FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2007

Simplifying Life and living Pono
New documentary on Jason Scott Lee begins production on the Big Island.

Near Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i
Jason Scott Lee has bought the Farm. And that's just the beginning. The internationally acclaimed film and stage actor recently agreed to share what he's been up to lately at his remote taro farm through a new documentary for public television. The independent film with the working title "Living Pono" will follow the well-known cinema hero on his intentional journey from mega-movie stardom to living off the grid, 4,000 feet up the slopes of Mauna Loa.

"Everybody was thinking that if you live so far away from Hollywood, you'll ruin your career," Lee admits in the opening scenes of the film's trailer. "I said, 'Career is nothing without the happiness and the joy inside.' Even now, it's kind of hard to explain."

Lee has named his farm "Pu Mu," represented by two Chinese characters symbolizing "Simplicity" and "Nothingness." Living more simply and with less "stuff" is at the core of what the actor/farmer is doing. "People say, 'Why are you dropping out?' I say, from your perspective I'm dropping out. From my perspective, I'm dropping in!"

The camera tags along with Jason as he goes about his work, whether he's driving down Hollywood Boulevard on the way to a film production meeting in L.A., or launching his 12-foot aluminum boat off the ramp at Miloli'i, last surviving traditional Hawaiian fishing village near the southern-most tip of the United States. "This is fishing Hawaiian style!" he mugs to camera over the rush of wind and spray, one hand on the helm, the other scooping poi out of a calabash on board, laughing and smiling all the while.

An intimate portrait of one of Hawai'i's most beloved celebrities, the documentary consists solely of first-person narrative by Lee, his friends and family. Much more than a tabloid biography, the story quickly encompasses the universal issues Jason is confronting: sustainable living, environmental stewardship, preservation of indigenous culture and wildlife, youth advocacy, and what "success" really means.

A scene in the taro patch shows Jason explaining taro cultivation to a visiting worker. "This is the plant that allowed the Polynesian people to thrive for thousands of years," he says, peeling the kalo root. "It's considered their ancestor, their older brother." Lee has embraced Natural Farming at Pu Mu, a technique developed by his teacher, Japanese agricultural sensei Masanobu Fukuoka. "Fukuoka-san created an art of farming that is as close to the natural growth pattern of crops as possible, in a semi-wild manner. He always talked about a way of farming, and a way of life, that would heal the human spirit, and the land itself. By healing the land, you heal yourself." Malama 'Aina, taking care of the land, is central at Pu Mu.

Jason is no recluse at the farm. He frequently invites guests, visiting actors, interested farmers, as well as elementary and high school students to see what is going on there. "Living Pono" will track the progress of the many projects Jason is working on.

In a cameo appearance, Kupuna Momi Cazimero reflects, "We're human beings, we have an innate need to be connected to the environment. We don't relate to asphalt, we don't relate to buildings. We do relate to nature. I think Jason needs to start with his students in sensitizing them to the environment by exposing them to what one tree can do. So many of our students are disconnected. Teaching them about one tree teaches them about how important they themselves are. Because ultimately they become a forest of people, too."

When longtime friend and Singapore TV personality "Jimmy T" Taenaka and wife Lilly visit Jason back on the farm, he proudly takes them on a nature walk through the rare surviving indigenous forest that makes up a large part of his 25-acre parcel. After bushwhacking through dense tropical undergrowth past giant Hapu'u tree ferns, Jason stops to point out a group of young saplings. "I started planting these Koa trees. The one behind with the large trunk was the original tree. And then these are all the babies that started coming up, as a result of planting one tree." "Wow," the guests marvel. "So from one tree, twelve or thirteen babies, or keikis as we say. So if you look at that equation, reforestation isn't difficult. It's just an excuse, we don't try." Jason's concern over the extraordinary environmental degradation throughout the Islands will be a stark introduction to this pressing problem for mainland audiences, where the ecological crisis is virtually unknown.

Also little-known outside Hawai'i is the vibrant presence of the original Hawaiian population. Singer/activist M. Kalani Souza visits Pu Mu to perform at Jason's Ulua Theatre with his controversial band, Sugah Daddy e'Hawaiianrockband. "Most people are unaware of native Hawaiians and the fact that Hawai'i was at one time its own country," Souza chides. "You know, the fact is that we are still here, we did not go anywhere. This is the homeland. We're still practicing our culture. We speak our language and play our songs. And we speak everybody else's language." The film documents the lively evening rock concert, a roaring bonfire crackling just outside at forest's edge.

Emmy Award-winning San Francisco-based documentary producer/director Rick Bacigalupi clarifies, "Jason Lee is nothing like the stereotypical 'movie star'. He's warm and friendly, but very serious. A profound thinker. Diligent, disciplined, and determined to make a difference. Half-way through your first cold water bucket-shower at the farm, you realize he's not fooling around with this simplicity idea. It's the real deal."

"It's quite brilliant," said TV producer/actor and former Miss Universe Brook Lee after watching the trailer for the film about her Pearl City neighbor. "Especially being able to address all the things Jason has always wanted to be known about his exodus from the craziness of Los Angeles." A segment Brook produced about Jason for TV show "Pacific Fusion" was the genesis for the documentary project.

Producer Bacigalupi sums up, "Jason's search for a more meaningful way of everyday life is truly inspirational, and I think his story will really speak to anyone who has ever wished to step out of the rat race, and live with more awareness. He's also a lot of fun to be with, and if the documentary even begins to capture the incredible spark he has, just as a person, audiences will really enjoy it."

"Living Pono" has been endorsed by PBS Hawai'i, fiscally sponsored by the International Documentary Association, and is currently seeking production partners. Visit www.LivingPono.com for more information and to make tax-deductible contributions to the film online. Watch for it on public television stations and film festivals internationally in 2010.