You Can Script This: WSL Eyes "Scripted TV Projects"
LOS ANGELES, Calif., USA (Monday, June 13, 2022) - The World Surf League (WSL), the global home of professional surfing, today announced a landmark partnership with Box to Box Films, the award-winning company behind the Formula 1: Drive to Survive documentary series on Netflix. Box to Box Films will have the exclusive, first-look opportunity to produce original unscripted and scripted projects from the five-decade archive of the world's best surfing.
"It's been a phenomenal few years for the Box to Box Films team and we are thrilled at today's announced partnership with the World Surf League," Paul Martin said. "This agreement represents an exciting new phase in our relationship with WSL. At Box to Box, we are passionate about telling stories of the world's best athletes and in the last year we became obsessed with the world of surfing and the depth and breadth of the WSL stories and history. We believe there are some epic stories both historical and current which we are excited to bring to the world."
The agreement builds upon the already successful co-development partnership between WSL and Box to Box Films for the production of Apple TV+'s "Make Or Break", which debuted on April 29, 2022, and has already been picked up for a second season.
"Box to Box Films is undoubtedly the hottest production company in sports and their ability to tell unique stories is unmatched," said WSL CEO Erik Logan. "This partnership is a full-league deal and gives the team there - headed up by Oscar-winning James-Gay Rees and Emmy winner Paul Martin - the unprecedented opportunity to mine the archives of the entire sport. This type of access gives them a real opportunity to delve deep into the league's rich history and use their intimate storytelling approach to take viewers inside the world, lives, and legends of the best surfers on the planet."
Comments
As much as I hate to see the WSL doing well, the first ep of Kelly Slater Lost Tapes was great!
Yeah the Slats doco is really good.
Does anyone else read corpo speak and all your inner monologue does is go blah blah blah?
Looks like something I'd write (ask Ben).
I agree with John John above, the first episode of Kelly's lost tapes wasn't unbearable.
I'm sure all of this is a bit unsettling for CT surfers. They thought it was all about competition but its actually about Elo's narratives - with WSL creating scripted drama with the cut off and reality tv wildcards.
I thought it already was scripted...as in Mikey Wright getting all those wildcards and now on to Sally Fitz ( and not to mention her "kaleidoscope of worlds"....seriously dont tell me she made that shit up herlself. )
This would be interesting to surfers for sure but the general population of the
world wouldnt know a surfer from a weekend beach goer. Somewhat ambitious
to think it would go anyway remotely close to the interest of formula one with all
its glitz glamour excitement and stuck up unapproachable super gods of motorsport
exception our own Danial Riccardo not to mention that motorsport is a massive
global supported sport. I would gladly like to wrong.
Does anyone have a clue what the “scripted project” would be. Something like Busting Down The Door?
"Scripted reality (sometimes also euphemized as structured reality or constructed reality) in television and entertainment is a subgenre of reality television with some or all of the contents being scripted or pre-arranged by the production company.'
"Scripted reality (sometimes also euphemized as structured reality or constructed reality) in television and entertainment is a subgenre of reality television with some or all of the contents being scripted or pre-arranged by the production company."
Oh. I know what ballpark we’re playing now. Next question. Who the f is going to sign up for that one.
I honestly didnt mind Make or Break - liked Toledos/Medinas candidness and the insight that there was one judge commentating the judging?
Snakes and ladders wozzle. Just found a tall ladder.
Occy abducted by aliens, brings surfing to Proxima Centauri.
A good story requires real drama.
WSL organising & judging of surf competitions vs pro surfer's squandered skills, dubious scoring & related injuries has been and still is real drama ....
the frustration and a lost opportunity for viewing surfing excellence & potential for sporting perfection is real drama.
A watered down, manicured biography may not work in the current 16 sec world of fame;
losing ratings & credibility by surfers and general public spectators whom are awash with quick visuals, adverts & click bait.
The current WSL format is like watching tigers pacing in a zoo & throwing a meal to fight over between adverts.
Not sure where i saw it but apparently WSL are producing collectors cards for the top surfers.
I watched 'Kelly Slater: The Lost Tapes' the other night and I wasn't overwhelmed, wasn't underwhelmed, just whelmed. Felt like a pleasant Instagram scroll: enjoyable but meaningless.
As Zenagain said above, "it wasn't unbearable".
Kelly, as always, is a treat on camera, full of pep and without any of that weirdness prevalent in the 2019 edit with he and his energy healer, Charlie Goldsmith. I mention Goldsmith because that was the same year the 'Lost Tapes' was filmed.
Why 2019?
I can't figure that out. He was 47, came 8th in the world, had no injuries, won no contests, and in every way it was an inconspicuous year. Maybe it's meant to be nothing more than a behind-the-scenes look at the champ, in which case eleven episodes will stretch even the most ardent fan's patience.
Anyway, episode one was nice.
I thought it was interesting hearing his training mindset, especially for bigger surf. Don't recall ever seeing or hearing much of him training and seeing him train with Hendo was great.
Thats what I thought too Stu......why now?
Three years on.
It's obviously a reconditioned project: binned most likely when he didn't set the world on fire in 2019 and now rescued due to ....a lack of content?
Not sure.
Timing sure is odd, especially with Kelly now sitting out El Salvador and potentially Brazil and slowly sinking down the ratings.
But yeah, always entertaining to spend one on one time with the champ.
Fingers crossed the WSL goes full Ultimate Surfer on the CT mob. It’ll be a wonderland of confected wankery. I truly can’t wait to see Elo weave a web of hyperbolic and eye poppingly nauseating ‘story telling” over the top ranked surfers.
I get the feeling that we haven’t quite experienced the true meaning of Backpfeifengesicht until the WSL has turned the formerly dignified-by-their-silence CT surfers into World Wrestling Federation style caricatures of themselves.
“Scripted reality” ….Bring it Girlfriend!
Why dont they script a way to greenwash that ugly freakin tower they have left sitting on the reef at g-land, smack bang in the middle of one of the most beautiful vistas in surfing. It makes any of their environmental efforts look at best tokenistic, and casts serious doubt on their ability to produce anything of any greater authenticity.
Not really WSL related, but just on surfing brands and mainstream culture etc...
The Quiksilver/Stranger Things apparel approach they are currently running with is so fucking lame. Email I got this morning from Quiksilver: Join the Hellfire Surf Club.
I watch the show, it doesn't have any the remotest link to surfing whatsoever, set in some middle America town. Odd.