Elvis Was Here

A big part of many tourists' vacations is visiting famous sites where movie and TV scenes were shot. Hawaii has a whole host of such sites, from the beach on which Burt Lancaster kissed Deborah Kerr in "From Here to Eternity" to the real "Gilligan's Island" (not the TBS reality series, but the place where the pilot of the classic show was shot) to the lagoon where Elvis sang in "Blue Hawaii." The latest addition to this list of renowned sites is the beach where the plane crashed in "Lost."

Recognizing the appeal of such sites, Movie Tours Inc. opened up nine years ago on Kauai, and now takes about 1,000 people per month on movie tours of the island. With tours ranging from about $100 to $300 per person, that's between $100,000 to $300,000 per month, which rings up to $1.2 to $3.6 million "film tourism" dollars per year being pumped into Hawaii's economy...just from a single company!

The company is one in a growing list of businesses capitalizing on the emotional draw of popular films and TV shows, not to mention the "free marketing" they offer. Last year, even the U.S. Commerce Department got in on the act, launching an integrated tourism marketing campaign in the UK with the theme, "You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set."

>> Jump off the screen into reality [LA Times, 7/24/05]
>> "You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set" [HFO blog, 5/17/05]

Archie Ahuna, SFX Emmy Nominee

Veteran special effects supervisor Archie Ahuna is the only person from Hawaii among "Lost's" Emmy nominees. Ahuna has honed his SFX skills over 35 years by working on productions such as "Hawaii Five-O," "Magnum P.I.," "Pearl Harbor," and "Tears of the Sun." Ahuna's experience and wise caution have endeared him to cast and crew: "As a special-effects person, you have to have imagination and you have to be ready to do anything and everything to make what's in the script come to life. I'll do whatever they want me to do, but only if it can be done without putting anybody at risk." Congratulations, Archie!

>> "Lost" pyrotechnics delivered with punch [Hnl Advertiser, 7/28/05]

Hollywood vs. Hawaii, Part 9,879,351

Today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin featured a story on local boy Chris Palzis, whose 1999 comedy, "Bad Trip," starring Coolio and Ethan Suplee, was recently released on DVD by Lions Gate. Why the delayed release? The film had been largely ignored until Palzis self-financed and shot Coolio and Krayzie Bone music video "I Don't Wanna Die." The video, shot in Hawaii, ends where "Bad Trip" begins. This prequel gimmick managed to renew interest in the film and land Palzis a DVD distribution deal.

Like many Hawaii natives in film and television, Palzis, a Punahou grad, struggles with the mainland versus Hawaii conundrum. Says Palzis: "I like to go where the odds are in my favor, and my best chances are in Hollywood. You gotta play the numbers."

>> Surviving Hollywood [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/28/05]
>> FLASHBACK: Father's death changes writer-director [Hnl Advertiser, 6/24/05]

Cultural Insensitivity

Kayo Hatta, who died last week, was not only a talented filmmaker, but an advocate for Asian America. Some may remember Hatta objecting to Miramax's decision to promote "Picture Bride's" video release with artwork featuring an exoticized, mostly nude Asian woman. Hatta told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1999, "That photo was horrendous; they made it look like soft porn." AsianWeek's Philip Chung recently named this move by Miramax as one of "Hollywood's 25 Worst Asian Pacific American Blunders":

20. NOT PICTURE PERFECT
Japanese American filmmaker Kayo Hatta made a splash with audiences at Sundance with her 1994 debut feature Picture Bride, prompting indie powerhouse Miramax Films to purchase and release Hatta’s sensitive story about a Japanese picture bride who comes to Hawai‘i in the early 1900s. Miramax’s marketing campaign for the video release tried to “sex up” the film with artwork on the package emphasizing the back of a nude Asian woman — something which had nothing to do with the film itself. Asian American critics, including Hatta herself, cried foul at the blatant misrepresentation, but the brothers Weinstein refused to budge.

Take a look at the rest of AsianWeek's top 25 racist flubs: Part 1; Part 2. Asians, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other ethnic minorities have long battled with (and are still battling) racist and stereotypical depictions of themselves in film and television. Check out (and add to) the list of the latest offenders in ModelMinority.com's Asian American Media Stereotypes Database.

>> Hollywood's 25 Worst APA Blunders, Part 1 [AsianWeek, 2/25/05]
>> Hollywood's 25 Worst APA Blunders, Part 2 [AsianWeek, 3/4/05]
>> Asian American Media Stereotypes Database

"Lost" Hires Local VFX Firm

"Lost" just hired Honolulu-based VFX company Cause & F(x) Pictures to be the on-the-ground eyes and ears for Emmy-nominated visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank during production, as well as design and create digital visual effects for "Lost's" upcoming season.

Cause & F(x) Pictures, a small firm of four founded in January 2004, boasts an impressive resume, having done VFX work on "The Matrix Reloaded," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "X-Men."

Hawaii Film Commissioner Donne Dawson said, "The network will see firsthand what Hawaii talent can do in the special effects/post-production world."

In the face of the how-low-can-you-go production incentive trend in the U.S., many states are trying instead (or in addition) to boost their economies by developing their digital media, animation, and post-production sectors.

>> UPDATE: Behind the scenes [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 8/15/05]
>> TV show ‘Lost’ hires isle firm [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/25/05]
>> Animation festival draws attention to another economic growth opportunity [The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), 4/17/05]

Kayo Hatta (1958-2005)

Kayo Hatta, a champion of independent film in Hawaii and elsewhere, and best known as the director and co-writer of "Picture Bride" (1995), passed away on Wednesday, July 20th, in a tragic drowning accident. She was 47.

Born in Hawaii, Hatta's family moved to New York when she was six years old. She received a BA in English Literature from Stanford University and an MFA in Film Production from UCLA, where she won the Kuwahara Creative Arts Award, the UCLA Women's Affiliates Award, and the Dorothy Arzner Award, given to an outstanding woman director.

"Picture Bride," Hatta's debut feature which was shot entirely on location in Hawaii, tells the story of a young woman who leaves a difficult life in Japan in 1918 to marry a Hawaii plantation worker she knows only through letters and photos. "Picture Bride" was an Official Selection at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Dramatic Film at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival prior to being acquired by Miramax.

Hatta also directed a number of short films, including award-winning drama "Otemba" (Tomboy) (1988), and most recently, "Fishbowl" (2005), based on Lois-Ann Yamanaka's first novel, Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers. A coming-of-age story, "Fishbowl" was shot on location in Honolulu and on Oahu's North Shore. The film premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival this past March, will show at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival in October, and will air on PBS during the 2005-06 season of "Independent Lens."

In 1999, six years after wrapping production on "Picture Bride," Hatta told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "making your own film provides a sense of empowerment, you have more control than on a mainstream film." She added that indie filmmakers mustn't forget that even "art films" have to make money: "The bottom line is always will this product sell. But the filmmakers' decision is whether to create a Big Mac or a hamburger from Kua 'Aina."

A public memorial service will be held to honor and remember Kayo Hatta. Please see the details below from her family.
___________________________________________

Celebrations of Kayo Hatta's Life
(March 18, 1958 - July 20, 2005)

As many of you have heard by now, our beloved sister, Kayo Hatta, passed away on Wednesday, July 20th, in a drowning accident.

There will be a public memorial service in Honolulu open to friends and the general public:
Date: Sunday, July 31st
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Moiliili Hongwanji Buddhist Church, 902 University Avenue

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:
Asian Improv aRts / Kayo Hatta Fund
201 Spear St., Ste 1650
San Francisco, CA 94105

Deepest thanks to all of you for your love and support.

Much love,
Julie and Mari, on behalf of the Hatta Family and Doug Hetrick (Kayo's fiance)
___________________________________

>> Kayo Hatta, pioneering filmmaker [Hnl Advertiser, 7/26/05]
>> "Picture Bride" filmmaker drowns [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/25/05]
>> "Picture Bride" Director Kayo Hatta Dies [AP/SF Chronicle, 7/26/05]
>> Profile for Kayo Hatta, Program for Media Artists
>> "Picture Bride" (Official Site)
>> "Fishbowl" (Official Site)
>> FLASHBACK: Independent filmmaker Kayo Hatta shares the pros and cons of making her own film and surviving [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 10/25/99]

RELATED POST:
>> Cultural Insensitivity

Incentive Mania

It's a trend that just won't stop: states trying to pass tax incentive legislation to lure film and TV productions to their shores. Here is the latest roundup from the Associated Press:

PASSED

COLORADO: Require the state patrol office to help film production companies maneuver through state permits and other bureaucracy; give producers sales and user-tax exemptions for making their films in Colorado. Passed.

LOUISIANA: Updated existing tax program to increase rebates from 15% of production costs to 25% of production costs spent in Louisiana. Created new incentives to encourage building of sound stages and other industry infrastructure in the state. Passed.

MARYLAND: Establish grant programs to rebate half of specified wages paid in the state to people working on qualified film productions up to a maximum of $2 million. Passed.

NEW MEXICO: Expand a tax credit for film companies for a portion of their direct production expenses in New Mexico such as photography and lighting. The tax break covers so-called post production work, including editing, special effects and sound mixing on movies, commercials and video games. Passed.

RHODE ISLAND: Establish a motion picture investment tax credit and a television tax credit for productions in Rhode Island. Passed.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Amend current laws to offer local as well as state tax exemptions for film productions in South Carolina. Passed.

PENDING

INDIANA: Allow film companies free use of state and university property as movie locations; would offer tax credits for the purchasing of movie equipment. Obscene films would be excluded from credits. In conference committee.

OHIO: Create a new tax credit between 15 and 20% of the investment made in Ohio by moviemakers. Pending in committee.

OREGON: Create rebate for labor costs incurred while filming in Oregon. Awaiting full House vote.

TENNESSEE: Establish a film production tax credit for qualified productions. Awaiting committee hearing.

FAILED

ALABAMA: Create employment tax credits for certain movie projects and companies; extend sales and lodging tax exemptions for movie production companies. Failed.

ARKANSAS: Expand refund of state taxes paid during a movie's production. Failed.

HAWAII: Replace existing tax credits with a new credit for motion picture, digital media and film production based on a certain percentage of the production's costs incurred in Hawaii. Cap credit at $8 million per production. Failed. (ooh, that's harsh!)

TEXAS: Offer tax exemptions on hotel stays and vehicles purchases for use in film productions. Failed. Offer grants to film makers based on how many workers hired in Texas. Passed, but without the $20 million in funding to run the program.


More info here:
>> States hope breaks lure movie business [AP/USA Today, 7/22/05]

Filmmaker Magazine: "25 New Faces of Indie Film"

Filmmaker Magazine just announced its annual list of people to watch in independent film. Previous listmakers include Craig Brewer and Miranda July, whose "Hustle & Flow" and "Me and You and Everyone We Know," respectively, were huge hits on the fest circuit this year; Andrew Bujalski whose debut feature "Funny Ha Ha" won him the 2004 "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award (full disclosure: I co-produced Andrew's 2nd film, which coincidentally was sound-mixed by a local boy); Greg Pak who wrote and directed "Robot Stories" starring Tamlyn Tomita; and local boy Steven Tsuchida ("A Ninja Pays Half My Rent"), who was born and raised in Hawaii.

See which lucky ducks got picked this year for Filmmaker Magazine's 8th annual "25 New Faces of Independent Film."

The Glamourous Film Industry (+ the People in it)

The first part of this post's title is completely ironic. This will be obvious to anyone who's worked in production, but most folks who haven't don't realize that making a movie or TV show is utterly unglamourous--in fact, it is grueling, exhausting, frustrating, demoralizing, dangerous in some cases, and totally insane in most cases. Try working 20 hours straight on 3 hours of sleep, dabbing coffee grounds on the bathroom wall of a Jersey City motel room, sopping up green food coloring from a stinky gutter, leaving Costco with 5 shopping carts full of craft services, losing your voice from shouting into a bullhorn all day, sitting around bored for 18 out of 20 hours while waiting for the director to call rehearsal, lugging cameras and stands up a muddy hill, stopping traffic by standing in front of it, or digging through public wastebaskets for photogenic garbage. Such is the enchanting life of production crews and casts.

What a lot of people don't know, is that past all the People Magazine covers, Entertainment Tonight shows, and red carpet premieres, showbiz is a manufacturing business. Crews work in soundstages and on location instead of in factories, but the point is, movie people MAKE STUFF. And that takes work--real manual and mental labor. That means hauling heavy equipment, writing and rewriting scripts, designing and constructing sets, emoting on command, driving trucks, tracking budgets, ordering supplies, sewing costumes, cooking, serving, cleaning, and many other labor-intensive duties.

Who performs this labor? PEOPLE--some of whom happen to be famous, some not. But when we talk about the "film industry," we often forget that it is made up of people, and it is not some greedy, glamourous monolithic behemoth. The bottom line is, film and TV productions employ people--lots of them--to do the heavy lifting (literally) required to make stuff (in this case, movies and TV shows). So when the "film industry" is being supported, what's really being supported is the livelihood of people--everyday workers who have families to feed and bills to pay, just like everyone else. Cases in point: When incentives tripled production in Illinois from $25 million in 2003 to $77 million in 2004, nearly 15,000 jobs were created. When New York incentives brought the state an additional $300 million in production, 6,000 more locals were employed.

Kids: Get National Recognition!

If you're a rising high school senior, you can apply to the annual ARTS Awards in categories such as Film & Video, Theater, Visual Arts, Photography, Writing, Music, and Dance. The national ARTS talent search offers college scholarships and cash prizes to students for their artistic works, and the ARTS program is the exclusive nominating organization to the Presidential Scholars in the Arts program sponsored by the White House. This year, a student from Hawaii had the honor of receiving this highly competitive and coveted distinction: actor/singer/dancer Julia Ogilvie of Punahou School was an ARTS Winner in Musical Theater before being selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

Deadline for the 2006 ARTS Awards is October 1, 2005 so kids: start making art! (And come back to shoot a film in Hawaii after you get big and famous...or small and obscure...it doesn't really matter, just shoot!)

>> ARTS Awards

Short Run

Be sure to catch a screening of the 2005 Oscar Nominated Short Films at The Doris Duke Theater at the Academy of Arts, July 22-27. There will be 4 live and 4 animated films from Spain, Australia, the US, India, Canada, the UK, and New Zealand (Taika Waititi's "Two Cars, One Night").

Newbie indie filmmakers may find it particularly helpful to see what makes an award-winning short film. Though the explosion of the short film form back in the heyday of the Internet boom has died down a bit (anyone remember POP.com?), it still remains an immensely popular form among film school students and independent filmmakers with limited funds. A short film is often used as a "calling card" for feature film deals, but the short has become a respected form in its own right. Check out some shorts at Internet bust survivors AtomFilms and iFilm.

>> Doris Duke Theater Schedule of Events
>> Short But Not Slight; The Evolving Landscape for Short Films [indieWIRE, 5/27/04]
>> FLASHBACK: The golden age of the short [CNN.com, 5/15/00]

To Do: Watch & Learn

• Learn how local director Leah Kihara made her short film, "I Scream, Floats and Sundays" at this month's ArtLunch Lecture on Tuesday, July 26, noon at the Hawaii State Art Museum.
• Watch locally made or made-by-locals indie shorts "I Scream, Floats and Sundays," "Kamea," and "Summer of the Serpent" at the Hawaii State Art Museum (playing continuously from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues-Sat through Sept 3).
• Watch "Kamea" at the North Shore's Sunset on the Beach, Sunday, July 24.
• Take a film/video class at UH's Pacific New Media.

IATSE Local 665

Over a thousand grips, gaffers, projectionists, stage hands, production coordinators, script supervisors, art directors, and other production crew from all over the world have descended on Honolulu for the 65th Quadrennial Convention of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), July 18-22.

One of the hosts of this convention is Hawaii's own chapter of IATSE, Mixed Local 665. IATSE International has done a great job of introducing Hawaii's crew, productions, and general history in its quarterly bulletin. Here are some highlights:

• Hawaii's "Mixed" Local 665 was founded by a handful of projectionists in 1937, four years before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• The two most seminal events in 665 history were the construction of the Blaisdell Center in the early 1960s, which put Honolulu on the map as a destination for symphony, opera, theater, and dance, and the arrival of "Hawaii Five-O" in 1968.
• Many productions followed suit, including TV series "Magnum P.I.," "Fantasy Island," "Jake and the Fatman," "Raven," "The Byrds of Paradise," "Baywatch," "War and Remembrance," and most recently, "Hawaii," "North Shore", and "Lost," and blockbusters "Jurassic Park" (all 3), "Waterworld," "Windtalkers," "Tears of the Sun," "Pearl Harbor," "Blue Crush," and "Fifty First Dates."
• Longtime IATSE member and veteran effects expert Archie Ahuna (who was just nominated for an Emmy for "Lost") "spent weeks carefully testing different biodegradable, ecofriendly chemical blends to create black smoke for the show’s burning aircraft parts. Ahuna and his effects team have all been through rigorous fire-fighting training, which has been invaluable, given all the smoke and fire effects required for Lost’s first season."
• Current Local 665 Business Agent Donovan Ahuna worked in craft services prior to being elected to his post in January. Whenever Ahuna was working on the mainland, he would be sure to bring some aloha with him, serving tropical fruit and instituting Aloha Shirt Fridays.

The positions covered by Local 665's roster include Camera Op, Sound Mixer, Electrician, Grip, Art Director, Wardrobe, Construction, Make-Up, Script Supervisor, Production Office Coordinator, and Art Department Coordinator. Click here for a full list of positions.

Contact the IATSE Mixed Local 665 for more info:

Donovan K. Ahuna
949 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 100
Honolulu, HI 96814
iatse665dkahuna@hawaii.rr.com
Ph (808) 596-0227
Fax (808) 591-8213

Other Unions
Hawaii also has local chapters of the following film-related labor unions: SAG Hawaii Branch , Teamsters Local 996, Musician's Association of Hawaii Local 677, and IBEW Local 1260. SAG, Teamsters, and IATSE offer low-budget agreements for independent films and other low-budget projects. Learn more about these agreements by contacting the unions' national offices:

• SAG: SAG Indie
• Teamsters: (202) 624-6800
• IATSE: (818) 980-3499

Oops, Chris Lee has NOT resigned from UH...yet

It turns out that the Honolulu Star-Bulletin flubbed in its report that Chris Lee had already resigned as chairman of UH's Academy for Creative Media to assume his new post as president of Legendary Pictures. Here the correction published by the Star-Bulletin on 7/2/05:

» Chris Lee has not resigned as chairman of the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media, but remains on leave while executive-producing "Superman Returns." Lee began working at the university in August 2001 in hopes of creating a film school which began in fall of 2003. A story on Page D5 Thursday reported he had resigned from his post.

Local Fest News

Last call for entries to the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), taking place Oct 20-30! The drop-dead last day to submit your film is July 25th (postmarked). This year will be HIFF's 25th Anniversary, so expect a big, exciting fest. HIFF is particularly encouraging Hawaii filmmakers to submit their films--it's FREE for Hawaii filmmakers to submit, so there's nothing to lose. Need more encouragement? There is a new $2,500 cash award for Best Short Film this year! Shorts, features, documentaries, works in progress, and even music videos will be considered. Plus, there will be a Student Showcase, featuring the works of primary and secondary school students from Hawaii's public and private schools. Click below for more info:
>> HIFF Entries
>> HIFF Student Showcase

In other fest news, Cinema Paradise announced its local award-winners two weeks ago. Each of the award-winning films help to "promote Hawaii's rich cultural assets." The winners are:

• 1st Place: "Fire," a short film directed by Mike Stewart & Scott Carter -- The highly anticipated film by legendary body boarder Mike Stewart. In his own words: “The blinding forces of our society collide with the inner rhythm of nature: Follow a life’s pursuit of a wave rider to decipher the rhythm in the randomness of it all.”
• 2nd Place: "Silent Years," a short film directed by James Sereno -- After years of repression, a woman must journey back to her past and confronts her memories of teenage abuse while growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii. Adapted from two poems by renowned Hawaii author Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Silent Years tells a universal story using the unique dialect of Hawaiian Pidgin English.
• 3rd Place: "Burnt," a short film directed by Bryan Lee -- Two derelicts with no jobs, no money, no real purpose in life and no worries--until they find out that one of their favorite soup kitchens is closing down due to government cutbacks. Soon the two agree that the one at fault is the President of the United States, but lacking funds for airfare, they quickly deduce that the governor works for the President and as his highest representative here in the islands, the governor must be eliminated.

Hawaii Responds to "Lost" Noms

KGMB's Terry Hunter interviewed several folks from Hawaii's local film/TV industry yesterday about what they thought of "Lost"'s 12 Emmy nominations. Honolulu Film Commissioner Walea Constantinau said, "When you think of the outreach that the show makes for us in 182 different countries around the world, it's quite extraordinary the publicity that we're getting from that show." And Judy Drosd of the Department of Business and Economic Development stated that the purpose of tax incentives is to develop the local industry, not to line the pockets of Hollywood producers--that is, to "have a lot more people working in Hawaii."

>> Terry Hunter's KGMB Report

"Lost" Gets 12 Emmy Noms

ABC's hit show "Lost," shot entirely on Oahu, Hawaii (yes, even the interiors), garnered 12 Emmy nominations today, making it the most-nominated drama series this year. Here are its nominations:

1. Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
April Webster, C.S.A.
Mandy Sherman, C.S.A.
Alyssa Weisberg
Veronica Collins

2. Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
"Pilot" (Part 1 & Part 2)
J.J. Abrams

3. Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series
"Pilot" (Part 1 & Part 2)
Mary Jo Markey

4. Outstanding Music Composition (Dramatic Underscore)
Michael Giacchino

5-6. Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
* Naveen Andrews as Sayid
* Terry O’Quinn as John Locke

7. Outstanding Drama Series
J.J. Abrams, Executive Producer
Damon Lindelof, Executive Producer
Bryan Burk, Executive Producer
Carlton Cuse, Executive Producer
Jack Bender, Executive Producer
David Fury, Co-Executive Producer
Jesse Alexander, Co-Executive Producer
Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Supervising Producer
Sarah Caplan, Producer
Leonard Dick, Producer
Jean Higgins, Produced by

8. Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series
"Pilot" (Part 1)
Thomas E. deGorter, M.P.S.E.,
Chris Reeves, M.P.S.E., Sound
Gabrielle Reeves, Sound Editor
Trevor Jolly, Sound Editor
Paul Menichini, M.P.S.E., Sound
Roland Thai, Sound Editor
Marc Glassman, Sound Editor
Maciek Malish, Sound Editor
Troy Allen, Sound Editor
Stephen M. Davis, Music Editor
Pat Cabral, Foley Artist
Cynthia Merril, Foley Artist

9. Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing For A Series
"Outlaws"
Michael Moore, Production Sound Mixer
Scott Weber, Re-Recording Mixer
Frank Morrone, Re-Recording Mixer

10. Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series
"Pilot" (Part 1 & Part 2)
Kevin Blank, Visual Effects Supervisor
Mitch Suskin, Visual Effects Supervisor
Archie Ahuna, Special Effects Supervisor (congrats Archie!)
Jonathan Spencer Levy, CGI Supervisor
Benoit “Ben” Girard, CGI Supervisor
Laurent M. Abecassis, CGI Supervisor
Kevin Kutchaver, Visual Effects Compositor
Steve Fong, Visual Effects Compositor
Bob Lloyd, Visual Effects Compositor

11-12. Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
* "Pilot"
J.J. Abrams, Teleplay by/Story by
Damon Lindelof, Teleplay by/Story by
Jeffrey Lieber, Story by
* "Walkabout"
David Fury, Written by

Tim Ryan, Local Scoopmeister

For those of you who don't already know about Hawaii's answer to PageSix (minus the venom), let me introduce Tim Ryan, our resident entertainment writer whose weekly Wednesday column in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin has become an institution of sorts among Hawaii's local film and TV community. Tim reports the entertainment industry rumblings and mumblings floating around Hawaii and Hollywood. Here's Tim's story:

Tim Ryan was born and raised in Hollywood, California where his father Tim Ryan was a screenwriter and sometimes actor whose writing credits while under contract to Monogram Studios included several of the "Charlie Chan"and "Bowery Boys" film series. Tim Jr. first visited Hawaii in 1952 when Tim Sr. appeared in the classic Pearl Harbor attack flick "From Here to Eternity." Tim started at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in March 1984, and after six years of covering Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos' residency and legal troubles while in Hawaii, moved on to the entertainment beat. Tim's first newspaper job was at the 3,000 circ. weekly "The Cambria" on the Big Surf coast. He is the Hawaii correspondent for People, US Magazine, and Daily Variety, and contributes regularly to travel magazines including Islands, Frommer's Budget Travel, and Sunset.

>> Tim Ryan's "Reel News" [Honolulu Star-Bulletin]

Want Money for Your Film?

If your project promotes the Pacific Islands and is intended for public television, you can try getting funds by applying for the following Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) grants:

1. Media Fund 2005
Open call for for public television projects promoting the Pacific Islands. Projects should be at the research & development, production or completion stage. PIC funds up to $15,000 for research & development, and between $20,000 and $50,000 for production and completion, with preference given to projects in the final stages of post-production.
DEADLINE: Friday, August 5 at 5:30 pm

2. Open Door Completion Fund
Awards of $20,000 to $50,000 provided to public television projects in the final stages of post-production to completely finish the program and bring it up to broadcast standards. A full-length rough cut must be submitted.
DEADLINE: None

PIC is looking for projects that:
• Shed light on the Pacific Islander experience
• Provoke thoughtful dialogue about the subject
• Exhibit knowledge and understanding of the subject and a thoughtful and sensitive approach
• Have strong potential to be broadcast on national public television
• Have sound production and fundraising plans
• Have a production team capable of completing the program within budget and on schedule
• Employ or use Pacific Islanders in key creative production positions
• Adhere to PBS Standards of objectivity and balance

Check out some of the previous projects funded by PIC.

From Your Mouth to the Legislature's Ears

A recent heated discussion on the Yahoo! Hawaii-Filmmakers' Group on the state of Hawaii's film and television industry produced some compelling testimonies from those working in the trenches of the local industry. Here are some excerpts:

"I have read letters to the editors of local papers proclaiming that movie production companies 'should pay for Hawaii's beauty, just like everyone else,' and should receive zero tax incentives. The fact of the matter is, without tax incentives, the movie people, with their 100's of millions of spending dollars, are NOT going to come here."

"Hawaii does have all the talent that is needed to produce commercially viable films. Hawaii needs to stop thinking of itself as Hollywood's tropical back lot and start thinking of itself as a film production center in its own right. We have the tools and the talent, especially in an age where digital cameras are taking over from film. But we still lack funding sources able to handle full feature films. And here again the Legislature does influence our community...the film tax incentives, had they passed, would have attracted investment capital to Hawaii's productions as well as brining outside productions here...we do need to be realistic at how our business climate looks to investors and producers, and how small actions by the legislature can and do have major consequences for the film community."

"In my opinion, our government, if it truly wants increased tax revenue (which it seems to me at times, is all the government is about) needs to do all it can to entice the major film industry to come to Hawaii."

"Production companies that come here are surprised to find out there are NO prop houses. Construction coordinators ship in their materials (mostly lumber) because local vendors either don't carry the required materials (most likely), or the materials here are not only of poor quality, but are extremely expensive. Making a successful independent film like "Whale Rider" would not improve any of these situations, in my opinion. Our government, opening its eyes, putting its hands in its pockets, and making Hawai'i financially attractive to big projects would help create a vibrant film industry here."

"Biologists say that extinction is what happens when an organism fails to adapt to the changing realities of its environment. The same applies to organizations. Our legislature is failing to adapt to the new environment of greater competition in film incentives. Our legislature is failing to adapt to the new environment of technology which allows Hawaii's beauty to be created elsewhere. Our entire film economy, as a result, is endangered."

Interesting thoughts to noodle on...

Asian American Film Festivals

Congrats to Michael Ogasawara and James Sereno for getting their shorts into the grandaddy of Asian American film festivals: New York's upcoming 28th Annual Asian American International Film Festival. James's "Silent Years," which has already had an impressive run on the fest circuit, and two of Mike's films, "Cause & Defect" and "Do Not Disturb," will be showing at the fest.

Since the majority of Hawaii's population is Asian American or Pacific Islander, I thought it might be useful to highlight some of the festivals that celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander films. Please note that people often confuse "Asian" (that is, from Asia--China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, etc.) with "Asian American" (from the U.S.A.). The fests below focus on the latter.

Asian American International Film Festival (New York)
28th Annual - July 2005

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
23rd Annual - March 2005

VC Filmfest: The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
21st Annual - Apr/May 2005
(Asian American + Asian Films)

Chicago Asian American Film & Video Showcase
10th Annual - Apr 2005

Vancouver Asian Film Festival
9th Annual - Nov 2005
(North American Asian Films)

DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival
6th Annual - Oct 2005

San Diego Asian Film Festival
6th Annual - Sep/Oct 2005

And by virtue of Hawaii's population mix, our own film festivals end up being heavy on Asian American and Pacific Islander content:

Hawaii International Film Festival
25th Annual - Oct 2005

Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
16th Annual - May 2005

Cinema Paradise
4th Annual - June 2005

GiRL FeST Hawaii
2nd Annual - Sep 2005

Ohina Short Film Showcase
(links to Honolulu Advertiser article; Ohina site under construction)
October

Pacifika Film Festival: New York Hawaiian Film Festival
2nd Annual - May 2005

Many of these festivals accept submissions through Withoutabox, a semi-automated online submission service for tons of different film festivals. Make sure to research each festival you submit to, and be wary of the two-bit money-making/idea-stealing operations posing as film fests. Happy submitting, and good luck!

This Blog's for You

In a typical insular, self-aggrandizing case of media covering media covering media, I'm going to tell you about 2 recent press mentions of our dear blog.

The Honolulu Advertiser's Michael Tsai wrote on Friday that "Anyone interested in the local film industry would do well to check out" this blog (aw, shucks!). And according to Hawaii Business Magazine's Jacy Youn, I said (OK, this is getting ridiculously circuitous) that the goal "is for the blog to be a resource to people in the industry, lawmakers and those just interested in local film and television." However, I must disagree with Ms. Youn's characterization of the blog as "a good place to find the latest and greatest on everything Lost." This is a very serious blog, goshdarnit, not some celebrity gossip rag! Kidding...sorta.

But seriously, I am writing this for you all--that is, you local film and television industry folks, and others interested in stimulating/building the local industry. So, if you have concerns/questions/issues you'd like to raise, please email me and let me know. This blog's for you!