The Reason Anthony Kiedis Got Knocked Out In One Punch
All the Fanfare: "Point Break" Diary 2
I finished the research process for the Point Break article today and wanted to share the news with a brief update. I feel very relieved. I’ve watched so many interviews and behind-the-scenes videos, and read so many articles… the amount of material I’ve compiled feels kind of overwhelming. It’s like cleaning your closet—the first step is dragging everything out into the open so you can get your hands around what you even have. And then you sit surrounded by heaping piles of stuff, feeling a little dejected, wondering how you can possibly bring order to this mess, and maybe wishing you’d left it alone in the first place.
There is a ton more I could research, but the law of diminishing returns has already kicked in. It’d be easy to keep researching and putting off the work itself, which is just another way of procrastinating. When you've read 6 accounts of Patrick Swayze getting hooked on skydiving while filming—to the point that the studio had to intervene and basically tell him he's too valuable to risk injury or, more likely, death—you know it's time to move on.
It’s time to turn all this raw material into something. Tomorrow I'll start writing. I'll probably pick the bucket I'm most interested in; few things are more motivating to a writer than fresh enthusiasm. In some ways, this is the easy part. It's the part I'm most experienced with, and most comfortable doing. Typically I'm just dishing semi-informed hot takes. All this research has me feeling, I don't know, knowledgeable or something.
I feel like this.
But maybe also a little like this.
As a parting gift, here's a little Point Break nugget to tide you over.
Anthony Kiedis, Michigan native and Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman, has a memorable cameo as a neo-Nazi surfer. Kiedis and his gang jump Neo—erm, sorry, Johnny Utah—while he's using an outdoor shower. In the brawl, Kiedis is knocked out cold in one punch.
The backstory: during filming, Kiedis missed several of the mandatory stunt training sessions. (Probably due to being a rock and roll star.) The stunt coordinator retaliated by taking Kiedis out of the fight quickly. Kiedis didn't like that at all, and never missed another practice.
A later scene has Kiedis scream horrifically after getting shot in the foot, which seems like a poor reward for good behavior.
Did you dig this? Take it from Angelo and share this with two people, brah.
Always wondered where that spot was during the early part of the movie (the huge wave at the end was most likely Waimea Bay, north shore Oahu). Like all Hollywood surf spots, the waves start out shoulder high and onshore during the paddling/catching close-up scenes that suddenly morph into offshore/hollow double overhead grinders when the cameras pan back for the slo-mo/wide angle scenes. Always wanted to ride a wave like that!
OK. That was funny. I will subscribe. I also need to watch point break again.
https://marlowe1.substack.com/p/job-chapter-3