|
Hawaii stars in three motion pictures this summer: "Lilo & Stitch," "Windtalkers" and "Blue Crush," formerly titled "Surf Girls." 3 films open isles to the nation
By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.comThe biggest hype surrounds Disney's "Lilo & Stitch," which will have a special June screening in Honolulu, an hourlong television special on ABC's "Wonderful World of Disney" featuring the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus and voice star Tia Carrere, and a Hollywood premiere also attended by the chorus.
The PG-rated animated film is set on Kauai and opens nationwide June 21, though the local screening will likely take place June 17 or 18 in Waikiki after its June 16 Hollywood premiere at the historic El Capitan Theatre.
Jason Scott Lee is the voice of character David Kawena, and Carrere is Nani, Lilo's sister, in a tale of a Hawaiian girl who befriends an alien "dog," Stitch, who is the result of genetic experimentation.
Taping of the "Wonderful World of Disney" program began yesterday at Sunset Beach and Waimea Falls Park, with 40 fifth- to seventh-graders of the Kamehameha chorus, and continues this week with a segment featuring Carrere singing Queen Lili'uokalani's "Aloha 'Oe."
Brad Lachman Productions has set up shop at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the production.
The Kamehameha chorus will sing one song in the Hawaii video. "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" is an original piece written by hula expert and singer Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu and Alan Silvestri.
The chorus sings that song and another one, "He Mele No Lilo," in the film. Both songs were recorded last December in a Honolulu studio.
|
"Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" sets the tone for a surfing sequence featuring Lilo, Nani, David and Stitch. "He Mele No Lilo" combines two Hawaiian chants and is heard in the opening sequence, in which Lilo swims with dolphins and arrives late for hula lessons.The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau declined comment on the Hawaii screening or the extent of its partnership with Disney, but the agency appears to be a major partner with the studio for the Hollywood and Hawaii events.
The "Lilo & Stitch" trailer on Disney's official Web site carries the HVCB slogan -- "Hawai'i, the Islands of Aloha" -- and so does the El Capitan Theatre's Web site advertisement for "Lilo & Stitch's Hawaiian Beach Party."
MEANWHILE, "Windtalkers" opens nationwide on Flag Day, June 14, and "Blue Crush" -- originally called "Surf Girls" -- on Aug. 16.
"Windtalkers," starring Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater and Adam Beach, spent several months on Oahu in fall 2000 filming primarily at Kualoa Ranch. "Blue Crush," with Michelle Rodriguez and Kate Bosworth, filmed mostly along Oahu's north and west shores.
"Windtalkers" was originally scheduled to open last November, but that was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The R-rated film is directed by John Woo.
Based on historical events, "Windtalkers" depicts a unit of World War II Navajo radio men who used a derivation of their native language to encrypt radio messages in the Pacific.
The code was indecipherable to the Japanese, and the "code talkers" were credited with altering the direction of several key battles, including Iwo Jima.
Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), a code talker who is the Marines' new secret weapon. Enders' orders are to protect his code talker, but if Yahzee should fall into enemy hands, he's to "protect the code at all costs."
The Navajo code was the only one never broken by the Japanese and is considered to have been key in winning the war.
UNIVERSAL PICTURES hoped to release "Blue Crush" -- not yet rated -- in early July, but post-production work will push that to Aug. 16, eliminating any chance of the film being shown next month at the Maui Film Festival.
The story is about surfer Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), who lives on the North Shore while training for the Pipe Masters surf competition. Working as a hotel maid to pay the bills, Anne Marie falls for pro quarterback Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis), who's in town for the Pro Bowl.
Though Universal and Dreamworks officials say it's too early to discuss a Hawaii premiere, Universal's Vice President Brett Johnson and "Blue Crush" director John Stockwell told the Star-Bulletin they would love to have an Oahu debut.
The production began filming here last December and wrapped in mid-March.
Click for online
calendars and events.
