Kelly Slater Movie To Be Shot in 3-D

You know, there are only a few films that come up in my mind as being satisfactory when I think of the loads and loads of gimmicky movie ideas presented to us every year.  Of course you have the most notable, the 3-D movie.  Everything from “The Terminator” to “Harry Potter” have made the transition to 3-D but I actually find those movies annoying because I think that three dimensional characters take away from the intended aesthetic purpose of film.  Although I do enjoy some 3-D shows that have been shot on 3-D such as “Siegfried & Roy” and I’ll even go as far as saying that Michael Jackson’s “Captain EO” is pretty fresh.  Nowhere else but in a 3-D movie can you kill villains by dance and singing your way to justice.  But then again, they are too gimmicky for the common moviegoer. 

Then you have the interactive movie “Mr. Payback” which had only a short stint in the theaters back in the 90’s.  My friends and I used to go see the series of Payback films but were always the only ones in the theater for some reason.  Maybe it’s because they cost $12 at a time when movie tickets were only $7.  Or maybe it’s because each movie was only about 45 minutes long.  You might be saying to yourself why didn’t these films last?  Well the Payback series offered the “Choose Your Own Adventure” route where you the viewer can vote and choose the direction of the plot.  Man those were suspenseful movies.  Check an example here. 

Well the only novelty film medium that has shown consistent success is the IMAX.  IMAX uses large film formats making the image clearer and more visually stunning.  With the least amount of gimmick and the most like regular movies, Kelly Slater has been chosen to be part of a new film called “Ultimate Wave 3D” which integrates IMAX with the 3D experience.  Now you can see from a fish’s point of view what it looks like to be terrorized by Kelly’s constant shredding.  Or maybe now you can see what his face looks like when he’s about to catch a gnarly wave.  Read the press release below for more info. 

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The unique multi-platform marketing campaign surrounding the anticipated release of next year’s “Ultimate Wave 3D” IMAX® theater film recently made a big splash. The movie’s production team was in the water filming as Kelly Slater, eight-time surfing champion, mastered Tahiti’s legendary Teaupoo, possibly the World’s most challenging wave.

Slater is the focus of the film, blending his personal perspectives on the ocean’s roaring waves with a scientific approach to their impact on people and cultures. In addition to bringing Suzuki’s and Tahiti’s support to the project, produced by The Stephen Low Company in association with K2 Communications, havoc TV secured Slater’s involvement. The action sports and indie music digital network also secured a multi-million dollar promotional commitment from action sports brand, Quiksilver, that will coincide with the film’s theater rollout.

The network is executing a unique, long-lead multi-platform marketing campaign on behalf of the film and its sponsors.

According to havoc TV’s vice president, Jeff Cutler, “this represents a very special coalition of organizations that are stepping up to support a really worthwhile project that is both true to the Giant Screen film world’s educational and inspirational mission, and also depicts surfing in an authentic manner.”

The movie will debut in IMAX and other Giant Screen theaters, as well as digital 3D theaters in museums, zoos, and aquaria in October, 2009.

The action gathered in Tahiti by producer/director Stephen Low and his award-winning team, along with film shot by havoc TV is being edited into several of what will ultimately be 18 short stories running from three to seven minutes in length. The vignettes—which include interviews with Slater and a behind-the-scenes look at the production, as well as exploring many aspects of waves and surfing through the eyes of other board legends—will receive wide exposure as part of the build-up to the movie’s release. Initial distribution of the short stories, intended to raise awareness and engage surf and action sports enthusiasts along with traditional IMAX Theater film audiences, will be through havoc TV’s varied platforms. Its action sports and indie music VOD channels and its evening block on DirecTV, as well as interstitial “content pods” throughout all day parts on DirecTV Channel 101 will play a lead role in addition to other digital venues.

Suzuki, Tahiti Tourism, and Quiksilver will uniquely blend their individual promotional activities to culminate with the release of the film next year. “Ultimate Wave 3D” represents a union between film producers, multi-platform television, the education and scientific communities, and supportive commercial sponsors—collectively merging interests to deliver a new and enlightened look at the importance of our ocean environment.

Slater is the on-camera focus who engagingly binds the film’s storylines of wave science and surfing excitement with the pervasive beauty of Tahiti’s crystal blue waters. He has played a significant role in bringing the sport of surfing to a larger, mainstream audience.

According to Slater, “Teaaupoo is every bit as intense as any wave in the World, and at a certain size, you don’t know if it can be ridden anymore, and that’s the point where you start being towed into it. You think if you fall on one of those, you’re probably going to die—it’s a radical place.”

If Slater calls it radical, one can only imagine how IMAX theater audiences will react to the 3D experience.