Movie Facts About 1991 Film 'Point Break' Starring Keanu Reeves
It's been 25 years already since the action movie "Point Break" was released. Starring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi, the duo has captured the interest of many that the film was even given a remake which was released in 2015 starring Edgar Ramirez and Luke Bracey. Ramirez took over the role as Bodhi while Bracey played as Utah.
But even though it has been years already since the release of the original film in 1991, there are certain facts about it that fans do not know yet. According to an article published by Mental Floss, the idea of the film was conceived while co-producer Rick King was hanging out at the beach. For those who don't know, "Point Break" is a film about an "FBI agent who goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers," as noted in IMDb.
The source also mentioned that before calling the film with its title, it went through several titles first. In fact, it was supposed to be titled "Johnny Utah." Then they renamed it to "Riders on the Storm" during the first half of production. But before they wrapped up, it was changed to "Point Break" which is a term in surfing known as a type of long-lasting wave found off a coast with a headland or point. And if the production was indecisive at first with the title, they also had other choices for the lead role. Charlie Sheen and Johnny Depp were potentials but director Kathryn Bigelow picked Reeves for the part of Utah.
The film also featured actors who are very good in surfing. It turns out that Bigelow really hired professional surfers who acted on the side just to make the film more realistic in the skills side. Bojesse Christopher, who plays as Grommet, and John Philbin, who plays as Nathaniel, are both pro surfers. However, not all surfing scenes were done by the actors themselves. For instance, Swayze was doubled by legendary big-wave surfer Darrick Doerner for the "50-Year Storm" scene. But while the surfing is real, the skydiving wasn't. The production used a crane rig with a telescoping arm.