{"id":8433,"date":"2016-04-25T08:23:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T15:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/dodge\/2016\/04\/25\/aloha-from-rays-shrunken-head-lounge\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:34:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:34:36","slug":"aloha-from-rays-shrunken-head-lounge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/2016\/04\/25\/aloha-from-rays-shrunken-head-lounge\/","title":{"rendered":"Aloha From Ray&#039;s Shrunken Head Lounge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here in Southern California, tiki culture has been part of the landscape for many years. Its laid back, easy-going vibes have been adopted by people of all ages as a way of life. Let&#x2019;s not forget that their drinks are pretty killer, too.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nWhen I heard that a &#x201C;tiki&#x201D; movie was going to be made this semester, I immediately jumped on it to find out what it was about and who was behind it. That led me to Tod Brewster (BFA\/Film Production &#x2019;16) and James Thompson (BFA\/Creative Producing &#x2019;16) on the set of their film<br \/>\n<em>Ray&#x2019;s Shrunken Head Lounge<\/em><br \/>\n.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nThe film is about a man who, after his father&#x2019;s death, is forced to decide between staying with the family business (of owning a tiki bar), or following his own aspirations and saying goodbye to his heritage forever.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8437\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8437\" style=\"width: 580px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8437 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060247-01.jpeg\" alt=\"PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY\" width=\"580\" height=\"327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060247-01.jpeg 1216w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060247-01-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060247-01-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060247-01-768x433.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8437\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>\n Shooting on location at Don the Beachcomber PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY<\/figcaption><\/figure>&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;I was developing some other ideas for my thesis that didn&#x2019;t really pan out. I&#x2019;ve always been into tiki bars and tiki culture, so I had this story idea about someone with a tiki bar, and wrote the first draft on my own,&#x201D; said Brewster, director of the film.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nIt&#x2019;s no surprise that Brewster was into the culture, as it was very much a part of where he grew up in Fountain Valley.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;You either went to the club, or you went to the tiki bar with the surfer kids. The tiki bar always appealed way more to me,&#x201D; he said.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nOn the other hand, Thompson was not into the tiki culture, but over the course of producing the film, he found a love for it. He was immersed in the culture for almost a year, and found it fascinating.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;Not to mention the fact that the Hawaiian nachos at Don The Beachcomber are amazing,&#x201D; Thompson joked.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nOn the subject of tiki bars, early on in the pre-production process, the team researched a lot of them, such as Don&#x2019;s, Tiki Ti, The Tonga Hut, and more. They wanted to give Ray&#x2019;s Shrunken Head Lounge a sense of history and having been around forever, so they reached out to others in the tiki community for help.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;We rented a lot of stuff from Oceanic Arts,&#x201D; said Brewster. &#x201C;They showed us this big book of tiki bars they&#x2019;ve done all over the world, and they were very open to helping us.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nWhen it came time to actually build the bar itself in Stage B, Sara Polito (BFA\/Film Production &#x2019;17) did a masterful job with the production design.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8438\" style=\"width: 580px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8438 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060836-01.jpeg\" alt=\"Producer James Thompson on set PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY\" width=\"580\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060836-01.jpeg 1216w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060836-01-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060836-01-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1060836-01-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>\n Producer James Thompson on set<br \/>\n<br \/>\n PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY<\/figcaption><\/figure>&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;She killed it,&#x201D; Brewster said. &#x201C;She had these ideas I had no idea how she was going to pull off, but she blew us away with everything she did.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nThe build itself was big; they had 3 days to get coordinated and built before filming was to begin.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;We were originally told we had a week or two to build before the shoot, but due to some errors, we only had 3 days,&#x201D; said Thompson. &#x201C;It was one of the biggest challenges, especially because it wasn&#x2019;t a one-dimensional set. We had four walls, and it was very immersive. But we pulled it off.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nPart of the reason for their success in doing the build on time, and for the shoot going so smoothly, is because of the laid-back atmosphere they created on set.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;Mostly everyone knew each other before hand, and all of our outings as a group where on the tiki circuit,&#x201D; said Brewster. &#x201C;By the end of weekend two, everyone was wearing Hawaiian shirts and really into it.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;It was one of the most relaxing sets I&#x2019;ve been on,&#x201D; said Thompson. &#x201C;The tiki bar on the sound stage gave us a relaxed culture, and everyone was having a good time. We worked hard, but had fun along the way.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nThis also came from the community effort they felt from Dodge College, as well.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;So many people here helped us make the film a reality, whether from getting the stage together to letting us borrow props from them,&#x201D; said Brewster.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;Even from the tiki community, as well,&#x201D; said Thompson. &#x201C;We had someone in the film who is one of the performers at Trader Sam&#x2019;s. We felt an outpouring of support from the Dodge College community and the tiki community.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8436\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8436\" style=\"width: 580px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8436\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1080330-01.jpeg\" alt=\"Director Tod Brewster watching a take PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY\" width=\"580\" height=\"327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1080330-01.jpeg 1216w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1080330-01-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1080330-01-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1080330-01-768x433.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>\n Director Tod Brewster watching a take<br \/>\n<br \/>\nPHOTO: ETHAN TALBY<\/figcaption><\/figure>&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nThe team working on the film all contributed to it in fantastic ways as well.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;I realized I can&#x2019;t do everything,&#x201D; Brewster said. &#x201C;I wanted to step back, and let everyone have their own creative contribution, and really collaborate with everyone involved. Much like a tiki bar is a random collection of stuff, I wanted that feel on the film, too.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;We did have a great team of people working on it, and when you have that, everyone does their thing and does it well,&#x201D; said Thompson.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nFor example, Brewster&#x2019;s best friend, Molly Maier (BFA\/Film Production &#x2019;16) was the cinematographer on the film.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;Molly&#x2019;s entire team was a group of strong women, and really sharp, and they were amazing,&#x201D; said Brewster. &#x201C;They don&#x2019;t get nearly enough credit that they deserve, they were awesome.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\nAt the end of the day, though, they are right: it all comes down to teamwork and working with the people who you know will do the best they can.&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8439\" style=\"width: 580px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8439 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1070441-01.jpeg\" alt=\"PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY\" width=\"580\" height=\"327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1070441-01.jpeg 1216w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1070441-01-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1070441-01-1024x577.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2016\/04\/1070441-01-768x433.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>\n PHOTO: ETHAN TALBY<\/figcaption><\/figure>&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;For a producer \/ director duo, when you find someone you can really click with, it makes all the difference in the world,&#x201D; said Thompson. &#x201C;We don&#x2019;t have too defined roles, because it&#x2019;s more a collaborative and creative relationship.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<br \/>\n&#x201C;It&#x2019;s the idea of if you&#x2019;re not willing to listen, you&#x2019;ll miss out on an awesome idea that someone may have,&#x201D; said Brewster. &#x201C;That&#x2019;s how James and I work, and that&#x2019;s how we work with everyone on set.&#x201D;&#xD;<br \/>\n&#xD;<\/p>\n<p><em>Ray&#x2019;s Shrunken Head Lounge<\/em><br \/>\n will screen on Friday May 6. You can find out more about the film on their<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/raysheadlounge\/?fref=ts\">Facebook page<\/a><br \/>\n.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here in Southern California, tiki culture has been part of the landscape for many years. Its laid back, easy-going vibes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":526,"featured_media":8435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[391,10,475],"tags":[744,745,746,747],"class_list":["post-8433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics-2","category-programs","category-student-spotlight-2","tag-james-thompson","tag-rays-shrunken-head-lounge","tag-tiki","tag-tod-brewster"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dodge College of Film and Media Arts | Chapman Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/2016\/04\/25\/aloha-from-rays-shrunken-head-lounge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aloha From Ray&#039;s Shrunken Head Lounge - Dodge College of Film and Media Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here in Southern California, tiki culture has been part of the landscape for many years. 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