ASSOCIATED PRESS
Emanuel Levy, a film professor and film critic, left, greeted actor Adrien Brody onstage at the Maui Film Festival Friday. Brody stepped in at the last minute for actor Anthony Hopkins, who was to be honored with the Silversword Award.
Maui’s film fest
creates Hollywood buzzAdrien Brody's stage appearance
tops off a record-breaking event
CORRECTION
Sunday, June 15, 2003» Savannah Buffett was incorrently identified as Samantha Buffett in a photo about the Maui Film Festival on Page D3 Monday.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.Wailea, Maui >> It was like losing Michael Jordan but having Kobe Bryant come off the bench to replace him.
When Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins canceled his much-publicized appearance at the Maui Film Festival on Friday, another best-actor winner, Adrien Brody, stepped in.
Hopkins was to receive the Silversword Award, the event's top honor, but backed out at the last minute because of an illness in his family; Brody stepped in to discuss his craft before a sold-out crowd at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa.
"The greatest save in film festival history," mused Maui producer-promoter-entrepreneur Shep Gordon. "It's unbelievable to have another Oscar winner just attending a film festival in the middle of the Pacific. ... No question, the Maui Film Festival has legs."
Only nine people out of 700 requested refunds because Hopkins had canceled.
The five-day event featured more than 50 films -- more than three times last year's total -- at venues throughout the celebrity haunts of Wailea.
Brody was the most visible celeb, attending most of the VIP receptions and food, wine, martini and chocolate fests, socializing with locals and dancing late into the night. He was media-shy, though, ducking requests for interviews.
Festival director Barry Rivers brought Brody to the festival last year -- before he had won his Oscar for "The Pianist," saying he respected the actor's roles and films and sensed his "ascendancy" as a star.
Brody enjoyed the event so much last year, when Clint Eastwood claimed the Silversword, that he was eager to return.
The under-the-stars, toes-in-the-sand oceanside festival broke its own attendance record for an opening-night film. The second night's audience numbers set a record for any festival showing overall.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dana Brown, back row, left, producer of "Step into Liquid," partied with film festival director Barry Rivers, actor Adrien Brody and promoter Shep Gordon. In the front row are singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and daughter Samantha.
By last night, when the festival ended, more than 10,000 people had seen films at the Celestial Cinema alone, exceeding last year's total attendance for all five festival venues. Total attendance was 17,500, up 75 percent over last year.
Ticket sales for films and special events such as filmmaker panels, tributes and culinary events were up 400 percent. Rivers expects this year's festival, which cost about $1.5 million in cash and in-kind services, to make money for the first time.
The celebrity quotient was high as well, with not only Brody attending, but also actor-director Rob Reiner and actors Geena Davis, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Hu, Sofia Milos and "Whale Rider" phenom 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes. Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett attended a private festival party Friday night.
"Alex & Emma," Reiner's latest romantic comedy, the opening-night film Wednesday, drew more than 2,250 people. A second-night surfing film attracted 3,010 people, nearly half of them first-time festival attendees from Maui's windward side.
"We want this festival to spread its arms to all of Maui, and having a film like 'Step into Liquid' proved we can do that," Rivers said.
"I think the people on Maui are not only starting to get it, but also feeling that the event is not a visitors-only thing."
Reiner said he was stunned at the size and demographics of the audience for "Alex & Emma," which opens in theaters Friday.
"To have more than 2,000 people attending a romantic comedy is something I'll probably never have again," Reiner said. "Even better was the audience's enthusiasm for the film. I'm very grateful and proud to have been able to premiere my film at this festival."
Another indicator of the festival's growth and stature: More than 30 news media outlets covered the event. The festival has been featured in news shows in Los Angeles and on CNN. The Los Angeles Times, New York Post and Vanity Fair have stories planned.
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Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, left, taught the shaka sign to the stars of the New Zealand film "Whale Rider": Rawiri Paratene and Keisha Castle-Hughes.
"The buzz in Hollywood is as a loud as a beehive being whacked by a baseball bat," Rivers said. "Now the effort is to stay on task, not lose sight of the mission and not bring crap in because a big studio is trying to crowbar their film in here."
The festival's prominence wasn't lost on state and county officials.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa attended Friday night's "Whale Rider" screening, met with the stars and spoke briefly to the crowd. Ted Liu, the state's director of business, economic development and tourism, arrived Friday "to see firsthand what the big buzz is about," and State Film Office Manager Donne Dawson and Big Island and Maui film commissioners Marilyn Killeri and Benita Brazier spent most of their five days at the event meeting with filmmakers.
"It's hard to believe this event is only 4 years old," Arakawa said. "The Maui Film Festival has become one of our premier events, not only because culturally it's a wonderful thing, but because it attracts a diverse crowd of locals and mainland visitors. The message they'll take with them is priceless."
Stella Rivers, assistant festival director and Barry's wife, hopes to be able to hire as many as six full-time employees six months before the next festival, with funds from expected new sponsors. Some dozen potential sponsors met with the Rivers during the event.
"We're at a place where a lot of people are asking us to the prom," Barry Rivers said.
But the couple has no intention of turning Maui into another Sundance.
"We will stay small and beautiful," Barry Rivers said. "We're at a point where we can start limiting the number of people for each event and ideally do a lot of pre-selling of tickets."
While Hopkins' dropping out was "no fun," Rivers said much of the festival's good fortune is "cosmic synchronicity," including the Brody substitution. "Good things happen to good festivals."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Actors Kelly Hu, left, and Sofia Milos participated in a "Women in Film" panel. Milos stars in "Passionada," which was screened at the festival.
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