Legendary surfing filmmaker Jack McCoy is selling his Avalon Beach home

One of surfing’s greatest filmmakers, Jack McCoy, responsible for seminal works like Blue Horizon and A Deeper Shade of Blue, is selling his Avalon Beach family home after more than 20 years.

Perched on an idyllic hill and offering sweeping views from Scotland Island to Portuguese Beach over Pittwater, the eco-built, four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is stretched over 1300 square metres of gorgeous forest land, with two addresses: 51 Trappers Way and 130 Riverview Road.

Bought by Mr McCoy and his wife Kelly in 1998, the former “crackerbox” 1950s-built home underwent a complete architectural renovation in 2006 by Peter Stutchbury, an icon of Australian home design.

How this stunning home, called Paradise View by Stutchberry, came to be is more than an interesting tale. As Mr McCoy explained, he and his wife were introduced to the architect through a mutual friend.

“It was actually Andrew Farriss from INXS that introduced my wife and me to Peter Stutchberry,” he said. “Andrew came over for dinner one night, and he brought Peter, and Peter said he could do wonders with the place, and he did.”

Thanks to Mr McCoy’s pre-eminent career as a filmmaker, the prepossessing, contemporary residence has played host to some of surfing’s biggest names over the years, including Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and Joel Parkinson.

But the home’s star-studded guests haven’t been reserved to those who enjoy the turquoise delights of the halfpipe. The Northern Beaches residence has also hosted band members from some of the biggest music acts on the globe, like INXS and the Foo Fighters.

As Mr McCoy explained, early on in his career, he developed an ingenious way of using music from some of the world’s biggest bands in his movies, and along the way, he became friends with some of the doyens of the music industry.

“I pick all the music in my films, and in the early ’80s, when I made a film called Stormriders, I realised very early on that you can’t get top-marquee bands through the record companies because they want too much money for licensing,” Mr McCoy said.

He was living on the Gold Coast, when the Playroom hosted bands such as Men at Work every Sunday night.

“I’d work my way backstage, and I say. ‘Hey guys, I’m making a surf movie, and I’d love to use your music, but the record company is being hard.’ And they’d say, ‘Well here’s our manager, we want to be in your surf movie.’”

It was this practice that landed Mr McCoy backstage at the Foo Fighters’ inaugural Australian performance, talking to rock legend, Dave Grohl.

“When Dave Grohl first came out here, he played at the Manning Bar, with the first Foo Fighters gig he did, and my editor’s son said I oughta go out and see the Nirvana drummer guy, he’s got a new band,” he said.

“So I go there, work my way backstage, and said. ‘Hey Dave, I want to make this movie, but I can’t get the record company [to play ball]”, and he just said, “Here’s my manager.”

“So I had Everlong and My Hero in a film I did called Occy the Occumentary.”

Paradise View features vaulted ceilings, open-plan living spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows and a minimalist design language that showcases the natural beauty of its surrounds.

“The connection with the outdoors, and the outdoor entertaining areas make this a very compelling property,” said Amy Young, principal real estate and selling agent at Laing+Simmons Young Property.

“It feels like a magnificent structure. The grandeur of the entryway is jaw-dropping, and the entertaining options – it’s a magical space.”

The property at 51 Trappers Way and 130 Riverview Road is being sold as a private listing with a price estimate of $4.4 million to $4.8 million. Ms Young confirmed the home had already garnered the attention of several interested parties.