“This is like an old school surf movie night,” said old school surf moviemaker Jack McCoy, introducing the new school, big screen premiere of The Occumentary, his epic biopic of 1999 world surfing champion Mark Occhilupo, 25 years since he won the title and the original VHS blew minds around the surfing world.
“So I want to hear you make a lot of noise, just like the old days,” he continued, to appreciative hoots from last week’s full house at The J, an audience covering three generations of stoked surfers, from groms to grandpas.
McCoy, 76 this year and still recognised as one of the world’s greatest surf cinematographers, let out a few more hoots and hollers of his own, accompanied by the star of the night, Occy, before the two sat down for a wildly entertaining conversation about how and why the film was made.
Most of the older members of the audience knew that Occy’s path to the top had suffered a mid-career stumble, turned into a couch potato and looked like he’d never surf again. But it’s doubtful that any of us had heard the story of his redemption so honestly presented. And then came the movie!
A sensation when it first appeared, The Occumentary, remastered meticulously for the cinema, transcends eras of the sport with timeless surfing beautifully presented and punctuated with the wit and wisdom of the star. Occy was in fine form when he made the movie, he was even better during the Q and A that concluded the evening.
An awesome evening of surfing entertainment!
