Taylor Steele Directed Scenes That Shaped An Era

I remember when I saw Stranger Than Fiction first premier at La Paloma Theatre. It was phenomenal because, even though I didn’t have an irresponsible amount of alcohol flowing through my veins at the time, as is customary for those sort of events (I was 13, okay), it still made me stand up in my chair, raise my fist and obnoxiously scream, “Yew!” multiple times all the same. In your face, high-performance surfing paired with a thumping soundtrack will do that.

The initial behind the scenes clip that teased today’s Proximity inspired surfer pairing.

The film’s impact also translated into possession of six different DVD copies for me. Why such a high number? Because I have a tendency to replace things after misplacing their predecessors. A display in instant self-gratification in regards to my favourite Taylor Steele flick. Clearly the emotions of man are stirred more quickly than his intelligence. At least I’m never short of something to pop-in and watch when I’m seeking a little more inspiration before a paddle out. 

It’d be safe to say most folks have similar attachments to one, or many, of Taylor’s films as well. Whether it be Stranger Than Fiction, Campaign, Loose Change, or anything in between, the list goes on and on. Hence why our ongoing four-part tease for Taylor’s newest film, Proximity, continues.

In this second edition, we picked our favorite sections from years past of Proximity surfer pairing Shane Dorian and Albee Layer. Starting with Dorian, who has long been a fixture in Taylor’s films. His sections have always been fantastic because, while they still show off his prowess in the bigger stuff he’s known for, they display his handedness as a small wave surfer as well. And his contribution to 2003’s Campaign (seen above) is a wonderful, below-the-knee-boardshorts example of just that. How rare (and oddly refreshing) is it watching a Dorian clip that has more air shots than Jaws (or any other big wave spot for that matter) elevator drops? 

Another adroit Hawaiian, Albee Layer didn’t start appearing in Taylor’s films until a bit later. An unavoidable circumstance of being born in 1991, and thus being relatively younger than the Momentum-age stars Taylor built his foundation on. All of which apparently didn’t matter to Albee, though, as he made an impression in 2011’s Innersection (find the clip all the way up top) all the same.

Make sure to catch Proximity as it picks up passport stamps on its premier tour. Dates and more info here.