Adrien Brody steps in
for absent Hopkins
WAILEA, MAUI >> The 4th annual Maui Film Festival at Wailea, in high gear since opening day Wednesday, was going smoothly for the thousands of festival-goers.
But calamity loomed Thursday night when festival organizers got word that Sir Anthony Hopkins, MFF'S honoree for the Silversword Award -- the event's highest prize -- would not attend despite enormous publicity.
The festival had taken out full-page ads in entertainment journals, and scheduled a soldout, two-hour presentation, with about 500 people paying $25 each to attend the award ceremony last night at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa.
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Adrien Brody stepped in as a special guest at a question-and-answer session last night at the Maui Film Festival that was to have featured Anthony Hopkins. Brody, pictured in a scene from "The Pianist," won Best Actor honors at the Academy Awards and Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew pianist who survived the Holocaust.
Festival promoters attributed his absence to "an illness in the family." Los Angeles entertainment sources said Hopkins's mother is ill and recovering in a local hospital.
Festival executive director Barry Rivers started preparing damage control Thursday night, which included finding a replacement for the actor who may be best known for his role as Hannibal Lecter.
Rivers convinced Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"), another Oscar winner who attended last year's festival, to step in for Hopkins to take part in a scheduled question-and-answer session about acting.
Brody agreed during a late night VIP reception at Spago's at the Four Seasons Resort where Rivers and the actor talked for nearly an hour.
"As far as I'm concerned, Adrien Brody walks on water," Rivers said. "The roles he's portrayed and films he's been in fit the Maui Film Festival's philosophy perfectly."
Hopkins was also unavailable to do a satellite feed acceptance speech or an audio tape.
Festival officials are still considering several alternatives about what to do with the actual award, including holding it until Hopkins can attend another festival, present it to him when he's visiting Maui, or taking it to him in Los Angeles.
Rivers sent some 4,000 emails to festival supporters and sponsors yesterday morning explaining Hopkins' cancellation and that Brody is replacing him. The email also mentioned that refunds were available.
"The festival is still batting 900 percent that the promised filmmakers are here and that's an all-star average in any league," Rivers said.
Thursday night's showing of the surf film "Step Into Liquid," filmed partially in Hawaii, at the outdoor Celestial Cinema attracted a record 3,000 people, including a large number of surfers and first-time festival visitors who paid $20 each to see the all-digital film.
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