The surfer who was attacked by a tiger shark when she was 13 not only survived but continues to surf, inspiring others to pursue their dreams.

Bethany Hamilton was born in Hawaii (on the island of Kauai) and comes from a family of surfers, so it makes sense that she would eventually end up on a board. At the age of 7, she was surfing without the help of her parents, and when she was 8, she won both the short and long board divisions for 7- to 9-year-olds at the Rell Sunn Menehune surfing competition. She was later sponsored by Rip Curl and her goal of becoming a pro surfer looked to be well on its way.

… overcame a shark attack…

On October 31, 2003, she was surfing with her best friend, Alana, and members of Alana’s family when Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark. The attack caused her to lose more than 60 percent of her blood and left her with a severed left arm, but thanks to the people she was surfing with (who made a tourniquet out of a surfing leash and quickly paddled her into shore) and several successful surgeries, she survived. Just one month later, she was back in the water, and in January 2004, three months after the attack, she was competing in a surfing contest with just one arm.

… and continues competing today.

After winning the 2004 ESPY for Best Comeback Athlete of the Year, she managed to win the Explorer Women’s division of the NSSA National Championships in 2005. She’s now competing on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS), having finished last year ranked 14th overall. And if that’s not impressive enough, next year, you can see her life story unfold on the big screen, as AnnaSophia Robb will portray her in the movie Soul Surfer, which will also star Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents.

Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, AnnaSophia Robb and Juno Temple have all signed on to the drama GOODNIGHT MOON.  Robb and Temple will play young teenage girls that get involved with skaters and street gangs when they move to Los Angeles.  Mann will play Temple’s mother and Bosworth will play Mann’s sister.  The film will be directed by Elgin James and is considered a semi-autobiographical story, although he had his adventures in Boston.

The cast is shaping up to be pretty great, so the question is going to be how well Elgin James writes and directs.  Not many people get so many talented actresses together for their first film, so the pressure is going to be on him to make them shine.  It also seems like the film will deal with some tough issues, so it will be interesting to see how much he pushes he envelope.

source: flix66.com

Juno Temple, who appears opposite Ben Stiller in “Greenberg,” has booked three roles that position her as an indie actress to watch.
First, the 21-year-old Temple joins the ensemble cast of “Dirty Girl,” the drama from Killer Films in which she plays the title character, a notorious high school slut who runs away with her closeted gay class partner to drive from Oklahoma to California to find the father she’s never met.
Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Dwight Yoakam and Mary Steenburgen round out the cast of the movie, which Abe Sylvia is directing from his own script.
Temple then segues to “Goodnight Moon,” a drama from writer-director Elgin James, in which she’ll star opposite AnnaSophia Robb. The film centers on two young girls who find themselves in trouble after they run away to Los Angeles; the roles were highly sought in the indie world for that age bracket. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Honolulu Adviser” recently chatted with Bethany Hamilton regarding the film Soul Surfer (based on her life) and how AnnaSophia Robb plays her in the movie. Bethany says “I’m so grateful and thankful to have her a part of the movie!”
AnnaSophia herself admitted that the role was demanding. “There have been a lot of difficulties, just physically,” she revealed to the newspaper during a break in filming. “There are challenges.”
Surfing has become a potent distraction for the young actress. She even loves the way it beats up on her — from the bruises on her hips to the purple mark on her knee that won’t go away to the collisions with her board.
“I have a cut on my leg from the skeg and I love it,” she said. “I hope it scars.”
Bethany revealed that it was weird to have a movie made about her life. “I’m not that into being famous so I think I might get more famous after this. That’s been a challenge to deal with.”
But she admits that AnnaSophia is talented. “She works hard for the roles. I didn’t realize how much actors had to put into their job.“
Click here to watch the video!

The stars of Soul Surfer made use of the latest in special effects today, as they filmed on a Hawaii beach.
The biopic tells the story of surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack.
Rising Hollywood star Anna Sophia Robb wore a green sleeve on her arm, which will later be digitally removed for the movie.
Anna stars alongside Lorraine Nicholson, the 19-year-old daughter of actor Jack.
Lorraine plays best friend Alana Blanchard, who was with Hamilton on the day a 14ft tiger shark ripped the 13-year-old’s left arm off at her local beach in Kauai.
Sean Brosnan, actor Pierce Brosnan’s son, will play Bethany’s brother Noah.
Just three weeks after the incident, Hamilton returned to the water and went surfing again.
Now 19, Hamilton will step in to film some post-attack surfing and stunt scenes.
‘They wanted a one-armed person doing it and that’s not easy to find,’ says Hamilton, who competed in the Billabong world junior surfing championships in Sydney last month.
‘I’m excited about the role. But it will be intense seeing people playing my family and me.’

dailymail.co.uk

If you’re an actor looking for the Academy to pay attention to you, get yourself in a role that has a disability attached to an uplifting story and you’re in. That’s exactly what AnnaSophia Robb is doing here, stepping into the lead role for Soul Surfer, according to Variety.
The film chronicles the storied life of young surfer Bethany Hamilton, who at the age of 13 lost her arm to a shark attack, only to go on to win professional surfing championships with her lopsided upper body. Also starring is Dennis Quaid, coming off his critical smash Legion (/sarcasm), the always lovely Helen Hunt, and last but certainly not least, Hercules himself, Kevin Sorbo, because what’s he been doing lately? American Idol singer Carrie Underwood will appear as well.
Robb’s acting chops have yet to have been given a real test, but this could be her time to shine in a lead. Bridge to Terabithia was a solid movie that she helps carry, and she’s unforgettable as Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so this 16-year-old blonde may just be on the verge of breaking out of Dakota Fanning’s shadow. Soul Surfer is currently filming in Hawaii.

cinemablend.com

AnnaSophia Robb is set to take the lead in the upcoming Soul Surfer.
Based on the courageous events of Bethany Hamilton’s attack, the film will start production at the end of the month, according to Bethany and The Herald Sun.
Bethany says of meeting AnnaSophia, “She’s super cool. A great girl. We’ve met in Hawaii and hung out. They wanted a one-armed person doing it [the shark attack scenes] and that’s not easy to find.”
Bethany was surfing with a friend when she was 13 when a tiger shark ripped her arm off just below her shoulder. Three weeks later, Bethany was back on her board at her home break at Kauai, Hawaii. Now, she’s a pro-surfer who placed second at the Billabong tournament last year.

Read more: http://justjaredjr.buzznet.com

I’ve added a bunch of pictures of AnnaSophia at the world premiere of “Race to Witch Mountain”. She looks so cute! I’ll be adding more as I find them. Also, look forward to some changes at the site, including our conversion to wordpress. Previews and gallery link are below:

AnnaSophia will be on the Bonnie Hunt Show this Friday the 13th. Also the “Race to Witch Mountain” movie premiere will be tomorrow! I can’t wait to see new pictures of our girl =)

Hi. My name is Audrey & I am now the new webmistress here. I’ve been a fan of AnnaSophia’s for some time now & I’m very happy to be taking over this great site!

I’ve added some great new “Race to Witch Mountain” stills. Hopefully the movie premiere will be soon & we can get some new pictures of AnnaSophia. Previews and gallery link of the stills are below: