She Likes to Watch

So I have a couple of beefs about the film festival’s Surf Night event at the Fremont Theatre last night:

First of all, the Q&A, featuring filmmakers Bruce, Dana and Wes Brown, along with surfer Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, was largely disappointing.
If you have a panel of guests, you need a moderator who will ask good questions — which, of course, requires some preparation. Audience questions are always an iffy proposition too, because people are generally afraid to ask questions in front of a big crowd.

So last night, the panel fielded boring questions like, “What’s your next movie about?” and “How long did it take you to make ‘Step Into Liquid?’ ”

Blah.

Since the guest panel is arguably what prompted the $25 ticket price, they have to be interesting. I have a few suggestions to maximize the enjoyment:

1.) Have a moderator who’s a skilled interviewer, who will prepare thoughtful questions ahead of time.

2.) Have audience members submit questions that can be screened before the show. The moderator can then read them.

OK, I got that out of the way. My second beef is more technical: “Chasing Dora,” the second feature, skipped numerous times, which interrupted the flow of the film. Not sure what could be done to prevent that. I know FuelTV, which owns the rights to the movie, is pretty strict on how it can be screened so there might not even be a lot of copies available.

That said, it was still a thrill to attend the event. Dana Brown’s “Step Into Liquid” aptly carries on the torch passed on by his father, Bruce, creator of “The Endless Summer.” And it’s a blast to see the big wave segments on the big screen.
Dana’s son, Wes, is also off to a promising start. His “Chasing Dora,” made with T.J. Barrack, was a low-budget flick — and certainly no “Endless Summer.” But it incorporates the elements needed for a good surf movie — creative photography, insightful interviews and, most importantly, a good story.

The guests stuck around for a meet-and-greet afterward, which was a nice opportunity for audience members to ask their own questions, one-on-one. I met Bruce Brown personally and asked him what he did after “Endless Summer” — a movie that made him both famous and wealthy.

He made a few more movies, of course (including “On Any Sunday,” a documentary with Steve McQueen), but mostly he kicked back and enjoyed the ride.

“I was a surfer,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I didn’t have to work anymore, so I had fun.”

Now that’s the way to do it.

I told Bruce it’d be great to have him narrate one of his old movies live, just like he did in the old days.

“I probably wouldn’t remember anything,” he joked, standing beside one of the old woody station wagons parked outside the theater.

That’s OK. It wouldn’t matter if he remembered anything; I’d just be happy to step back in time and hear Bruce hold court for a while.

–Pat P.