Editing Point Break (section)

==Production==
The film came close to production in 1986, with [[Matthew Broderick]], [[Johnny Depp]], [[Val Kilmer]], and [[Charlie Sheen]] all being considered to play the Johnny Utah character, with [[Ridley Scott]] directing.<ref name="DVDliner">{{cite news | title = ''Point Break'' DVD Liner Notes | work = Point Break: Pure Adrenaline Edition | publisher = [[20th Century Fox]] | year = 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Cinefile Klady, Leonard|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Aug 14, 1988|page=K32}}</ref> However production fell through.<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news|author=Robbie Collin|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/point-break-2015/keanu-reeves-kathryn-bigelow-making-of-original/ |title=Tough guys have feelings too: the power of Point Break |work=Telegraph |date=2016-02-02 |access-date=2018-12-18}}</ref>

Four years later, after acquiring the screenplay, the producers of ''Point Break'' began looking for a director. At the time, executive producer [[James Cameron]] was married to director [[Kathryn Bigelow]], who had just completed ''[[Blue Steel (1990 film)|Blue Steel]]'' and was looking for her next project.<ref name="DVDliner"/> Only W. Peter Iliff is credited for the screenplay, but Cameron has said that he did a considerable amount of writing with Bigelow for the final film, helping to establish a better plot flow.<ref>{{cite news |last=Raymond |first=Adam K. |date=December 25, 2015 |title=25 Bodacious Facts About the Original 'Point Break' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/25-bodacious-facts-about-the-original-1326424954028086.html |website=Yahoo Entertainment |access-date=2018-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamescamerononline.com/PointBreak.htm |title=Point Break |website=JamesCameronOnline.com |access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref> Cameron was also instrumental in the creation of the iconic Ex-Presidents.<ref>{{cite news|author=Eric Pierce|url=https://www.allthefanfare.com/point-break-ex-presidents-stylish-bank-robbers/ |title=Malibu Surfer-Thieves and James Cameron: The Origin of Point Break's Ex-Presidents |work=All the Fanfare |date=2023-03-29 |access-date=2023-07-12}}</ref>

''Point Break'' was originally called ''Johnny Utah'' when [[Keanu Reeves]] was cast in the title role.<ref name="DVDliner"/> The studio felt that this title said very little about surfing and by the time [[Patrick Swayze]] was cast, the film had been renamed ''Riders on the Storm'' after [[Riders on the Storm|the famous song]] by [[The Doors]]. However, [[Jim Morrison]]'s lyrics had nothing to do with the film and so that title was also rejected. It was not until halfway through filming that ''Point Break'' became the film's title because of [[surf break|its relevance to surfing]].<ref name="DVDliner"/>

Reeves liked the name of his character, as it reminded him of star athletes like [[Johnny Unitas]] and [[Joe Montana]].<ref name="Strauss">{{cite news | last = Strauss | first = Bob | title = I'd like to do a lot of different things | work = [[The Globe and Mail]] | date = July 12, 1991 }}</ref> He described his character as "a total control freak and the ocean beats him up and challenges him. After a while everything becomes a game. He becomes as amoral as any criminal. He loses the difference between right and wrong."<ref name="DVDliner"/> Swayze felt that Bodhi was a lot like him and that they both shared "that wild-man edge."<ref name="DVDliner"/>

Two months before filming, [[Lori Petty]], Reeves and Swayze trained with former world-class professional surfer Dennis Jarvis on the Hawaiian island of [[Kauai]].<ref name="DVDliner"/> Jarvis remembers, "Patrick said he'd been on a board a couple of times, Keanu definitely had not surfed before, and Lori had never been in the ocean ''in her life''."<ref name="EWPointB">{{cite magazine | title = Board Certified | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = July 26, 1991 | url = https://ew.com/article/1991/07/26/point-break-surf-training/ | access-date = 2009-04-24 }}</ref> Shooting the surfing sequences proved to be challenging for all three actors, with Swayze cracking four of his ribs. For many of the surfing scenes, he refused to use a stunt double as he never had one for fight scenes or car chases. He also did the skydiving scenes himself and the film's aerial jump instructor Jim Wallace found that he was a natural and took to it right away.<ref name="DVDliner"/> Swayze ended up making 55 jumps for the film.<ref name="Thomas">{{cite news | last = Thomas | first = Karen | title = Swayze's latest step | work = [[USA Today]] | date = July 12, 1991 }}</ref> Swayze admitted that he almost died six or ten times while shooting the film.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/patrick-swayze-almost-died-six-times-point-break/ | title=Patrick Swayze almost died six times during 'Point Break' | date=July 12, 2023 }}</ref> Swayze actually based aspects of his character after one of his stunt doubles, [[Darrick Doerner]], a top big wave surfer.<ref name="Willistein">{{cite news | last = Willistein | first = Paul | title = Swayze enjoys bad-guy role in ''Point Break'' | work = [[Toronto Star]] | date = July 17, 1991 }}</ref> After learning to surf for the film, Reeves took a liking to it and took it up as a hobby.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102685/trivia?tab=tr&item=tr0780544|title=Point Break|date=July 12, 1991|via=IMDb}}</ref>

A few of the action scenes were shot from the POV of the characters and Bigelow along with the cinematographer devised an innovative light weight pogo cam to create a sense of immersion among the audience.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://hyperrealfilm.club/reviews/point-break
 | title = Film Notes: Point Break
 | author = Ziah Grace
 | date = July 4, 2024
 | publisher = Hyperreal Film Club
 | access-date = September 27, 2024
}}</ref>

Parts of the film were shot at [[Lake Powell]] in [[Utah]], [[Wheeler, Tillamook County, Oregon|Wheeler]] and [[Ecola State Park]] in [[Oregon]], and [[Malibu, California|Malibu]], [[Manhattan Beach, California|Manhattan Beach]], [[Santa Monica]], [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]], and [[Fox Hills Mall]] in California.<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref> Although the final scene of the film is set at [[Bells Beach, Victoria|Bells Beach]], Victoria, Australia, the scene was filmed at Indian Beach in Ecola State Park, located in [[Cannon Beach, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://www.locationshub.com/blog/2014/7/29/3-movies-you-might-not-know-were-filmed-at-cannon-beach
 | title = Three Movies You Might Not Know Were Filmed At Cannon Beach
 | author = Sarah Le
 | date = July 29, 2014
 | publisher = Locations Hub
 | access-date = January 10, 2020
}}</ref>