“We’d decided in 1970 that we [Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman] couldn’t do another surf movie,” Greg remembers. “We had other offers and creative film opportunities. But then I had an idea that wouldn’t require two years to produce. We’d put together some great sequences we hadn’t been able to use previously, and combine these elements into a series of sequences, or stories, that could be tied together with a unifying theme. This would allow us to have more creative fun by shifting filmmaking gears and styles and conceptual approaches from story to story.”
They enlisted the great cinematographer Bud Browne, who was eager to work on the project. Bud spent months in Hawaii, shooting new material, and Greg and Jim added new work of their own. Then it was on to the editing room and working on the score, which was anchored by the local Laguna rock group Honk. Then, a stroke of luck. Through their friend, Bruce Johnston, the world-famous Beach Boys offered to supply their beautiful, intricate music to the film–as a gift to surfing! And the rest, they say, is history.
