Issue date: 9/12/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

In his new movie, "Surfer, Dude," Matthew McConaughey plays Steve Addington, a surfer with one thing on his mind: the waves.
But when the waves disappear, McConaughey has to choose between his integrity and money from greedy sponsors. Here's an excerpt from a recent roundtable interview with Mr. "All Right, All Right" himself:

Q:Do you see any qualities of yourself in Steve?

A: "One of the things I really liked about this guy Steve Addington: he's a really simple guy connected with nature, and that's one of the themes of the story. He loves one thing, and that's the wave and surfing. I mean me, I'm personally a little more sophisticated and more ambitious. I've got a company, a family, a lot more interests in my life than one certain thing, but I sure do understand that connection to nature and understand that psychology."

Q: What did you do to prepare for your role?

A: "I had the script, and we developed the script before I started surfing, and I mean I got wet, got in the water, got smashed and slammed before I ever caught a wave. I always sort of had an Addingtonian surfer's mentality. I'm a pretty laid back guy who likes my base line.
"We tried to make this set as naturalistic as possible, looking like you're just catching us just hanging out for the summer. A lot of reviews are saying, 'Now we get to see what McConaughey's like in real life,' and that's not really true. But I take it as a compliment 'cause we did our job, trying to make this a fly-on-the-wall experience, seeing what these people are really like.
"I was a producer, and you have to make a lot of decisions, a lot for stuff you don't have to do as an actor. The days were longer."

Q: How do you think college students will react to the movie?

A: "We're trying to get the movie in front of college students. I think it's fun; it's got a lot of good things to say. It's sort of a throwback to the '70s, where the planet-friendly consciousness started. A lot more of the eco-friendly conscious thinking starts in the colleges, whether it's whom you're voting for or all the green things.
"We didn't want the movie to be preachy. It's an absurd comedy but underneath, it's got a lot of stuff, like goat farming as a solution. It's funny and absurd but practical.
"The 'under the sun' themes, too, like getting out under the sun and living your life. You'll be out there more and therefore respect mother nature more. If you do the cool thing, make the right choice, life's gonna give it back to you. But we're doing all this with a wink and a joke. After that, it's a fun, stony wink of a movie that's absurd and funny.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools