John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two Dirty Harry films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of Apocalypse Now (1979), and wrote and directed The Wind and the Lion (1975), Conan the Barbarian (1982), and Red Dawn (1984). He later served as the co-creator of the Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Rome (2005–2007).
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in the 1974 drama film Buster and Billie. After supporting roles in films like Stay Hungry (1976), A Star Is Born (1976), and Big Wednesday (1977), he had his breakthrough as resistance fighter Willie in the 1983 miniseries V and its subsequent sequel series. After his performance in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.
William Theodore Katt is an American actor and musician best known as the star of the television series The Greatest American Hero. He first became known for playing Tommy Ross, the ill-fated prom date of Carrie White in the original film version of Carrie (1976) and subsequently starred in films such as First Love (1977), Big Wednesday (1978) and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979). Between 1985 and 1988, he starred in nine Perry Mason television films alongside his mother Barbara Hale, who reprised her role as Della Street from the television series Perry Mason.
Big Wednesday is a 1978 American coming of age film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life and the Vietnam War against the backdrop of their love of surfing.
Surf movies fall into three distinct genres:
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood is a book by Peter Biskind, published by Simon & Schuster in 1998. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is about the 1960s and 1970s Hollywood, a period of American film known for the production of such films such as The Godfather,The Godfather Part II,The French Connection,Chinatown,Taxi Driver,Jaws,Star Wars,The Exorcist, and The Last Picture Show. The title is taken from films which bookend the era: Easy Rider (1969) and Raging Bull (1980). The book follows Hollywood on the brink of the Vietnam War, when a group of young Hollywood film directors known as the "movie brats" are making their names. It begins in the 1960s and ends in the 1980s.
Chris Kobin is a screenwriter and film producer living in Los Angeles, California.
Richard Randolph "Randy" Olson is a marine biologist-turned-filmmaker who earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University (1984) and became a tenured professor of marine biology at the University of New Hampshire (1992) before changing careers by moving to Hollywood and entering film school at the University of Southern California.
Between the Lines: The True Story of Surfers and the Vietnam War is a 2008 documentary film that examines the Vietnam War and its effects on the surf culture.
Zak Knutson is a director, producer, writer, and actor.
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American epic psychological war film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola and John Milius with narration written by Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, with the setting changed from late 19th-century Congo to the Vietnam War. The film follows a river journey from South Vietnam into Cambodia undertaken by Captain Benjamin L. Willard, who is on a secret mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz, a renegade Army Special Forces officer accused of murder and who is presumed insane.
Founded in 2007, the New York Surf Film Festival held its inaugural event September 26–28, 2008 at Tribeca Cinemas with 25 films screened from all over the world, including a special 30th Anniversary screening of Warner Brothers' Big Wednesday directed by John Milius and co-written with Denny Aaberg.
Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie are an American independent filmmaker and actor duo based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best known for writing and directing the crime thriller films Good Time (2017) starring Robert Pattinson and Uncut Gems (2019) starring Adam Sandler.
Salinger is a 2013 American documentary film about the reclusive writer J. D. Salinger directed and produced by Shane Salerno. The film tells the story of Salinger's life through interviews with friends, historians, and journalists. The film premiered at the 40th annual Telluride Film Festival and had a second premiere on the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Biggest Little Farm is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by John Chester. The film profiles the life of John Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.
Becoming Cousteau is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Liz Garbus. It follows the life and career of Jacques Cousteau.
Citizen Ashe is an 2021 American-British documentary film directed by Rex Miller and Sam Pollard revolving around the life and career of Arthur Ashe. Alex Gibney and John Legend serve as executive producers.
The Rescue is a 2021 documentary film directed and produced by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. It follows the Tham Luang cave rescue, a 2018 mission that saved a junior association football team from an underwater cave.
Fauci is a 2021 American documentary film, directed and produced by John Hoffman and Janet Tobias. It follows the life and career of Anthony Fauci. Liz Garbus serves as an executive producer under her Story Syndicate banner.
Procession is an 2021 American documentary film, directed and edited by Robert Greene. It follows six men, who suffered abuse by priests, looking for peace.
