[News] James Cameron's "The Dive"

[Don Paul]

I have moved on and have only best wishes for Pipin. Audrey Mestre
will be forever in my prayers. Last year I hung a old signed poster in my young boy's room along with Jacques Mayol's.
Don Paul

 

[DivingDane]

yep i realise that the FREEDIVING comunity does not warm to him much if at all and that i understand, but for the genral public who has very little knowledge of what happened if any at all, will not see it in the same light, if we take it for what it will be an adventure story of a freediving couple pushing the limits then it will be a great movie to watch call them FIONA and ADAM for all a care makes no difference what their names are, but the story its self is perfect for the big screen. Diving, Drama, action, a bit of romance etc.

DD

 

[fcallagy]

After thinking more and considering I would love to see a blockbuster freediving film as would instructors I guess, I can't see how we want this story to be portrayed at all. At best the simplest mistakes were made that cost a life in pursuit of a goal in our sport at worst, well most know the at worst.

 

[Kars]

Indead feargus,

I see it coming we're again answering to our peers about Audry's death and the safety of our passion. Does a portayal and explanation of what is so attractive to freediving balance this out? What impression will last in the brain of the viewer?

It seems today films and documentaries have to be overly graphic, dramatic, dare I say weaponised? I've not watched TV and video-games for a while, and see my senses recover from the bluntness these repetitive strong simulated emotions bring.

Maybe I'm just getting an old sentimental being of thirty-two?

 

[DivingDane]

Pirks of a Movie and a story line is that it is FICTION, cameron has the potential to make this enitire story posive if he so choses, plenty of movies differ so far from the base book that they are hard to recognise, who says in the movie that "audres" character must pass away? no diffeerent to what they did in the US cut of the Big blue where they didnt let mayol die at the end he returned to the surface. so could Cameron make "audrey's" character complete the dive and claim the world record at the time. nothing wrong with that, those in the know,know the truth. like we have all said no reason to dredge up the negatives into the greater community again so why not have the story be about the:

- the lifestyle
- dedication
- Love
- passion for life/Diving
- successful record dive.

ust my thoughts i believe tht would make a great movie! there are lots of positives in the books before the tragic death, so why not focus on those and negate the negatives, thats whatmovies do all the time.

DD

 

[island_sands]

Guys,

Let's not turn this into another Pipin bashing thread. The intention of posting the news article was just for interest's sake. There are people in this world who still admire Pipin and he still has lots of friends. I mean, even George Bush has friends

There are movies based on war, peace, the Holocaust - all historical incidents that have past, and we cannot change. All of these themes have different view points as well.

If the movie is released, you can either choose to watch it, or not. But let's please not start a war about a man's life here who is still very much active in the stream of spearfishing in the US. That's an argument you need to pick with him personally and not use public forum as a place where you put a man "in the stocks" to be stoned.

Cheers,
SL

 

[DivingDane]

Agreed.

DD

 

[CEngelbrecht]

Still, on the flipside, Cameron is in danger of copying the lesser fortunate fact about Besson's "The Big Blue". That Besson has characters named after real life people, but that the depiction of them are inadequate, to say the least. A guy like Enzo Maiorca tried to prevent the production of Big Blue (and halted its Italian release for years), and as I have gathered, it wasn't even because of some insulted ego equal to the movie Enzo, it was because the portrayal of those two very important freedivers are insanely far from reality, and just a shout out of egomaniac wishful thinking from Mayol's perspective. People now tell me that the real world of "Big Blue" is actually the exact opposite of the film version. That the Jacques in the movie is closer to the Enzo in the movie, and that real Enzo is the real "Jacques". So now I can't really watch Big Blue anymore without thinking about that. Knowing the real world now, I can't keep my focus on why I was so breath taked by "Big Blue" when I was 12. And this is the movie that made me want to freedive. (Talk about conflict...)
Not even Besson calling the character Enzo Molinari instead of Maiorca allows ignorant people (like myself circa 1995) to distance themselves from the real life Enzo. I thought for years "Big Blue" was an accurate portrayal of Enzo. I don't blame the man for feeling p*** on.

Even the "Freediver" movie some years back took real life details and poured doo-doo out all over it. This is the negative of the movie industry in a nutshell. I mean, can't Hollywood do a freediving depiction without being totally full of sh**?

(Especially if a "Dive" makes a (wo)manslaughterer look 'cool' in the eyes of the public. Then I will NEVER forgive Cameron!!!)

 

[BennyB]

A guy like Enzo Maiorca tried to prevent the production of Big Blue (and halted its Italian release for years), and as I have gathered, it wasn't even because of some insulted ego equal to the movie Enzo, it was because the portrayal of those two very important freedivers are insanely far from reality, and just a shout out of egomaniac wishful thinking from Mayol's perspective.

In 2005 I was in Siracusa and went out on a boat with one of Enzo's friends. We had a discussion about the movie and he explained the reasons why Enzo did not want the movie released at the time. It wasn't to do with the personality of the Enzo Mollinari character, it was the one scene where Enzo rescued a man and was paid USD$10,000. He said that the idea that Enzo would only save someone's life if he was paid to was untrue and an incredible slur on his family name, and he refused to allow the movie to be release for a long time. In the end the movie people changed the name from Maiorca to Mollinari and he allowed the movie to be released.

Enzo was 76 I think when the man told me that story and was still diving "for kicks" as he said. Not bad.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[Kars]

Summarising:

- Film-makers don't use real life names unless it's a documentary

Has Cameron done such film(s)?

 

[BennyB]

Cameron did a 3D documentary a few years ago on super-deep stuff in one of those submersibles that can go a couple of km's down. Was really interesting but I can't remember the name.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

Summarising:

- Film-makers don't use real life names unless it's a documentary

Erin Brokovich. My Left Foot. Walk The Line. Ray.
Big Blue? The character is called Jacques Mayol.

And the public pitch for Cameron's "The Dive" clearly states the names Pipin Ferreras and Audrey Mestre. "Based on a true story" and all that.

"Dive" doesn't have to be BS all over again. Hell, I invite Cameron to let me grow sympathy for the devil, but he can't do it by telling some bla-bla "If I did it" fairy tale. He can't leave out that the bastard didn't fill the tank intentionally. Hell, tell the planet that he did love her, and that they had the sea together, set all in blue. Tell the planet that day came via a cultural paradox, that he couldn't match his Latino machismo with her growing ability. Tell the planet he's an idiot, who must suffer the consequences of his own stupid ego, but don't tell the planet he didn't kill her. That very concept is urinating on her ashes.

I'm deliberately being confrontational, 'cause some of you are really sickening me. Never will I let this activity be that big a whore for Hollywood. Not without a fight.

 

[spearguns.com]

This film is based on Pipin's book "The Dive". James Cameron purchased the rights to the book and has been doing some exploratory pre-production meetings and dives with Pipin.

This will be Hollywood's interpretation of events and since Pipin is likely heavily involved it will also spin a very positive light on what happened and his involvement.

Don't forget that this is still pre-production stage - the movie still may or may not be made and leads/actors can change.

Whilst i'd have preferred a different story to portray the sport but to have such a large director attached to the story and it does have significant love elements to it so will help drive people to the sport.

well put and I totally agree.

also great underwater video can only draw more fans of diving especially people that have never done it.

 

[Don Paul]

Guys,

Let's not turn this into another Pipin bashing thread. The intention of posting the news article was just for interest's sake. There are people in this world who still admire Pipin and he still has lots of friends. I mean, even George Bush has friends

There are movies based on war, peace, the Holocaust - all historical incidents that have past, and we cannot change. All of these themes have different view points as well.

If the movie is released, you can either choose to watch it, or not. But let's please not start a war about a man's life here who is still very much active in the stream of spearfishing in the US. That's an argument you need to pick with him personally and not use public forum as a place where you put a man "in the stocks" to be stoned.

Cheers,
SL

I like how you think girl, thank you.

All the best, Don Paul

 

[Stephan Whelan]

More news is slowly filtering. I'm getting conflicting reports at the moment. We get small snippets such as in the following article:

Avatar 2 Details Surface | WorstPreviews.com

But I also have an inside source which says the film is dead and unlikely to see the light of day.

I suppose we just watch this space.

 

[AlexD]

I don't know how I feel about this...
I want a -good- freediving movie as much as the next freediver out there, but there is enough controversy surrounding this event that I honestly feel a bit relieved whenever I hear the project is dead.

My biggest concern is that it might end up being more damaging to the sport. We already have to deal with enough people thinking that what we do is the equivalent to arm wrestling with coked-up grizzly bears.

I wonder if some of the delays and the possible death of the project IS because of the controversy. I wouldn't believe someone like Cameron to just read a book and not research everything there is around that. Then again, like many have already stated, It is mostly a controversy for -US-, but for all the millions of non-freediving-endowed humans out there (may <insert preferred god, deity or entity> have mercy on their empty souls), their response is "Pipin-who? Audrey-who? will there be explosions?"

Either way, it would end up 'rewriting' or at least cementing a point of view for the general public, as most movies do that are based on reality, no matter how loosely.

 

[sross]

great underwater video can only draw more fans of diving especially people that have never done it.

Great underwater video, maybe. But when is someone going to make a movie about freediving with some sort of storyline that doesn't involve horrible deaths of the divers?

So far most of the feature films I've seen with freediving included would reinforce the idea held by most of the public that freediving is a highly dangerous sport with people dying left, right & centre!

Think about it:

• The Big Blue, freediver Mayol goes off his rocker and and commits suicide by deliberately staying too long at depth
• Into the Blue, has divers swimming in shark infested waters, with one of the protagonists and several bad guys meeting gruesome ends in ridiculously improbable shark attacks
• The Freediver, the lead character (based on a freediver who is still alive IRL) dies due to some inexplicable freak cause after reaching a record depth

I'm not so sure we need yet another movie about someone meeting a horrible end while doing the sport of freediving, if The Dive gets made.

Anyhow, the Indie movie Phoenix Blue is fabulously positive about freediving, and I wish lots of people would see it. As far as I know, the producers never achieved a distribution agreement, it has been available only on DVD, and because of lack of publicity is generally unknown to the public.

 

[Jee]

Sross! It is a very good observation - and a very bad fact as well.

Some more to add to this trend: In the Le Grand Bleu, Enzo also passes (into the deep). Even in series, you could find stupid misbeliefs about freediving. In a CSI episode, the freediver spearo killed his diving buddy, because "at the depth, with the low oxygen level, he got confused, and became aggressive, and so angry" (since the other shot the fish he wanted).

 

[Gwaihir]

Phoenix Blue

ordered.. 4 pounds.. play.com... hope its entertaining

 

[hteas]

The Greater Meaning of Water is another one that didn't have a stupid ending.
Too bad they never finished it.I think they even got some money from a few of the members of Deeperblue to finish it