October 31st, 2008
It has been several long months since that lonely night I typed out The Last Princess film blog. Since it was published, I have seen my blog read, reviewed, replied to, and used in other articles relating to the film that I greatly anticipate. I have even begun to suspect that my blog may have had some influence over the actual film itself, but I have no proof to confirm that.
Needless to say, after moving to Los Angeles, concluding half a year of Film School, and maturing into a young woman from that angsty, cursing teenager who wrote that blog, I will admit that it now has made me cringe and wonder if the world honestly took me seriously with the forceful and rude way I was writing.
Now, as an official student filmmaker, I believe it is my responsibility to redeem myself and write a new article about the Ka’iulani film. There have been many new developments, controversies and new opinions about the film that I wish to address, as well as to assure the world of my newfound maturity.
The new blog will be available here, as well as my website in the coming weeks. For now, I have edited my old blog to make it more User-friendly (which basically meant just deleting all of the curses).
Be sure to check back here soon for my new article.
-Mahalo
Any little girl dreams about being a fairytale princess sometime in her life. After that they usually graduate to movie stars, pop idols or Power Rangers. I am not guiltless of this Princess obsession, and I have my share of memories that include dressing up in homemade fantasy gowns and strutting about the house singing the princess theme songs.
These princesses include all of the girls in the current Disney Princess line up except Mulan, who was introduced when I had already long outgrew Power Rangers, and is technically not a Princess anyways and I think was only included as an excuse for cultural diversity. Anastasia came out late as well, a product of Don Bluth rather than Disney. In my opinion, had Don Bluth made more Princess feature films after Anastasia, he would have been more successful and would not have had to throw the white flag at Disney.
Anyways, the point is, all of these Princesses were FICTIONAL, which is why I believe they appeal to younger girls who were more or less forbidden to have a grip on reality until they became preteens. Not many real princesses led lives that would be appealing to little innocent girls, and the few that were based on real girls would never have been so admired had the animators stayed so completely true to their stories. (Anastasia and her family met with a bloody end, and don’t even get me started on Pocahontas)
Since I am American, I had the misfortune of growing up in a country famous for rejecting Royal influence. But jolly lucky me! I didn’t grow up just anywhere in America, I GREW UP IN HAWAII.
Besides all the obvious things that will make you envious at all the things I grew up with (Sand, Sea, Surf, Sun, Summer all year…. green yet?). We had something that the rest of America lacked. A Royal family.
So yes, Hawaii had a royal family. And what would a royal family be without Princesses?
Hawaii had its share of famous Princesses. There is Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who founded the Kamehameha schools and has billions to her name. Miriam Likelike, who the famous highway was named after, and one of the most well known, Princess Victoria Ka’iulani.
I don’t know when I first heard about Princess Ka’iulani, but I knew by the time I landed in Fresno that I was so touched by her story that I was sobbing in the airplane. It must have been sometime in high school when I began doing serious research on the princess. The more I read about her, the more she felt like one of those fairy tale princesses that I had so admired as a child. She was born amidst much celebration, crown princess of an island nation, raised in a tropical paradise with ever blooming flowers, friend to famous poets, writers and royals, owned a garden full of peacocks and her very own white pony.
She was also raised amidst much political turmoil, with outside forces trying dirty tactics to get Hawaii for themselves. She traveled around the United States in an attempt to gain support for her kingdom, but ultimately failed and saw her kingdom overrun by the US. With apparently nothing left to live for, she fell sick and died at the tender age of 23.
Her story really struck a chord with me, and I spent my last few days in Hawaii wandering around Iolani Palace, the State Library and the State Archives dabbling in information about her. I even bought a biography about the princess that kept me occupied and in tears all the way to Fresno.
While being notoriously bored in my new home because the extreme weather kept me indoors, (100+ in the summer then abruptly 30 in the fall and winter?!) I began to formulate plans of making the touching tale of Ka’iulani into a motion picture. I had been a video productions student for years back in Hawaii and was on my way to Film school anyways. So to keep me sane, I began making plans to make a film about her in the far future after I was completed with Film School.
One night I was randomly Googling info to see if any movies were made on her previously
and that’s when I found THIS
I was utterly devastated. Partly because my grand idea was already being undertaken by someone else, but mostly because I was really looking forward to making this and I had lots of grad ideas and research planned, and had such hope for this project that made me happy during those inhospitable months in Armona.
I was so emotional that night that I went on a tirade on one of the internet forums that I frequented.
After I had calmed down and composed myself, I wrote the man-in-charge Marc Forby for additional info, and we exchanged a few e-mails and phone numbers.
I totally abandoned all thought of the Ka’iulani picture after talking with Forby, since I didn’t need any more reminder that he beat me to the punch. But after those few e-mails I somehow was able to convince myself that Forby was an OK man for the job. One of those reasons was his correction on my use of titles for Ka’iulani, something about using Her Royal Highness instead of Her Majesty or some random thing like that. My subsequent Google searches also have shown to me that Forby really did his research and was taking this very seriously, so I felt safe to trust him.
But one thing that really irked me about Forby and the movie was that the announcement and casting call were so clearly published before I left Oahu in Augyst, 2006. You would have thought that I would have heard about it before I decided to make a film about her, but Noooo! I’m like “You’d think I would have heard about it before I left!” Especially since Forby claimed to have done all the following:
1) Published an article in the Star Bulletin in 2005
2) Did an open call at the PK hotel
3) Did an interview over the local radio calling for auditions
4) Auditioned the drama department at Kamehameha schools
5) Used the services of the top two casting directors in Oahu, Ms. Fishburn and Mrs Doversola
6) Auditioned clients of print modelling agencies and Kathy Muller agency (which lead us to Kaimana)
7) Contacted over 20 hula halaus in Oahu
Contacted hula halaus in California
9) Auditioned a Hawaiian athlete who had a great look but no experience
10) Casted a Hawaiian girl in 2005 and announced it in the press, trained her for one year before realizing she could not carry the film.
11) Offered the role in December of 2005 to a Hawaiian actress in Hollywood who later bowed out.
12) I even tried cast a cousin of mine who is Hawaiian but she did think she could act.
Yeah, just looking at that list could make you faint, especially if you had any idea how difficult it is to cast a film (among other things!) But really, if it was really this hyped out, why didn’t I hear about it?
I’m better connected than others, especially since I had contacts with the Hawaii Film Festival, The Hawaii Film Commission, the ‘Olelo Community Television Networks, Searider Productions in Waianae, and lots of actor friends. With my connections I would have at least heard a whisper about the film before I had time to grow such burning desire and passion to create a Ka’iulani picture before Forby beat me to it.
Now that it is clear that Forby will take this thing to fruition, I better stop ranting about it and instead write about what I expect to see in this picture when it comes out.
First off, no title for the Ka’iulani film has been announced, so we can only call it now The Ka’iulani film/picture. I myself had wanted to call my version The Last Princess. I’m sure Forby wouldn’t really agree with this title since Ka’iulani wasn’t the last princess of the Hawaiian monarchy. I thought it would fit since Ka’iulani’s life and death centered around the collapse of the monarchy, and also for audience appeal as well, since titles such as The Last Samurai, The Last Emperor, The Last Mimzy, The Last Unicorn were pretty good. Titles beginning with The Last… also invoke lots of emotions too, from curiosity, to hope, to intrigue about what the story is about and how it will resolve, which is a good audience attractor. Add “Princess” to that, and you double people’s interests. “Ooooh! The Last Princess from where? Who was she? What did she do? “
Another title I had for my film was Island Rose in reference to the poem Robert Louis Stevenson wrote for her. This choice seems far less appealing though, since it sounds too much like a romantic comedy/chick flick or an NC-17 tropical romance title. Anything with a Hawaiian name would confuse the predominantly English speaking world. If it were named simply “Ka’iulani” you could guarantee that 95% of the people who see the movie poster will pronounce it Kai-you-lan-knee, which is absolute torture.
I’ll let Forby handle this one, since by now I know that he wouldn’t resort to a corny title for his prized masterwork.
As for the girls Forby casted to play the Princess, I actually don’t really have a problem with them. Kaimana Pa’aluhi, (the girl to be playing young Ka’iulani from 12-17 years old) looks very pretty and haughty, with a hint of mischief, which is just like the Princess. But IMO she’s a bit thin. I know the Queen had once told Ka’iulani to watch how much she eats, but really, she couldn’t have been *that* thin at that age. It would be better if Kaimana gained a few pounds to get those young plump princess cheeks, but we’ll see if she can pull the acting bit off regardless how big her cheeks are.
Starting Ka’iulani’s story off at 12 years is something that worries me a bit. That was around the time Princess Likelike, her mother, died and the Princess left for England for her formal schooling. I’m wondering how much of her life in Hawaii Forby plans on showing in the film. In my version, I had planned to show a collage of Ka’iulani from her birth at Keoua Hale to when she meets her governess Miss Gardinier, which means casting up to 4 separate girls for Ka’iulani for the entire movie. One as an infant, one as a child from 4-12, another for 12-17 and one other for her as a young woman. Oh well, let’s see what Forby does with it.
Speaking of which: Forby has chosen Q’orianka Kilcher to play Ka’iulani in her later years. Best known for playing Pocahontas in the 2005 film The New World (which I haven’t seen yet, I know, I’m a pathetic excuse for a film major). Apart from also being very pretty and haughty, Q’orianka looks convincingly Hapa Hawaiian. Even better, she’s an indigenous people’s activist, which was exactly what Ka’iulani was when she traveled around the US to try and stop Hawaiian annexation, or something close. The decision to cast her in the role of Ka’iulani has caused some controversy in the Hawaiian community due to her nationality. But I agree with Forby, in that if she looks the part and she can act well, especially in a film as sensitive as this, then she gets the part. Purity of blood has nothing to do with acting skills, so why choose a Hawaiian girl if she can’t act anyways? I would care less about an actress’s blood quality and focus more on her acting skills when I enter a cinema.
For me, I had been eyeing Keisha Castle-Hughes to fill the role of Ka’iulani. Not only is Maori blood closer to Hawaiian that Quechua (Kidding kidding, don’t take me seriously here) but Keisha was already well liked in the islands for her performance in the movie Whale Rider. I honestly thought her acting could have done some more work, but her performance was wonderful and I liked the movie. I’m sure Forby must’ve considered her at one point, and he must have had his reasons for not offering the role to her, or maybe he did and she refused. Or maybe it had something to do with her 16-year-old self plus a big growing belly that by now has turned into a Joy Bundle. I dunno, I’ll have to give him a ring to find out.
All-in-all, I can’t wait to view this film and see what Forby’s version of Ka’iulani’s life story will be. I doubt that Ka’iulani will achieve the same fame and admiration as Disney’s fairytale princesses, but hopefully her story will inform people of the true history of Hawaii and maybe let the world have some respect and pity for the former Island kingdom that has since been degraded to a tourist spot full of primitive beliefs and native girls in grass skirts. It’s so hard to have a decent conversation about Hawaii with Mainlanders who grew up with the notion that Hawaii is a third-world settlement that caters to the thriving tourist market.
But mark my words, Marc Forby! If I am not totally satisfied with what I see, expect both a phone call and a hard time from me. I still have a chance at a remake.
-Val
March 28, 2008 at 9:28 pm
[...] IMDB page has been created yet, so I combed the web more and came across this blog entry about The Last Princess aka The Princess Kaiulani film from Vivacious Valenian. I think the actresses selected are interesting choices. I just hope they [...]
April 1, 2008 at 7:53 am
You should have done the film. Its not the casting that people are annoyed with, its the script and how he the Forby has ignored not only Native Hawaiian cultural experts but even Native Hawaiian academia who had offered to help him out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRDx8ouk2xQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gubVK_Si-Y4
April 5, 2008 at 2:15 am
Aloha kaua -
Mahalo for your constructive and interesting mana’o.
It is increasingly evident that instead of avoiding all the pitfalls he originally promised so many in the community he would avoid, the film-maker is
falling into the trap of previous “native princess” myth-perpetuating
projects undertaken by those outside these cultures (telling the story from a primarily white male viewpoint)…in which of course said princess must be “involved” with a white man (never mind that the real Clive Davies married Edith Fox while Ka’iulani was still alive). Ka’iulani’s life really didn’t need such a “romance” for the sake of a poetic and compelling telling, but perceived box office “demands” and Ms. Kilcher’s established image apparently require it.
Already commentators unfamiliar with the subject are heading their
articles with titles like “Scots Pocahontas” (I can imagine the endless number of reviews titled “Pocahontas Goes Hawaiian” clogging the entertainment pages of newspapers after the film’s release- a painful prospect)…in which she is referred to as “exotic” (amazing writers can get away with that in the year 2008), and in which emphasis is placed on her “fiery temper” (another stereotype – Ka’iulani’s temper was no more fiery than anyone else’s…but you know those “natives”!). So much for progress in the way indigenous people are perceived/described.
It is depressing that numerous subtleties/just plain facts of Ka’iulani’s complex life will be lost for the sake of so-called dramatic tension; The script apparently
goes for inaccuracies at numerous points…so we have Ka’iulani’s first poor governess behaving like a witch, Ka’iulani acting like a “wildcat” (the first script called for her father to slap her out of this – again an image of white male control; never mind that striking anyone on the face is anathema in Hawaiian culture) – all this exaggeration and distortion for supposed dramatic effect…; Ka’iulani fleeing for her life to England (nonsense from a historical perspective: the possible danger to her life existed after she returned to Hawai’i in 1897, when anti-royals very much feared what kind of loyalty she might still inspire). On and on.
Nothing new in film dramas and the problematic genre of the biopic, of course, but it will make the job of cultural practitioners/historians very difficult in future, attempting (with limited success, one imagines) to correct the false impressions the film leaves behind. With a century of gross misrepresentation of Hawaiians already in place at that…
One can continue to hope for the best, of course, but the reaction during filming in Hawai’i (and the very unhappy precedent of filming at ‘Iolani
Palace) does not bode well.
A true telling of Ka’iulani’s life needs to come ultimately from within Kanaka ‘Oiwi culture/media. Perhaps the fallout from the Forby film will provide those who can treat her life in the truly pono fashion it deserves with the motivation they need to undertake a project of such a nature.
May 21, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Looking for the P.K. trailor, I was told it was out already, I stumbled upon the comment from Val and now your blog about the movie. As a Hapa-Haole, born and raised in southern california and living and raising my family in Hawaii (my home) for the past 30 years, it wasn’t until i moved here in ‘79 and actually began working and beginning a life with my husband that I began to learn and understand issues concerning the Kanaka Maoli. (You see, there weren’t many hawaiian families living in southern calif, so those of us who were there, who moved there from Hawaii after the Korean War looking for better job opportunites, well we were a tight, close-knit group)
I was fortunate I had the best of both worlds, my hawaiian ancestry and my haole ancestry, and we were taught both of them. (No we neva go Kamehameha, my father and all his siblings are alumni as is his parents, we went mainland school) Which brings me to the next comment….I don’t remember learning much about Hawaii in my history class or having much listed in the book, and I believe there may have been a couple of paragraphs touching on Hawaii, probably having to do with Pearl Harbor, definetely nothing about the overthrow of our Kingdom. So the fact that Marc Forby has set out to shed light on THAT fact gives me hope that the finished product will also shed light on issues facing our hawaiian community now, like the passing or not-passing of the Akaka Bill. YES, people, this can get political, and whether or not you agree or disagree with the language of the Bill, it must be passed. We must get our feet in the door, for we will always be able to amend it later!!
But, I also agree with Val, I too, have a problem talking about Hawaii, its issues, its history to mainlanders who think we live in grass shacks and run around with coconut bra (or none at all) and hula skirts and men with malos. And I have a bigger concern when I discuss issues with the local populous that are too, of narrow mindedness. And it is for that reason, I am proud to say I was a part of the filming of P.K., as were many native hawaiian and non-native hawaiian local crew members and cast members. They were ALL RESPECTFUL AND DILIGENT in the way we worked at the Iolani Palace and no one was injured and nothing was damaged. Many of us hadn’t visited the Palace since small kid days, so it was nice to see new pieces that were located and restored back in the Palace. Princess Kaiulani loved celebrations, and at times, I felt as if she and our beloved Queen were in the room with us and enjoying themselves especially during the filming of Kaiulani’s birthday party. (talk about chicken skin and just good feeling throughout my instrument) thats when I knew, it would be okay, we were accepted there. (And to me, our Royals have the last say, No one else!!) and yes, i have been blessed to have that “Mana”. say no more.
Well I still haven’t seen the trailor, but I have full confidence that Forby will and has done right by the making of this movie. Otherwise, I’m might have to get ugly!!
A CLOSING NOTE….I can’t help but think the “green” monster has attacked many of my people regarding this movie…So, please, if you have the background, and VAL you obviously do, I would love to work with you on your movie about the princess, I guess it would be a documentary though, not so much a movie for theaters. Or maybe a series, the telling of the islands being united, royalty pre-missionary dayz, then coming from the 18th century, forward. so much to think about…better get writing, researching, and talking story with our cultural advisors, and we have many advisors and they all have varying opinions and teachings on the same subjects….so be forewarned, it won’t be easy, but what a journey in deed. Go get ‘em and Good Luck! A hui hou
November 7, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Aloha,
Mahalo to Marc Forby for taking the time to create this film.
At the try-outs you put me, a Hawaiian, in tears.
The script was very touching, powerful and educates our youth about our history.
I’m also very pleased with Q’orianka Kilcher, a Kauai-an and professional actress, playing the role as Princess Kaiulani.
I hope she wins an Oscar.
Mahalo
November 21, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I can’t wait to see the movie! I lived there in 1947 & 1948 when my young Dad ran the Mid-Pacific tropical disease lab at Schofield. Looked at our great slides for 50 years & returned for glorious vacation in 2000. Now am an amateur Hawaii scholar & read touching biography of Princess Ka’iulani. I hope to see a movie with lots of gorgeous scenery without too many Pearl Harbor bombs that is respectful to all kinds of people and at least somewhat realistic. I won’t pay to see any movie until I’ve heard enough about it to know whether I’ll enjoy it. Mahalo!!
December 31, 2008 at 8:47 am
@ Hokulani
Today I sent this person a long message through YouTube about his list of 10 Lies about the film. NONE of the lies he lists is true, and I cannot understand why Mr. Forby is being attacked by so many people!
Is it because he’s not Native? It’s clear from the videos posted on YouTube that many of the people protesting the film have not read the script at all (including Hokulani, apparently!) and their upsets are completely at odds with what’s in the script, which is very sensitive to history and is available online to be read by all.
January 3, 2009 at 4:17 am
The idea of making a motion picture of Princess Kaiulani has been a long time coming! I am thrilled to see her life come to the big screen! To those that know of her, I am hoping that the film will portray her for the gentle person she was. I have read most of what few articles and books about the Princess, and as most people that have read any Hawai’ian history, she first came to light to me when I was 12 years old! Still after 47 years, my heart still breaks when I hear or read about her! To those that are in the process of making this motion picture, please do Her Highness justice! The world needs to know who she was and what she stood for!! TDE
January 22, 2009 at 10:22 am
i think it is great that you are so passionate about our history.growing up i heard her name before,but didnt know her whole story.one day when i was thirteen a friend of my mother met me and said i was identical to princess kaiulani…i thought no way.but i was curious ,so i found a book about her with pictures from when she was a small child till just before she died.i was stunned…..it was scary.well maybe not so much if you think about how mixed most of us hawaiian children are.and so was she.my mother is also from an area very near where ainahau was.so anyway i read more about her a coulple different book and like you it had me in tears.for some reason at that very young age it hit HOME.so since then anytime i come accross a book or picture or anything about her i get excited.i am very glad a film has been made or will be made.i would like to think she will not be forgotten,and that our children will be more familiar with out history than i was at that age.also if there is anyway i may be able to help with this in any way please let me know.i look forward to hearing from you!
aloha,
summerann keolani lorenzo (taylor)
March 25, 2009 at 8:31 am
Hey wassup,
I read your blog and I liked the thoughtfulness in it. It wasn’t filled with anger and frustration which I find most often (even in myself). I havn’t quiet developed my opinion on the film, but I’m definately going to try and figure it out. I’m now living on the mainland going to school for my degree and it’s been a real experince. It is astonishing how distorted and most times completely unknown the history of Hawai’i is to most people, honestly though, it was something I expected. People will only learn about something they care about and from the beginning, Hawai’i was nothing more than a buisness venture/ military trophy to United States government. Anyways, the point I would like to make is that if this movie really does tell a hollywood version of the Ka’iulani story it will be a sad thing not only because it would be a distortion of one of the last stories of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but because the ignorance that exists about the Kingdom’s story will only be perpetuated. I don’t know, that’s my thoughts.
By the way, I loved the part “While being notoriously bored in my new home because the extreme weather kept me indoors…” This made me laugh so hard.. the mainland really does suck somethimes.
Additionally, I don’t think its right for anyone to judge people for being upset about the film, even if it is simply because this Forby guy is not of Hawaiian descent. It’s fairly difficutl to trust a stranger to tell the story of your late beloved loved one, especially when you have your soul invested in the story and the stranger a mere several million dollars.
God’s will be done with this one, thats the greatest we can hope for.
May 9, 2009 at 3:57 am
Hi, it’s Kaimana
I was casted as the role for the younger Ka’iulani, ages 13-16. A year later, I was fired. After all the interviews and news shows I’ve done! I was very saddened and upset when I heard this from Marc. Especially because I attend Kamehameha Schools and spoke basic Hawaiian from Hawaiian 1A and 1B in intermediate. I was fired for being taller than Qorianka who is NOT Hawaiian. I think that Marc should pay attention to the race, when looking for actors. Or…maybe I’m just upset to this day. But, what’s done is done. I just had to vent. =/ Mahalo.
May 9, 2009 at 3:59 am
Oh…and Princess Ka’iulani is a wonderful person who did so much for us, Hawaiians! I was honored to be considered for the role. When reading lines, I felt so connected to her. I hope this film does go well, and lets the Hawaiian people be proud of who they are.