Curtis Hanson has dropped out of filming on surf movie Of Men And Mavericks , on account of complications from a recent heart surgery. Happily however, the film will still go ahead, with The World Is Not Enough ’s Michael Apted stepping in to complete the shoot.
Apted will take charge of the last 15 days of principle photography on the project, which is currently filming in Northern California. The film chronicles the life story of legendary surfer Jay Moriarty, and how he became the top name in his field.
Newcomer Johnny Weston will play the big wave rider, whilst Gerard Butler will co-star as Rick “Frosty” Hesson, the younger man’s mentor. Will he shout, “THIS IS SURFING!” at any point? Probably not, but we can hope.
Elisabeth Shue and Abigail Spencer are also among the supporting cast, with the film set for a US release date of 26 October 2012.
The whole replacement process appears to have been fairly seemless, so hopefully Of Men And Mavericks will be able to hit that target as planned. In the meantime we’d like to wish Mr. Hanson a speedy recovery. Get well soon Curtis!
