“Chasing Mavericks” First Trailer
0 
It’s no wonder Gerarld Butler landed the lead role in 20th Century Fox and Walden Media’s new surfing film, Chasing Mavericks. The almost completely shirtless role requires someone with Butler’s physical reputation, which he earned from the film 300, while his character needs someone who can spit back a little grit while rolling around on top of Mother Nature’s most intimidating features.
Butler will play veteran surfer Frosty Hesson, who surfs the NorCal shores to his heart’s content until a young kid invades his tranquility and begs Hesson to train him so that he’ll be ready to surf Mavericks, the most dangerous swell in the world.
That kid is legendary surfer Jay Moriarty, and the film documents his journey from a high school slacker to a sleek, surfing machine. Playing the role of the legend is Jonny Weston; while this is by far his biggest role to date, he has done some films to credit his name like the upcoming feature About Cherry.
While these two guys (Butler and Weston) dominate most of the trailer, that doesn’t mean they’re the only two people in the film. Director Curtis Hanson pooled together Elisabeth Shue, Leven Rambin, and Abigail Spencer to support the budding relationship between boy and surrogate father.
The trailer does a stand-up job of demonstrating that this is not only a film about realizing your dreams but about a young man searching for a father figure, and Butler is just the man for the job. While writers Brandon Hooper and Kario Salem seem to have stretched the “daddy issues” a bit far, overall this looks like a solid piece with a lot of amazing shots of surfing, which never get old.
While I know it’s pointless, I hope that the film will include Moriarty’s tragic death while free diving at the young age of 23. Regardless of my wishes, I have a feeling the sad event doesn’t fit in with the film’s timeline, which is sure to cut out just as soon as Moriarty makes his first swell on the demon wave.
Be sure to check out the trailer, and watch out for the theatrical release which will ride in with a tidal wave of other movies on October 26.
