Rapa-Nui is a 1994 American historical action-adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds and coproduced by Kevin Costner, who starred in Reynolds's previous film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). The plot is based on Rapanui legends of Easter Island, Chile, in particular the race for the sooty tern's egg in the Birdman Cult. The historic details of this film are questionable, and though the central theme—the destruction of the island's irreplaceable forests is well-authenticated, the idea that this led to the destruction of the Rapa Nui is questionable. The struggle in the story is derived from the legend of the Hanau epe. This film is also one of the biggest box office bombs based on gross earnings, making $305,070 on a $20 million budget. Plot There are two classes of people: Long Ears and Short Ears. Long Ears, marked by large wooden plugs in their earlobes and a certain tattoo, are the ruling class. The working-class Short Ears have no ear plugs and a different tattoo. Young men from each Long Ear tribe compete in the annual Birdman Competition. The winner's tribe gets to rule the island for a year. Ariki-mau (Eru Potaka-Dewes) has been the Birdman (Island King) for 20 years. He has a conviction that one day the gods will arrive in a great white canoe and take him to heaven. Tupa (George Henare), his advisor tells him to build more and bigger moai statues to curry favor with the gods and encourage them to come sooner. Ariki-mau petulantly rejects the latest statue—which stands over tall—as too small. The Short Ear workers are forced to build an even bigger statue in an impossibly short amount of time. The king's advisor ruthlessly enforces the rules and status quo by publicly killing a Short Ear fisherman who had accidentally caught a taboo fish. Long Ear Noro (Jason Scott Lee) and Ramana (Sandrine Holt), a Short Ear, are both rejects in their tribes—her father was banished for building an unlucky canoe. Noro's father stole a canoe and sailed away, and is accused of abandoning the tribe. They have a secret relationship and have fallen in love. Ariki-mau tells Noro that he has to compete in the Birdman Competition so Ariki-mau can continue to rule the island. Noro asks if he can marry Ramana if he wins the Birdman Competition. The king reluctantly agrees. The king's advisor claims that Ramana's skin is