“I Sold 22,000 Tickets There!” — Jack McCoy vs. The Opera House, Two Hours Before He Died

Two hours before he passed away, Jack McCoy was on the phone with the Sydney Opera House, arguing.

The conversation was about hosting the opening night of his dream project: a global surf film festival that would bring surf cinema back to theatres. The Opera House was interested. The catch? They wanted 75% of the door.

Jack, who once sold 22,000 tickets to Storm Riders over in eight weeks in ’82, was livid.

Luke Campbell, his son-in-law and torch-bearer explains, “He was ranting, ‘are you kidding me?’ We were the highest grossing film over eight weeks and we did that without the internet. No social. This is a joke.”

Jack died that afternoon. But he went down swinging.

And guess what? His dying wish — The Jack McCoy Australian Surf Film Festival (JMASFF) — is still happening. (No thanks to the Opera House.)

The JMASFF kicks off September 11–14 across three venues in Sydney: The Ritz in Randwick, The Orpheum in Cremorne, and the Brookvale Surf Club inside the Bennett Surf Museum.

On the menu? Only the greatest surf films of all time.

Each night focuses on a different era and style, from the OGs to the Kai Neville era to Snapt5 and beyond. Every film was handpicked by Jack, who personally selected his top 20 of all time from each era before passing.

You can do one night, or all four. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of deal.

If you don’t want to hear old boys harp on about surfing crowdless Indonesian lineup before they got decimated by bogans, Euros and Russians, go Thursday, for the Australian premier of Logan Dulien’s hotly anticipated Snapt5. Or skip to Saturday, where Kai Neville’s greatest hits, including Modern Collective, will be playing.

On that: Luke Campbell explained how Jack and Snapt5 director Logan “Chucky” Dulien were in constant contact in the months leading up to Jack’s passing, with Jack offering feedback, stories, and support as Chucky finished the film.

“As always, Jack wanted to share his experience and offer support,” says Campbell. “He and Chucky got close. That one’s going to hit hard.”

For fans of nostalgia, there’s plenty of that too.

Peter McCabe, the infamous gear smuggler from Sea of Darkness, will reportedly be leaving his Jakarta skull cave to relive untold tales from early Grajagan. He’ll be joined by an A-list lineup of yarn spinners: Rabbit Bartholomew, Gerry Lopez, Wayne Lynch, Sean Thompson, and Dick Hoole.

Then to top it all off: the Industry Blowout at Brookvale Surf Club.

Held inside the Bennett Surf Museum, surrounded by 500+ vintage boards, they’ll screen Bud Browne’s Going Surfin’ — the film that kicked off surf filmmaking, featuring Lopez and the first-ever footage from inside the tube at Pipe, a good 30 years before GoPros existed. Expect bands, live shaping, and plenty of booze supplied by Gage Roads.

It’s a proper send-off. And a setup for what this will grow into: a national and international tour in 2026.

“Dad wanted to leave behind a platform to celebrate and unite the industry,” says Indiana Campbell, Jack’s daughter. “He always said: surf films are made to be seen on the big screen.”

Tickets are already moving. Grab yours here.