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John Milius (center) sharing opinions. Photo courtesy Encyclopedia of Surfing
John Milius (center) sharing opinions. Photo courtesy Encyclopedia of Surfing

Surf cult Big Wednesday director John Milius unloads on anyone who dared vote for Kamala Harris

"He thought the concept of Kamala Harris being president… he has a very over-the-top way of putting things…"

There are only a small handful of films with a surfing subject matter that can be considered “cult.” The Endless Summer, North Shore and Big Wednesday and that is maybe all. The latter, a sort of rambling late-1970s homage to Malibu, follows three friends as they attempt to dodge service in Vietnam whilst surfing and malingering on the beach. A decade, or such, later they are reunited for a super swell and, if I recall, they are all vaguely bummed that the best of life has passed them by.

Its director, John Milius, was moved to the beach at 14 and called surfing his “religion” he would go on to write the screenplay for Apocalypse Now before co-writing and directing Big Wednesday, following that with Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn in 1984 which, 40 years later, brings us to Milius today who happens to be overjoyed that there was no proverbial red dawn in these United States.

Milius’ daughter, Amanda, described her father as Donald Trump patient zero, telling Fox, “My dad’s been a Trump guy, honestly, since 2014. My dad has been on Team Trump since, like, the moment you could be.”

Though the Academy Award-nominated auteur suffered a major stroke in 2010, he maintained enough fire in his belly to loathe Democrats. “He hated (Harris)!” Amanda continued, “I mean, he was just laughing at the idea of it. He just thought it was ridiculous. He thought the concept of Kamala Harris being president… he has a very over-the-top way of putting things… but he basically said that anyone who would consider voting for her for president was just an idiot. He’s like, ‘There’s no – there’s no way this can be serious.’ Like, it was just as unserious as Joe Biden. It was the whole thing was unserious. He had, I think, a bit more vitriol for Hillary [Clinton] because, you know, she’d been around longer and he’d had more time to form opinions about her. But he was not impressed, I guess we can say that.”

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Fun.

Did you maintain that much political vitriol in your guts?

Me?

Well, I don’t wanna be a star. Have my picture in magazines, have a bunch of kids looking up to me. I’m a drunk, a screw up. I just surf ’cause its good to go out and ride with your friends.

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I don’t even have that anymore.

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Cuntry Singer
Shredy Kruger

“Kamala Don’t Surf”… https://media0.giphy.com/me…

SeverelyLtd

But Tulsi and General Flynn do.

David Hilts

had a good friend who as resently passed who made a surf movie with Lopez using ill gotten funds doing what surfers did back then, smuggling . He told me he wouldn’t listen to his voice coach and that’s why the dubbed in his voice. RIP my old friend.

Abscessed Llama

Called my nephew “Wax’r” and he hated it..

k55

“The latter, a sort of rambling late-1970s homage to Malibu”.
Umm, never-ever thought of the film as a homage to the Bu.

While it may have used the Bu as a backdrop, it was definitely about the— 3 friends and their rites-of-passage into adulthood, probably happened at every beach on da globe, not just da Bu.

”they are all vaguely bummed that the best of life has passed them by”.

Umm, Jack became a County lifeguard, Matt married Peggy and raised their daughter, Leroy moved to the Islands to ride big waves.
Not bad.
And their stories are not over.
What is the best of life in your opinion?

P.L.Miller

Milius, truly I am sorry you had a stroke, but what you’ve said and done has always been a problem with other people. I wish you no ill; you’re just a majorputz.

tim_nelsen

all virus’ aside what’s the new one~? deep state prepping for another round? stay tuned…

snapper

Rumor has it Kamala had to get away going Troppo last week and spotted eating the same ol’ lunch every day…”word salad”.

Picard Madeoff

You had me at “was just an idiot” as I have NEVER witnessed a candidate, from either side of the aisle, who offered less than Kamala. EVER!

deeks

Yep you can pick em
Just like aus dumbfuckery voting for Tony Abbott and Morrison. Dumbfuckery knows no bounds

Picard Madeoff

I cannot defend Trump or Kamala

Chief Hot stuff

Such hyperbowl!!

deeks

I’m on the reds

SeverelyLtd

Apparently you missed VP candidate Timmy Walz.

Picard Madeoff
FL Skunk Ape

Being a conservative in CA is low hanging fruit.

tim_nelsen

40% and climbing…? out of the cities and leaving? not until my beachfront falls into the sea.

Gil Gunderson

Big Wednesday? Pfffffft. More like 9-17 Surfline feet, which roughly equates to 13-22 German Legs.

Brutus

story…when he was shooting Conan the barbarian with Gerry as Conan’s sidekick…rumor has it Gerry rooted Milius’s daughter while on set in Spain….and that was the end of Gerry’s Hollywood career….which was very fortunate for costco!

Chas Smith

Solid trivia, Moz!

Beef & Beer

Nah
Just a sqaushy poo.

Actually worse, full diarrhea…

k55

Rumor, you say? Ah yes. rumors…..
Judging from that movie—Lopez’s Hollywood career was over before it ever began.
Don’t think he was ever cut out to be an actor.

Trev

He wasn’t worse than Arnie and that seemed to work out ok for him.

notsurfingtoday

And this is why i pay my beachgrit subscription

SeverelyLtd

Amanda M. is fire on X. Any soy bois here like Chas that don’t have the energy to form political opinions should follow her. She’ll set you straight.

notsurfingtoday

Ohh. It’s the creepy hands gang.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…

channelbottom

Guarantee he gets staffers to ‘digitally enhance’ the size of his hands.

Waterproof Polo

End of his career… ahem.. Surfing’s Gone with wind?? North Shore – 1985, post Conan, pre Costco environment wrecking Gez softies. Not lying, I will buy a Gerry Softy if only Aus Costco would sack up and start to stock those bitches. My much finer half has a membership and being the queen she is, has a set up a library (at my suggestion) to document the knuckle draggers that frequent said warehouse of free market horrors – “Bogans of Costco” – leeching on the amazing Rednecks of Walmart IP. We are both covertly gathering enough of a collection before launching our retirement Insta page. It will be grand. So many asscraks, underhanging guts, gunts that are more gu than unt, morbidly obese 4 year olds with rat tails, and round on all side purple calfs from the Dibeetus. It’s a helluva place.

Trev

They have them in NZ Costco. Quality is pretty decent for $270NZD. Got one about a year ago.

SeverelyLtd

Lot of good surfers out at Hookipa on those Lopez foamies on marginal days. Even when well overhead. It’s the JOB effect.

Waterproof Polo

I’m legit gonna buy one for summer fun if – I can locate one that is. JOB’s Oddessea’s dont seem to be round our way either. Think Mick Fanning has the market cornered here in Oz with his “MF” softs.

Waterproof Polo

Hell Yeah! Might have to ship one from cross the deetch.

Barnycle

I went looking for the “Bogans of Costco” socials.

Was a bit disappointed when I didn’t find it.

Waterproof Polo

haha well it’s under construction. Given the level of Bogantry on display the delivery date is only held back based on visits and covert photography by myself and Mrs Polo. Probably should nab the handle however!

channelbottom

Can’t wait to see that!!! (insert prayer hands emoji)

Beef & Beer

An interesting ‘story’ alright, though obviously completely untrue, as Milius’s only daughter was born the year after Conan was made.

So unless it was his wife that Lopez banged (and Gerry is subsequently the real father of Amanda M), it looks like 100% a rumour, sorry Bruté…

Brutus

OK just checked with an ol mate…you sir Mr B&B are correct with …….your last paragraph……….ouch !

k55

Yes, a lesson learned about spreading rumors.
You even got 15 up-votes, showing how rumors spread and how gullible people are.

deeks

Yep reputation shot on reputable online site Beach Grit 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Sean Connery

I believed it

Gilbert Gil

bigley Wednesday, huge most beautiful Wednesday.

k55

Glad to hear Milius is still around.
Putting all things aside, I think Big Wednesday did a pretty good job of capturing that era.

k55

PS
Excerp:
“The sea of the past was like a beautiful and unscrupulous woman. Strong men with childlike hearts were faithful to her, content to live by her grace or die by her will”.
Joseph Conrad

“When boards were made of wood—and men were made of iron.”

k55

excerp:
:
“The kids, the punks, the gremmies , lined up along the beach, a timeless expression of youth, like the gremmies that went before them, their hair was longer, the boards were smaller, but the expression on their faces was the same, a sense of awe and promise, waiting wanting something they couldn’t yet have, they were part of the endless cycle of youth, an unspoiled and innocent time.”
Matts ride, Lopez’s ride, would grow old and fade with the mist of legend.
But these kids and their timeless expressions would always be there, always the same.”

trivia corner:
The book was originally called:
”The Age of Innocence “.

david fffff

Very normal and non-cult-like behaviour to claim, fight over even, the fact that your dad liked a billionaire man from New York before anyone else.

Hope he sees this John!

Chief Hot stuff

I hear shaving your head helps?

tim_nelsen

true psychos shave one side and let the other side grow out and they walk with a tilt.

Mapski

Dude get’s out of Nam with asthma and becomes the most macho, war worshipping screen writer alive.

Com Turren

Having a stroke can really addle one’s brain like that

Dogsnuts

Post nut clarity!
Xox

justiceminister

Malingering on the beach. That phrase sums up surfing as a genre in it’s entirety. Up to now that is. The Pool will change that vision completely for future generations who won’t even know where the beach is. Or what it is.

k55

Very well put!

Stick man

How saddening…


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