Blue Crush 2

Okay, so when I was a wee nipper - I really was once upon a time - all I ever wanted to do was make movies. To be up on that big screen just like my heroes, that's what I wanted. So, thirty or so years later and I finally make it onto the set of a real Hollywood production. That's right, Hollywood!

At the beginning of the year, along with most of the Llandudno surf posse, I went to castings for Blue Crush 2, at the behest of our good friend and all round rockin gal, Lorin Barnes. To say it was a laugh would be an understatement, I thought they would put me up on the website like those idiots who ruin their reputations on Idols. But low and behold someone up top liked what they saw and 2 days before shooting began - yes that is right, 2 days before - I got the call that finally made that long held childhood dream a reality. I was going to be an actor!

The Cast of BC2

Hard at work!

Ok, so the story - a surfer girl from California does not want to go to College like her father wants - she basically has a real shitty relationship with him to, as her mother died when she was young and he throws himself into his work, instead of spending time with her. She decides to follow her mother's surfing footsteps and run away to South Africa, where she wants to surf the same spots her mother did from Durban to Jbay. She arrives in Durban, gets robbed - real surprising that, haha - and meets a local, black surfer girl, who helps her out and takes her to meet the "Surf family" at their beach house on the South Coast. This is where I come in, Max, the ex Belgian mercenary, who now loves instead of hates, surfs and is the father figure, sort of, for this dysfunctional surf family. Good times are had, until the cops destroy our house and we all jump on an ancient tour bus to Jbay. Shew! That kinda gives you an overview.

Flying up to Durban, my only consolation to the fact that I had no idea what I was in for, was that my good bud and fellow surfing journeyman, Andrew "Roosta" Lange, was also on the cast list. At least we would enter this new world of acting together - haha, nervous is probably an understatement for that first day! Luckily f0r me, Roosta was up first - and promptly got pissed on by one of the other characters. I followed screaming at the top of my lungs for what felt like 3 hours, out a tiny window on the bus - there was a "rhino" coming!

Roosta Enjoying himself on set.

What totally blew me away on these first few days on set, was how easily it seemed to be coming to us. With no former acting experience it was pretty intimidating having 3 huge cameras and an entire set of hard working people focused on you. But you got over the fright rather quickly and moved onto actually enjoying it. The greatest secret learnt - switch off any feelings of doubt and self worry and just go with it. Acting is not a pastime for anyone who is any way self conscious!

One of the most interesting details that quickly became apparent, was that even though this was a movie about surfing - one of the primary reasons we were casted - we were not in fact going to surf that much. In fact we were primarily there to "act" as surfers. While this might strike one as very odd, and it certainly made us scratch our heads initially, it is in fact the way of the movies and something we grew to accept as we moved along. Hopefully the few sessions we did have will show us as actual surfers and not Hollywood wannabes.

Hard at work on the Beach.

During the course of the shoot we filmed in amazing locations such as Oribi Gorge (And got to do the Gorge Swing which was insane), the South Coast of Natal, Roosta's home neighbourhood and one of the best places for warm water waves in the world, Transkei - though no one was to keen on surfing at Port St Johns due to the local shark population, and finally Jbay, which is in my home area and felt like coming home with my new and very large surf family. This truly was the hi-lite for me of the entire experience - the amazing people we met and the bonds of friendship that were made. The entire crew from actors, to grips to the poor peeps stuck in the office - we all got along and it actually felt like a giant extended family.

Coming up after the cliff jump!

With Mike Elliot, the Director.

So now the experience is behind me and we wait with baited breath for the release, which will probably only be late next year. In the meantime I am trying to get more work - Acting definitely appeals to me and I want more experience. So look out for the movie and hold thumbs for more!

Lukka,

Captain Kai - aka Max