Princess Ka'iulani film

[kiwidiva]

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070608/NEWS01/706080373/1001/NEWS

I am so excited about this film!

How do the native Hawaiians feel about the Princess being played by a non-Hawaiian? I seem to remember some controversy a few years back when there was talk of a movie about Kamehameha with Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock (another non-Hawaiian) playing the lead role.

I love The Rock and Q'orianka - who both have Hawai'i links and have lived in the islands at some time in their lives - but I'm not Hawaiian. If they were playing Maori royalty, I may have a problem with that too.

It's funny that when our Maori actors go to Hollywood (see the Once Were Warriors thread) they have been cast as Mexicans, Columbians, Arabs and Indians (both native American and from India) - just off the top of my head. But in Aotearoa, they wouldn't play anything but a Maori.

[PoiBoy]

Those Hawaiians that had a problem with the Rock playing king Kamehameha had issues not just because he was a non-hawaiian, but because he was Samoan. :D ;)


Q'orianka is amazingly beautiful!

[modpirate]

Wow! What an incredible break for the 12-year old girl who plays young Kailulani!

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Forby is "taking a chance on Kaimana" to play the young princess, and won't take such chances when it comes to kanaka factor when the princess grows into womanhood (when the role really counts). But hey, as long as we drop "indigenous rights championing" re: the talented young actress slated to play Vike in her prime, he's covered his bases, right? *sigh* apparently no Hawaiian female exists worthy enough to portray our last princess. Is there truly such a dearth amongst our women? I find this so deeply disturbing that I do not plan on seeing the film.

With all of this talk of Once Were Warriors, I wouldn't be suprised if he considered Rena Owens to play Likelike. Or Lili'u.

(((glowers)))

[tutusue]

Forby is "taking a chance on Kaimana" to play the young princess, and won't take such chances when it comes to kanaka factor when the princess grows into womanhood (when the role really counts).[...]
I think you might've answered your own question, PM, with "when the role really counts". Yes, there really is a dearth of Hawaiian female actresses here. An additional limitation for this film is age. From a producer's point of view, the role of Princess Ka`iulani at that age requires strong acting chops and a track record. Taking a risk on one completely inexperienced actor is a huge gamble. Taking a risk on 2 for the title role would be the equivalent of shooting oneself in both feet then immediately trying to run a marathon. Then factor in this: "It wasn't until that day at the palace that I decided what would be my directorial debut," said Forby. It's Forby's first directorial effort. Another huge risk! :eek:

Yes, I understand exactly where you're coming from and I agree with you in theory but theory and filmmaking tend to be polar opposites; dramatic license being what it is!

BTW...a piece of minor trivia...the 17 year old's cousin is the singer, Jewel. Well, her mother's cousin, I should say! This young lady has lived a very alternative lifestyle during her short life. I have deep misgivings about her becoming too successful too soon and I wish her the best.

[anapuni808]

I'm still puzzled as to where Forby saw a portrait of Kaiulani at Iolani Palace. As a docent there for over 5 years, I was pretty familiar will all the rooms - don't recall a single picture of her. There may be one somewhere in the basement galleries now but upstairs? I don't recall any, anywhere. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

The reason I bring this up is because it bothers me - if he can't remember where he saw the picture correctly, why would anyone trust him to tell the story correctly? and I've been told by many that it is not proper for anyone to "portray" one of the Ali`i.

[kiwidiva]

An additional limitation for this film is age.

So basically, Kelly Hu & Tia Carrera are too old. Oh, I just read Tia's bio and she's not Hawaiian either.

Pua'i Mana'o - any ideas on who you would cast in the lead role if you had the power?

BTW...a piece of minor trivia...the 17 year old's cousin is the singer, Jewel.

I'm not surprised as Q'orianka has a really good voice too. I saw her on one of the late night shows talking about when she was a small kid and she used to busk at Waikiki and could bring in up to $1,000 A DAY! Of course they asked her to sing and she did a great inpromptu performance of a jazz song. It was the same song she sang to snare the role of Pocahontas. During the audition/screen test process, the Producers weren't sure she could handle playing Pocahontas in the later years since she herself was still only 14 but when she sang the song, she demonstrated a maturity beyond her years so they ended up giving her the part.

[Lei K]

If we are talking about hiring someone purely on their acting background and ability then Q'orianka doesn't have much of a filmography. Q'orianka was a huge risk for The New World AND an unknown actress. They still casted her for the biggest part in the movie, Pocahontas.

Her Filmography according to IMDB.com:

The New World (2005) .... Pocahontas
"Madison Heights" .... Maria Betancourt (1 episode, 2002)
- Small World (2002) TV Episode (as Q'Orianka) .... Maria Betancourt
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) .... Little Choir Member
... aka The Grinch (Australia) (UK) (USA: promotional title)
... aka Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (USA: complete title)
... aka Grinch, Der (Germany)

There isn't a hapa/part-Hawaiian actress anywhere that can play this very important woman? I also find it hard to believe. There has to be someone. Use makeup to enhance their "Hawaiianess" if needed, they do it for other films why not this one? If not a hapa/part-Hawaiian actress then at least a half Polynesian woman. As a true hapa, Ka'iulani was very Hawaiian in features as much as haole. If they found the right woman couldn't they train her and make her right for the roll much as they did with Q'orianka for The New World?

I understand that sometimes a person of a different ethnicity will be chosen because they look more like the person to be portrayed than anyone else. Q'orianka does not look much like Ka'iulani to me. :confused: Q'orianka has great beauty but a different kind of beauty than Ka'iulani. I don't think native Americans and native Hawaiians look anything alike.

Just incase people around the world aren't confused enough about how a Hawaiian looks like. :rolleyes:

They should have made the casting call for this movie very known on the islands, advertised very publicly. A movie about a Hawaiian monarch, a chance to educate the world about Hawaiians, and we got a Peruvian mixed girl playing her. Wonder who they are going to cast for the rest of the monarchy? :eek:

[Pua'i Mana'o]

I think you might've answered your own question, PM, with "when the role really counts". Yes, there really is a dearth of Hawaiian female actresses here.

any ideas on who you would cast in the lead role if you had the power?

Hawaiians in theatre will be found in Hawaiian theatre: the halau hula. Even in my limited network of hula peepz throughout the isles (you would be suprised), I've been responded to 6 times since last night and no one claims to have known about auditions for this role.

[Lei K]

Oh, I just read Tia's bio and she's not Hawaiian either.

Is Tia actually part-Hawaiian? So confusing. Woman was listed as Spanish-Chinese-Filipino then all the sudden she was Hawaiian-Spanish-Chinese-Filipino and now she's listed on somethings with the Hawaiian and others without the Hawaiian.

She isn't one of those kama`aina who left the islands and suddenly became native Hawaiian, is she?

Another confusing one is Kelly Preston but I'm more sure she is part-Hawaiian than I am Tia.

Anyone know what's up with these two?

[1stwahine]

I'm still puzzled as to where Forby saw a portrait of Kaiulani at Iolani Palace. As a docent there for over 5 years, I was pretty familiar will all the rooms - don't recall a single picture of her. There may be one somewhere in the basement galleries now but upstairs? I don't recall any, anywhere. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Fran, I went to Princess Kaiulani Elementary School from Kindergarten and grew up seeing her pictures. I also visited Iolani Palace many times on school excursions and always asked why there were no pictures of the Princess. There are no actresses who could play her. She was Special and BEAUTIFUL!

Lynn

[Lei K]

Quote from Marc Forby, Star Bulletin 10/13/2005

http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/13/features/story02.html

Young local actress Cheyenne Kanani Pohuehue Murray has been cast to portray the princess at age 12. Next week, Forby will audition actresses to portray Kaiulani as a young woman.

Several principal roles, including Queen Liliuokalani and hundreds of extras, will be cast later. Forby said the casting of some Hollywood stars will be announced in the spring.

The search for Kaiulani is beginning months in advance because Forby, keenly aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter, wants to make sure he finds the right actor, one of part-Hawaiian, part-Caucasian descent. "There is no circumstance that would make me give this part to a non part-Hawaiian actor."

[timkona]

Perhaps in the interest of historical accuracy, the actress used to portray Victoria Cleghorn should be of Scottish decent. :cool:

[kiwidiva]

"There is no circumstance that would make me give this part to a non part-Hawaiian actor."

I guess he found the circumstance...

They should have made the casting call for this movie very known on the islands, advertised very publicly.

I didn't hear about it either yet I remember when they did the casting call for the role of Pocahontas for The New World way back then... and I was in Japan at the time. They had opened the call to Polynesian girls and were searching world-wide for someone to play the role that eventually went to Q'orianka.

Open calls are great for finding new talent - that's how they found Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whalerider, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell (Grace from Once Were Warriors), Anna Paquin for The Piano and Michelle Rodrigues for Girl Fight.

The same Casting Director found both Keisha and Anna in an extensive school wide search - both of whom were later nominated for Oscars for their roles and Anna even won! I bet that Casting Director could find us a "Ka'iulani" with Hawaiian blood.

First woman that came to my mind was Radasha Ho'ohuli - I don't even know if she can act but she's just so beautiful! But I think she is also to old to play the Princess at 17.

[Random]

Those Hawaiians that had a problem with the Rock playing king Kamehameha had issues not just because he was a non-hawaiian, but because he was Samoan. :D ;)
In a streetfight, who would win? A Hawaiian or a Samoan? :D

[buzz1941]

It will be a scandal if the actress isn't half Scots.

[sinjin]

In a streetfight, who would win? A Hawaiian or a Samoan? :DThe one with his friends along.:eek:

[timkona]

Those Hawaiians that had a problem with the Rock playing king Kamehameha had issues not just because he was a non-hawaiian, but because he was Samoan.

Cool. Racism. Cool. :cool:

Racism is inversely connected to one's overall cognitive ability.

['i'iwipolena]

This is only to be expected. Many Japanese had issues with a chinese actress playing a Geisha, while many Americans may not have known the difference.

[buzz1941]

This is only to be expected. Many Japanese had issues with a chinese actress playing a Geisha, while many Americans may not have known the difference.

Including the Asian-Americans?

[PoiBoy]

In a streetfight, who would win? A Hawaiian or a Samoan? :D

One Samoan versus how many Hawaiians? 10 Hawaiians? They might have a chance then. :D

Lets see...
notable Samoan fighters
-David Tua (boxer)-Olympic bronze medalist and Former #1 ranked heavy weight contender and current top 10 ranked heavyweight in the world.
-Rey Sefo(kickboxer)-famous K-1 superstar. He has beaten all the best kickerboxers in the world but unfortuanatly never won a grand prix.
-Mark Hunt(Kickboxer and now MMA)-K-1 superstar. He won the K-1 WORLD GP tournament and is now an MMA star beating some of the best in world. Including Wanderlei Silva and Cro-cop.
-MightyMo-(Kickboxer)K-1 star, said to have the heaviest hands in all of Kickboxing.
-The great Samoan warriors. Tuna and Fata, who in the ancient days, lead the expulsion of the Tongans out of Samoa. And the greatest EVER, Tupua Lealofi Tamesese III, who during colonial rule, lead the Mau movement(sovereignty movement) and died in a peaceful protest. His contributions lead to Samoa gaining its independence.

[PoiBoy]

It will be a scandal if the actress isn't half Scots.
It's different because she was a Hawaiian princess and the movie is about Hawaiian history.

[buzz1941]

It's different because she was a Hawaiian princess and the movie is about Hawaiian history.

Hmmm, Google "Kaiulani" and see what the Number One hit is.

For some reason, I'm reminded of the time one of my daughters was in public elementary school, and Lei Day was approaching and the kids were all preparing their various ethnic displays, and the teacher — meaning to be kind, I assume — explained to her, "You're a haole, so you're nothing. So we'll make you an honorary Portuguese!"

[PoiBoy]

If she was a Princess of Scotland then it would be different.

For some reason, I'm reminded of the time one of my daughters was in public elementary school, and Lei Day was approaching and the kids were all preparing their various ethnic displays, and the teacher — meaning to be kind, I assume — explained to her, "You're a haole, so you're nothing. So we'll make you an honorary Portuguese!"
Well that teacher is an ass. Your daughter could have came as is and that would be a representation of her ethnicity.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Hmmm, Google "Kaiulani" and see what the Number One hit is.

Damned Scottishpersons are googlebombing (((our))) princess! :mad:

For some reason, I'm reminded of the time one of my daughters was in public elementary school, and Lei Day was approaching and the kids were all preparing their various ethnic displays, and the teacher — meaning to be kind, I assume — explained to her, "You're a haole, so you're nothing. So we'll make you an honorary Portuguese!"

please help me pick my chin off of the floor. That pisses me off to read it.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

One Samoan versus how many Hawaiians? 10 Hawaiians? They might have a chance then. :D


heh, but we know who the bu is; whether he calls her ma or babe, both the moke and the sole fear the wahine. ;)

[PoiBoy]

it's a humbling experience to get the muli kicked by the women. :o

[alohabear]

Is Tia actually part-Hawaiian? So confusing. Woman was listed as Spanish-Chinese-Filipino then all the sudden she was Hawaiian-Spanish-Chinese-Filipino and now she's listed on somethings with the Hawaiian and others without the Hawaiian.

She isn't one of those kama`aina who left the islands and suddenly became native Hawaiian, is she?

Another confusing one is Kelly Preston but I'm more sure she is part-Hawaiian than I am Tia.

Anyone know what's up with these two?Althea Janairo sounds Filipino to me. Q'orianka may have Scot in her, her cousin is singer Jewel , so maybe:rolleyes:

[buzz1941]

The rather roundabout point I was making was that Kaiulani Cleghorn was a child of two worlds, and distinctly aware of that.

Scots — and Scottish descendents as we are — have no love for forced colonization, either physical or cultural. The Highland Clearances (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances) still rankle and that was three centuries ago. This was how my folks wound up in the colonies.

The Scotland Act of 1998 is just a baby step toward a free and independent Scotland. Maybe in our lifetime.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a mentor to Kaiulani and instilled in her a pride of her Scots heritage. It is a part of her story.

As for the dumbass elementary school teacher, she was trying to be helpful, but like many, she made the assumption that haoles have no ethnic heritage. It is treated as a blank spot to be ignored.

The punchline, though -- the other kids elected my kid Lei Day Queen!

[GeckoGeek]

The punchline, though -- the other kids elected my kid Lei Day Queen!

I can't remember who said it, but I like it: "Success is the best revenge."

[Lei K]

Althea Janairo sounds Filipino to me. Q'orianka may have Scot in her, her cousin is singer Jewel , so maybe:rolleyes:


I do believe the Kilcher's (Jewel and Q'orianka) are Swiss. Maybe German.

[Leo Lakio]

It will be a scandal if the actress isn't half Scots.It's different because she was a Hawaiian princess and the movie is about Hawaiian history.Reminds me of the "joy" I felt when a certain mediocre actor-director took on the role of one of my direct Scots ancestors, William Wallace. But that didn't seem to cause much of a stir, perhaps due to the overall indifference summed up by the schoolteacher to which Buzz referred.For some reason, I'm reminded of the time one of my daughters was in public elementary school, and Lei Day was approaching and the kids were all preparing their various ethnic displays, and the teacher — meaning to be kind, I assume — explained to her, "You're a haole, so you're nothing. So we'll make you an honorary Portuguese!"As for the dumbass elementary school teacher, she was trying to be helpful, but like many, she made the assumption that haoles have no ethnic heritage. It is treated as a blank spot to be ignored.I realize that there are multitudes in Hawai`i who would be outraged by such an attitude (some right here on this board), but at the same time, you can not deny that this is an attitude amongst many Island residents - white=absence of 'color'=absence of culture.

Not looking for explanation or apology or outrage - just acceptance that this does occur, quite openly and regularly. Doesn't mean anyone here thinks it's okay. But it is still racist, nonetheless, and needs to be remembered at those times when people claim that only haoles exhibit such behavior.
I do believe the Kilcher's (Jewel and Q'orianka) are Swiss. Maybe German.Q'orianka's bios claim that her father is Peruvian and mother is Swiss - born in Germany, and with American ancestors as well (the Alaska connection.)

[buzz1941]

The whole point of acting is to be able to step into someone else's skin. Does this mean that Jason Momoa should not be allowed to play an alien on "Stargate Atlantis"?

The gamble the producers have on the Kaiulani movie will settle squarely on the shoulders of the person playing the princess. The Kamehameha movie was largely scuttled by insistance that only a pure Hawaiian could play the Warrior King. Which means, of course, that Kamehameha's extraordinary accomplishments will remain unknown to most of the world.

[Random]

The whole point of acting is to be able to step into someone else's skin. Does this mean that Jason Momoa should not be allowed to play an alien on "Stargate Atlantis"?
Not if his character is Santa Claus. ;)

Then again, whoever said that Kris Kringle has to be White and/or German?

I guess it's a matter of pride. Many believe that if Hollywood producers look hard enough they can find race-specific actors/actresses for race-specific character roles.

As for Jason playing Ronon, I've always believe Polynesians come from a distant galaxy. That and Filipinos.

[buzz1941]

As for Jason playing Ronon, I've always believe Polynesians come from a distant galaxy. That and Filipinos.

I once gave a friend who worked on the "Star Trek" television franchise a hard time about not having any Polynesians in the cast.

[Leo Lakio]

Then again, whoever said that Kris Kringle has to be White and/or German?Same people who say Jesus was haole?:eek:

[Random]

Same people who say Jesus was haole?:eek:
We grew up and are so used to the Western/European depiction of Christ in artworks and sculptures.

For all we know, he could look like Albert Einstein.

[Leo Lakio]

For all we know, he could look like Albert Einstein.Or Osama Bin Laden.

(heat shields up)

[Mililani]

Or maybe he wasn't white, maybe he was........... oh never mind, I'm not going to say it here.. I don't have a heat shield. :eek:

But, as for the original question. It doesn't matter to me who plays the princess, as long as the story is accurate.

[Random]

Or Osama Bin Laden.

(heat shields up)
Nah. I prefer a younger version of Hamid Karzai. Or the current King of Jordan.

[Random]

But, as for the original question. It doesn't matter to me who plays the princess, as long as the story is accurate.
If Gina Torres is playing the princess, I'd pay full ticket (not matinee) price. ;)

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

I am very hopeful that this film will be a sympathetic and accurate portrayal of the young ali'i Princess Ka'iulani -- from everything that I have read about the production thus far, it seems that they are trying to be as culturally sensitive as they can. I don't think this will be a "Disneyfied" version of her life at all.

I think it far more important to have an actress who can accurately convey that sense of coming from "two worlds" and her ultimately heartbreaking end which mirrored the end of the Hawaiian Monarchy. Such a contrast between her privileged up-bringing here in Hawai'i and years in Europe to her ending years here as an "Ex Princess." She truly lost the will to live after the Overthrow.

I have only seen the actress in "New World" - but she was absolutely wonderful in that -- she could convey worlds with her facial expressions alone and no dialogue. I especially remember the contrast between her freedom and happiness in America and her bewilderment and sadness in her final scenes in England.

They have also signed Costume Designer "Milena Canonero" - the winner of the Oscar for "Marie Antoinette" (as well as "Barry Lyndon" and "Chariots of Fire", nominated for "Out of Africa", etc.) -- so they are certainly not stinting on the production itself it seems.

Malama Pono,