Here’s The Unexpectedly Emotional Backstory To The Filming Of ‘Blue Crush’

Blue Crush put female surfers front and centre in a sport that, at the time at least, was typically dominated by men, and even cameoed Layne BeachleyAustralia‘s very own advocate and champion of equal pay in the surfing industry.

Needless to say, it’s a heartwarming flick that kicked us all in the feels, and not just because it dropped more Billabong mentions than your local Surf Dive N’ Ski store.

However, PEDESTRIAN.TV recently found out that production of the film wasn’t all that peachy for the cast and crew involved.

Remember Kate Bosworth‘s love interest in it? The rich quarterback who you think’s going to be a wank, but turns out to be a good guy, because Hollywood will be damned if they don’t serve up yet another unrealistic storyline?


Yes! That one! Matthew Davis, who you might member as Warner in Legally Blonde or Alaric Saltzman in The Vampire Diaries, told us that Blue Crush was a really trying period for cast and crew.

It was more difficult to film than the script led on,” Davis explained ahead of his trip to Aus for Oz Comic-Con. “It was just a tough time. We started shooting right after 9/11, the people were really shaken up.” In fact, the whole thing took such a toll that Davis even took a self-appointed break after filming.

I took some time off after that movie. It was a pretty traumatic experience on a lot of levels for a lot of people. I just took some time off, collected my thoughts and had a regroup. Things were never really quite the same for me after that film.

While Davis did kind of skirt around any really specific details as to why the process was such an ordeal, given the time of shooting it’s not hard to see why it would’ve been a difficult stint.

That being said, he also noted that the shooting for the film, which was directed by John Stockwell (the same man responsible for the fine work of Crazy/Beautiful + Into The Blue), was also affected by personal issues on set.

“It just felt like everyone had some major personal drama happening all at once, so it was more of a turbulent shoot than I had anticipated – really more than anyone anticipated. I think it left more than a few people kind of scarred.

Did these include his own personal woes? Sounds like it, yep. For Davis, this movie came almost immediately after his breakout role in Legally Blonde, where he was a love interest to strong female lead, Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon.

His role in Blue Crush? That, all over again.

Davis explained that, in retrospect, doubling up on that type of role wasn’t the brightest idea and that he was “talked into it for the wrong reasons.” He continued:

Looking back on it now, I would not have done Blue Crush. I would’ve made a different choice. I was already on the fence about it. It was a part I was sort of talked into doing by my representation at the time.”

I don’t think it helped me break out of preconceived typecasting that I’d fallen into after Legally Blonde. I was struggling. I wanted to break out and do something, just, different.

So, was there anything positive about working on this film for Davis? Yes. Bosworth, of course.

It was another pleasure to work with such a strong, female lead like Kate,” he explained, noting that he largely encouraged Stockwell and the producers to cast her after their fi-yah chemistry reading. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know what you guys think, but I think she’s where the money’s at.’”

With Bosworth’s estimated net worth now at $24 million, he wasn’t wrong.

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