Get to Know the Filmmaker: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright
From Disney’s upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch to the Jason Momoa-produced biopic on Duke Kahanamoku that’s in the works, Chris Kekaniokalani Bright has some impressive writing credits to his name. But when Bright sat down with Casting Networks via video call — joining us from Oahu — we wanted to know more about the person behind all the scripts.
The get-to-know-you questions began with our inquiry as to when the writer knew he wanted to pursue a career in filmmaking. Bright revealed that it hadn’t been his plan until partway through his college experience.
The writer shared that he comes from a musical family and went to college as a percussionist majoring in music. After suffering a hand injury, though, Bright reconsidered his area of focus. It was while screening a movie in another class that the writer realized he could see himself as a filmmaker. “And that was kind of the moment for me,” he recalled. “I’d always loved movies, but I never really knew that was what I wanted to do until later in my life.”
Next came a fun query for the writer. If someone made a film about Bright’s life story, we wanted to know which actors he’d like to be in consideration for the role of Chris. You’ll have to watch the interview to find out the thespians that came to mind, but we will give you Bright’s preferred genre. While he was tempted by the idea of a musical, the writer said that the biopic would likely be an indie drama.
We then asked for a standout career moment that he could share. In his response, Bright mentioned receiving the call that he was going to be the writer for Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch.
“I’ve always been a fan — grew up on it — but it holds a very special place in my heart because my mom’s choir, the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus, was actually the one that sang in the original animated Lilo & Stitch,” he told us. Bright shared that he’d met the film’s writer-directors, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders when he was a child and noted the full-circle moment of now getting to work on the upcoming live-action adaptation.
Before the interview wrapped, we asked what inspired the writer’s stories. Bright’s answer included his faith and Hawaiian roots, as well as music and photography. He also stressed how lived experience is vital to the craft of screenwriting. “And I’ve experienced a fair amount,” he noted. “So, getting to pull from that is — I think — when you can make the best art.”
You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of Get to Know the Filmmaker.
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This video interview has been edited and condensed.
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