Another true story about an avid outdoorsperson who loses their arm doing the thing they love is getting set to hit cinemas. Is this beginning of an official trend? First, James Franco hacked off his harm in “127 Hours” and now AnnaSophia Robb will lose an arm in the forthcoming “Soul Surfer.”
The film is based on the autobiography of Bethany Hamilton, a teenage competitive surfer who loses her arm in a vicious shark attack and courageously heads back on the water within a month of the accident. The film co-stars Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents and features an extended cameo performance by Hawaii as itself (the film was shot on location). Anyway, it looks like a more tween-oriented spin on the material and this early sneak peek doesn’t really hint at what’s to come in the story (it plays more like a “Saved by the Bell” spring break movie or something) but we’re sure future spots will expand things further.
The film is directed by Sean McNamara (“Bratz,” “3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain“) in what will easily be the best film of his entire career. FilmDistrict acquired the film last year and it’s slated to hit cinemas on April 15th.
