"Soul Surfer"
Turning the Tides… “Soul Surfer” Inspires When All Hope is Lost!
Bethany Hamilton was lucky that by the time she entered her teen years, she already had a life long passion in surfing. What started out as a routine day in the water quickly could have turned deadly when a shark attacked Bethany. The courageous teen survived but lost her left arm in the horrible incident. Family and friends thought she may never surf again. They underestimated this young woman and her love of the sport.
This inspiring story is being told beautifully in a new home video release called “Soul Surfer.” Directed by Sean McNamara and starring the incredibly talented AnnaSophia Robb, viewers will take a ride of ups and downs as you see how quickly Bethany’s world is turned inside out and the agonizing and joyous steps that are taken to find her love of life again. You will cry. You will cheer! Mostly, you will be inspired to never give up on whatever it is that fuels your excitement for living.
“Soul Surfer” also boasts the acting debut of singer Carrie Underwood. Carrie plays a church youth leader by the name of Sarah Hill. Top-notch actors, Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid play Bethany’s parents.
Bonus features on the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack include deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. Other special material includes an interview with the real Bethany Hamilton and a behind-the-scenes look at how the surfing scenes were filmed for the movie.
You can pick up this emotional and inspiring movie at most places where home entertainment is sold. You can also order easily on-line by clicking here: Amazon.com
AnnaSophia Robb
AnnaSophia Robb Paddles Out To Her Most Challenging Role Yet!
She is hands down one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood. AnnaSophia Robb begged her parents to help her get into acting when she was just 8 years old. They found an agent near their Colorado home and enrolled her in a six week acting class that ended in a showcase for agents from Los Angeles. They thought she had what it took to book jobs, so the Robb clan flew to L.A. for a few weeks of auditions. In an incredibly short amount of time, the natural talent booked the lead role in the feature film “Because of Winn Dixie.” She stole movie-goers hearts and never looked back.
Nine years later, AnnaSophia has racked up a resume that mirrors A-List Hollywood starring with such heavy weights as Johnny Depp, Hilary Swank, and Charlize Theron. She has had memorable roles in family films like “Bridge to Terabithia,” and remakes of classics like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Race to Witch Mountain.” “Soul Surfer” marks the first time that she played someone who has actually exists in real life. True, it added pressure to an already demanding role, but this teenager was ready for the challenge!
“My agent brought me the script,” AnnaSophia says of how she first heard about the moving being made. “Bethany and her Mom had seen me in ‘Bridge to Terabithia,’ so they mentioned my name to Sean McNamara, the director to see if he would meet with me. Then I got involved and I was just enthralled with her story and I really wanted to be a part of it.”
Playing a real life person with an extraordinary story to tell was a little daunting. “It’s definitely a different experience,” she confesses. “I know I felt a lot of pressure just to please Bethany and that was my main goal. I just wanted her to be happy with the film. I just wanted to be really authentic and I always wanted to double check with her about lines and script and how things kind of played out. I was in contact a lot with her.”
Friendship was an added perk of landing this role. Bethany and the actress who played her remain in close contact. “We talk all the time,” she confirms. “That’s one of the best parts about this film is just the relationship that I developed with her and her family and then surfing too! I’m obsessed with it. I love it so much!”
How long did it take her to pick up the new sport? “It’s not exactly like a skill that you have to learn. I think surfing is definitely one of the hardest sports in the world! I’m terrible at it! If you ask, how do you learn to play soccer? You don’t really learn… you always improve. Definitely the most important part of playing the role was just getting comfortable in the water and being able to use the board and duck dive and becoming a strong paddler. There was a lot of training.”
“It was definitely a lot more physical than any other role that I’ve done,” she continues about preparing to play this part. “A huge part of Bethany’s character is surfing and that love for the ocean and that drive. I really wanted to make that a part of my life so I would surf every day or train every day. I changed my diet to kind of mirror Bethany’s diet because I needed to gain a lot of muscle and have my body functioning at its peak performance. There are a bunch of different physical things that I did to try to get in shape for the role. Then just being in the water and getting comfortable in it and just kind of falling in love with the sea. I’ve never had a relationship that carried over, not with a person necessarily but just with nature. Now that’s in my everyday life.”
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If she had her way, AnnaSophia would surf every day. “I live in Colorado so it’s kind of hard! I did a surf camp a couple of weeks ago and when I went out to Hawaii, I went and surfed there.”
As much as she loves her new hobby, it’s not hard to guess her favorite scenes from the movie. “All the surf footage!” she responds quickly when asked about her favorite parts. “They had a whole separate unit going during the shoot for filming all the surf stuff. It was really cool because I didn’t know how much actual surfing was going to be in the movie. When I saw it, I was amazed! I was like ‘Oh my gosh! These are great shots!’ Anytime there is surfing, I get really excited!”
As much as she loves the surfing, it’s the message of the film that she hopes resonate with its viewers. “I just really hope they realize that there is a plan for their life,” she says sincerely. “That even when bad things happen, that is NOT the end of your life. You can just use that as a tool to inspire other people or make a difference in the world. The surfing community is pretty small, relatively speaking. I didn’t know anything about it. Most people know about Bethany Hamilton. She could have been attacked by a shark and then not ever done anything with her life. She could have just gone ‘Oh well, I guess I can’t do that…’ and tried something else. But she kept going after her dream. I think we all have the ability to do that.”
AnnaSophia is another great example of someone is actively going after what they want in life. “Acting is kind of like one of those full time commitments, because there are always little things like these interviews or events to go too,” she says when talking about down time. “I’m a full time student. I go to High School. It’s summer vacation right now but I’m going to be a senior this year! Over the summer, I do the family vacation. Surf when I can. I go camping and hiking. I love being outside.”
She also listens to music and heads to concerts when she can. “I listen to everything! I love getting music recommendations because I just like listening to a bunch of different stuff! I went to the Global Dance Festival last night! That was really cool! I watched Kid Cudi perform. I love him! And then Big Gigantic was on. And then I listen to classical music,” she says of her eclectic taste.
Music actually helped set the tone on the set of “Soul Surfer.” “Bethany is really into Reggae,” the actress divulges. “I love Reggae. We would always play music in the hair and make-up trailer. There was definitely some Bob Marley floating around the set.”
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Though she has worked with the top names in the film industry, AnnaSophia is still very much a student and pays close attention to the other actors that she is fortunate enough to work with. She admits that it isn’t so much what they have said to her that has helped in her own career, it’s much more about how they have acted around her and the crew. “I guess it’s more like experiencing working with them and just how they completely delve into the character. It’s not necessarily like ‘this is what you do’ it’s just watching them get into character. [It’s] the level of professionalism and how they were just able to get into their characters but be completely polite to the crew. I’ve heard horror stories of people going on a rampage. An actor is only one part of a film. It’s a team game. To watch them be team players is really incredible. They’re these really honorable actors and actresses and they know that they’re part of the team.”
“I’ve always admired Natalie Portman and Jodie Foster,” she says of her role models. “Just because they’ve attended college and I really want to go to University. So it’s inspiring and it gives me hope to know that you can be and child actor and then really focus on your education but continue acting. You’ll be okay.”
The topic of the Teen Choice Awards comes up and you can hear the smile spread across her face, even through the phone. She’s nominated for Choice Teen Actress Drama. “I need to send out a tweet or a message to my fans because they’ve really made this all possible. It continues to surprise me, just because I just feel like a normal teenager and then to think that there are all these thousands of people who are voting for me and supporting me… it really warms my heart! It makes me feel special!”
“It makes me feel even better that they are supporting Bethany’s story and that they’re supporting a story of hope and encouragement. I just want to make a little shout out to all of them and thank them! They can make a difference! They are making a difference because how they vote will affect the film industry. I don’t think people realize that! Every time you buy a movie ticket, that’s saying that you like this film and if they made another film like that… you’ll go see it!”
Speaking of making a difference, AnnaSophia is lending her time and support to some pretty good causes that are changing the world as well. “I just did an event for them and I am about to do another one,” she says of the first charity she works with to pop in her head. “It’s the ‘There With Care Foundation.’ It was started up by Paula DuPre’, she’s a producer on Harry Potter films but she just noticed that with some of the ‘wish’ kids, there was a gap between getting their wish and being in the hospital with their families.”
“So the organization, they deliver groceries and they pay for gas cards and just really provide care. They’ll babysit for families. A lot of the families who have small children in the hospital, they feel a lot of isolation because of the illness of their child. They really provide a support group and take care of the little day to day needs of a family to help them to try to live a more normal life. That’s a really, really special organization. I don’t know of any other one that is doing what they are.” You can find out more about this worthy organization at www.ThereWithCare.org.
“I work with the Dalit Freedom Network,” she adds. “They’re trying to provide legal council and end human trafficking in India.” You can research that organization here: www.dalitnetwork.org
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So, she’ll be starting her senior year of high school but what is next acting wise for this busy girl? “This fall I’m doing a film called ‘Pan.’ It’s definitely different from ‘Soul Surfer.’ It’s a thriller. It’s very dark, sort of twisted. It’s very interesting though! I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
She encourages anyone who loves acting to keep at it. “If it’s your passion, definitely go after it! Push yourself! Try out different roles and play different characters. Play around with accents. Have fun! It’s about performance. Try to stretch yourself and observe the world around you.”
Turns out the young actress who plays Bethany in “Soul Surfer” has a lot in common with the true life hero she plays in the movie. Both girls are determined to continue to do what they love in life and know that the key is keeping your mind open to new ways to learn and improve. Bethany is certainly an inspiration, but so is the actress who brought her to life onscreen.
Learn more about AnnaSophia Robb at: www.annasophiarobb.com