Kai Neville’s feature surf picturization, Modern Collective, has breathed new life into the surfing world. I have watched the film about 4 times in the span of less than a week, and the surfers perform at such a high-flying level, that the well-crafted motion picture leaves no room to question the abilities of the pioneering surfers. However, at first glance the soundtrack is too glittery and the opening credits are laughable.

Modern Collective – The First Visions from Poor Specimen on Vimeo.

At second glance, the music fits and i hope that the opening credits were a joke made by the director. Third. I was already taking down names for songs to download illegally and the surfing gets better with every watch. Still worried about the opening credit sequence… Fourth. It’s all time. And don’t worry about the credits or the movie. Laugh. Art is about representation and interpretation. And if you’re watching a video 4 times… It’s worth it.

-Hans da Silva

Billabong International Limited today announced it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the United States-based online boardsports retailer Swell.com (Swell).

Swell, founded in 1999, is a leading online retailer in the US boardsport sector and sells many of the industry’s leading brands.

Financial details of the purchase remain confidential, but the transaction is not material to the Billabong Group.

Paul Naude, President of Billabong USA, said the acquisition would allow Billabong to manage its brands in the growing online market.

“We look forward to growing the Swell business and further developing it as a showcase online platform for the US boardsports industry,” he said.

“The internet plays a significant role in the recreational habits of the youth market so it is important for our Group to ensure we provide them with a premium brand experience when shopping online.”

Paul Wendkos, a movie and television director best known for the frothy surfer film “Gidget,” but whose other productions ranged from thrillers to historical dramas, died Nov. 12 at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 84.

The cause was complications of a stroke, said his wife, Lin Bolen Wendkos.

Mr. Wendkos was assigned to direct “Gidget” in 1958, a year after Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures, signed him to a contract. The film starred Sandra Dee, then 17, as the tomboyish Francie Lawrence, who doesn’t understand why her girlfriends are so boy-crazy. Francie’s only interest in the guys at the beach is having them teach her how to surf. But love eventually snares her, and she’s soon drinking beer with the Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson) just to make Moondoggie (James Darren) jealous.

Released in 1959, the movie and its sequel, “Gidget Goes Hawaiian,” also directed by Mr. Wendkos, were hits and helped popularize a surfing culture that began spreading to the mainland.

read more at NYT