Maui Premiere for “Get A Job” Sells Out!
The love and support surrounding the high-spirited Maui film, Get A Job!, culminated with a celebration of colorful characters during a special premiere and benefit for the Maui Food Bank on Sunday, Nov. 28, at the Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC). Tickets to the Maui premiere sold out and a line formed quickly to get into the theater and wound its way all the way to the street.
Fans who were unable to purchase seats before they sold out, happily forked over money for standing room only tickets that were made available last minute. All in all, the audience, both sitting and standing, hooted and hollered and roared with laughter throughout the film.
Written and directed by Brian Kohne, and produced by multi-talented delight Stefan Schaefer, Get A Job! is a motion picture comedy filmed and produced entirely on Maui starring local celebrities Willie K and Eric Gilliom, and an all-Hawai‘i cast and crew. The film, the first of many collaborations between Kohne’s Malama Pono Productions, Schaefer’s Cicala Filmworks, and Eric Gilliom’s Beachmaster Productions, was well-received during the recent Hawai‘i International Film Festival on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island.
Two Hawaii icons tackle the lead roles of William (Willie Kahaiali‘i) and Merton (Eric Gilliom). It’s a pairing that Kohne calls “the dichotomy of two dudes.” Antipodal though the characters may be, their interaction and antics explore how no one’s journey can be mutually exclusive from another’s, especially once paths collide.
In the film, William (Willie K) plays a former musician who found success as an employment agent on Maui until he fails with Merton (Gilliom), a lovable surfer who will win audiences over with his silly charm and creative sophistication. Love, life and lunacy get in the way, and each layer of the film reveals more versatile characters that add to William’s stress. Kohne expects viewers to be amazed by “some serious acting” and antics from the well-known cast.
Along with satirical sensation Augie T and O‘ahu’s Carolyn Omine (a writer for The Simpsons), the film also stars an array of “who’s who of the top musical talent and personalities in Hawai‘i,” including Henry Kapono Ka‘aihue, Amy Hanaiali‘i, Kealoha, Kathy Collins, Charles Ka‘upu and Jake Shimabukuro.
International music legends living on Maui, like Mick Fleetwood, make special appearances throughout, and the soundtrack features a variety of Hawai‘i artists, including several songs from the Barefoot Natives—the Willie K and Gilliom musical duo.
“The songs are a much bigger picture of the Barefoot Natives’ music as a vision, and hopefully will wake up audiences to where our aspirations lie,” Kohne said.
Keeping with the spirit of Get A Job being a musical film, the audience rocked out to a concert that followed the screening with all-star guests and friends shaking their booties to the vibes of Dr. Nat & The Get-A-Job All-Star Band. Including performances by Eric Gilliom and his Grammy nominated sister, Amy Hanaialii Gilliom, Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood on drums, legendary Bob Harrison on bass.
To view pictures from the Maui premiere or learn more about the movie visit “Get A Job” on Facebook or “get your giggle on” at the groovy, interactive Website, www.getajobthemovie.com.
