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Interview With Dana Brown, Laird Hamilton

Aired August 08, 2003 - 15:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Takes your breath away, doesn't it? Ever wonder what it would be like to do that, to go totally tubular, flirt with some of the most powerful and dangerous waves in the world?
Well if so, and you may not want to try it for yourself for real, there's another way to do it. You can check out the documentary "Step Into Liquid." It's a new perspective on surfing directed by the son of the man who brought us the great "Endless Summer." Dana Brown joining us from L.A. to talk about his new documentary. And with him Laird Hamilton, surfer par excellence. Gentlemen, good to have you with us.

DANA BROWN, "STEP INTO LIQUID": Nice to be here.

LAIRD HAMILTON, SURFER: Nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Start with you, Dana. How did you get the idea for this particular project?

BROWN: Well, my father did "The Endless Summer," and I worked on "Endless Summer 2" with him. And a lot would ask about an "Endless Summer 3," which I thought was probably a digit too many. So...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Is this you surfing, Laird?

HAMILTON: Yes, it is.

O'BRIEN: Oh man. That is just unbelievable. Where is that?

HAMILTON: That's a location on Maui in Hawaii called "Jaws."

O'BRIEN: Is there any way to describe what you're feeling right at that moment there? Is it utter fear, or is it...

HAMILTON: You know, I mean, honestly, when you're doing -- when you're surfing in these kind of conditions, fear is really the furthest thing from your mind, I think. You know, you have more fear watching it on your couch after than you do really doing it. I think you're so focused on, you know, the job at hand that fear is way away. And if you have fear, this is probably not the place for you.

O'BRIEN: Now, as you go along here, there's a scene here where you kind of jump over the backside of the wave. What's that maneuver called? Here you go. What is that? HAMILTON: Well, that's a flyaway kickout or a Hawaiian kickout. It's just -- it's an exit, it's like an exit offstage. You know you're...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Wow, that is something else.

Dana, give me a little sense of how you pulled this project off. There are fewer things that would be harder to capture in the sporting world than surfing and really get up close.

BROWN: Well, again, I'm fortunate enough to have been born around it and know guys like Laird. So you just get the right people and the right information and cross your fingers and go.

O'BRIEN: But how do you get the cameras in and place and so forth? How do you do it? Technically it sounds like quite a feat.

BROWN: Yes, it is. The director of photography, J.P. Beegley and myself -- it takes a lot of thinking. This stuff shot off the back of a boat with a hydro stabilized mount. This is 100 miles out to sea, a place called Cortez Bank.

O'BRIEN: Wow, 100 miles out, they go. Now who is this?

BROWN: This is Elaine Beachley who the reigning women's world champion. That's in Tahiti, that's shot off the back of a jet ski.

O'BRIEN: Wow. So the jet ski actually goes along with the wave and gives you those kinds of shots that you couldn't get before.

BROWN: Right. That's from a helicopter.

O'BRIEN: All right, quick thoughts on the most memorable moments that you recall from this project. Start with you, Laird, and then I'll go to you, Dana.

HAMILTON: Well I would have to say just having ideal conditions and then just working with a team of people that are the best in the world. And so you have the combination of the best writers with the best camera people and creating, you know, the ultimate experience.

And because surfing is something that you can't go see it, you know, at a stadium or walk down to any beach, and especially really big waves, it's a great opportunity to be able to bring these things to, you know, to people in their living room or at the theater so they can share, you know, what we kind of take for granted.

O'BRIEN: Dana, your thoughts. What was it that you take away as one of the most memorable things about pulling this project together?

BROWN: The friendships, I'd say. I mean, as corny as that sounds, Laird and I, we went to many places, one was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Eastern Island. And I don't know. We haven't seen each other but maybe once in the last year, so it's nice to see him. That's what I take away from it. It's kind of selfish, but it's true.

O'BRIEN: All right. My producer is screaming at me to ask about the hydrofoil. Tell me about the hydrofoil. She's going nuts.

HAMILTON: It's, you know, actually, the hydrofoil, it's just a new concept in surfing where, you know, we're using the foils to actually lift ourselves above the water, and you eliminate surface planing. So now...

O'BRIEN: Cool.

HAMILTON: ... the texture of the water doesn't affect you. So it's just a more efficient -- you know, all the boats in the future will become hydrofoils. There already are a lot out there. And it's a more efficient way to capture the energy, you know, the energy of the wave. And you can ride bigger, further, faster and all the, you know, all that stuff that you need to keep advancing.

O'BRIEN: Wow. Totally cool. Guys, that is something I'm going to check out. It opens in a few cities tonight, and then you'll see is all over the country a little later. "Step Into Liquid" is the title. Gentlemen, thanks for joining us with a preview. We appreciate it.

BROWN: Thank you very much.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

HAMILTON: Aloha.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 8, 2003 - 15:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Takes your breath away, doesn't it? Ever wonder what it would be like to do that, to go totally tubular, flirt with some of the most powerful and dangerous waves in the world?
Well if so, and you may not want to try it for yourself for real, there's another way to do it. You can check out the documentary "Step Into Liquid." It's a new perspective on surfing directed by the son of the man who brought us the great "Endless Summer." Dana Brown joining us from L.A. to talk about his new documentary. And with him Laird Hamilton, surfer par excellence. Gentlemen, good to have you with us.

DANA BROWN, "STEP INTO LIQUID": Nice to be here.

LAIRD HAMILTON, SURFER: Nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: Start with you, Dana. How did you get the idea for this particular project?

BROWN: Well, my father did "The Endless Summer," and I worked on "Endless Summer 2" with him. And a lot would ask about an "Endless Summer 3," which I thought was probably a digit too many. So...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Is this you surfing, Laird?

HAMILTON: Yes, it is.

O'BRIEN: Oh man. That is just unbelievable. Where is that?

HAMILTON: That's a location on Maui in Hawaii called "Jaws."

O'BRIEN: Is there any way to describe what you're feeling right at that moment there? Is it utter fear, or is it...

HAMILTON: You know, I mean, honestly, when you're doing -- when you're surfing in these kind of conditions, fear is really the furthest thing from your mind, I think. You know, you have more fear watching it on your couch after than you do really doing it. I think you're so focused on, you know, the job at hand that fear is way away. And if you have fear, this is probably not the place for you.

O'BRIEN: Now, as you go along here, there's a scene here where you kind of jump over the backside of the wave. What's that maneuver called? Here you go. What is that? HAMILTON: Well, that's a flyaway kickout or a Hawaiian kickout. It's just -- it's an exit, it's like an exit offstage. You know you're...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Wow, that is something else.

Dana, give me a little sense of how you pulled this project off. There are fewer things that would be harder to capture in the sporting world than surfing and really get up close.

BROWN: Well, again, I'm fortunate enough to have been born around it and know guys like Laird. So you just get the right people and the right information and cross your fingers and go.

O'BRIEN: But how do you get the cameras in and place and so forth? How do you do it? Technically it sounds like quite a feat.

BROWN: Yes, it is. The director of photography, J.P. Beegley and myself -- it takes a lot of thinking. This stuff shot off the back of a boat with a hydro stabilized mount. This is 100 miles out to sea, a place called Cortez Bank.

O'BRIEN: Wow, 100 miles out, they go. Now who is this?

BROWN: This is Elaine Beachley who the reigning women's world champion. That's in Tahiti, that's shot off the back of a jet ski.

O'BRIEN: Wow. So the jet ski actually goes along with the wave and gives you those kinds of shots that you couldn't get before.

BROWN: Right. That's from a helicopter.

O'BRIEN: All right, quick thoughts on the most memorable moments that you recall from this project. Start with you, Laird, and then I'll go to you, Dana.

HAMILTON: Well I would have to say just having ideal conditions and then just working with a team of people that are the best in the world. And so you have the combination of the best writers with the best camera people and creating, you know, the ultimate experience.

And because surfing is something that you can't go see it, you know, at a stadium or walk down to any beach, and especially really big waves, it's a great opportunity to be able to bring these things to, you know, to people in their living room or at the theater so they can share, you know, what we kind of take for granted.

O'BRIEN: Dana, your thoughts. What was it that you take away as one of the most memorable things about pulling this project together?

BROWN: The friendships, I'd say. I mean, as corny as that sounds, Laird and I, we went to many places, one was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Eastern Island. And I don't know. We haven't seen each other but maybe once in the last year, so it's nice to see him. That's what I take away from it. It's kind of selfish, but it's true.

O'BRIEN: All right. My producer is screaming at me to ask about the hydrofoil. Tell me about the hydrofoil. She's going nuts.

HAMILTON: It's, you know, actually, the hydrofoil, it's just a new concept in surfing where, you know, we're using the foils to actually lift ourselves above the water, and you eliminate surface planing. So now...

O'BRIEN: Cool.

HAMILTON: ... the texture of the water doesn't affect you. So it's just a more efficient -- you know, all the boats in the future will become hydrofoils. There already are a lot out there. And it's a more efficient way to capture the energy, you know, the energy of the wave. And you can ride bigger, further, faster and all the, you know, all that stuff that you need to keep advancing.

O'BRIEN: Wow. Totally cool. Guys, that is something I'm going to check out. It opens in a few cities tonight, and then you'll see is all over the country a little later. "Step Into Liquid" is the title. Gentlemen, thanks for joining us with a preview. We appreciate it.

BROWN: Thank you very much.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right.

HAMILTON: Aloha.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com