冲 浪
•梦 冉•
今儿洛城仿佛夏天的光景。一个老友的ＥＭＡＩＬ说北京已是玉琢粉雕的雪国。我去ＨＵＮＴＩＮＧＴＯＮ ＢＥＡＣＨ，阳光在秋深异乎寻常地，造成海面上一种难得和谐的银光。
很多人在玩冲浪。
我回来时路过ＢＬＯＣＫＢＵＳＴＥＲ，看见那本讲冲浪高手的洛城本地艺术电影出录相带了，《ＩＮ ＧＯＤ’Ｓ ＨＡＮＤ》。我去年此时看的此片，片中拍摄的冲浪圣地有好些，洛城的，夏威夷的，泰国的……
我看过夏威夷ＳＵＮＳＥＴ ＢＥＡＣＨ的浪，很美，尤其是在黄昏，它不是那种惊心动魄的浪，却也是很危险的浪。被大浪打翻后，必须沉入水底，因为海水翻腾的力量很强。一直沉到水底，抱起一块大石头使自己不浮上去而只在海底向陆地走去。直到浪过去，才能浮起来，肺活量强盛才行。
我看《ＩＮ ＧＯＤ’Ｓ ＨＡＮＤ》，生平第一次对电影产生了很痛苦的感觉，因为我有冲动参与制作。我对它的细节一再推敲，我想用我所有的灵感，激情和文化去制作它，使它成为一个真正的“上帝的杰作”！它的一切就象发生在我的周围：真实，美，悲伤，距离和憧憬。
So you wanna surf.
And the waves near the town
where you live aren't half bad.
And then you hear about this wave
in a far away country with a name
you can't even pronounce.
What then?
How far are you willing to go?
What sacrifice are you willing to make?
How good do you really wanna be?
——摘自《上帝之手》
〔完〕
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY0I345p9hY
There's Nothing Like a Curl
Matt George and Matty Liu talk about their new surf movie, 'In God's Hands'
By Richard von Busack
Matt George and Matty Liu are renowned surfers and friends who worked together on the new film In God's Hands. It's a drama about an aging, philosophical surfer named Mickey (George) who feels himself to be at the end of his ride, and his two buddies Keoni (Matty Liu) and Shane (Patrick Shane Dorian). Key to the film are scenes of the monstrous waves in Hawaii and elsewhere.
George, who not only did his own surfing but the writing too, has won Emmies for his sports documentaries and created a well-known CD-ROM, Extreme Sports. Liu is a many-time surfing champion from Oahu who has moved to Santa Monica to seek work as an actor.
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Metroactive: Where do you surf now?
Matt George: I'm from the Bay Area. I live in San Francisco, and I surf Santa Cruz now. I have lots of connections to the Santa Clara Valley, though. A good friend lives in Los Gatos, and my mom lives off of the Monterey Highway. I want to say that there's a real surf heritage in San Jose, and the valley should be proud of it.
Metroactive: I noticed that the scene where Shane was surfing--which was supposed to be Mexico--was actually Pigeon Point, near Half Moon Bay.
George: Yeah, that was like a nod of respect to the locals. We wanted to get more into Shane's story, the maverick's tale, but there was too much story here already.
Metroactive: What was the writing process for In God's Hands like?
George: It was a collaboration with director Zalman King. I have a journalism background, so I wrote most of it fast, right here on Telegraph Hill [in San Francisco]. I wrote about stuff I knew, that mode of traveling on tramp steamers, getting broke and hungry, and boxing for money.
Metroactive: So you actually boxed for money, just like your character does in the film?
George: Yeah, it was in Australia; there was this guy who would take on all comers. If you lasted three rounds, you'd get $50.
Metroactive: And you filmed everything on location, including the best part of the film, the waves at Jaws.
George: I'm really proud of the fact that there are no scenes in studio tanks. The water work was done in the surf.
Metroactive: How do you look so calm on those huge-ass waves?
Matty Liu: Any time you surf like that, there's a lot of mental preparation. You have to keep a level head. It's like Michael Jordan when he's playing well in the zone.
Metroactive: Is that a real exercise that Matt George is demonstrating in the opening sequence: carrying a boulder and jogging under water on the ocean floor?
Liu: Actually, that is something surfers will do when the water is a little flat. It's a really comfortable way of exercising in the water. It's cardiovascular, opens your lung capacity--you should try it!
Metroactive: Where exactly is the beach known as Jaws?
Liu: It's in Maui--it's a place that holds enormous waves; you need to be towed in with a jet ski because you can't swim fast enough. When it's breaking right, it can be really big. The cool thing is that In God's Hands is made by surfers for surfers.
Metroactive: Is Zalman King a surfer himself?
Liu: No, but he's an expert diver, and he certainly has no problem being in the water. This really shows in the way King filmed the movie. He used cameras on the cliff and under-the-water housings, and he mounted a camera on the back on a jet ski. In God's Hands really puts the audience in the wave; it might be really great in IMAX.
Metroactive: There's quite a lot of women surfers now--did any one think of including them in the movie?
Liu: I respect women very much. They've been in surfing since day one; they're very graceful, and I'd admire women's pro surfing. But what we wanted to capture was the adventures of these three friends.
Metroactive: My favorite scenes out of the water were the scenes of the surfers analyzing the waves and discussing the surfing itself. Did anyone ever propose making this film as a documentary?
George: We wanted to bring to it a documentary feel since we were working with real surfers as actors, and we'd set them up in these real-life situations. That's why it had that documentary feeling.
Liu: I kind of like the story of this film, although a documentary would have been neat to make, and I'd like it make it really right on. But I think In God's Hands accurately describes the adventure of being a surfer. I'm really proud of it.
