Sean Penn to Play Surfing Icon Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz

Movie Sean Penn by Joey Paur

Sean Penn is going back into the ocean to surf some waves! As you know Penn launched his acting career over 30 years ago playing surfer dude Jeff Spicoli in the classic film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The actor is now in negotiations to play surfing icon Dorian "Doc" Pasowitz.

Penn is also set to produce the film based on the eccentric Paskowitz and his family. Also producing are Alan and Gabe Polsky, who recently produced the Werner Herzog-directed Bad Lieutenant reboot.

Variety reports that the Polskys optioned the life rights to the Paskowitz clan, whose nomadic beach existence was recently the subject of Doug Pray's documentary Surfwise. "For the past two decades, producers from Matt Weaver to Graydon Carter have tried unsuccessfully to secure the life rights to the now 89-year-old Paskowitz. The patriarch finally gave his blessing to the Polskys once they were able to attach Penn to the project."

The screenplay for the film will be written by Penn's friend Paul Feldsher who also produced The Four Feathers and Waking Up In Reno.

I'm a big fan of surfing so I'll watch anything that revolves around that subject. Personally I think there are better surfing icons that have lived that would make for a better film. But, Paskowitz's life will definitely make for an interesting movie. Here is a more detailed description on the life of Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz. The guy definitley lived an interesting life, and took his whole family along for the ride.

Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz is an American surfer and physician who ended up giving up practicing medicine for a living and decided to become a professional surfer. In 1972, he founded a surf camp run by his family, where campers could live alongside and surf with members of the Paskowitz family. He and his family have been referred to as the "First Family of Surfing".

After marrying his third wife, Juliette, Paskowitz and his new bride began a period of roughly 25 years of a transient bohemian lifestyle on the road. The couple produced nine children, and the entire family lived and traveled together in a succession of used camper vans. Paskowitz's personal philosophy about education and money and healthy lifestyle was imposed on his family.

None of the Paskowitz children were formally educated during their time on the road. Paskowitz's philosophy about the difference between knowledge and wisdom led him to believe that the formal education systems in all the countries of the world were not useful. He believes that achieving wisdom comes from real experiences in the world, from meeting and learning from everyday people, and that formal education is dangerous to young minds. Paskowitz himself, however, is a Stanford graduate and has taught at community college, including Palomar College in San Marcos, California.

A consistent theme of health pervaded Paskowitz's approach to family life. Most mornings the family ate a breakfast of multi-grain gruel (as one of his children described it), and they were all expected to be out improving their surfing abilities on a daily basis. Several of Paskowitz's children reached a competitive level in surfing, winning contests and earning endorsement income.

The Paskowitz family stuck together for more than two decades. The eldest son, David, was 24 years old when he finally left the family to find his own life. Interviews with the Paskowitz children in Surfwise reveal that most have mixed feelings about their childhood. While they admire their father's devotion to excellent health and rejection of material possessions, they found themselves ill-equipped to life in the outside world, and many harbor some resentment toward him because of the lifestyle he rigidly imposed on the family.

What do you all think about this mans life being made into a film, and Sean Penn taking on the lead role?

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