Give us our ‘Break’: Bid to reprise role in remake of ‘classic’ film

ERIN PEARSON
TORQUAY and Bells Beach should reprise their starring roles in a Hollywood remake of action-thriller Point Break, according to tourism and business representatives.
They want the production company behind the project to “get it right” with a return to the Surf Coast.
The original 1991 movie starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze featured Torquay and Bells Beach in a story about an undercover cop infiltrating a band of surfing robbers. The movie enjoyed success at the box office but its bloopers included palm trees, Hawaiian waves, a rail line and a cyclone in Torquay.
Geelong Otway Tourism boss Roger Grant said people all over the world still associated Point Break with Torquay and Bells.
“It’s amazing the profile Point Break still has internationally. When I’m presenting to the travel industry overseas, particularly North America, Europe and the UK, it’s amazing the number of people that refer to Point Break in conversation,” Mr Grant said.
“It would be most desirable to pay homage and recognise the legitimate links to global surfing that Torquay and Bells Beach has, so let’s just hope they get it right.”
Mr Grant said many parts of the world had experienced significant tourist booms following appearances in films.
A press release out of Los Angeles last week revealled finance and production company Alcon Entertainment would remake the classic as a feature film for Warner Bros.
According to the release, Alcon bosses Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, who secured the rights, would modernise the story.
“The new version is set in the world of international extreme sports and, like the original, involves an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a criminal ring but plot points beyond that have not been revealed by the filmmakers.”
Torquay Commerce and Tourism Association president Martin Duke encouraged the filmmakers to return.
The town would benefit greatly from “good footage”, he said.
“Anything that creates a positive attitude, as quirky and funny as it may be, is of benefit. We’d never knock back the opportunity to have a remake return to Torquay.”