I read through the latest script last night. Obviously this guy wanted to use our Princess as a main character simply because he needed an exotic angle to make a sub-standard love story seem more interesting.What I found most ironic was the disclaimer on the second page: "This film is based on historical fact. Some events and dates have been altered for dramatic license."Yah, no kidding.How about this alteration of historical fact: there are no bayonets present at the signing of the Bayonet Constitution. (There's very good reason why the constitution was named after a weapon...)Or these "alterations"...The Royal Hawaiian Band plays Hawai'i Ponoi at the ceremony for the declaration of the Republic, but then shows them walking off. There's no explanation as to why they walked off...if I didn't know Hawaiian history, I wouldn't understand this move at all. There's no way for the audience to know that they were protesting.The narrator at the end talks about the 1993 Apology Bill for the ILLEGAL overthrow of the kingdom, but there's not one single thing within the movie to illustrate that. I mean, how is the audience supposed to understand why it is illegal? The only mention made is when Thurston sends a message to Stevenson...but you're expected to figure out for yourself why he did that or what it meant, and what happened as a result? There's no way John Q. Public could figure out what all of this means without doing research on his own... and how likely is that?How about the portrayal of Thurston as some idiotic hot-head who can't keep his mouth shut and his gun in its holster? While the thought of this is entertaining, I think this portrayal is more accurate of his descendants, and not necessarily of him. I mean, do we really want the world thinking that someone that stupid was able to take away our kingdom? It makes us out to be idiots as well.Or what about the sympathetic Dole, who wasn't sorry that he had a role in stealing our kingdom, but who was sorry that we couldn't vote once American law took over. Poor thing, yah...? He feels so guilty...I think the most damaging part, however, is at the end when Ka'iulani says that "...an entire nation died..." Then Dole tells Ka'iulani that the nation, "...lives in you." And then the next thing you see is Ka'iulani dying.Yes, lets just tell the entire world through illustration that we believe our nation is dead, and that the Princess who fought so hard for that nation believed it too. Obviously the writer of this movie believes that, or he wouldn't have structured the script that way.Of course, filmmakers have always used that "dramatic license" disclaimer to create wildly inaccurate fantasies about actual events...Hawai'i is not the first to fall victim to it, nor will we be the last. Unfortunately the film is still being made. And at some point, an audience somewhere will walk out of a theater thinking, "that's a shame about what happened to Hawai'i," then never think about it again.Thanks to Maoliworld for posting the script.
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I walked by the palace this morning, unaware of what I would find once I arrived there...Apparently they're filming the already infamous 'love story' on our palace grounds for 4 days. The palace is decked out in all its regal splendor, including the gazebo. (I hope they're not allowed to enter the gazebo...they won't even let most Hawaiians walk on the gazebo!)They've put mulch down over all the pavement, to make it appear like dirt roads, and they've got horse-drawn carriages (minus the horses) sitting in front of the main entrance's steps. They've also got actors in costume walking around...it all makes for a very surreal scene.While I don't support the movie (based on historical facts? yah, right...), the palace right now really is a sight worth seeing.BTW, if you're thinking about going to the archives, palace grounds parking is off-limits.
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