Big Wednesday

Director: John Milius (1978)

Cast: Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey

Big Wednesday was an important small film in 1978. This was a surfing film with a lot of heart and great upcoming actors.

This classic surfing film covers 9 years (1962-1971) in the lives of surfers and best friends Matt'the Enforcer' Johnson (Jan-Michael Vincent) ,Jack Barlow (William Katt), and Leroy the Masochist' Smith (Gary Busey) are the three best surfers of Malibu Beach The best friends have a guru named "Bear" (Sam Melville) who owns the local beach shop. He believes in the boys' talent as surfers and one day, in the future there  will be a swell coming that will take every ounce of their talent and skill to ride on. Over the years the boys keep on surfing, but real life gets in the way. They lose friends to the Vietnam found war, Jack becomes a champion surfer, but bristles at the notariety and develops a drinking problem. Jack becomes a lifeguard and Leroy goes his own way. By 1971 "Bear's" once booming surf shop had been closed down and he was homeless. His three proteges had not surfed together in years. Then word came that the Big Wednesday swell that Bear had once prophesied was coming.Bear found Matt at the beach and told Bear he didn't know if his old friends will be there? Early the next morning Matt got his answer. There was Jack and Leroy with boards in their hands ready to take on "Big Wednesday."

Fun Facts:

Busey also starred in a very successful Surfing -related movie Point Break

John Milius also wrote the screenplay for Apocalypse Now that had some surfing scenes in it.

Gary Busey had to learn how to swim to get the part.

Bill Hamilton, father of surfer Laird Hamilton, doubled for Jan-Michael Vincent's character, as well as the scene in which lifeguards abandon their small boat in the pit of a gigantic oncoming wave. Afterward, Hamilton began briefly shaping under the Bear label depicted in the movie.

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg thought this film would be the American Graffiti of surfing films - that it was destined to be such a hit that they famously traded profit points on their next two films, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.