'Point Break' Remake to Star Édgar Ramírez in Patrick Swayze Role, Extreme Sports Stunts Perfomed by Actual Athletes
For die-hard surfers, extreme sports enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates an adrenaline rush, you might want to check out Alcon Entertainment's "Point Break" reboot for the extreme sports stunts that will be filmed on four continents, including North America, Europe, South America and Asia.
And if that's not cool enough, another good reason to tune in is to see the hunky and talented Venezuelan actor Édgar Ramírez, who will take over the role of Bodhi, played by the late Patrick Swayze, and the handsome Luke Bracey ("G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and the upcoming "The Best of Me"), who will portray Johnny Utah, originally played by Keanu Reeves.
The action-packed film will feature stunts performed by the world's top extreme sports athletes, not stunt performers. The ambitious, on-location shoots, which include Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Venezuela, French Polynesia, India and the U.S., will capture some of the most daring stunts in the realm of extreme sports. The impressive feats involve surfing 70-foot waves, snowboarding, wingsuit flying, free rock climbing and high-speed motorcycle stunts.
Who are the top extreme athletes taking part in these jaw-dropping stunts?
Surfers Makua Rothman, Billy Kemper, Brian Keaulana and Ahanu Tson-dru; snowboarders Lucas DeBari, Ralph Backstrom, Mitch Toelderer, Mike Basich and Xavier De La Rue; motorcyclists Riley Harper and Oakley Lehman; wingsuit stunt pilots Jeb Corliss, Jon Devore, Julian Boulle, Noah Bahnson and Mike Swanson; and free climber Chris Sharma, among others.
"The Fast and the Furious" director of photography, Ericson Core, will also work his magic again in "Point Break." Other behind-the-scene team members include Oscar-winning editor Thom Noble ("Thelma & Louise," "Witness"), production designer UdoKramer ("North Face," "The Physician") and Oscar-nominated costume designer Lisy Christl ("Anonymous," "White House Down").
Ramírez, who stars in the upcoming film, "Deliver Us From Evil," also played Larry, a CIA operative in Pakistan, in the film "Zero Dark Thirty," and Paz, a CIA assassin, in "The Bourne Ultimatum" and Ciro Redundo in "Che," which also starred Benicio del Toro. He also won a 2012 ALMA Award for the role of Ares in "Wrath of the Titans."
"We consider Edgar one of the finest actors in the world today, and we are thrilled he will be creating a fresh new take on the iconic character of Bodhi," Kosovo and Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter in an earlier report.
Ramírez replaces Gerard Butler, who had to pull out of the film because of "creative and scheduling differences." So, how is it going thus far?
"Well, I'm working on it. It's very difficult to anticipate what things are going to turn out to be. I'm very organic as an actor so I'm letting the character grow out of me," Ramírez told WeGotThisCovered. "The only similarity that I can tell you so far is it's that subversive spirit, that rebellious spirit, that anti-system spirit that is what really the whole story is about. The structure is similar but the story is different. But we want to keep the spirit from the first one."
The original "Point Break" starred the late Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The intense action film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who's known for films like "Near Dark," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "The Hurt Locker," which won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture and made her the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director.
The original film was a box office hit and gained a worldwide cult following in VHS and later DVD and Blu-ray releases.
Alcon Entertainment's remake, starring Ramírez, Bracey, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer and Delroy Lindo, began principal photography on June 26, which was announced by Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Ericson Core ("Invincible") is directing from Kurt Wimmer's ("Salt," "Law Abiding Citizen").
"Point Break" is scheduled for release on Aug. 7, 2015, and will be distributed in North America and in select territories around the world by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.