Barely cleaned up from the gigantic “Star Wars” premiere the night before, the TCL Chinese Theatre housed the premiere of the new Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment adrenaline-fueled film “Point Break” on Tuesday night, and guests were literally dropping out of thin air to attend.
Four skydivers jumped off a hovering plane in the night sky and parachuted onto Hollywood Boulevard, as the film’s stars Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez and Teresa Palmer walked the carpet with awe. A BMX team also did tricks on a huge ramp in front of the Chinese. But what else would you expect from the remake which brings the world of extreme sports to the 1991 cult film?
“It’s pretty surreal, man. I don’t even know when it will sink in, if it ever will,” Bracey told Variety about playing the legendary Johnny Utah, a role originated by Keanu Reeves. “There’s a bit where I had to go over the edge of Angel Falls and hang 3,000 feet above the Earth. They were, like, ‘Are you ready, Luke?’ I was, like, ‘Uh, yeah?’ Then I remembered, ‘You’re Johnny Utah, man!’ It gave me strength, and I jumped over the edge.”
Added co-star Palmer, who plays the daredevil Samsara, “When I was at the bottom of the ocean, about 20 feet below, I had huge heavy sandbags on my feet. They took the oxygen out, and I realized I could die making this movie!”
In an out-of-the-box move, Warner Bros. has already released the film in China, where it’s grossed more than $30 million, something Ramirez, who plays Bodhi (the role originally played by Patrick Swayze), attributes to the film’s universal story.
“You don’t have to jump off a cliff or climb the highest mountain. The tale of ‘Point Break’ is about doing what you love and committing to what you love. It’s relevant to me as a Venezuelan, to you as an American, to any Chinese person watching the film,” said Ramirez.
Director Ericson Core believes the international cast also helps open the film up to the world. “To make ‘Point Break’ now, 25 years later, we had to get out of the Southern California reality,” Core said. “The world is large out there. Our cast became extraordinarily international. (SPOILER ALERT) We have one American in the movie, and we kill him in the first scene.”
Regardless, Ramirez actually sees the early success of the film as just the beginning in what could be a whole “Point Break” franchise. “I’m just the second Bodhi. I think there will be more. I have the feeling this is only the first re-imagination of ‘Point Break,'” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Bracey has his eyes set on a smaller goal: meeting the original Johnny Utah in person! “I’d just like to meet Keanu Reeves,” Bracey joked. “I never got the chance. Maybe one day.”
Athletes completed an unprecedented live wingsuit stunt at the #PointBreak Hollywood premiere! See the highlights:https://t.co/8WI1ZKf6Zn
— Point Break (@PointBreak) December 16, 2015
