STACK Jun #128

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JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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At CinemaCon, we hung out with Australians
Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer, both giddy
from filming the hotly-anticipated remake of
1991’s extreme sports thriller Point Break.
Adelaide-born Palmer talked about how she
finally conquered her fear of the ocean with
the help of shark swimmer Ocean Ramsey and
free dive female champion Marina Kazankova.
“Growing up I didn’t have a pool and we didn’t
live very close to the beach so I wasn’t a
confident swimmer. I’d only been in the waves a
handful of times in Australia.”
In fact, when she first accepted the role, she
had no idea how much of her work would be in
the ocean. “I was very anxious when I learned I
would be very far down beneath the surface of
the water with large marine creatures in Tahiti.”
Enter Ramsey and Kazankova. “Ocean lives
in Hawaii. She grew up in the water and swims
with great white sharks. She taught me how
to relax. And then Marina doubled me and also
taught me how to follow my heart rate and hold
by breathe for longer. I started by only being
able to hold my breath for 30 seconds and
ended holding it for almost two minutes, which
was a pretty epic thing for me. The whole thing
was really liberating,” says the actress, as surf
legend Laird Hamilton joins us, giving her a big
hug.
Luke Bracey was already a confident surfer
before the movie, although he had to train in
snow boarding and rock climbing. “It's different
going from a 10-minute inside rock wall to a
real rock 3,000 feet up,” he tells STACK.
His most scary moment on set?
“The most terrifying time was the
last day of filming next to Petit
Mont Blanc, 4,000 metres
above sea level – and 60
Celsius. The wind was
blowing dogs off chains,
absolutely howling, and
I’m standing on a snow
board with my feet locked
into it with the front of the
snow board off the edge of
this cliff with a vertical drop of
150 metres. I was very scared
and very cold,” he recalls with
a shiver.
The original Point Break
starred Keanu Reeves and
Patrick Swayze, with
Bracey and Edgar Ramirez
reprising their roles as
Johnny Utah and Bodhi,
respectively.
7 THINGS WE LEARNED AT CINEMACON
CinemaCon is the world’s largest gathering of cinema owners; an annual event where studios present their future fare, trotting
out all their big movie stars. Held in Las Vegas, here are some of the most interesting highlights, live from CinemaCon.
1. Always controversial, Seth MacFarlane
showed a cheeky trailer from Ted 2
featuring everyone’s favourite potty-
mouthed, pot-smoking stuffed animal.
Oh, and Mark Wahlberg too.
Addressing an audience of
besuited cinema owners,
MacFarlane pointed out that
stoners get the munchies, and
suggested that theatre operators
should consider their popcorn sales
if they found patrons “toking up” in
the bathroom prior to Ted 2.
2. Speaking of popcorn, Cheetos
flavored popcorn anyone? Coming soon to
a cinema near you. Looks just like popcorn
but sprinkled with Cheetos dust. [What
about Cadbury Vegemite?- Ed.]
3. Matt Damon will return as Jason
Bourne in 2016.
4. Let it snow! In addition to its list of
movie effects, such as jerking seats,
earthquake effects and smells, 4DX
announced snow, rainstorm and warm
air added to its menu. Better bring an
umbrella.
5. At a hosted luncheon, Clint Eastwood
was honoured with a Fandago award.
Squinting at the unwieldy plastic trophy, he
said, “I will put this on my fireplace and try
to make sure it doesn’t burn”.
6. Vin Diesel let out a few sobs for his dear
departed friend Paul Walker while standing
before a giant screen with the words 1
Billion – for that is the amount of money
Fast & Furious 7 has already taken at the
box office. Moments later he dried his eyes
and leapt in the air as he announced there
will be a Furious 8 in 2017.
7. Audiences were handcuffed to their
seats as 50 Shades of Grey sequels
were announced for Valentine's Day 2016
and 2017.
Luke Bracey Teresa Palmer
STACK's Hollywood correspondent Gill Pringle brings you the latest from Tinseltown.