The BIG news about BIG AIR
Whoa. Hard to fathom the crush of calls and emails since this morning’s big BIG AIR AT KITTY HAWK announcement went ballastic. Sol, my literary agent, quit taking calls even before the 12:01 AM embargo on the press release passed. I’ll eventually post a FAQ regarding the book and movie hoopla, but for now, here’s just a bit of whassup.
No, I don’t know yet who we’ll option BIG AIR to. Sol and his Cleveland posse are working it hard. Yes, I have signed NDA’s. Lawyers must get paid by the NDA as well as by the hour.
No, I was not at SXSW, I was finishing up the 2010 Surf Ohio t-shirt design. But Kukui Tree Press reps were (those Kukui Tree guys are nuts), and Sol popped down to join them at the Jack Johnson concert. Sol swears it was Jack that tipped his LA peeps with a tweet about BIG AIR. And he bets that Jack is angling on the soundtrack gig, too.
As for who we know will NOT be optioning the rights, though they were the first to call him about BIG AIR, the Coen Brothers ultimately gave Sol a ’so sorry.’ Seems they had long been looking for a good brother story in which to pair Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, who have been seeking more serious roles of late. But the Coen’s opted instead to do some Smother’s Brothers biopic after they finish TRUE GRIT, being filmed now starring the Dude. The Dude. He would make an awesome Bishop Milton Wright. Would have been a blast to work with the Coen’s, especially since a friend of mine from Dayton, J.T., is their storyboard artist. Side note – Sandler, who actually surfs, lives on Malibu Beach just down the street from my aunt and uncle. They see him at Ralph’s every so often. I’m told he’s a soy milk guy, like me.
Kathryn Bigelow, of POINT BREAK fame (thus the “Whoa”), was early on looking game for BIG AIR – right up until she won the Oscar. Guess now she’s going to do the sequel to HURT LOCKER, so backed off. I did like her idea of Gary Busey in a comeback role as the widowed and grizzled old Hatteras lighthouse keeper, Sven Lazovick, whose twin daughters befriend Orville on the beach. Ironically Busey co-starred as a surfing stud in BIG WEDNESDAY, John Milius’ very personal homage to the ‘60’s West Coast surf era which came out right after Surf Ohio was hatched in 1978 (Yeah, 1978. Busey was younger then, too).
John “Charlie don’t surf” Milius – now THERE’S a filmmaker.
Though I can’t share much more than that about BIG AIR AT KITTY HAWK for now, I promise to post often as things rapidly evolve. Meantime, we must get the 2010 Surf Ohio design onto the presses next week (the new artwork IS done and we are taking pre-orders – see upper right) – plus gear up for our huge SURF OHIO FESTIKI 2 announcement coming this Monday.
Don’t forget to send your best Spring Break Surf Ohio jpegs – I’ll post the legal ones in the Photos section.
And let me know – who do YOU think should star as Wilbur and Orville in BIG AIR AT KITTY HAWK?