Marlon Brando is largely remembered for his roles in "The Godfather," "A Streetcar Named Desire," and "On the Waterfront."

One of Brando's biggest dreams was far away from Hollywood, a self-sustaining, eco-friendly resort in Tahiti. 

LA Times columnist Patt Morrison recently visited the Brando and joined Lisa McRee on LA Times today to discuss the experience.

Morrison was friends with Brando for the last years of his life. She said he first encountered Tahiti in National Geographic as a child in the Midwest. Years later, he finally visited and bought an atoll there.  

The Brando is a deluxe resort on Tetiaroa whose clients include the Obamas and Britney Spears. 

Morrison explained what makes it so unique.

"Marlon wanted it to be an eco-resort, kind of a research laboratory of the South Pacific, to introduce techniques and ideas for handling the environment, for making it habitable, but making it responsible too. One of the great things on the atoll of Tetiaroa is a sea turtle sanctuary. When I was there in 2005, it was just a little area that was tended by Marlon's Tahitian son, but now it's a thriving thing. The poachers have been kept away, and the sea turtles now have some place where they can nest and breed and safety. It's really something to behold," she said.

The resort also uses technology to keep its carbon footprint as small as possible.

"The biggest expense in the South Pacific is energy and air conditioning. They came up with working with other people. This exchange of cold seawater that would come into contact on land with freshwater and use it to air conditioning the entire island," Morrison explained. "And [they use] solar power down there. When you land on the plane, everybody else is looking and going, 'oh, it's so beautiful.' I'm looking at the solar panels thinking, 'Marlon would have loved this part.'"

Food waste from the resort is turned into compost, and guest villas feature dedicated recycling bins.

At $3,000 a night, guests at The Brando expect privacy during their stay. Morrison reflected on how well Brando's vision has been executed and the resort's future.

"There are things that will work elsewhere, like that cold water, seawater exchange is being used in a hospital in Tahiti now. The idea for getting rid of mosquitoes is a very useful, no impact on the environment one. Obviously, anything human beings do has an impact on the planet. But he wanted this to be as neutral as possible. They're still doing as much as they can to work toward that. Obviously, rich people have a big carbon footprint, but Marlon had a big footprint and a big impact too," Morrison said.

Watch the full interview above.

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