Friday, August 29, 2003 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas producer returns to big screen with 'Johnny Lingo'

Las Vegan Gerald R. Molen, producer of "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," poses on the set.

Las Vegan Gerald R. Molen -- Jerry to his friends -- made his name producing big movies with big names.

Including one of the biggest: filmmaker Steven Spielberg, with whom he collaborated on the Oscar-winning "Schindler's List," the box-office behemoth "Jurassic Park" and other hits.

Molen bid farewell -- professionally, at least -- to Spielberg and his high-profile filmmaking style last year with the futuristic thriller "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise.

These days, however, Molen prefers smaller projects, such as his latest, "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," which opens in theaters today.

A family-friendly tale set in the South Pacific, about an orphan who grows up to discover his destiny as an island chief -- and find true love with his only childhood friend -- "Johnny Lingo" represents a less stressful, more enjoyable form of filmmaking, according to Molen.

"They are more fun," he says during a telephone interview from his summer home in his native Montana. "Big, expensive movies are very, very stressful. It's not something you can get away from."

On "Minority Report," for example, in addition to the 12-week shooting schedule, Molen spent more than four months preparing the production -- and, afterward, it took "a month for me to wrap."

On a big-budget, big-studio project, "there are a lot of people looking over your shoulder," Molen notes. "A movie like `Minority Report,' which is so expensive to operate every day, you have to learn to finesse the money correctly and spend it correctly. If you waste time, time in that genre runs into big bucks."

Producing a small-budget movie such as "Johnny Lingo," however, "makes decisions simple," he explains. "You can't go back and reshoot. You can't afford more than three takes."

Rather than heightening the stress, however, "it is kick back," Molen reflects. "You're not dying of stress."

Molen and his colleagues -- including co-producer John Garbett and director Steven Ramirez -- spent five weeks filming "Johnny Lingo," three in New Zealand and two on Aitutaki, in the Cook Islands. (H.M.S. Bounty, commanded by Capt. William Blight, visited Aitutaki in 1789.)

The idyllic island, renowned for its beautiful lagoon, is about 30 to 45 minutes from Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands, where Molen and Garbett filmed their 2001 collaboration, "The Other Side of Heaven."

Unlike a Hollywood production where "you've got, excuse the expression, egos," Molen observes, "on a small film, there are none."

Especially when filming in the South Pacific, "dealing with the Polynesian people -- they're so wonderful," Molen says.

Garbett came to Molen with the idea for a movie adaptation of "Johnny Lingo," which is based on "Johnny Lingo's Eight Cow Wife," a 1962 short story by Patricia McGerr.

"I loved the whole idea," Molen says. "I loved the way it spoke to values, especially for young ladies -- that beauty doesn't come from without, it comes from within."

Polynesian screenwriter and playwright Riwia Brown (who scripted the award-winning New Zealand drama "Once Were Warriors") adapted McGerr's story for the screen.

The actor who portrays Johnny Lingo, George Henare, also appeared in "Once Were Warriors," while moviegoers also may recognize Rawiri Paratene (currently appearing as the grandfather in "Whale Rider") among the movie's cast.

"Personally, I'm delighted with the film," Molen says. "I think it's refreshing. It's something that Mom and Dad or the grandparents can take their youngsters to -- and it's a great message for young women. It's a movie about morals and values."