Living Room to close Nov. 1

Contrary to what you may have heard or read elsewhere in recent weeks, the Living Room at Fisherman's Wharf isn't closed for business -- yet.

There was a lot of confusion when word began to spread on social networking sites like Twitter.com and Facebook.com. At first, people thought Oct. 9 was the final night. Then there were rumors that this weekend would be it.

But after finally getting a chance to sit down with owner Vince DiPietro last weekend, I can tell you that the nightclub operation will cease to exist as of Nov. 1. After that, Fisherman's Wharf will remain open for lunch and pau hana, but the Living Room will be no more.

"It's been a rough year financially for us," said DiPietro, who opened the club in July 2004. "We spent a lot of money redoing the downstairs ... (but) everything was still OK and our revenue was still really good."

Then the economy tanked. Now DiPietro is flirting with financial disaster, but his main focus is on the people he's going to put out of work.

"A lot of our employees who started with us 5 1/2 years ago are still here," he said. "That's the saddest part for (co-owner) Derek Yeung and myself, is that we're not going to get to come to work with these people anymore. They're our family."

DiPietro has teamed up one last time with B-Tyte Productions to say goodbye with style; tonight's farewell starts at 9 p.m. and will feature live performances by Tassho Pearce, the Deadbeats, Creed Chameleon, the Hammer Brothers and the Direct Descendants. DJs Compose, Sovern-T, Jahson the 45 Revolver, Riseup, Technique, Mixmaster B and Zach Morris will also be on hand until 4 a.m.

"These guys have been a big part of Honolulu's night life," said promoter Bryan Simpson. "I really want to see this place packed one last time."

The final Living Room party will take place on Halloween; former marketing/music director Ramyt Islam returns to partner with Good Life Entertainment on "Malice in Wonderland," starting at 9 p.m. DJs Akio, Miklos, Fez, Badmouth, Zane, Ira, Ms. Angel and the Nitelife DJs are among those scheduled to participate; DeShannon Higa will also be there playing live.

It's been a good run for DiPietro and crew. The Living Room will be missed ...

IT WAS a packed house at the Hawaii Theatre last Friday for the world premiere of "Barbarian Princess," the controversial movie about Princess Kaiulani that stars 19-year old Q'orianka Kilcher.

While many native Hawaiians chose to boycott the screening in protest, I wanted to judge for myself whether writer/director Marc Forby and producer Nigel Thomas were being respectful in their portrayal of the hapa-haole woman also known as Victoria Cleghorn. And while Forby did give the "Hollywood treatment" to Kaiulani's story, fudging some details and tweaking others to fit the movie's story line, I sincerely believe this movie will increase awareness about the issues facing native Hawaiians more than a century after the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.

"I was so lucky and fortunate enough to be, and humbled, to be given this chance to portray Kaiulani," said Kilcher to the remaining audience after the screening had ended. "I really hope this film will inspire audiences around the world to want to learn about Hawaii's history and past, and also to talk to Hawaiian people and learn about the issues they still face today."

Local musician Ocean Kaowili, who portrayed King David Kalakaua in the film, gave me chicken skin when I saw him on screen. And he did it again while addressing the Hawaii Theatre crowd afterward.

"Us Hawaiians, we're proud people," he said. "And I know that still today, as people, people will be people. We have opinions and we have views.

"We can go on and on about discussions about why this and why that, and they shouldn't have done this and they shouldn't have done that. As Hawaiians, as proud people, do you really think, for those of you that know me, that I would participate in something that I thought was a disgrace to our people? Absolutely not."

The Hawaii International Film Festival announced two additional screenings shortly after last week's world premiere, and both quickly sold out. That prompted HIFF to announce a fourth and final screening at 10 a.m. Sunday at Dole Cannery.

If tickets haven't sold out yet, I strongly encourage you to see this film ...

WEEKEND PICKS: After hosting nights for local MCs and DJs, local hip-hop promoter DJ Bone presents "Hip-Hop at the Trops: Looking for the Perfect Beat." The beat producer showcase will start at 10 p.m. tonight (participants should show up at 9 p.m. to set up), with three rounds of competition to decide who the night's top talent is. Murder Mainstream and STU will also be in the house; there is no cover all night, and those 18 and older are welcome ... Local photographer and promoter Russell Tanoue will celebrate three years of "Beautiful" at Pearl Ultralounge tomorrow. The theme is "Black and Bling," with free gift bags for the first 100 guests after 8 p.m. Former Miss Hawaii Jennifer Pimentel will perform; DJ Euphorik will be on the decks until 4 a.m. ... Local rockers Supersonic Space Monkeys will say aloha with a farewell show at LOFT Gallery and Lounge tomorrow. They'll be joined by My Sleep Therapy, Dawn of the Onslaught, Phoenix Rose, Disaster Kit and Hometown Heroes. Doors open at 7 p.m. with no cover charge for those 18 and over ...