To no one’s surprise, “Lilo & Stitch 2” is in the planning stages at the House of Mouse.
Disney today announced the sequel to the popular live-action, Hawaii-filmed audience favorite, which so far has grossed $914 million – and counting – as the summer’s hot ticket.
“Should’ve known we couldn’t keep a secret,” Disney said on social media. “A 626 Day surprise: ‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ is now in development!”
Stitch, with Lilo (Maia Kealoha), in the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” hit film.
Numerically speaking, June 26 – 626 Day – ties into Stitch’s origins as Experiment 626.
The sequel logically means the ultimate callback of the first live-action cast, including Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Kaipo Dudoit, Tia Carrera, Amy Hill, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance and Zach Galifianakis.
The hit film was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp from a screenplay by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes.
Stay tuned for more details…
‘Glengarry’ rises to No. 2 on Broadway list
There’s a major change in the weekly list of Broadway’s best, with “Glengarry Glen Ross” moving up to No. 2, behind “Wicked” and ahead of the longstanding faves “Hamilton” and “The Lion King.”
There’s joy and jubilation aplenty, in Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” summertime hit.
Islanders flocking back to the cinema, to enjoy a bona fide treasure and pleasure, will realize this isn’t a kiddie film. It’s a dramady with laughs, with a positive script and appealing cartoon characters coming to life.
Surely, you must know someone in the film – a relative, a neighbor down the street, a hula dancer you’ve seen –so there’s plenty to applaud. Further, “L&S” appear to be this year’s smash hit, so clap like crazy. With its opening weekend gross last week topping $183 million domestically, it’s almost certain that a Disney sequel will be in the works in the distant future.
Stitch with Lilo (Maia Kealoha): Skipping streaming for the big screen.
For the record, Disney earlier pegged “Lilo & Stitch” as a streaming film via its Disney+. Luckily, somebody saw gold and plans swiftly changed. “L&S’s” performance – a live-action flick with cartoon roots — was No. 2 for the Mouse House for the first weekend — with “The Lion King” checking in at No. 1 with $171 million” in 2019 and “Beauty & the Beast” garnering $174 million in 2017.
Maia Kealoha
Clearly, the blue alien from the cartoon original is back and steals the picture. Stitch was naughty, two decades again, and he’s still unabashedly eager to create havoc, and he’s the key non-human (also known as 626, in his earlier life) we still adore. The cutie who steals the film is newcomer Maia Kealoha, who brings Lilo to life, but she’s still searching for a friend, still loving Elvis Presley on vinyl, and is unafraid to shove her hula halau smartie off the stage. She needs a companion badly, and this turns out to be Stitch, who resembles a dog or a koala bear, who’s blue, with a lot of teeth, has special powers, and well, becomes a pet and a companion in escapades that put both in trouble. Lilo names him Stitch, and he arrives from the heavens and they become best buddies. Message here: you take the friend that crashes in your troubled life.
Tia Carrere
Her sister Nani (Sydney Agudon) still frets about holding a job, finding another one, caring for Lilo, and dodges the social worker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere) who wants to split the family. But yes, Lilo and Stitch both know – family means ‘ohana, and no one gets left behind.
‘Twas the mantra then, and it still works now. If you don’t abandon hope.
Ksipo Dudoit
Kaipo Dudoit, appearing as David Kawena in his feature film debut, has a crush on Nani, and is a neighbor of Lilo and Nani. Off camera, he dances hula with Robert Cazimero’s Merrie Monarch-winning Halau Na Kamalei O Lililehua, occasionally sings with his father’s group Ho‘okena, plays the violin, and is a massage therapist. Reviewers are calling him a hunk! He boasts a fit body, and he’s got trendy, Hawaiian tattoos.
Amy Hill
And how can you resist Tutu (Amy Hill), the caring surrogate grandmother to Lilo and Stitch and a neighborhood pal anyone would want and comes to your rescue. She voiced a fruit seller in the animated cartoon, but in the flesh, she’s precious. Looks the part, talks the part, and has the heart of a beloved tutu wahine.
Heard, but not seen – the enthusiastic and engaging Kamehameha Schools Children Chorus (directed by Lynette K. Bright – performing the charismatic “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride,” this time with American Idol winner Iam Tongi plus Mark Keali‘i Ho‘omalu joining in. That tune, plus “He Mele No Lilo,” are back for another serenade, with links to the first animated “Lilo & Stitch” film. They were good luck charms then, and lovely sounds of aloha now, like great friends reunited again.
Chris Kekaniokalani Bright
There’s more off-camera camaraderie in the screenwriter role. Chris KekaniokalaniBright co-wrote the movie with Mike Van Waes. Chris’s mom is Lynelle Bright, Kamehameha Schools Children Chorus, and as a child, Chris became friends with Dean Dubois and Chris Sanders, original screenplay writers of the first “L&S” cartoon feature, sharing cultural and island history then. Sanders directed the cartoon and voiced Stitch, and leaves everyone in stitches in the live-action update. However, the director here is Dean Fleischer Camp, known for his precious “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” who masterly nurtured the spirit of Hawaii and delivered the right touches and sentiments dealing with woman/female issues of life challenges. Lilo is a little princess, but this is not your customary princess adventure.
Locals also know that Chris’ father Clarke Bright is now bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band, and conductor of the orchestra at all I’m a Bright Kid Foundation musicals, and his grandmother is Mo Bright and late grandfather was Ronald B. Bright, legendary director and drama teacher at Castle High School.
Clooney drama will air live before Tonys
George Clooney’s “Good Night and Good Luck” continues to sit atop Broadway’s weekly box office grosses, for the week ending May 25. The play has set records, now in the lofty $4 million club; it is vying for five Tony Awards, including Clooney’s Best Actor in a Drama nomination in the June 8 event. The show will air live in an unprecedented screening at 7 p.m. ET (1 p.m. Hawaii time) the day before, June 7.
Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch,” now in the multi-plex theaters over the Memorial Day weekend, is anticipated to break box office records by Monday, a holiday.
The Hawaii-filmed project is surely to draw a family audience, whose patronage will probably boost the film with a $175 to $180 million gross, besting the Paramount-Tom Cruise “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” summertime powerhouse.
“Lilo & Stitch” will be driven by the popularity of the naughty-but-nice blue alien, who is the lone cartoonish character in the film, and an obvious scene-stealer. And sorry, Lilo, the most popular figure from the movie.
You know a film is hot, hot, hot, when it is accompanied by a swarm of merchandise to accompany the buzz from the movie. And while Lilo has a few entries in the buyables, Stitch is going to be the character to fuel the jingling cash registers.
Stitch talking plush.
Parents, get your charge cards ready. The merch looks wonderful, and the kid on the block to be the first to get one of the items will be the king or queen of the summer. But several items are for adults, so parents won’t be left out. But because of the prices of the products, moms and dads mahy prefer to save the purchases as Christmas gifts. But knowing Disney, there will be more stuff later that Santa will deliver to the young ones.
Stitch canvas tote,
Since Disney Stores have vanished in Hawaii, the easiest way to buy merch will be via online. So let me share a preview, with prices, of some of the best gifts available while stocks are plentiful.
The cool finds:
A basic Stitch “talking” plush, $39,99.His eyes light up and shows many moods.
Stitch sweatshirt.
An oversized vinyl Stitch, $24.99.
A puppetronic Stitch plush, $49.99. A hand inserted into a cutout on the back of Stitch’s head makes the doll’s mouth open to “talk.”
A Lego house, presumably where Stitch lives with Lilo, $89.99.
An adult sweatshirt, with ‘Ohana lettering on the back, $79.99.
A canvas tote, depicting a surfing Stitch, $19.99.
Stitch crocs.
An adult blue pair of Cros, festooned with Stitch images, $64.99
Go to www.disneystore.com to purchase and see more official Stitch buyables. Other sites, like Etsy and Target, may carry some of these items, or variations thereof.
Of course, you know that the cast includes many local actors, including:
Maia Kealoha, as Lilo.
Kaipo Dudoit, as David Kawena.
Jason Scott Lee, as the luau manager.
Sydney Agudong, as Nani Kelekai.
Amy Hill, as Tutu.
Tia Carrere, as Mrs. Kekoa.
Celia Kaleialoha Kenney, as AJ.
Another local notable, with an esteemed credit: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, one of the screenplay writers for “Lilo & Stitch.”
Actor-producer-writer Daniel Dae Kim, the “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-O” actor who’s a sometime resident of Honolulu, recently was honored at the NYU Tisch School for Arts.
Winnie Holzman, an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer, also was an honoree. A Tisch grad like Kim, she wrote the book of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Wicked,”” and also co-wrote the screenplays for the movie version of “Wicked” and next year’s Part Two, “Wicked for Good.”
Kim earned his MFA in Tisch School’s Graduate Acting Program in 1996. His son Jackson also is an NYU grad.
Like Father, Like Son: Dad Daniel Dae Kim. left, with son Jackson, right.
Kim’s a man for all seasons, and an entertainment icon for all reasons. He’s become a prolific and pertinent Asian resource in recent years, widening his savvy and significance in everything, on camera and off.
Kim is a powerhouse TV figure: He’s completed three TV series with more than 100 episodes – the Hawaii-originated “Lost” on ABC and “Five-0” on CBS, and he appeared in and also produced “The Good Doctor” on ABC.
He’s big in voicing: In season one of Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Kim voiced General Fong in one episode, but in season two, he’s playing Fire Lord Ozai in the live-action adaptation. He voiced seven episodes as Hiroshi Sato in “The Legend of Korra,” an animated series.
Kim, in “The King and I.”
He sings — when going theatrical: He’s successfully conquered the musical stage, starring as the The King of Siam in “The King and I” at London’s Robert Albert Hall and on Broadway at Lincoln Center. Last year, he also starred in a comedy, “Yellow Face,” at the Todd Haimes Theatre. But no vocalizing here.
Next up: Kim is producing and will star in a spy series, “Butterfly,” already filmed in South Korea, where he was born (in Busan). It is his first multi-season scripted series where he plays the lead role. Amazon has not set a release date.
Still simmering: “Makawalu,” a feature film initiated by the Hawaii International Film Festival, which he has agreed to executive-produce. The ambitious project will be co-directed by eight Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers, the first of its kind in the islands
He’s got the spirit: Yes, he lives in Hawaii as often as feasible, traveling to wherever and whenever a project beckons. He also has residences in New York and Los Angeles, but for Kim, it’s Hawaii No Ka Oi. It’s all about the aloha spirit…
“Merrily We Roll Along,” the uncanny 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical, will be rolling out sometime soon as a motion picture to be released by Sony Pictures Classics.
Thus, the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth show — once a failure in 1981 before becoming a box office hit after it opened in October 2023 till its closing in July 2024 — has been preserved for the ages. The music and lyrics are Sondheim’s; Furth did the book.
This is the show, if you recall, that was initially a box office dud in 1981, when it ran for 14 previews and 44 performances. “Merrily” was then mothballed until its first-ever revival in 2022, leading up to its phenomenal sell-out fave in 2023 through 2024.
And the reverse storyelling chronology – the show biz tale unfolds at the ending and works toward the beginning — will give the production a new life as a cinematic release. Fans who couldn’t score tickets in its run at the Hudson Theatre will finally have an opportunity to see what the buzz was all about.
“Merrily” examines the friendship, the friction, and possible erosion of workplace best friends, whose lives intersect with highs and lows, with some alienation and many challenges.
Daniel Radliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Jonathan Groff portrays Frank Shepard, an ambitious composer who wants to be a producer, who thrives alongside his longtime friends, lyricist Charley Kringas (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and writer Mary Flynn (enacted by Lindsay Mendez). Groff and Radcliffe earned Tonys, with a third Tony bestowed on Jonathan Tunick for orchestrations.
Maria Friedman directed the show and was a Tony nominee, and her illuminating vision made her characters come alive with vitality and vigor, drawing in the spectators.
Can’t wait from the transformation from stage to screen; imagine there will be a DVD release, too. Since this was my favorite Broadway show last year, I’d buy the DVD…
Clooney’s ‘Good Night’ still tops Broadway grosses
The rankings haven’t changed on Broadway. The pair earning more than $3 million last week, dominated again this week. Translation: George Clooney reigns as the top grossing actor via his “Good Night, and Good Luck;” and Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintain their second place slot with “Othello.”
