Blue Crush

Blue Crush is a 2002 American surfing\romantic-drama film, directed by John Stockwell, starring Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem.

The film is based on an article from Women Outside Magazine called "Life's Swell" by Susan Orlean.

Plot
Set in Hawaii, the film is about a young woman, Anne Marie Chadwick (Kate Bosworth) who has a passion for surfing along with her two best friends Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake). She also juggles working as a maid at a hotel and caring for her rebellious teenage sister, Penny (Mika Boorem).

Anne Marie has been invited to participate in an upcoming surf competition, hoping to get attention from sponsors and help get herself, her sister and friends out of their near-poverty situation.

As Anne Marie prepares for the competition, she finds herself falling in love with pro quarterback football player, Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis).

Cast

 * Kate Bosworth as Anne Marie Chadwick
 * Matthew Davis as Matt Tollman
 * Michelle Rodriguez as Eden
 * Sanoe Lake as Lena
 * Mika Boorem as Penny Chadwick
 * Chris Taloa as Drew

Production
"Blue Crush" was filmed in O'ahu, Hawaii and in Los Angeles, California.

Real life surfers Keala Kennelly, Carol Ann Philips, Rochelle Ballard, Layne Benchley, Megan Abubo, Brian Keaulana, Tom Carroll, Jamie O'Brien, Bruce Irons and Makua Rothman appeared in the film.

Michelle Rodriguez did all of her own jet ski stunts in the film, including towing out the stunt double for Kate Bosworth to the biggest waves.

While filming one of the surfing lesson scenes, Kate Bosworth briefly lost unconscious after Matthew Davis accidently struck her on the head with his surfboard. Bosworth was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, but did not sustain any permanent injury.

During the competition scene, a male pro surfer was used, but in the final edit, he was digitally replaced with Kate Bosworth with only his feet remaining in the film.

It was also the first film to use Hawaii’s Act 221, a progressive local tax incentive that called for a 100 percent state tax credit for high-tech investments meeting the requirements for qualified high-tech business while also allowing local investors to receive tax credits for investments in film or television productions.

Universal Studios used the legislation for the "Blue Crush" production, receiving approximately $16 million in a deal with local investors who, in exchange, received the film's high-tech tax credits.

The agreement also involved marketing rights for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau whereby the studio would cross-promote the film and the State of Hawaii.

Entertainment executive April Masini (who helped produce "Baywatch Hawaii", "Pacific Blue" and the Miss Universe Pageant) brought the tax incentives to the attention of Universal Studios and along with producer Adam Fields advised the state in its negotiation.

Box Office
"Blue Crush" opened at #3 at the box office, grossing $14,169,455 during its opening weekend. Worldwide, the film grossed $51.8 million on and the estimated budget was $25 million.

The film closed in theaters on October 3, 2002.

Critical Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, "Blue Crush" received an 61% approval rating based on 140 reviews with an average rating of 5.8\10. It has an audience score of 59% with an average rating of 2.9\5.

According to the critics consensus, "the surfing sequences are exhilirating, but the plot is pretty forgettable and trite".

Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars, saying, "I expected another mindless surfing movie. Blue Crush is anything but".

Rolling Stone said, "Bosworth is a star in the making, but even she can't outshine the surfing footage, which is flat-out spectacular".

The Austin Chronicle gave the film three stars, saying, "Blue Crush defies its navel-gazing marketing campaign and instead opts for a female empowerment picture that needn't explicitly sell the theme of female empowerment".