13 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'Point Break'

A striking moment happens at the climax of Point Break.Point BreakJohnny Utah is on a plane over Mexico with Bodhi. Bodhi jumps out. Utah must decide if he lets him go or jumps after him without a parachute, hoping to catch him. Utah chooses the latter.

Patrick Swayze says, "Adios, amigo," then jumps from the plane. The camera does not cut away.The camera does not cut away.The camera holds on Swayze as he falls further because it is filming a real skydive.

Insurance required only one jump for Swayze on camera. Producers made this decision. Before they decided, Swayze had done many off-screen jumps and even convinced co-star Gary Busey to join him on one.Swayze did many off-screen jumps during filming.Swayze also persuaded co-star Gary Busey to join him on one jump.

Swayze recalled, "I had to battle insurance companies to do the skydiving in the movie."Swayze later recalled this.Swayze stated, "I never came close to dying once. But they never said anything about my brain getting pounded by the biggest surf on this planet."

Patrick Swayze acted physically, preferring to do his own stunts.Point BreakSwayze was no exception. His attitude, which defined Bodhi's role, proved dangerous.

Swayze, not an expert surfer, worked hard to make his character believable. He recounted close calls during surf scenes. "I almost died six to 10 times... I thought I was outta here," He recalled this.Swayze also suffered four cracked ribs during the shoot.Swayze suffered four cracked ribs during the shoot.Swayze sustained four cracked ribs during the shoot.

Point BreakThe Red Hot Chili Peppers belong to the same cultural moment. The band's hit album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, came out two months after Point Break hit theaters.Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released two months after Point Break hit theaters.Anthony Kiedis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman, got a cameo as a surfer in the pack Johnny Utah mistook for ex-presidents.Point BreakPoint Break hit theaters. Thus, Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis got a cameo as a surfer member, which Johnny Utah wrongly believes are ex-Presidents.

Wilder had warned them, "If you don't come and practice, I can't use you." Kiedis was apparently too busy.Consequently, Wilder choreographed the movie's first fight scene so Bodhi gets hit with one punch by Bodhi.Stunt coordinator Glenn Wilder used this to prepare actors for the film. Wilder Kathryn Bigelow's personal battle involved Keanu Reeves.Wilder said, "If you don't come and practice, I can't use you," but Kiedis was too busy. Therefore, Wilder choreographed the first fight scene so Bodhi knocks Kiedis's character out with one punch.

"He didn't like that at all," Wilder recalled.

"Keanu was Kathryn Bigelow's personal battle," Kathryn Bigelow preferred Keanu Reeves over other names the studio and producer Larry Gordon favored.Point Break's screenwriter, W. Peter Iliff. "A lot of other names were preferred by the studio and by [producer] Larry Gordon, but Kathryn Bigelow had a thing for Keanu Reeves."

"Kathryn was fixated on [Reeves]," agreed producer Peter Abrams. "To her credit, she was the one that said, 'I'm gonna turn him into an action star.'"

The studio's hesitation to use Reeves seems odd now. In 1990, his resume featured drama and comedy films like Parenthood, Permanent Record, and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The closest Keanu got to an action star was dueling John Malkovich in the climax of 1988'sDangerous Liaisons.

In the film's ending, Johnny Utah finds Bodhi at Bells Beach, Australia. The fugitive hopes to catch a giant wave from the famous "50-year storm." Keanu Reeves's hair is longer here. This scene filmed six months after principal photography forPoint Breakwrapped, and Reeves let his hair grow out again to play Ted "Theodore" Logan inBill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Bogus JourneyIt hit theaters only a week after.Point Break, making 1991 a great Keanu summer.

Patrick Swayze cut his hair for a part in the Roland Joffé-directedCity of Joy. Producer Peter Abrams said, "It works for the story because the Bodhi character is trying to hide."

The climactic scene appears set in Australia, but it filmed on an Oregon beach. Cutaways to the giant super-wave were filmed at WaimeaWaimeaIt featured pro surfer Darrick Doerner.

The foot chase scene stands out because Johnny Utah flees in his quarry while wearing a rubber Ronald Reagan mask. This visual choice served a production need since Patrick Swayze was absent for the sequence.

Swayze promoted his hit film in Europe.GhostAt that time, his stunt double, Scott Wilder, played the part.Wilder played the part.with the mask on. Wilder recalled, "To perform at [Swayze's] level, I had to keep it together."

During the intense foot chase between Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and masked surfer/bank crook Bodhi (Patrick Swayze, played by stunt double Scott Wilder in this scene), Bodhi throws a pit bull at the pursuer. Utah kicks the dog, which whines sadly, and the chase continues.

Don't worry about dog lovers. Although Bodhi throws a real dog, the one Utah kicksis fake.. You only see the switch for a split second, so it is hard to notice. The ground was padded for the real dog throw so it would not get hurt.

Indie filmmaker Rick King created the story idea forPoint Breakand holds a co-producer credit on the final film. He recounted how the idea started. It all formed togetherThe producer developed the story while chilling on the beach..

King recently read a newspaper article about Los Angeles being a bank robbery hot spot, mainly because the freeway system made escape simple. His mind prepared for the moment of realization:

Then I was sitting on a Malibu beach, learning to surf, just out of the water. I thought, "Surfers who rob banks. And an FBI agent who is a good athlete and goes undercover among those surfers." It made sense, and everything flowed from that.

King added humbly, "It wasn’t that original an idea." "There’s only like 10 ideas."

Of the threePoint BreakPatrick Swayze (Bodhi) was athletic but lacked surfing experience. Keanu Reeves (Utah) never surfed. Lori Petty (Tyler) had never been in the ocean.Keanu Reeves never been in the ocean.All three lead actors surfed as newbies in the list '13 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'Point Break''

Stunt-double work happened a lot. Actors needed basic surfboard skills. Trainer Dennis Jarvis, the self-proclaimed "surf doctor of Hollywood," handled this."surf doctor of Hollywood"Jarvis said Reeves's "stinkbug" style fit because his character was a beginner. Jarvis still made sure Petty and Swayze looked like they knew what they were doing.

"All I cared about was getting good enough so that when I cut from me to my big wave double, I wouldn't look like Bobby Darin on a '50s beach-bunny movie."Swayze saidAll three lead actors surfed as newbies in the list '13 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'Point Break''

One ofPoint BreakThe film's most memorable scenes show the foot chase through homes, alleyways, and backyards. Johnny Utah pursues Bodhi, who just finished an Ex-President's bank robbery, wearing a Ronald Reagan mask.

Kathryn Bigelow and cinematographer Donald Peterman needed a creative solution for filming the chase due to tight locations. A Steadicam might work, but speed and limited space made it hard. They chose a "pogo-cam"."pogo-cam"This means a movie camera stuck on a stick. It lets the operator move in ways impossible if the camera were near their body.

W. Peter Iliff wrote the first script forPoint BreakW. Peter Iliff wrote the script for Point Break, hired by producer Rick King (the initial title was "Johnny Utah").Johnny Utah. Iliff was not an established writer then and had to wait tables for money.

When Kathryn Bigelow agreed to direct, sherewrote the script without credit with her husband, director James Cameron, who has an executive producer credit. Cameron quietly tightened the script's structure and fixed the plot points. Cameron's help, like Bigelow's, remains uncredited in Hollywood.

Not everyone liked the effort. ReviewingPoint Breakat that time,Entertainment Weeklycritic Owen Gleiberman called the script "a real shambles."Said "a real shambles."

In his bookWhere the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World, FBI Special Agent William J. Rehder wrote that he consulted with Keanu Reeves before filmingPoint Break. Rehder says Reeves did not use his advice much. However, he clearly disliked the screenplay, which was not Reeves's area.Rehder writes:

BeforePoint BreakThe Special Agent in Charge told me to take Keanu Reeves, a pleasant but spacey young man, under my wing. I was to give him tips on portraying an FBI agent chasing bank robbers. These pointers did not reach the finished film.

Rehder acidly notes FBI agents do not actively join armed bank robberies to infiltrate crews in real life. Utah does this only under duress, fearing his girlfriend will be killed. Colleagues ribbed Rehder for weeks after.Point BreakThe film came out, and Rehder held him "personally responsible for what was surely one of the dumbest bank robbery movies ever made."

Rick King, the veteran indie filmmaker who created the concept for Point Break,Point BreakKing recalls the script moved around Hollywood for some time before finally getting made. This process was not fondly called "development hell."

Ridley Scott considered directing the material and planned to shoot it. However, Scott spent much money on preproduction before deciding against it. "He spent as much in preproduction as I spend on a film, and then decided not to do it."King recalled.

W. Peter Iliff, whom King hired to write the script's first draft, saw Scott's crew work.The crew spent five months building sets.They then tore the sets down one day. Iliff felt down, but Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron, his later husband, saved the day a couple of years later.