The Boy from the Blue

The Boy from the Blue is a 1985 American fantasy comedy film co-written and directed by Carl Andy, loosely based on Ryotaro Sekizawa's 1979 children's book The Boy from the Sea. changing the setting from Okinawa, Japan to Los Angelis, California. the film concerns a couple who are unable to conceive a child when one day a mysterious boy from the beach appears and becomes their adopted son, little do they know that he's a sea creature from beneath the sea. The special effects were produced by Industrial Light & Magic, with make-up effects by Rob Bottin.

Carl Andy and Michael Douglas purchased the movie rights to the book in 1982, originally Andy was simply going to produce and co-write but after various projects he was offered that weren't to his liking, he decided on directing this. the film was released on Christmas Day of 1985 and received mixed to positive reviews, with many praising it's special effects, writing and wholesome tone but criticizing its humor and runtime. it has since attracted a cult following with its VHS release. Luca director Enrico Casarosa has considered this film a huge influence.

Plot
Stephen Benchley (Kurt Russel) is a marine biologist living in Santa Monica, California with his wife Laura (Carrie Fisher), who unfortunately are unable to conceive a child due to infertility. one day however, a local swimmer screams at a mysterious humanoid sea creature, causing a hysteria in the beach. After guards find no lead, Stephen suddenly meets a young boy (Noah Hathaway) with no parental supervision. Concerned with his safety, he asks the boy where his parents are, to which he says he has none. Due to his good nature, Stephen adopts the kid into his home, he is given the name Pete.

The next morning while preparing for breakfast, Stephen accidentally spills water on Pete, showing some scales on his arm, which shocks Stephen at first before realizing it's the creature that caused a hysteria at the beach the day before. However, before he could call the authorities, he sees fear in the boy's eyes, which convinces him to change his mind. Knowing they'll simply kill him, vows to protect Pete at all costs.

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Cast

 * Kurt Russell as Stephen Benchley
 * Carrie Fisher as Laura Benchley
 * Noah Hathaway as Poloi/Pete
 * Judge Reinhold as CIA Agent Jerry Kane
 * Harry Dean Stanton as George the Fisherman
 * Carl Andy, Jr. as Newspaper Boy

Development
Carl Andy and co-producer Michael Douglas (both of whom previously worked on 1966's Addiction) purchased the film rights to Sekizawa's book in 1982. Originally Andy had no intent to direct, wanting to give the duty to directors like John Carpenter, Richard Donner, George Mihalka, and David Cronenberg. Andy had also considered going with the then unknown French director Luc Besson after seeing his film Le Dernier Combat in a film festival, he declined due to his commitments to Subway, also released in 1985.

After filming had started on Romancing the Stone, which Douglas produced and starred as well as not getting any film offers, Andy decided to take up director duty on the project.

Adaptation
Andy decided on changing various aspects of the original story to make it work better in film form. In the original book, the couple were unnamed and more elderly, suffering from empty nest syndrome, changing them to a younger couple who suffer infertility. after watching Blood Simple in a local theater, he hired brothers Joel and Ethan Coen to co-write and develop the script, they extended it from the original 10-page book to include a more compelling story. This became the first big break for the brothers.

Home Media

 * 1986 CBS/Fox Video VHS/Betamax/Laserdisc
 * 1995 Fox Video VHS (20th Century Fox Selections)
 * 2001 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD
 * 2019 Shout! Factory Blu-ray (Shout! Selects)