EXCLUSIVE: Rocket Science has boarded worldwide sales on The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez, a film lifting the veil on one of surfing’s most enigmatic heroes, which will be introduced to potential buyers at the 2022 Cannes Market.
While most famously known as “Mr. Pipeline” for his mastery of one of the most dangerous waves in surfing, Gerry Lopez wrestled with a profound internal conflict; his fight to become the best surfer in the world with his dedication to yoga and Buddhist teachings. Gerry’s aggressive, unscrupulous surfing was in stark contrast to his calm demeanor in the tube. And this Zelig-like quality made Gerry wholly unique.
Gerry Lopez is as Zen as he is radical, and he transcends categorization. He’s an apex predator in the surf, one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time, an entrepreneur, a family man, a movie star and a lifelong yogi. His influence on modern surfing is unmeasurable, and for the first time, his story is being told in full.
The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival this past March, and will next screen at Telluride’s MountainFilm in May, making its way to the Maui Film Festival in July. Award-winning documentarian Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and the Z Boys, Riding Giants) directed the pic, which is a Patagonia Films Production made in association with ACE & Rocket Science. Patagonia Films served as financier for the project and produced alongside Academy Award-winner Evan Hayes (Free Solo) and his Anomaly Content & Entertainment banner, as well as Monika McClure and Jack McCoy. Hayes, Alex Lowther (Newtok) and Josh Nielsen served as executive producers.
“Patagonia is known for its films about the external environments of our world, but the Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez is a film about the inner environment of a unique and complex individual,” said Peralta. “Through his devotion to both surfing and yoga over the past 70 years, Gerry has painstakingly developed, protected and carefully tended to his own inner environment and in the process he made history.”
“Gerry Lopez has lived a wholly unique life, but there’s a universality to the challenges he’s faced and the lessons he’s learned, and Stacy’s beautiful, entrancing film is the perfect elucidation of this soulful surf icon’s epic journey,” added Hayes. “And working with Patagonia Films on this project sits at the epicenter of what we do at ACE, bridging the brand and entertainment worlds with powerful, impactful, character-centric storytelling.”
Peralta is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. His first documentary Dogtown and the Z-Boys—detailing the lives and lasting cultural impact of his 1970s skate crew, the Zephyr Z-Boys—won him the Best Director Award at Sundance, with his next film Riding Giants becoming the first documentary ever to open the Park City festival.
Patagonia Films is the media and production arm of the activist outdoor apparel company bearing the same name, which is owned by founder Yvon Chouinard. The company has been producing films since the 1960s. Over the years, it has won the Audience Award at SXSW, premiered titles at prestigious festivals and had them acquired by Netflix, with their works resulting in real change for conservation and environmental justice issues around the world.
Anomaly Content & Entertainment is an award-winning production company that has produced features including Free Solo, The Way I See It and the BAFTA-nominated Becoming Cousteau, along with series including Hulu’s upcoming Maggie, and Avec Eric. The company currently boasts a slate of upcoming projects with creatives including Kerry Washington, Jimmy Chin & Chai Vasarhelyi, Matt Reeves, Laura Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dawn Porter, Dan Lindsay & TJ Martin, Octavia Spencer and Prentice Penny.
Rocket Science’s current slate also includes David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future, starring Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux and Kristen Stewart; Zach Braff’s A Good Person, starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman; the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man from director Michael Gracey; Ellen Kuras’ Lee, starring Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Josh O’Connor; and Oliver Hermanus’ acclaimed Living, starring Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood.
Check out a new trailer for The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez unveiled today by Rocket Science by clicking above.
