Surf II - Production

Production

Randall Badat claims that he conceived the idea for Surf II while being under the influence of heavy painkillers he was taking following a surfing injury. After being encouraged by friends to further develop the concept, Badat wrote the screenplay - originally titled Surf Trash - over a single weekend, basing many of the characters off people he knew directly from the So Cal surfer scene, including a man nicknamed "Johnny Big Head". Badat wrote the role of Menlo Schwartzer specifically for Eddie Deezen, having been a fan of his performance in Robert Zemeckis' 1978 film I Wanna Hold Your Hand. After completion, Badat showed the screenplay to producer George G. Braunstein, who agreed to help finance it, eventually selling the project to production company Arista Films at the Cannes Film Festival. Arista originally planned to film Surf II in 3-D; though several pre-production posters were made carrying the title Surf II 3-D, the idea was eventually scrapped.

Surf II was filmed in 29 days during the summer of 1983. The beach scenes were shot at various locations throughout Malibu, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, while interior shots were filmed at a studio in Culver City. Many of the comic actors were allowed to improvise their lines, and several of the odd props throughout the film were contributed by Deezen himself, including a baseball cap with an absurdly elongated brim and an oversized pair of novelty scissors. Among Surf II's crew were cinematographer Alex Phillips, Jr. (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia), composer Peter Bernstein and Academy Award-winning make up artist Greg Cannom.