Here is information about completed screenplays, “Looking for Morning,” “Vale of Shadows,” “Backlash,” “Age of the Kingdom,” “Accidental Aloha” and “Flyboy” plus a short film “Kapi’olani.”
Accidental Aloha
As “Looking for Faith”
When a young woman loses her job and her boyfriend the same day she decides a Hawaii vacation is the answer, but when things go wrong, she learns there’s more to Hawaii than beaches and palm trees and finds out more about herself than she expected.
The feeling/genre: light – comedy/drama. Think “Mom’s Night Out” meets “Divine Influencer” with a touch of “Legally Blonde”.
Synopsis:
Faith Paulson, 25, a social media marketer in Los Angeles, loses her job. As she goes to her car, she is approached by a homeless man, from whom she recoils in fear. Later, her boyfriend breaks up with her over the phone. Faith decides a trip to Hawaii is the answer, but her friend, Cherry, can’t go.
She meant to go to Waikiki, but flies to Kona because she didn’t know the difference. She stays at a resort and is a cliche tourist: beach, spa, surfing lesson, luau, etc. On a boat tour, she drops her cellphone in the ocean. She can’t get another for 5 days. They loan her a flip phone but she doesn’t have her contacts.
At a bar, she meets Ethan, who seems nice, but he steals her purse while she’s in the restroom. Faith reports it to the police, but she doesn’t know Ethan’s last name or car tag. She does have the key fob to her rental car and gets a copy of her drivers’ license from the resort. She finds $100 emergency cash in her luggage and decides to go to the volcano. She sees Hilo on the way. She arrives at the volcano after dark.
By chance, Ethan and his two accomplices, J.B. and Colin are there, sight-seeing. While they view the volcano, Faith finds her purse and other purses they stole in his car, but they see her and chase Faith’s car. Somehow, she loses them, but in the dark, she hits a wild boar, crippling her car, so she sleeps in her car.
When she wakes, she’s lost in a lava field with no cell phone signal, so she must walk. She falls into a lava tube and is rescued by a big, scary Hawaiian, Kekoa. He takes her home in his pickup, where Kekoa’s mother, Noelani, takes her in. They and Kekoa’s brother, Haoa, live off-grid and grow their own food.
It will be a couple of days before the family can take Faith to town. She learns another side of Hawaii: poverty and subsistence farming. Noelani is a Christian who quotes “the good book,” giving Faith gentle wisdom. Faith helps with a homeless ministry with Noelani’s church, which begins changing her.
Cherry can’t reach Faith so she comes to Hawaii to look for her. Ethan is also looking for faith, but with sinister motives.
Noelani and sons take Faith back to Kailua town on their Costco run, pulling her rental car with Haoa steering. Ethan and crew spot her car and give chase. Haoa delays the inevitable showdown by emptying the purses and throwing them out of Faith’s car. Ethan and his crew stop, but find the purses empty.
They ditch Faith’s rental car on the roadside, but Ethan catches up anyway. Ethan cuts them off.
Faith tells Ethan she’s no longer afraid, but he pulls a pistol. J.B. sees the loot in the pickup bed, but Haoa points their revolver at his head. While Ethan is distracted, Noelani takes his gun. The brothers tie up Ethan and crew. Faith leaves, driving Ethan’s car. Kekoa drives the pickup. The police take Ethan and crew away.
The final scene is Noelani and sons at the resort with Faith and Cherry as they enjoy the beach in chaise lounges and Faith reflects on how she has changed.
If you want to participate in this project, contact Gary Ivey.