Aussie surfer ‘Free as a Dog’

A new surf biopic by director Jack McCoy is helping inlanders understand the world of famed Australian rider Joel “Parko” Parkinson ? through the eyes of his dog, Trey.

The odd twist on the action-sports genre is McCoy’s latest entry in a long list of films about some of the world’s top surfers.

His film, “Free as a Dog,” premieres tonight at the Edwards Big Newport at 8 p.m. The movie follows Parkinson, and more important, his vibrant boxer, as they surf the Superbank near the pair’s hometown of Coolangatta, Australia, and several undisclosed locations McCoy said have never been filmed before.

Although the movie captures the easygoing personality of the 24-year-old surfer and new father, “Free as a Dog” goes heavy on high-performance surfing and light on everything else. Expect lots of long barrel rides, impossible floaters and huge airs, but relatively little of the documentary B-roll footage or travel dialogue used to break up the surfing in flicks like “September Sessions” and “Vaya con Dios.”

That’s where Trey comes in. McCoy said he first met the mutt during some early takes with Parkinson. The dog follows the surfer to the beach every day and waits for him to come in, sometimes barking at the wrong wetsuit-clad surfer marching back to shore.

In “Free as a Dog,” McCoy tries to convey Parkinson’s aggressive surfing style through Trey’s eyes, using low angles and fish-eye lenses. He also threw in an odd story about up-and-coming “super-groms” James Wood and Ellis Ericson and a short comedy sequence with recently retired surfer Mark Occhilupo.

“We wanted to make a fun, silly movie in the spirit of Bruce Brown,” McCoy said. Like Brown’s “Endless Summer,” the new film is full of gags and hamming it up for the cameras.

But the film also takes a look at Parkinson’s competitive drive ? he climbed to second place on the World Championship Tour in 2002 after just two years with the event. In 2004, he came closer than ever to dethroning former champion Andy Irons, but he missed two contests for the birth of his daughter.

“Parko is the nicest, easiest ? person I’ve worked with,” McCoy said. “He’s totally radical, and yet he’s very smooth and cool and quiet.”

“Free as a Dog” is the 24th film for McCoy, who’s been making movies of Billabong team riders since 1989. Regarded as a cinematic perfectionist, McCoy is famous for pushing his subjects with grueling shoot schedules that can be exhausting for even the most chiseled surfer. “Nothing is easy,” McCoy said. “It’s really easy to make a lame surf movie, but it’s hard to make a good one.”

Instead of launching into a new project this year, McCoy said he plans to digitally remaster four classic films ? “Bunyip Dreaming,” “The Green Iguana,” “Sons of Fun” and “Sikjoy” ? into a DVD box set. He’ll also soon be releasing “Free as a Dog” on DVD.dpt.27-surftheater-BPhotoInfo9S1QC15J20060427iycph8nc(LA)Surfer Joel “Parko” Parkinson stars in “Free as a Dog,” playing tonight at 8 o’clock at Edwards Big Newport.