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It started with a photograph. When filmmaker and photographer Richard Newman was asked to photograph a surfboard, he said, “Okay, but there’s more story here.” Four and a half years later, he’s finished the full-length documentary, Addicted to Joy: Surfers and Shapers, The Larry Fuller Project, which is now making its way out into the world. Besides that board, the story also finds its origins with builder Larry Fuller, who left a successful career in Texas and moved west, because all he wanted to do was surf. (You’ll hear Larry’s intro to the story in this podcast.)
I met Richard through mutual friends around the time he was starting this project. Richard and I became instant close friends, and he’s since done several music videos for me, including “Highway 17,” “Moving to Boise (The Zombie Song),” and a bunch of live-on-KPIG pieces. The whole time we’ve been working together, he kept talking about “the movie,” which I finally got to see a few weeks ago. It’s amazing.
“Surfers and Shapers” is a celebration of art, wood, craftsmanship, and people who’ll do anything they can – in this case, building high-end surfboards – to support their passion. These stories – and there are a lot of them – are supported by music from Ben Bonham, Jamie Stillway, Barry Pearlman, and Santa Cruz’ own Patti Maxine. The film also profiles former professional female surfers Kathy Zuckerman (the real “Gidget”), LeAnne Graves, and Joyce Hoffman. There’s a lot here, and it’s absolutely worth multiple viewings to take it all in.
This podcast episode is an in-depth interview with Richard and his Associate Producer Barry Pearlman. We talked about the “what’s next” for the movie now that it’s in the can. Fingers crossed that “Surfers and Shapers” is coming soon to a theater (or screen) near you. Follow the film on Facebook to stay tuned.