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August 17, 2005
REEL PARADISE
by Kent Turner
Former indie film representative and author John Pierson (Spike, Mike,
Slackers & Dykes) takes his family to the Southwest Pacific island of
Taveuni to run a movie theater in one of the most remote corners of the
world. With icons Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny painted on its outside wall,
the aptly-named 180 Meridian Cinema sits on the International Date Line.
Besides charging no admission, Pierson draws the local population into its
288 seats by carefully programming according to their taste: "two Hot
Chicks for every Rabbit-Proof Fence, if not three," according to
Pierson. One night it's Jackass (hugely popular judging from the
peels of laughter); the next, Apocalypse Now Redux. Also going over like
gangbusters is Buster Keaton's silent classic comedy Steamboat Bill, Jr.,
which makes one tempted to jump on the next plane.
The documentary covers the last emotional and action-packed month of the family's stay. The
misfortunes that fall upon the house of Pierson are almost staggering:
computer equipment worth thousands of dollars is stolen from their home;
Pierson is stricken with the potentially deadly dengue fever while his
teenage daughter is out late running around with teenage boys (and at one
point sports golf-ball-size hickeys). And that's just at home. In the dusty
theatre, two projectionists don't show up - they're too drunk to work.
But the show must go on: another projectionist arrives the
next night - only to project the movie upside down.
Shot on video, Reel Paradise would certainly appeal to the film buff,
but its attraction really lies with the engrossing profile of
this family living on its own Mosquito Coast. It's all in the casting: the
imperious, aggravated paterfamilias; the peacemaker mother; the
confrontational daughter; and the observant 13-year-old Wyatt, who takes
after his father more than he probably realizes - he already has an astute
sense of what will prove successful and why. Although he's not completely
right - the pensive Apocalypse Now Redux isn't a complete bomb. Having worked for
nearly 30 years in the independent film sector, both parents are camera
savvy. Janet Pierson disarmingly confides to the camera, "I'm a parent, but
I don't feel like I have the instincts for it." But the same can't be said
for her 16-year-old daughter. Janet isn't far off the mark when she
accuses the rebellious Georgia of acting for the camera.
Given their status, the community accepts the Americans, except for some
grumbling and rumor mongering. Before their departure, they're feted to a
heartfelt sendoff (like the Piersons themselves, the film takes its time
saying good-bye). But sadly, after providing a slew of films and a
social scene, once the Piersons return to the US, the Meridian's doors
shut, closed to business.
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I'm seated, with my mother, on a palace veranda, cooled by a breeze from the royal garden. Before us, on a dais, is an empty throne, its arms and legs embossed with polished brass, the back and seat covered in black-and-gold silk. In front of the steps to the dais, there are two columns of people, mostly men, facing one another, seated on carved wooden stools, the cloths they wear wrapped around their chests, leaving their shoulders bare.
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Then there's Hollywood's interpretation of the island...
To see that, check out Reel Paradise, a movie about the saga of American film maker maker John Pierson who in 2002 relocated his family
to Taveuni for a year to show free movies at the venerable Meridian Cinema near Waiyevo.
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Interview with John and Janet Pierson - Reel Paradise
On the latest episode of DVD Talk Radio, DVD Talk Editor Geoffrey Kleinman speaks with John and Janet Pierson about the DVD release for Reel Paradise.
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No Family Is an Island
BY SPENCER PARSONS
The Piersons on 'Reel Paradise'
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Reel Paradise: Review
BY Marc Savlov
When it comes to mid-life crises, some guys buy Porsches, some nail hot blondes,
and some just muddle through. Freshly minted Austinite and famed producer's rep/author/gadabout John Pierson chose to relocate his entire family.
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'Reel Paradise': Moving Theater Experience in Fiji
by Alex Chadwick
American movie buff and independent filmmaker John Pierson moved his family to Fiji in 2002 in search of "the world's most remote theater."
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Reel Paradise: Review
By Roger Ebert
Steve James' new documentary, "Reel Paradise," is about a couple with similar idealism, who also move to a small town and buy the movie theater.
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Reel Paradise: Review
By Kevin Crust
MOVIE REVIEW: A family, a film house and Fiji.
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Taking popcorn fare to paradise
By Merrill Balassone
It's like moviegoing is new again when a producer shows free films in Fiji.
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How an American family moved to Fiji and brought Hollywood along for the ride
By Edward Guthmann
After 25 years of making top-notch indie films, John Pierson needed to escape. So off to Fiji he went, bringing
his family to begin a new life. He documented the experience in "Reel Paradise."
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Keeping It 'Reel' in Paradise
By ANDY KLEIN
In 2002, well known indie film figure John Pierson - producer's rep for She's Gotta Have It, Clerks, and Roger & Me, host of IFC's Split Screen series, and author of Spike, Mike, Slackers
& Dykes - picked up his family and moved to Fiji for a year to show free movies.
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LA Weekly: Film
By Scott Foundas
The final month of Pierson's quixotic quest is chronicled by documentary filmmaker Steve James in Reel Paradise and the result is an enormously warm, comic travelogue about how you can go to the ends of the earth and still not escape from temperamental
teenagers, absentee landlords and the universal language of moving pictures.
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Creating a Free Cinema Off Beaten Track in Fiji
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Steve James's absorbing documentary follows a family to the rural Fijian island of Taveuni, where they showed free
movies in the world's most remote movie theater.
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'Paradise' found in Fiji
By LILY OEI
Indiewood came out in droves Monday to celebrate the Gotham preem of Wellspring's "Reel Paradise."
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A Cinema So Indie It's 5,000 Miles Away
By David Hochman
The Pierson's experiences running a cinema in Fiji are the subject of the documentary "Reel Paradise."
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On Screen and In a New City, Austin Embraces The Pierson Family
By Eugene Hernandez
These days, aside from traveling to a few film festivals to talk about Steve James' Miramax doc about their time in Fiji, "Reel Paradise,"
the Pierson's have become key figures within the Austin film scene.
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Variety - Reel Paradise
By Todd McCarthy
Indie film guru John Pierson goes native, sort of, in "Reel Paradise," an engaging docu about his year-long
stint showing free movies to the locals at what's purportedly
the world's most remote cinema, the 180 Meridian in Taveuni, Fiji.
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Sundance #3: Of heart and humor
By Roger Ebert
Another Sundance doc is also a wonderful portrait of an unexpected lifetime. Steve James, who directed
"Hoop Dreams," is here with "Reel Paradise," the story of a New Yorker named John Pierson, who distributed
and represented the films of Spike Lee, Kevin Smith and many other indie directors,
and hosted "Split Screen," an IFC program on independent films.
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Paradise Found
By Bill Chambers
Hoop-dream master Steve James on his latest film, REEL PARADISE
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Isle of Forgotten Fans
By John Pierson
I recently became the proud owner of the world's most remote movie theater. A year from now, you could be wearing a T-shirt that says, "I saw it at the 180 Meridian Cinema." At least that's how I see it.
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Fiji Favorites: Guys in Dresses
By Dave Kehr
The Piersons are back, and the New York independent film community is happy to see them home.
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