Maui film festival gets star attention
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Maui's "FirstLight 2002: Academy Screenings on Maui" is off and running, with a total of 36 films being shown over 13 days at Castle Theatre at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
More than a dozen titles are Hawai'i premieres, and many films are expected to be tapped for Academy Award consideration.
The festival opened Wednesday and continues through Jan. 5.
It's got buzz. Trade publication The Hollywood Reporter took notice of the event in a two-page spread in its international edition last week, gushing about the gamut of Academy Award-worthy films to be exhibited during the holiday season.
And it's got stardust, too; stars such as Prince, Ray Romano and Cher have been popping into pre-festival gatherings and may show up at screenings over the run of the event.
"The films we have in the festival all merit Oscar consideration," said Barry Rivers, festival director and organizer of the Maui Film Festival. "Ours is the biggest little festival of its kind anywhere in the world."
In its fourth season, "FirstLight" also is drawing attention from film-goers. FastPass VIP tickets, on sale at Borders or at the center box office, are popular in getting quick access to better seats, said Rivers.
The holiday event kicked off Wednesday with two highly-touted new films by director Denzel Washington ("Antwone Fisher," with Washington also acting, along with Derek Luke and Joy Bryant) and Martin Scorcese ("Gangs of New York," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). Rivers said the films come on the heels of massive publicity blitzes for both directors; Washington was interviewed by Mary Hart on "Entertainment Tonight" last week and Scorcese got national attention in a "Today" show interview with Katie Couric.
"Chicago," the much-anticipated musical based on the Broadway hit "All That Jazz," premiered last night with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rene Zellweiger, and Richard Gere in their musical debut.
New films by Jack Nicholson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, and Meryl Streep also have a Hawai'i premiere under the "FirstLight" banner.
The festival concludes Jan. 5 with a showing of "8 Women," the French musical mystery starring Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert.
