The TV campaign told the story of a Polynesian surfer who managed to ride a very big wave, under pretty interesting circumstances: white horses were running with enormous power behind the huge wave.

“Surfer” was shot in Hawaii, won several prizes, based on “Neptune’s Horses”, an 1893 Walter Crane painting.

His six-month soul-seeking journey is chronicled through his journal – the basis of his heart-felt narration in The Drifter. A beautifully shot, emotionally resonant film, The Drifter documents this major turning point in Machado’s life, during which he comes full circle and ready to take on the next phase in a career in where he’s blazed a path and sealed his legacy as one of the world’s most stylish surfing ambassadors.

Always the cool and laid-back guy, Rob Machado answers 5 questions for us:

Q: … I love the line from the trailer, “Sometimes when you’re most alone, you’re not alone at all.” Yet, you have four filmers with you. Do you do irony?

Rob: Oh, well, ah…okay… at that point in the movie, we were on a outer island and our camera crew actually had to drive two hours to the nearest town, that’s where they were staying, because they had to charge batteries and download cards, all that nonsense they gotta do and I just stayed out there and camped by myself. Yeah, but I ditched my phone. I tossed it on the side of the road. It’s funny cause in the movie it keeps coming back to the phone, just these random phone calls, one from my manager, one’s from the consulate telling me they’ve found my passport somewhere…

Q: In the film, which is fact, which is fantasy?

Rob: Well, I mean, the message we’re getting across is it’s…what’s the line…(pause)… Inspired by the wanderings of Rob Machado. Because, when it boils down to it, it’s not a documentary because there are moments in the film we had to recreate because the guy’s weren’t with me. Something weird’d happen to me and I’d be telling em about it, and they’d be like, shit, let’s try and make it happen again so we can capture it.

Q: Were the children you play soccer with imported talent and how many takes did you need to nail that “happy, simple” look as you play?

Rob: That shot, I played soccer for, like, two hours. I left there with a folded toenail, bleeding. They actually took me to the little medical room and bandaged me up. Once you throw me in those little moments, I just run in. Cool, we’re playing soccer!

Q: Are you going to have a third movie, The Grifter? Do you know what a Grifter is?

Rob: I have no idea.

Q: I saw a Steve Sherman photograph of web comments at the Hurley contest. It said: Rob smokes weed. Have you ever seen people smoking “it” and have you ever “done it”?

Rob: Oh yeah, I get that all the time. Yeah, I’ve smoked it. You know, if you had two rooms and you filled one with people drinking alcohol and one with people smoking marijuana, it’d make for an interesting social experiment. You’d have the guys in the weed room laughing and nibbling food. In the other, it’d be a macho scene with fights breaking out everywhere.

[by Derek Rielly]

Honolulu Academy of Arts

PLUS The Honolulu Academy of Arts is stoked to once again raffle off a prized Wade Tokoro surfboard. Everyone who purchases a film festival pass (available here for $55) will be automatically entered in the raffle.

Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for general public. To ensure that you have a ticket, purchase them online or at the theater box office.

There is nothing like a hand-picked, hand-made, and personal gift for someone you love! And showing your special someone(s) that you do understand their love for all that is surf will definitely earn bonus points. A gift basket featuring four all-time movie greats and a selection of their favorite movie snacks like popcorn and assorted candies (don’t forget the arare if you’re in Hawaii!), plus a comfort blanket to hide under (or the oddly popular Snuggie) will do the trick!

Yes, surfers, gather up your favorite movie time snacks around the television, get comfortable under that snuggie you hide under the bed, and check out our movie recommendations that you can bundle together as a great gift item or massively awesome stocking stuffer :

Big Wednesday : starring William Katt, Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey / Directed by John Milius (1978)

Opening with this film is a no-brainer since it has been long considered to be Hollywood’s only “perfect wave” - the only film to date where the surf culture is portrayed accurately in a studio film. With Big Wednesday’s depiction of the “soul” of surfing, it earns a great big spot in the heart of surfers as being worthy of the big screen, avoiding cliches and bad surf lingo that has plagued movies such as Blue Crush and Point Break.

Doing double duty as writer and director, John Milius (a surfer himself, and perhaps best known for his most celebrated screenplay “Apocalypse Now”) ensured that the authenticity of the film was paramount. One of the keys to this film’s authenticity is the fact that the three stars did a majority of their own surfing. Watch this film and you will actually see their actors’ faces as they stand up for a ride – a definite casualty of today’s CGI plagued movies (yes, we’re talking about the one where Kate Bosworth’s face is so badly plastered on stunt double Rochelle Ballard’s body at Pipeline) . William Kaat, Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey (actually pretty big names from this era) were accomplished surfers that earned their stripes in the line-up long-before the film shot frame one (with the exception of Busey, who learned to surf for this role).

The story follows the lives of three surfers in the heyday of their youth, living the carefree life. Set in the United States’ 1960s era, they soon face the changing face of a world in conflict as Vietnam interrupts their youth and purports to make men out of the three friends. The film is funny, touching, and poignant,  with a narrative that builds towards a fantastic climax on Big Wednesday, 1977 when California is hit with what is known as the biggest ‘swell’. The movie is worth watching for these sequences alone, with its near-suicidal camera work – inside the barrel of a looping 20 foot wave, under the water and pounding the seabed as a huge wave breaks!

Surf’s Up : featuring the voice talents of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, and Zooey Deschanel / Directed by Ash Brannon & Chris Buck (2007)

Before you cool surfer kids get your surf shorts in a bunch, know that surf legends Kelly Slater and Rob Machado are in this film … so taper the too cool for school attitude and read on! What makes this film incredible to watch in the stunning and incredibly realistic depiction of surfing and wave movements. Forgetting at times that this is a CGI film, you get lost in the sheer beauty and realism of the surfer’s experience in the waves, as well as under giant crashing ones!

This is your standard coming-to-age story except with talking penguins, following the trials of wanna-be surfer Cody Maverick (references to Maverick’s and Top Gun) and his unwilling mentor, the Geek. Yes, penguins invented surfing … and yes they have the penguin sports network … but the story is one that takes you through a documentary style approach to what is an inventive, fresh, and often endearing and hilarious take on the age-old convention of boy becomes a man.

For the younger surfers – ahem, groms – the film beautifuly hammers home the idea of working hard, taing things slow but steady, and having fun in what you do. The documentary style allows the film to switch from scenes without losing a beat, and offers a lot of surf icon references for both young and old!

North Shore : starring Matt Adler, Gregory Harrison, and John Philbin featuring Gerry Lopez / Directed by William Phelps (1987)

This is a must have for any surf movie collection, if not for the sheer campy nature of an eighties surf version of the Karate Kid. Although this film gained much of its following long after its release, taking the cult-following route, it remains a quotable favorite for many surfers – [I work] Only when da surf’s bad, Barney. Cause’ when da surf’s good, nobody works!

A wave tank surfer, Rick Kane, from Arizona decides to take on Hawaii’s waves and experience the North Shore on his own. While his adventure leads him to many mishaps, he befriends a local soul surfer who teaches him the difference between surfing for a living and surfing as a form of being alive. Following the successful Karate Kid formula, Rick manages to find himself under the tutelage of a surf mentor in the climactic surf competition scene shot at Banzai Pipeline. To its credit, the film star Matt Adler, Gregory Harrison, and John Philbin did their own surfing for the most parts, while the pro surfers were used as stunt doubles for the more difficult maneuvers.

Laird Hamilton (Burkhart), Gerry Lopez (Vince Mokaloka), Mark Occoluppo (Occie), and Alex Rogers (Robbie Page) are among the real-life pro-surfers who make appearances in the film.

Endless Summer :Michael Hynson and Robert August as the principal surfers / Directed by Bruce Brown  (1966)

We revisit this film every 3 or 4 weeks, just to get our stoke on. When we are sluggish, or when the waves are small this film helps us rev ourselves back into the excited surfers that we know we are! Talking about this film almost seems redundant, since every surfer has seen this film repeatedly … but it is a necessary part of every surfer’s film collection!

Fun and shot magnificently, this 1966 gem is arguably the definitive surf movie, Bruce Brown offers up a beautifully shot and thrilling documentary portraying youthful freedom on the world’s waves. In the film, Brown follows two surfers – Michael Hynson and Robert August – around the globe in their quest for the perfect wave, finding it eventually on a remote beach far from home.

The narration by “Big Kahuna Brown” is a classic addition to the film, taking on a fun, at times near dated and campy, tone that complements the actors on their journeys.

Endless Summer has no special effects (except jerky camera movements), no slick actors or Hollywood glitz, and no masterfully reworked soundtrack. What it does have is pure surfing fun, recalling a time when surfing was thought of as much simpler, inspirational, and unencumbered by multi-media sponsors.

…

Why pick Yoga for Surfers II (YFS II) over the other three DVDs in the series, you ask? The staffers diligently, and (ahem) masterfully, followed all four of the yoga DVD series for four weeks and afterwards uninamously voted on reviewing the YFS II DVD as the overall best fit for all levels of surfers – despite the YFS 4 DVD being titled “board sports”. (In all honesty, two of the staffers were YFS followers, one having been following the training daily for over 3 years while the other performing 2 to 3 sessions a week over the last 2 years!)

Based on the mixed levels of surfers and yoga practitioners here at iJs – ranging from newbie to obsessed surfer/yogi – the vote to review YFS II relied on the overall usability of the DVD for beginner surfers, all the way to advanced surfer … without causing injury or the dreaded “I give up” factor. Much of the resistance against buying a yoga DVD as opposed to attending an instructor-led class lay on the decreasing usability of the DVD as time wore on. Most people give up on yoga practice as their frustrations build on not being able to gauge improvements in their practice, or being able to reproduce the stances and poses properly.

This is where Peggy Hall’s surfing and yoga background merge in beautiful unison … allowing a great blend of yoga training and core strength building while illustrating where each and every pose can positively affect surfing and paddling techniques. As the DVD progresses, the home practitioner can see how each stance and pose can improve their surfing and balance, increasing the chances for continued practice for any surfer. After all, the goal is to surf longer, surf better, surf stronger … Peggy Hall delivers this nicely in this DVD.

The beauty of YFS II is that it introduces three levels of yoga for the new practitioner or the occasional practitioner, starting with pre-surf yoga exercises and stretches called ‘spinal warm-up’. Here, the newbie can follow and improve stamina without overly tasking their bodies or flexibility unnecessarily. Once the body adapts and adjusts, the second portion of the practice – Vinyasa Flow – introduces the increasingly challenging asanas (poses) and core strengthening positions. At the third level are balance poses that increases overall board riding time and wave adaptability. Finally, Peggy Hall takes the practitioner through some relaxation techniques to ease the body back to a relaxed state. And a bonus part takes surfers through a sequence of breath exercises that claims to increase lung capacity … although iJs staffers probably increased lung capacity through these sequences mostly by uncontrollably laughing at each other!

In all, the staffers have tried a total of 34 Yoga and surf-related exercise DVDs, and hands down, YFS II ranks high (for some the highest) on the list of effective and easily followed home work out regimens. Ranging from 20 minutes to a full hour and a half regimen, your favorite surfer-loved-one (especially you!) will benefit!

Here is a short excerpt of the YFS II DVD:

[previously posted under ‘12 Days of Xmas’ #11: Yoga for Surfers II, Fluid Power]