Tahitian Noni International

The TAHITIAN NONI® Juice Company

 Announces Sponsorship of The Motion Picture

"The Legend of Johnny Lingo"

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Tahitian Noni International, the TAHITIAN NONI® Juice Company, is pleased to announce that it will sponsor “The Legend of Johnny Lingo,” a major motion picture that will hit theaters in the Fall of 2003.  The story, with its ties to the South Pacific, is a natural for the company responsible for bringing noni to the world for the first time.

The movie will play a pivotal role in telling the noni story, building brand identity, and in promoting TAHITIAN NONI® Products.  We feel that this is an opportunity that simply cannot be passed by and are excited about the prospects.

Tahitian Noni International is especially happy to be a part of this production and the team of renowned professionals that have been assembled for its creation.

Production Information

The Molen/Garbett Production of “The Legend of Johnny Lingo” began principal photography on July 8, 2002 in Auckland, New Zealand and then completed filming on the island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific.

Academy Award-winning producer Jerry Molen (“Schindler’s List”) along with veteran producer John Garbett, brought in the critically acclaimed Polynesian screenwriter Riwia Brown (“Once We Were Warriors”) to write the script.  The film will be the feature film debut for editor Steven Ramirez.  Brad Pelo will serve as executive producer.

The Story

“The Legend of Johnny Lingo” is adapted from a short story written by the late novelist Patricia McGerr and was first published in the mid-1960’s.  It has been translated into dozens of languages and reprinted in hundreds of publications that have reached millions of people the world over.  As told by a father to his young son, “The Legend of Johnny Lingo” is a captivatingly romantic tale set amongst the Polynesian cultures of the South Pacific.  At the same time, the story’s themes about love and self-image resonate with universal appeal.

Johnny Lingo, or Tau, as he was called as a child, was orphaned as a baby.  He was passed from household to household as families grew tired of him.  He was blamed for a wide variety of curses that befell the community and soon found himself living at the least desirable home on this small South Seas island.  It was there he came to know Mahana and her father who blamed his daughter for his wife’s death in childbirth.

Fellow islanders have come to see Mahana through her father’s eyes – as troublesome and undesirable.  However, Tau and Mahana, the two outcasts, form a strong bond.  When Tau finds the wherewithal to leave the island on a canoe he has built, he promises to return one day for Mahana.

Eight years later, Johnny Lingo has the means to return for Mahana.  He has learned a lot about life and is determined to win Mahana’s heart.  But he has devised a plan that enables him to also make a long-overdue point with those who for so many years treated both him and Mahana with such malice.  Johnny’s point?  That real beauty comes from within.  Most importantly, however, Johnny has found a way to honor Mahana, and in fact, to honor love itself.

About the Filmmakers

Producer Jerry Molen won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1993 for “Schindler’s List”.  He also produced Steven Spielberg’s films “The Lost World:  Jurassic Park”, “Jurassic Park”, “Hook”, and most recently, “Minority Report”.  As an Executive Producer for Amblin Entertainment, he was involved with such hits as “Twister”, “Casper”, “Little Rascals”, and “The Flintstones” among others.  Molen also worked as a Unit Production Manager on “The Color Purple”, “A Soldier’s Story”, “Tootsie”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice”, and “Days of Thunder”.

After an 18-month, post-graduate internship at the White House, producer John Garbett was hired by ABC Television as a financial analyst in its business division.  He soon joined Fox Television moving from finance into production management.  In 1984, he was hired by the Walt Disney Company as a television production executive and later held the same position in the feature film division.

As a feature film production executive, he oversaw “3 Men and a Little Lady”, “Father of the Bride”, and “Alive” among other Touchstone projects.  He has since acted as a development producer and production consultant for Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros., Universal Studios, and independent production companies on a number of feature film projects including “The Frighteners”, “Pet People”, “The Matrix”, and “Shrek”.

Director Steven Ramirez makes his directorial debut with “The Legend of Johnny Lingo”.  As a feature film editor, he has worked on such pictures as “Driving Miss Daisy”, “Being There”, “Cocoon – The Return”, “Big Trouble in Little China”, “Dolores Claiborne”, “Pacific Heights”, and “Devil’s Advocate”.  Ramirez is following in the footsteps of other feature film editors – such as Richard Donner and James Cameron – who have gone on to become successful film directors.

Screenwriter Riwia Brown is one of Polynesia’s most accomplished screenwriters and playwrights.  In 1994, she wrote the screenplay for “Once We Were Warriors”.  This New Zealand-made movie went on to become the most successful film about the Polynesian people to date.

Brown won worldwide accolades for helping to create a window into the lives of a Maori family in contemporary New Zealand.  Brown has been involved with Polynesian (Maori) theatre as an actor in Wellington, New Zealand, since the early 1980’s.  In 1988, Brown’s first play, Roimata, was selected for inclusion in a five-part Maori drama series, which she adapted and directed for television.  She has since written and directed numerous plays – her own and those written by others.

Stay Tuned – There’s More to Come…

“The Legend of Johnny Lingo” promises to be a major promotional event for Tahitian Noni International.  Stay tuned for announcements that will be made over the next several months regarding how Tahitian Noni International Distributors will benefit from programs that will be implemented with the production and release of “The Legend of Johnny Lingo”.

Again, we at Tahitian Noni International are extremely excited to be a major partner in this project and look forward to the impact that the movie will have with audiences everywhere.  We feel the exposure to be gained through our participation will boost the TAHITIAN NONI® Brand for years to come.