RECENT PRESS
‘Hansel & Gretel’ Director Boards Gerard Butler Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Afterburn’ (Exclusive)
[i]Based on the graphic novel by Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens, "Afterburn" is set in a future where solar flares have left half the world a ravaged wasteland filled with mutants and pirates.[/i] Tommy Wirkola is attached to rewrite and direct Afterburn, Relativity's...
FilmDistrict gets back into theatrical distribution
Independent studio FilmDistrict is getting back into the theatrical distribution business with the hiring of a veteran MGM and Paramount executive. The company behind "Insidious," "Drive" and this weekend's science-fiction thriller "Lockout" has been without a...
Antoine Fuqua Circling ‘Olympus’ as White House Thriller Race Heats Up
Gerard Butler is set to star in one of two competing movies described as " 'Die Hard' in the White House. Antoine Fuqua has an offer and is in early talks to direct Olympus Has Fallen, an Nu Image/Millennium action thriller that has been described as “Die Hard in...
Gerard Butler climbs ‘Olympus Has Fallen’
[i Thesp to topline White House-based actioner[/i Just days after Millennium Films acquired the spec "Olympus Has Fallen" from first-time scribes Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, "300" star Gerard Butler has signed on to topline the action pic. Described as...
Frosty Hesson to release memoir ‘Chasing Mavericks’ in October
[i]Behind every great athlete is a coach. Jay Moriarity was no exception.[/i] When the 16-year-old surfer from Santa Cruz was catapulted into the spotlight after surviving one of the worst wipeouts ever captured on film, he had already been training to surf big waves...
New Posters for THE BOURNE LEGACY and CHASING MAVERICKS
The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands theBourne...
Gerard Butler: Near-Death Surfing Accident Was ‘Close Call’
Butler, 42, says he wanted to get right back into the water after his near-death experience when he was pulled underwater and dragged over a reef in Northern California last month while filming the surf movie Of Men and Mavericks. "I was going to go back that day,"...
Gerard Butler survives Maverick’s two-wave hold down
On a day reminiscent of last January when Jacob Trette, a rookie big-wave surfer, nearly lost his life out at Maverick's, the infamous Northern California break has sent yet another beginner to Stanford Medical Center. In this case it was the star of the Hollywood...
Michael Apted Filling in for Curtis Hanson to Finish Directing OF MEN AND MAVERICKS
Walden Media is currently in production on Of Men and Mavericks, a drama about the mentorship of big wave surfer Jay Moriarty. Curtis Hanson (8 Mile) was directing the picture, but is now recovering from “health complications†from a recent heart surgery. Deadline...
Surf icon Jay Moriarity’s short life depicted in film shooting in Bay Area
When Brandon Hooper was surfing with his buddy Jim Meenaghan off the Southern California coast 10 years ago, he had never heard of Jay Moriarity. It was there on the water that Meenaghan began relaying the details of the surfing career of the 22-year-old Santa Cruz...
Pacifica Starstruck at Mavericks Movie Shoot
Dozens gathered at the south end of Linda Mar (Pacifica State) Beach today to watch Hollywood stars play out a piece of Jay Moriarity's life. Cast and crew of the forthcoming movie about Moriarity's triumph over the surf break at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay could be...
Shooting begins in Jay Moriarity film; paddle-out moved to Friday
SANTA CRUZ -- The new film about the late Santa Cruz surfer Jay Moriarity has a new name, a few new co-stars and a new plan for shooting the famous paddle-out scene. The scene to re-enact the paddle-out that took place shortly after Moriarity's 2001 death will now...
Handley boards ‘Of Men and Mavericks’
[i]Thesp will play a bully surfer [/i] "Battle: Los Angeles" thesp Taylor Handley has joined the cast of Fox 2000 and Walden Media's "Of Men and Mavericks," helmer Curtis Hanson's surfing pic starring Gerard Butler. Story follows a chapter in the real life of Jay...
Fox 2000 Boards Walden Media’s Gerard Butler Surfing Pic ‘Of Men and Mavericks’
Walden Media's Gerard Butler surfing drama Of Men and Mavericks has landed a studio -- Fox 2000 -- while Elisabeth Shue and Abigail Spencer are joining the cast. Fox 2000 will co-finance and distribute Of Men and Mavericks domestically. Curtis Hanson is scheduled to...
Gerard Butler Joins T.E.S. This Sunday to Talk About New Jay Moriarity Film
Actor Gerard Butler, who is preparing for the role of Rick "Frosty" Hesson in an untitled Hollywood surf film about Jay Moriarity, will join The Extreme Scene to talk about what the film will entail, his surfing background, preparation for the role, Hesson's...
Rambin boards surf pic ‘Mavericks’
[i]'Hunger Games' thesp to star with Butler, Weston[/i] Leven Rambin has been tapped for the female lead in Curtis Hanson's "Mavericks" alongside Gerard Butler and Jonny Weston. "Mavericks," based on the true story of Jay Moriarty's rise to the forefront of big wave...
Producer of film about Jay Moriarity looking for extras in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ -- Not since "The Lost Boys" 25 years ago has a mainstream Hollywood film promised to feature the city of Santa Cruz as prominently as a new film about the late surfing icon Jay Moriarity. And this one will not be referring to the city as "Santa Carla." The...
Surf’s Up For Jonny Weston, Who Lands Lead In ‘Mavericks’
EXCLUSIVE: While Gerard Butler was announced as the big name in the Curtis Hanson-directed surf movie Mavericks, the lead role all the young actors chased is Jay Moriarty, the teenage big-wave rider who successfully rode Mavericks. That is a body of water in Northern...
The ‘Mavericks’ movie is go,
... and now the first order of business is to find its leading man In the Santa Cruz surfing world, the phrase "Maverick's is a go!" has a particular meaning. But this week, that mantra has nothing to do with the swell at Half Moon Bay. This week, "Mavericks is a go!"...
Gerard Butler Set For Walden Media Surf Pic ‘Mavericks’
EXCLUSIVE: Gerard Butler has been set to star in Mavericks, the Curtis Hanson-directed fact-based drama for Walden Media. The film is based on the true story of Santa Cruz surf phenom Jay Moriarity and his quest to ride the treacherous Northern California breaks known...