Taglines: If you want to feel the rush you have to take the risk.
Blue Crush movie storyliine. Nothing gets between Anne Marie and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates including her rebellious younger sister, she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Pipe Masters surf competition. Having transplanted herself to Hawaii with no one’s blessing but her own, Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene … until pro quarterback Matt Tollman comes along. Like it or not, Anne Marie starts losing her balance – and finding it – as she falls for Matt.
Blue Crush is a 2002 sports film directed by John Stockwell and based on Susan Orlean’s Outside magazine article “Life’s Swell”. The film stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem, Chris Taloa, Kala Alexander, Faizon Love, Kaupena Miranda and Ruben Tejadab The film tells the story of three friends who have one passion: living the ultimate dream of surfing on Hawaii’s famed North Shore.
About the Story
Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake) are best friends. They raised Anne Marie’s 14-year-old sister, Penny (Mika Boorem), ever since their mother took off to Las Vegas with a boyfriend who was uncomfortable with the idea of having the two girls come 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, and was once considered a rising star in women’s surfing and competed as a youth, but an extreme 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, she 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 for $150 per hour, and brings Lena, Eden and Penny along for the ride. When she goes to Matt’s hotel room to get the money, they kiss as a call comes and Anne suspects that it is his wife but he promises it is his niece. Later they sleep together. 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 demeaning 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.
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 $51.8 million worldwide. The film’s estimated budget was $25 million. The film received mixed to positive reviews.
Blue Crush was the first film to use Hawaii’s Act 221, a progressive local tax incentive that called for a 100 percent state tax credit for high-tech investments meeting the requirements for qualified high-tech business, while also allowing local investors to receive tax credits for investments in film or television productions.
Universal Studios used the legislation for the Blue Crush production, receiving approximately $16 million in a deal with local investors who, in exchange, received the film’s high-tech tax credits. The agreement also involved marketing rights for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau whereby the studio would cross-promote the film and the State of Hawaii. Entertainment executive April Masini, who helped produce Baywatch Hawaii, Pacific Blue, and the Miss Universe Pageant, brought the tax incentives to the attention of Universal Studios, and along with producer Adam Fields advised the state in its negotiation.
Blue Crush (2002)
Directed by: John Stockwell
Starring: Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem, Chris Taloa, Kala Alexander, Faizon Love, Kaupena Miranda, Ruben Tejada
Screenplay by: Lizzy Weiss, John Stockwell
Production Design by: Tom Meyer
Cinematography by: David Hennings
Film Editing by: Emma E. Hickox
Costume Design by: Susan Matheson
Set Decoration by: Meg Everist
Art Direction by: Denise Hudson
Music by: Paul Haslinger
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, teen partying, language and a fight.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: August 16, 2002
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