| Blue Crush | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | John Stockwell |
| Produced by | Brian Grazer |
| Screenplay by | Lizzy Weiss John Stockwell |
| Story by | Lizzy Weiss |
| Starring | Kate Bosworth Michelle Rodriguez Matthew Davis Sanoe Lake Mika Boorem |
| Music by | Paul Haslinger |
| Cinematography | David Hennings |
| Editing by | Emma E. Hickox |
| Studio | Imagine Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 16, 2002 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $51,599,647 |
Blue Crush is a 2002 surfer film directed by John Stockwell and based on the Outside magazine article "Life's Swell" 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.
Contents |
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 bad wipeout and 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 the Pipeline competition 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 (it is hinted that he plays for the Minnesota Vikings). 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 about Anne Marie's lack of dedication to training for the Pipeline contest due to the sudden appearance of Matt. She also has to hear vicious comments from several of the other football players' wives and girlfriends staying at the hotel about how she is 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 her 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 surfs 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, then paddles out and takes Anne Marie under her wing and encourages her to take the best wave of the day, on which Anne Marie manages to score perfectly. Although she does not advance to the next heat, she has regained her lost confidence, but more importantly, attracted the notice of sponsors, one of which includes an offer to join the Billabong women's surf team.
The movie was shot primarily on the island of Oahu, including the North Shore, Mākaha, Waikīkī, and the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina. The production depended heavily on local talent. Many of the characters in the film are portrayed by real surfers found on the North Shore. Ruben Tejada, who plays J.J., was found by director John Stockwell outside of a grocery store. He liked him so much that he cast him in the movie. The fresh talent lent some raw energy to the film and kept the action real. All the surfing takes place in the ocean; no green screens or tanks were used.
While the actresses did learn to surf, some of the more difficult surfing scenes were not only dangerous, but impossible for them to perform. Some of the world's top female surfers, including ones featured in the original magazine article, surfed the larger waves for the film. The actresses' faces were later digitally superimposed on the surfers. Michelle Rodriguez did all her own jet ski stunts, including towing Kate Bosworth's stunt double out to the biggest waves.
Actor/Pro Surf Instructor John Philbin was Bosworth's trainer for the film. Philbin starred in the film North Shore many years prior which was shot on the island of Oahu at the world famous North Shore.
Former surfing world champion Tom Carroll appears early in the film as a surfer with a cut eye. According to producer Brian Grazer, this was a real injury —Carroll had wiped out on the reef just seconds earlier— and it made Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez nervous about going in the water.
Although Blue Crush depicts a women's heat in the Pipeline Competition, this did not exist at the time of the film's release. Despite the advances made by Title IX, there was no place for women surfers to compete. It was not until March 2005 that there was a women's competition at the Banzai Pipeline.[2] [3] Some have suggested that the film inspired real-life change.[4]
| Music from the Motion Picture Blue Crush | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | August 16, 2002 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 50:16 |
| Label | Virgin Records |
| Producer | Steven Marley, Josh Debear, Moby, Don Great, Pharrell Williams, Lenny Kravitz, Justin Stanley |
The film opened on 3,002 screens in the United States on August 18, 2002. It grossed $14.2 million and placed 3rd that opening weekend. It went on to gross $40.4 million in the U.S., and a total of $51.6 million worldwide. The film's estimated budget was $30 million.[5]
|
||||||||