Tubular Belles

Image credit: Blue Crush: John P. Johnson

Universal marketing exec Adam Fogelson says girl power accounts for part of the studio's interest in ''Crush.'' ''There's a female empowerment component to this,'' he says. ''And the fact is, these women happen to be in bathing suits the entire movie.... There are obvious reasons for this movie to appeal to both women and men.''

''Surfing is sexy,'' confirms ''Crush'' star Rodriguez, who beat out contenders such as Charlize Theron (an amateur surfer herself) for a part in the flick. ''It works every single part of your body out, so you look hot automatically. It's a turn-on.'' Adds ''Crush'' producer Brian Grazer: ''It's one of those life-or-death sports that still exist -- you can drown, you can get hurt.''

An avid surfer who's been pitched surf films in the ocean, Grazer says his daughter, Sage, 13, inspired him to take the plunge. ''Women having to give away their intelligence or knowledge to men -- I don't want it to happen to my daughter,'' he says. ''Having to create their own identity in a man's world is empowering.''

''It's been a long, hard road for the girls,'' admits Wayne ''Rabbit'' Bartholomew, director of the Association of Surfing Professionals, which recently doubled the prize money for women in the competitions it organizes. ''But the culmination of that is this new wave of girl surfing -- we are seeing young girls coming through who are going to extend the performance boundaries of the sport.''

Pro surfers have mixed feelings about the pop trend their sport has inspired. ''It's great that people are wearing the surf clothes,'' says the world's former No. 2 woman surfer Serena Brooke, 26. ''But it's just advertising and fashion and models sitting on the beach, and there's not much of the real deal.'' Says Lisa Andersen, 32, whose biopic is in the rewrite stage: ''I'm just really glad that people are starting to see surfing as a colorful, healthy thing to do.''

As for Rodriguez, she says come on in -- the water's fine. ''Guys give good respect to girls who just cut in...and prove themselves worthy of the waves. Or if she has a really nice butt.''