Click here for a photo gallery from the premiere.
The audience packed into Newport Beach, California’s Lido Theatre on Thurdsay, October 8, 2010 had no idea what to expect from the film Who Is J.O.B. Neither did we.
After years of stalling, sponsor changes, and wild Twitter campaigns, the film (and its enigmatic star) was finally delivered to a live audience and everyone came looking for answers. Not to give anything away, but those in the Lido theatre got exactly what they were looking for served up like a flurry of punches to the throat.
Like its subject, there is nothing subtle about Who Is J.O.B. From the first swerving, Red Bull fueled Jamie O’Brien rant all the way to the epic finish this film accelerates directly into the wall of questions surrounding J.O.B. like a muscle car with its throttle pinned to the floor by a concrete block.
Director Charlie Smith mixed heaving, grinding, spitting barrels and airs footage with full-screen white on black statements. Jamie O’Brien Is A Dick. Jamie O’Brien Is A Haole. Jamie O’Brien Is Deaf. Jamie O’Brien Is Retarded. Then followed those up with archival photos, interviews with Jamie, his dad, Bruce Irons, Kelly Slater and then laid in more action to back it up. The effect is a direct assault on every rumor ever tossed around about one of the best Pipeline surfers alive. And like him or not, there is no disputing the evidence presented in this film.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story. . .
Driving all of this was a throbbingly effective soundtrack. The songs, chosen by Music editor Pete Nussbaum, could not have matched the story line more perfectly. And with Dayten Likness’ masterful editing it was difficult to tell whether Jamie was surfing to the music or the music was surfing to Jamie. It was that tight. All of this worked together for a near propagandistic delivery.
Director Charlie Smith (right) gives all the credit for the music and the editing to the Nussbaum and Likness. “I was at Pete’s house and he just handed me a CD and said ‘This is the music that should be in the movie,”” Smith said. “Dayten and I listened to it and we literally dropped two tracks and that was it. It was just done.”
On the film’s editing Smith was equally complimentary. “The reason the movie flowed was all Dayten. He is a freak. He’s just that good,” says Smith. “He’s a freaky Canadian and he chain smokes and drinks. That dude’s going to do amazing work. This was his first thing. He’s so good at what he does. He’s just Canadian. He was living in Bali with Christian Fletcher for a year and Jamie found him and pulled him in. He’s Canadian. That’s just what he is. He’s my child now. He’s my 26-year-old Canadian boy.”
Even some with good reason to be jaded about surf films were affected. “I didn’t realize how connected I was to the music until I noticed that my leg was bouncing to the beat and someone next to me looked over and gave me the look of ‘Calm down, dude,'” said Surfer Magazine’s Editor-at-Large Joel Patterson.
For some hard charging action was almost too much. “I was in my seat just hoping for one Jack Johnson song so I catch my breath,” former World Champion Peter Townend said following the show. “It just did not stop.”
But that Jack Johnson song never came. And by the time the credits rolled the entire audience was shaking their heads trying to process everything they had just seen. That’s why we’re looking forward to the film being released on the Apple iTunes store so we can see it again to pick out the pieces we missed.
We’ll keep you posted.
