The funny thing about fairy tales, is that we forget about them so fast
And we grow up, we buy things, we build up fences
We sell our innocence and forget our dreams
We forget who we are in order to be something we’re not
And we’ll keep believing in this so called truths, until we forget how to live
Or until we open our eyes, and wake up.

Occasionally I browse through the newest material that’s posted on Vimeo, and a few days ago I came across a trailer for a new surf film.  What I saw blew me away.  The visuals, music, and narration blended together well enough to give me goosebumps–and it’s only a 1:30 long surf film trailer.  I had to contact the filmmaker, Loïc Wirth, and ask him about the project, as well as a little bit about himself.

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Where are you from? Where are you based out of now?
I’m from Florianopolis, Brasil. I base myself here for a part of the year, and in a little place in the south of France during the other part.

When did you start making films?
I started when I was about 16 years old stealing my favorite shots of my favorite surfers from different films, and then I would put those together the way I liked it, with the song I liked, just to sit and watch with my friends afterwords. Then in 2009 I got to grab a camera for the first time and start getting passionate for filming.

In your opinion, what makes a good surf film?
That’s a tough question…I don’t think there’s a formula for it. I guess If there was, it wouldn’t be that fun to watch…

What’s the story behind Intentio? How did the project come about?
I don’t think I would be able to put it in words, think I’ll explain better in the edit…
This project came in my mind since the first stolen films I told you about…I always wanted to try to share a message through my videos…Then when I started working with surf films, I was always having to please a brand, or my employer, and I never really liked it.  Now it’s the first time I’m able to express myself honestly, without having to follow rules or trends.

What is the basic theme behind it? Where did the opening dialog on the trailer come from?
The basic theme behind it…the basic goal behind it, is to invite the viewer to question some things that we are so used to in life…and see it from different perspectives.  The narration was read by a good friend of mine, and was written by me.

What locations did you film in? What was your favorite?
New Zealand, France, Uruguay, California, Hawaii, Brasil and Indonesia.  It’s hard to pick a favorite, they all meant a lot to me…But Indo does have good beer and waves so…

When is the planned release?
The second semester of 2011

What camera equipment did you use?
A Panasonic HVX-200

Is this your first film? What other projects have you worked on?
Yes, it’s my first independent film.
I worked on webisodes for Surf Europe Mag, Red Bull.tv, and last year I had the chance to participate along with surfer Marco Giorgi on Taylor Steele’s Innersection Blue.

Loïc In Action

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Song: In a Broken Dream, performed by UNKLE, released on the album End Titles…Stories for Film.

starring
Marco Giorgi, Cristian Muller, Gabriel Medina, Craig Anderson, Fernando Moura,
Jean da Silva, Jeronimo Vargas, Gabriel Muller, Ricardo Santos, Ian Gouveia and Chippa Wilson

Shot in New Zeland, Uruguay, Indonesia, France, Hawaii, Brasil and California

Photography, Editing, Filming, Direction and Story by Loïc Wirth

Narration by Vernon Deck

Production Still From Intentio

In fact, it can be traced to a specific time and place: June 24, 1956, when a 15-year-old Brentwood girl drove the family Buick to Malibu. No different than you or I, she just wanted to learn to surf. And she just so happened to capture the entire summer in a diary. Her June 24th, 1956 entry:

“Dear Diary,

I didn’t do too much but go to the beach. I didn’t think I’d have fun but I met Mat and he took me out on his surfboard. He let me catch the wave by myself and once I fell off and the board went flying in the air. I didn’t get hurt at all.”

“I remember the first time Gidget came down the stairs at Malibu,” remembers surf legend Mike Doyle. “She was only about five feet tall, weighed less than a hundred pounds, and was carrying a borrowed surfboard that was so big, one end of it was dragging in the sand. She really caught our eye because there weren’t a lot of girl surfers then. Tubesteak Tracy said, ‘Gee, here comes a girl.’”

“Somebody else said, ‘God, she looks like a midget to me.’”

“‘Yeah, a girl midget – a gidget.’”

And the rest is history.

You know Gidget, for her story has been told time and time again.

But a lot of people, even many surfers, don’t realize that there is a real Gidget. The real Gidget, of course, is Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, who, unlike most surfers, decided to capture her summer of ’56 exploits in her diary. And then, her father, Frederick Kohner, turned the endless summer’s account into a best-selling novel in 1957.

Next came the further fictionalized hit movie starring Sandra Dee and James Darren, and with it, the masses. Anyone who didn’t know about surfing did now, and the sport changed forever.

And as of this Thursday night, September 30, Gidget will have gone full circle, when “Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story,” a one-hour documentary produced by Brian L. Gillogly and Master Communication, will show on the edge of the Malibu Pier.

Kathy poses at Point Danger during the Noosa Film Festival

I contacted Mrs. Zuckerman this past week, and as we began our conversation, it amazed me that, even a half-century later, she still talks like that spunky, happy-go-lucky teenager that inspired Franzie, or Gidget, if you will. If you’ve ever read the book, you know that she got “stoked” and “jazzed” throughout, and little has changed. In fact, when I asked her about the return to Malibu, she “jazzed” right up.

“It’s always fun for me to go to Malibu,” says Zuckerman. “Honestly, I get a little bit anxious every time it shows, because I want people to like Brian’s film. He worked nine years on it. But it’s cute, and it has a lot of Malibu people in it, so I think it should be a “stoke” for the pier.”

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Gillogly, as well, who surfed Malibu during the sixties.

“I surfed the “Bu” for first time around 1966,” says Gillogly, “and have always loved the break.  It also dawned on me that we will be showing the film only feet (well maybe yards) from the Pit where the real Gidget story started, where Kathy first met Tubesteak and the crew. We are very much bringing the story full circle.”

Producer Brian Gillogly is looking froward to returning to malibu

Narrated by Jorja Fox of CBS’s “CSI”, the 60-minute documentary made its World Premier March 18th at Australia’s Noosa Festival of Surfing and received rave reviews by both the surfing and motion picture industries.

“The excitement was tremendous, more than for any other film we screened, and we screened some significant films,” said Kim Jackson, Executive Director of the Malibu Celebration of Film. “At the screening, it was a treat to see such a joyous reaction from the audiences. They were thrilled, and so were we.”

More than fifty years after the fact, and at least an equal number of story embellishments, Zuckerman, who will be in attendance at the pier on Thursday, gets to offer her own account in the documentary. And she’s backed up by an impressive number of other icons who were not only there, but were inspired by her, as well, including actors, Sally Field, Cliff Robertson, James Darren, and Gregory Harrison, and surf legends Lance Carson, Mike Doyle, Mickey Munoz, Layne Beachly, Kassia Meador, and former U.S. Champion Jericho Poppler-Bartlow, all of whom hold Zuckerman in high regard.

“Gidget was my beginning, and I loved her,” says Oscar-winning actress Sally Field, who portrayed the teenager in the television series “Gidget” for one season in 1965-66. “She will always be a part of me.”

“When I started surfing, the guys told me to come back when my [breasts] were bigger. And I thought, `If Gidget could do it, then I could do it, too!’” recounts Poppler-Bartlow in the documentary.

As awkward as it must be to see one’s self on a big screen, the adulation is not unnoticed by Zuckerman. In fact it’s quite reciprocal.

“Oh, I love seeing me as a little girl carrying a board down to Malibu,” says Kathy. “But I really love the interviews that Brian has gotten. I mean, I love the fact that Sally Field has spoken with him. And Kassia Meador, I think Kassia is just fantastic. And Jericho Poppler…Jericho shows up at like every event. I’m like, ‘You are so cool, Jericho.’”

For the 69-year-young Zuckerman, the ride has been nothing short of “jazzed.” But, as you can imagine, there are times when Gidget the icon and Kathy the person can get, well, let’s just say cross-mixed. But Zuckerman has no problem separating the two.

“There are kind of two sides of me,” she says. “There’s Kathy, married to Marvin, and just sort of enjoying my life, and then there’s Gidget. And yes, I am Gidget. That’s a fact, but I don’t feel like I’m an icon. Sometimes I get a little bit overwhelmed when people are like, ‘Oh, Gidget!’ I’m not the icon. The icon is my father. Let’s put it that way”

“Kathy is Gidget, and Gidget is Kathy,” says Gillogly. “I’ve spent lots of time with Kathy, to the point that I feel I’m part of her extended family.  I even traveled to Australia for our World Premier with her and her husband, Marvin, who’s an intelligent and funny guy.  But I must admit, Kathy is still that spunky surfer girl, which can sometimes make getting along with her a little tough.  But of course, if she didn’t have that spunk, there never would have been a Gidget story in the first place.”

Kathy, Gidget, whatever you want to call her, or icon, accidental or not, she is, indeed, still, that spunky little teenager. And “Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story” does, indeed, live up to its name, much to the delight of its subject.

“The surf community has accepted the story,” says Zuckerman. “And they’ve accepted me, and that makes me feel good. But I think Brian has moved it a step further by having a visual, which I just think is terrific, and people are stoked by it, you know? The reactions are always like, ‘We loved it! We loved it!’”

Perhaps the success thus far can be traced to the fact that Producer Gillogly, himself, is every bit as spunky and tenacious as the subject of his film.

“I admire Brian, because he didn’t give up,” says Zuckerman. “He worked nine years on this film. There was a tenacity about his filmmaking that sort of paralleled the tenacity that I had when I was 15, to want to be a part of the surf community, to get out there and learn how to surf.  To overcome the ‘Let’s bury her surfboard. Let’s disconnect the distributor of her car,’ you know? I would say to Jerry Hurst, ‘I’m not bothering you guys.’ And he would say, ‘You’re still breathing.’ So those were teenage obstacles that I overcame, and I’m glad the people in the surf community welcomed me. I mean, the Malibu Surfing Association just took me in as an Honorary Member. How cool is that?” ”

Very cool, indeed, “jazzed,” in fact.

May the Malibu Pier be packed this Thursday, Mrs. Zuckerman. Wish I could be there.

“ACCIDENTAL ICON: THE REAL GIDGET STORY” – Upcoming screenings:

“You surf in New York? Really? Where?”

That’s the perplexed reaction I usually get when I tell my friends in California that I grew up surfing in New York.  Little do they know that New York has over 100 miles of pristine ocean beaches from New York City to Montauk, and that’s not counting the New Jersey coast.  It’s not as consistent as California or even the Outer Banks, but it can get good.  Really good.

Suffice it to say that a very vibrant surf culture has risen and thrived under the radar in New York – but it won’t stay secret much longer.

Hosted at Tribeca Cinemas from September 24 – 26, The New York Surf Film Festival is in its third year, and in this short time has become one of the most diverse and popular surf film showcases in the country.  Founded in 2008 by Adam Cannizzaro, Tyler Breuer, Michael Machemer, and Morgan Rae Berk, the festival has been home to the world premieres of several high ticket films, including Taylor Steele’s Castles In the Sky at last year’s event.

This year promises to be even more exciting, with several locally based films as well as international hits .  The opener, Shadows of the Same Sun, is a home grown documentary focusing on the roots of surfing in Rockaway Beach, New York.  Accessible by subway from the city, Rockaway – also known as the Not So Secret Spot or NS3 – is where Manhattan’s surf community goes to surf.  Year round.  Yes, New York gets biting cold and icy in the winter, but those dedicated few who endure the frigid temperatures are rewarded with some of the best waves of the year.  The cold winters are thankfully balanced with balmy, sunny summers, and the mild fall is host to hurricane season.

Other films of note that are screening at the festival include the much acclaimed God Went Surfing With The Devil, Julian Wilson’s Scratching The Surface, Being Captain Zero, Darkfall, Stoked and Broke, and the first ever theater showing of Taylor Steele’s Momentum.  This doesn’t include the numerous short films that are also being shown.

Get some more information on the festival, check out the schedule, and see trailers and synopses of the films over at the New York Surf Film Festival website.

We had the chance to talk to Thomas Brookins, director of Shadows Of The Same Sun, to get a little more information on the festival opener.

Thomas Brookins

What inspired you to make a documentary about Rockaway?

It’s a great human story.  I’ve been surfing in Rockaway for many years.  I live on the peninsula & have seen a lot of changes over the years. There are three times the amount of surfers now, tons of development, and visitors from all over the world.  It’s been quite a ride for people who have been surfing for some time, but now it’s become a bit bastardized and it seems a lot of people only know what they see in the water lately.  Inside the community there are some great people.  They are close–like family.  It’s not just a resort where you come ride the ride & go home.  There are generations of surfers living here with great lives, and many you’d look at and never know they even surf.  Not to be a wannabe local or anything, but I don’t think people get it.  We have such a vast surfing history here, and many of the new transplants and surfers don’t know about it.  I’ve heard the great stories some of the local guys tell, and I just thought that it was such an amazing story that someone should try to tell it before it just gets paved over with all the development and crowding.  We have a legit surfing history.  It’s an age-old culture passed down through the years and it extends through national borders.  NYC is no different then the rest of the surfing world.  Hopefully people can see this movie and walk away with a new perspective.  And to the people who have lived it for generations, I hope they can walk away with a sense of pride. They are legends and should be held in the highest regard.  Love ‘em or not, without them we may have never had surfing in New York City.

How long has the film been in production?

A little over 3 years in production.

Was it tough to stay on the beach and film when the waves were good?

[Laughs] It’s the worst! Its a love / hate relationship.  You’re looking at all these perfect waves and standing there on a beach for hours waiting to get one usable shot.   This movie isn’t about pro surfers, so you have to pick one person out of a super crowded line up as they’re dropping into a wave and hope they’re decent enough to make it or actually ride it well.  I’ve burned through hours of footage and had nothing many times. It’s like a needle in a haystack.  For Hurricane Bill I shot all morning to get a few good clips.  By the time I paddled out, it was only good for maybe thirty minutes before the wind switched and I surfed huge closed out chop till it faded.  That, and you really want to body slam everyone running by with a surfboard yelling, “Dude why aren’t you out there?”  It gives me a nervous twitch in my eye.  It’s really tough to shoot on a good swell.

Did the film evolve much as you were making it?

Yes, I made a surf action movie a while back called Etched In Sections, a basic movie showcasing surfers from NY as well as showing the mood of the seasons.  I originally thought I was going to do a more advanced version of Etched.  As I surfed and talked to my friends I realized that these people’s fathers, uncles, and grandparents are legends.  They are the surfing heroes that paved the road for all of us to surf here, so once I got that in my head it was all she wrote.  I started studying the area and asking lots of questions.  It wasn’t long before I was trying to convince people to do interviews.  I also didn’t have proper training.  I never went to film school, so along with just shooting I had to study text books on production as well as do research online to learn how to do everything–from sound recording to using my camera correctly.  It taught me how to become what I am today.  This movie evolved in more ways than one.  You can see my whole career develop in this film.  Since then I’ve been involved in shooting commercials and also released  a film last week called “Living for 32″ at the IFC theaters in Manhattan.  So this has been more than just a movie to me.  It’s changed the way I look at everything.  I think many of my friends can tell you that I have changed since the beginning of this film.

When will we be able to see Shadows Of The Same Sun after the NYSFF?

Hopefully there will be other screenings. I plan to enter it in other festivals if possible as well but I never expected both showings to sell out so fast at the NYSFF.  I definitely want to have a showing for the people who couldn’t get tickets.  I’ll have the good people at NYSFF.com and NYNJsurf.com know whats up & where there will be local showings.  Maybe the Mollusk fellas can help as well.  I am still in awe of everything that’s happened.  For now, I guess I’ll see you all there!

Although it looks like both screenings of Shadows Of The Same Sun have sold out for the NYSFF, keep your eye on Earthmover Video Production’s website as well as NYNJSurf.com for information on future screenings.

Remember Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?

Well, I almost Went to Hollywood.

It all began when I did an article on the surfing documentary Hollywood Don’t Surf! and its premier at the Cannes Film Festival. The article was so riveting, so enthralling that it was picked up by such heavy hitters as Surfline and FuelTV.

Now, if you’re not familiar with Hollywood Don’t Surf!, it’s “a comedic romp examining fifty years of Hollywood surfing films.” From Gidget, to those dreadful Beach Blanket movies, to Big Wednesday and Blue Crush, Tinsel Town has never managed to get it right.

“So many Hollywood filmmakers have tried to capture the essence of surf culture on the big screen, only to be rebuffed by surfers and critics alike,” says Hollywood Don’t Surf! director/screenwriter Sam George.

Sam George interviews Frankie Avalon for "Hollywood Don't Surf!"

While it’s a fact that Hollywood hasn’t successfully brought the essence of the surf culture to film, they haven’t exactly been able to do it in other sports, either. Let’s face it: Hollywood doesn’t play golf or baseball either.

Well, as it turned out, Hollywood Don’t Surf! made big waves (yes, pun intended) at Cannes. I wrote a follow-up article, and then I decided to look into its stateside status. I’m milking this thing, baby. There are more stories here than surfers at my local break, almost.

Hollywood Don't Surf! crew at the Cannes Film Festival. Producer Chris Kobin is far right.

So I surfed over to Hollywood Don’t Surf!’s facebook page and inquired into the film’s stateside premier. They graciously replied immediately, stating that negotiations with distributors were happening “as we speak” and that there was the possibility of a private screening in Beverly Hills on Tuesday of the following week.

Well, because I am now such a bigwig fancy-dancy writer, having graced such websites as Surfline and FuelTV, I thought I might contact Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the original Gidget, who is featured prominently in the movie, and inquire if she might just be planning to attend the screening. Hey, there is yet another potential story here, as well.

Gidget replied: “I would LOVE to go. Can you get me three tickets?”

“Hey, no prob, Gidg,” I tell her. “I’m on it.”

Boy, is that some BS! C’mon, I’m a writer. From Jacksonville Beach, Florida, no less. How in heck’s name am I going to secure three tickets to a private Beverly Hills screening for an icon like Gidget?

Well, it just so happens, that, in the midst of contemplating this enormous dilemma, I get a facebook friend invite from Chris Kobin. I know that name, but this must be a joke. Chris Kobin is a producer for Hollywood Don’t Surf!. It’s got to be a joke.

It isn’t.

So I write a long-winded, fanny-kissing thank you note back to Chris, mentioning that I just so happen to know Kathy Kohner and I’m wondering if the Hollywood producer might be interested in having Gidget be in attendance at his private screening. And, oh yeah, by the way, would he be willing to cough up three tickets for her and friends?

Kobin replies: “Hey, thanks for contacting me, Marion. We have not yet set the screening date, but we would be thrilled to have both her and you there.”

Booiiinnng!

“Thrilled,” he said. “Thrilled…for me to be there.”  “There,” he said, meaning of course, the private showing in Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills, California. Swimming pools and movie stars.

So, while the rest of America was celebrating the Memorial Day weekend, I was now jostling my schedule for a flight to LA to rub shoulders with Gidget and the Hollywood Elite.

Or not.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make the screening, but I did catch up with Kobin and Gidget the following morning, which ironically was a Wednesday, a Big Wednesday. They were both “stoked” with the private screening. And as Chris related what had gone down at the screening, I was about to be really stoked, as well.

“I’m happy to say, last night more people showed up than we had planned on,” Kobin told me. “We even had to set up seats in the aisle.”

In what Kobin told me was a “relaxed, yet expectant and upbeat” mood, screenwriter Sam George and wife Nia Peeples, played hosts to a full house of a select group of distributors and special invitees who definitely liked what they saw.

“Totally excellent film!!!” said Patrick Landon

“Great job guys!!” added Ron Green. “Sweet! Loved it. Well done.”

That was very cool for Kobin, who, fortunately, liked what he saw, as well.

“I always stand or sit in the back of the room when showing a film I am working on, so I can look at people’s reactions,” he said. “And when the first group of comedic stuff came up in a survey of silly 1960s beach flicks, the laughs came loud and on cue. That feels like a signpost to me, and when people laugh early, I can relax slightly, knowing that the heavy hitters, Greg Noll and Gary Busey, are on their way with their commentary on surfers and filmmakers.”

As it turned out, Kobin wasn’t the only person watching from the back of the room. Also in attendance was Gidget, herself (thanks in part to your favorite Surfing Handbook surfwriter). And then George made a point of paying tribute to her at the screening’s conclusion.

Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, aka "Gidget" was the hit of the evening

“Sam had Kathy Kohner stand, after the screening, pointing out, quite rightly, that the ENTIRE genre of surf films can be traced to her decision to talk her dad into writing Gidget,” said Kobin. “Literally, everyone in the room was there because of the diminutive lady in the back of the audience. That was a cool moment.”

“It was pretty, pretty amazing,” Gidget told me. “Sam George introduced me to all. Kool! Thank you soooo much.”

While I never made it to Hollywood, I assured the “diminutive lady” that it was all, indeed, my pleasure. And although I wasn’t in attendance, I was basking in the glory of playing a small part in that “cool moment” from the previous night.

So, that’s… how I almost “Went to Hollywood.”

This was going to be a long flight though, so I decided to check out something I’d had my eye on for a while.  The Surf Network is a service providing full surf movies for download straight to itunes so you can easily put them on your Iphone or Ipod.

They make it pretty easy.  What you actually do is buy the movies on their website first, then open Itunes and they download from your podcast subscriptions.

The best thing is that their library is pretty big.  They have most surf movies you can think of.  To get prepped for Oahu I bought “Seven Mile Miracle” and “Pipeline Masters.”  Seven Mile Miracle had EXCELLENT video quality, but I was a little disappointed with the video quality of Pipeline Masters as there seemed to be a lot of blocking and artifacts in certain scenes.  Perhaps if I email them they’ll do another compression.

Another awesome feature is the website itself…they have a great design that makes watching the trailers for the movies easy and quick.

The only other downside is that I think the prices for the movies could be slightly lower.  After all, I’m only getting a digital download, not an actual DVD.

If you’re looking to load up on some surf movies for a trip, check out The Surf Network.  Overall I was pretty happy with it!