed by John Stockwell and based on the Outside magazine article “Surfer Girls of Maui” by Susan Orlean.[1] Starring Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake, and Mika Boorem, it tells the story of three friends who have one passion: living the ultimate dream of surfing on Hawaii’s famed North Shore.
Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), Eden (Michelle Rodriguez), and Lena (Sanoe Lake) are best friends. Anne Marie and her friends have been raising her 14-year-old sister, Penny (Mika Boorem), ever since their mother took off to Las Vegas with a boyfriend, who was not comfortable with the idea of bringing the two girls along. While Penny is at school, Anne Marie, Eden, and Lena work as maids at a large resort hotel, but more importantly, they are surfers. Anne Marie rises every morning before dawn to train for her surfing comeback. She was once considered a rising star in women’s surfing and competed as a youth, but a near-drowning incident temporarily halted her career and left her with deep-seated fears. Her friends, especially Eden, have encouraged her to try it again.
Anne Marie has been invited to join in an upcoming surf competition at the famed North Shore surf spot, Pipeline. She hopes to gain the attention of sponsors and get herself and her friends out of the near-poverty they are living in. As Pipe gets closer, Anne Marie struggles to keep Penny under control and deal with her own personal issues.
At work, Anne Marie meets and catches the eye of Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis), a National Football League quarterback in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Matt is there with several of his rowdy teammates and instantly becomes attracted to the surfer. Through a series of “chance” encounters, she agrees to teach him how to surf, bringing Lena, Eden, and Penny along for the ride. Her acceptance of a non-local begins to cause friction between her and many of the young men in her surfing social circle. Anne Marie faces more problems when she and Eden argue over an intense training session about Anne Marie’s lack of dedication to the Pipeline contest due to the sudden appearance of Matt. Also she had to hear vicious commentaries from several ladies staying at the hotel about Anne Marie undergoing the “Matt Tollman makeover” while attending a luau at the resort.
Anne Marie confronts Matt about their situation, and soon resolves to step up to game as she finally commits herself to the Pipeline Masters. On the day of Pipeline, Anne Marie wipes out during her first heat, but advances to the next heat after narrowly beating pro surfer Kate Skarratt. She is shaken, but Matt tells her a story about his first game as a quarterback and helps her regain her wavering confidence. Determined, but still afraid, Anne Marie returns to the water. Competing in the same heat is Keala Kennelly, one of the first professional female surfers, playing herself. While Keala dares to surf the first few sets of waves without wipe-outs, Anne Marie still has inhibitions about riding one, visions of another near-drowning incident holding her back. Keala finishes her turn, she encourages Anne Marie to take a good wave, and Anne Marie manages to score perfectly. Although she does not advance to the next heat, she has regained her lost confidence, but more importantly, the notice of sponsors, one of which includes an offer to join the Billabong women’s surf team.
Surf’s Up! - 2007
American Academy Award-nominated computer-animated mockumentary film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It stars the voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder among others.
It is Sony Pictures Animation’s second film, the first being Open Season on September 29, 2006. The American premiere occurred on June 8. It is directed by Ash Brannon (the co-director of Toy Story 2) and Chris Buck (the director of Tarzan). Pre-production for Surf’s Up began in 2002.
It is a parody of surfing documentaries, such as The Endless Summer and Riding Giants. Real-life surfers Kelly Slater and Rob Machado have vignettes as their penguin surfer counterparts.
Silver Surfer - 2007
A silver object enters Earth’s atmosphere, radiating cosmic energy that creates massive molecular fluctuations and causes deep craters at locations across the Earth. The government approaches Reed to build a sensor to track the movements of the object.
As the wedding begins, Reed’s systems detect the phenomenon approaching New York City, causing a massive power blackout. The object destroys the sensors while the Fantastic Four protect the crowd. The Human Torch pursues the object, discovering that it is a humanoid, a “Silver Surfer.” He confronts the Surfer, only to be dragged into the upper atmosphere where the Surfer snuffs his flame out, then drops him back toward Earth. Johnny reactivates his powers and survives the fall. Later on when Sue tries to comfort Johnny, she touches his shoulders and their powers switch - he becomes invisible, and she is set on fire; when they touch again their powers revert back. Reed’s examination of Johnny reveals that exposure to the Surfer has set Johnny’s molecular structure in flux, allowing him to switch powers with his teammates through physical contact. Tracing the cosmic energy of the Surfer, Reed discovers that a series of planets the alien had visited before Earth have all been destroyed.
The Surfer’s movements around the globe bring him past Latveria, where the cosmic energy affects Victor von Doom, freeing him from two years as a metal statue. Doom, able to move again and returned to a human, but scarred, traces the Surfer to the Arctic and makes him an offer to join forces. When the Surfer rebuffs him, Doom attacks. The Surfer returns fire, blasting Doom through the ice. The cosmic energy of the Surfer’s blast heals Doom’s body, reversing the changes seen in the first film.
Doom leverages his experience into a deal with the American military, who force the Fantastic Four to work with Doom. Deducing that the Surfer’s board is the source of his power, the group develops a pulse generator that will separate him from it. While setting up the device, Sue is confronted by the Surfer, during which he reveals he is merely a servant to the destroyer of worlds, and regrets the destruction he causes. The military opens fire on the Surfer, which distracts him and allows the four to fire the pulse, separating the Surfer from his board.
The military imprisons the Surfer in Siberia and forbids the Fantastic Four from interacting with him, while they torture him for information. Sue uses her powers to sneak into his cell, where she learns more information from the Surfer. He tells her his master was known by the people of his world as Galactus, a massive cloud-like cosmic entity which must feed on life-bearing planets to survive, and that his board is a homing beacon which even now summons him to the planet.
Doom, pursuing the power in the board, steals it from the compound, using a device to gain control of the board and its powers. The Fantastic Four rescue the Surfer, and pursue Doom in the Fantasticar, confronting him in Shanghai. During the battle, Sue is mortally wounded. With the Surfer powerless, Johnny absorbs the combined powers of the entire team in order to battle the cosmic energy-empowered Doom. Johnny succeeds in breaking Doom’s control over the Surfer’s board, while Ben Grimm uses a nearby crane to knock Doom into the harbor where he is last seen sinking; however, Galactus has already arrived. The Surfer regains the control of his board, and his power is restored. He revives Sue and chooses to defend Earth, flying into Galactus and confronting him. The conflict results in a massive blast of energy, apparently destroying Galactus.
The film ends with Reed and Sue marrying in Japan.
The credits cut back to a shot of the Silver Surfer’s seemingly lifeless body floating through space. Just as he drifts off the edge of the screen his eyes open and his board races towards him.
John From Cincinatti - 2007
American television drama, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California, that aired on HBO from June 10, 2007 to August 12, 2007. It is the result of a collaborative effort between writer/producer David Milch and author Kem Nunn, whose novels have been termed surf noir.[1] The program deals with a strange young man of mysterious origin and the effect he has on a dysfunctional family of professional surfers and their community.
The series includes surfing sequences by well-respected surfers such as Brock Little, Keala Kennelly, Dan Malloy, John-John Florence, Shane Beschen, and Herbie Fletcher.[2]
The series’ theme song is “Johnny Appleseed”, performed by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. A diverse soundtrack includes “Tic” by Kava Kava and songs from TV on the Radio, Muse, Buddy Guy, Kasabian and the Yardbirds.
Newcastle - 2008
Revolves around Jesse, a 17-year-old surfer who treads the line between success and self-destruction. Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor’s failure to become surfing’s Next Big Thing. Even when he’s in his natural habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon. Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his friends that includes first love and tragedy leads him to discover what’s really important.
Surfer Dude - 2008
Longboarding soul surfer Steve Addington (Matthew McConaughey) returns to Malibu for the summer to find his cool hometown vibe corrupted. New sponsorship demands Addington to expand into virtual reality video games and reality TV. Unwilling to participate in this new digital reality, he chooses to spend his summer surfing his home break. But in a twist of fate, the waves go flat and stay flat. Out of money, his expense accounts canceled, and betrayed by his buddies, Addington is backed into a harsh corner. He must endure the insanity that comes with no waves or give into “the Man” and his new, reality-altering machines. Aided by his manager (Woody Harrelson), his mentor (Scott Glenn), his guardian angel (Willie Nelson) and his summer lover (Alexie Gilmore), Addington has a chance of keeping his cool, but it’s not going to be easy. The dude needs a wave, and there’s never been a drought like this. [1]
*********Sidebar - Surfing in Video Games.
T&C Surf Designs Nintendo Game
skateboarding and surfing game published by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System in February 1988. The game shares its name with the world famous surfboard manufacturer, Town & Country Surf Designs, and is based around the company’s mascot characters, known as “Da Boys”.
A follow-up game was released in North America in March 1992 entitled Town & Country II: Thrilla’s Surfari. While it shared a common title and characters, the gameplay diverged away from its predecessor to take on more action and platforming elements.
Kelly Slater Pro Surfer
video game in the Activision O2 brand. It was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance. In 2003, it was published for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh.
This game has a trick system which is in many ways similar to the one used in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series; however, as surfing is a rather different sport than skateboarding, the actual gameplay similarities are limited.
Transworld Surf Next Wave
Surfing H3O
Sunny Garcia Surfing
Soul Surfer Sega Arcade Game
