In times like these, people need heroes, and Hollywood is just the place to make them. Director Curtis Hanson, who brought us LA Confidential and 8 Mile, is now looking to do a film about local surfing legend Jay Moriarty. Moriarty was only 23 when he died in 2001, but in his short career he emerged as one of the biggest names in big wave surfing. The picture of him on the cover of a 1994 issue of surfer magazine is iconic, and known around the world as the “Iron Cross.” In it, Moriarty, then only 16, is standing on the crest of a 30 foot-wave at Maverick’s with his arms outstretched.
Bob Barbour, who shot the figure, gives more insights into the Moriarty story and why it would be such a great film. While Jay was a great surfer, he says, he was also very warm and unpretentious. “He touched everybody he met,” says Barbour. “He was a great surfer, but the thing I’ll remember is that Jay was an outstanding person.”
Though there is no news yet about the casting for the film, one rumor pegs Sean Penn to play Frosty Hesson, another local surfing icon, who was Moriarty’s mentor. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
