'Ohina Short Film Showcase: Aug 4-5

The 'Ohina Short Film Showcase is back! Now in its seventh year, 'Ohina remains one of the few public screening opportunities available for local, independent short films. Considering that it's FREE to attend, there's no excuse to miss a screening at the Academy of Arts' Doris Duke Theater. The following program will be shown on Fri, 8/4 at 7:30pm, and on Sat, 8/5 at 12pm, 3pm, and 7pm:

Her
Drama, 5 min
Writer & Director: Brett Wagner
Producer: Christina Simpkins
Cast: Christina Simpkins, Kimo Stowell
A couple's relationship is threatened by another woman… sort of. Originally produced for the Showdown in Chinatown 24-hour film festival.

Paper Cuts
Comedy, 6 min
Directors: Roy Kimura & David Sato
Writer & Producer: David Sato
Cast: Stu Hirayama, George Russell, Ernest Chang, Monica Ivey
An office can drive a normal person completely insane. See one man's descent into cubicle madness. No office supplies were injured in this film.

The Cleaner
Action / Comedy, 8 min
Director: Martin Troy
Producers: Gail Marie, Martin Troy
Writer: Jon Bonnell
Cast: Steve Boatright, Dezmond Gilla, Gail Marie
Two hitmen arrive to whack a mob boss, but get more than they bargained for. Film contains adult language and violence.

Another Beautiful Day
Animation, 3 min
Director: Dan Boulos
Writer & Producer: Jeff Katts
Cast: Rene Garcia, "Pi'ilani" Crabbe Jones, Jeff Katts
A young woman's peaceful day is disrupted by an evil force of biblical proportions.

Rats
Animation, 2 min
Producer & Director: Michael L. Evans
A lovable rat bites off more than he can chew. Recipient of the Gold Award at the 2006 Hawai‘i Student Film Festival.

Nate Washington
Drama, 18 min
Writer & Director: Blane Dydasco
Produers: Blane Dydasco, Nicole Wright
Cast: Kevin Nichols, Adrian Flowers
All-American athlete Nate Washington is sidelined after a family tragedy.

The Plight of the Coqui
Documentary, 2 min
Writer & Director: Joe Kostylo
Producer: Allison Goldman
Cast: Teddy Tobby
A creative examination of the troublesome coqui frog, which threatens Hawai‘i's ecosystem.

Domitri's Big, Fat Russian Movie
Comedy, 12 min
Director: Mark Brians
Producer: Warhead Productions
Writers: Mark Brians, Nick Poole
Cast: Alelesey Vassily'lev, Mark Brians, Angela Carlton
Domitri is an aspiring filmmaker trying to make a sci-fi masterpiece. Will he prevail or will he drive away his cast and crew?

Silent Years
Drama, 13 min
Producer & Director: James Sereno
Writer: Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Cast: Julie Nagata, Matthew Miller, Wil Kahele, Janice Terukina
After years of repression, a woman must journey back to her past and confront her memories of teenage abuse. First Runner Up - Short Film British Academy Awards L.A., Best Hawaii Filmmaker Award 2004 Hawaii International Film Festival. Film contains adult language and situations.

Harrison - Falling Down
Music Video, 5 min
Producer & Director: Chris Potts
Cast: Harrison
A cool music video featuring Hawai‘i indie music group Harrison.

Sweet 'N Sour Brides
Comedy, 3 min
Writer, Producer, Director: Peter Tang
Cast: Stella Tong, Davis Wyn, Jessica Cho Go
A Chinese mother confuses her son's choice of prom date with marriage. Recipient of the Gold Award at the 2006 Hawai‘i Student Film Festival.

Na Pua o Maunalua
Documentary, 5 min
Producer & Director: Amanda Suiso
Writers: Amanda Suiso, Nanea Baird, Melissa Ratzlaff, Tasia Chase
A documentary about a group of Kaiser High School students and their immersion experiences with Hokule‘a master navigator Nainoa Thompson.

The Sand Island Drive-In Anthem
Drama, 21 min
Director: Ryan Kawamoto
Executive Producers: Jason Suapaia & James Sereno
Writer: Cedric Yamanaka
Cast: Mark Malalis, Augie Tulba, Stephanie Sanchez, BullDog, Stu Hirayama, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Four young men learn valuable lessons about life, love, and friendship while working long hours at a Kalihi Drive-In. Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2005 Hawai‘i International Film Festival. Film contains adult language and violence.

Valtor the Great vs. the Universe
Action / Comedy, 10 min
Writer & Director: Gerard Elmore
Producers: Yuri Biersach, Joji Yoshida
Cast: Jaeves Iha, Maia Knudsen-Schule, Hawaiian Guy from Molokai
Valtor and his high school posse must save the world from invading aliens! Recipient of the Honolulu Magazine Short Film Award at the 2005 Hawai‘i International Film Festival.

>> 'Ohina Short Film Showcase

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>> Local Filmmakers Left in the Dust
>> The Meaning of "Independent"

Two Articles About Act 88 Today

Pacific Business News and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin each published an article today about Act 88, the new 15-20% refundable production tax credit. The PBN article had a good overview of how the credit works, and what it took to get it passed this year. The Star-Bulletin article focused on the state and county film commissioners trip to the AICP Show this week to promote the credit to producers of commercials. OK, so I now feel compelled to make a few corrections to this latter article (sorry Katherine):

"While Big Island commissioner Marilyn Killeri was busy [at the AICP Show in L.A.] circulating newly translated explanations of Senate Bill 88 in Japanese, state Film Commissioner Donne Dawson, Honolulu Film Commissioner Walea Constantinau, Benita Brazier of Maui County and Art Umezu of the County of Kauai networked and checked the placement of event napkins inscribed with '100 % Aloha; 15-20% off everything else.'"
>> Actually, Marilyn was not in L.A. this week because she's in Japan promoting the tax credit to Japanese commercial producers. Here's the Japanese translation of the tax credit overview that Marilyn was circulating in Japan (not L.A.).

"SB 88, which took effect July 1, offers a 15 percent rebate for shooting on Oahu and 20 percent for filming on a neighbor island -- up from just 4 percent statewide."
>> It's Act 88, not SB 88. When a bill is signed, it becomes an act, which then becomes a law. In this case, SB2570 (that's Senate Bill 2570) became Act 88, which will be incorporated into Hawaii Revised Statutes §235-17.

"Now the minimum expenditure requirement is $200,000 for commercials or feature films."
>> Also for television and digital media productions.

"From 1993 to 2000 the state garnered approximately $70 million from productions, $20 million of which came from commercials, said Constantinau."
>> Actually, from 1993 to 2000, the film industry (including film, TV, commercials, still photo shoots) pumped more than $654 million into Hawaii's economy. From 1993 to 2005, that figure rose to more than $1.2 billion. In its heyday, commercial production in Hawaii accounted for approximately 20% of total production expenditures, but that proportion has more than halved in recent years.

"Hawaii faces stiff competition from Canada, the United Kingdom and several mainland states that offer rebates in the 30- to 40-percent range."
>> Our biggest competition comes from Australia, Canada, and other U.S. states that offer rebates in the 20-30% range (Has anyone heard of a state offering 40%? Last I heard, Connecticut had the most generous credit at 30%).

Minor errors aside, the Star-Bulletin article does do a great job of highlighting how important it is to market the new tax incentive. It's one thing to have it on the books, but if no one knows about it, what good is it? The article quoted AICP prez Matt Miller as saying, "It's not good enough that (tax incentives) are in place. To find its full stride, Hawaii really has to be out there and marketed."--and marketed more than just on this stinky blog I made for free with Blogger. (That's a hint for all you people who control our marketing budget.)

>> Hawaii returns to movie spotlight [PBN, 7/28/06] (.pdf)
>> Isle film czars wave tax lure at Hollywood [Star-Bulletin, 7/28/06]

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>> More Details on 15-20% Film Credit from Tax Dept.
>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
>> Legislature Passes 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
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>> Notable Commercials Shot in Hawaii
>> Big Island Film Commissioner at Yokohama Hawaii Festival
>> Hawaii at AICP Show
>> Meet the Hawaii Film Office!
>> Meet the County Film Offices
>> Press Massacres Hawaii's Film Tax Credits Again

NBC's "Las Vegas" to Shoot Episode on Oahu

Hawaii folks love Las Vegas (the city), and it seems that "Las Vegas" (the show) is responding in kind by coming to shoot an episode (or two) here. The NBC drama starring James Caan will descend on Oahu next week. According to Pacific Business News, show producer Steve Sassen said that a "big reason for filming the episodes in Hawaii is the state's new tax incentive, Act 88, which went into effect July 1."

>> 'Las Vegas' will film on Oahu [PBN, 7/25/06]

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>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
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Notable Commercials Shot in Hawaii

Hawaii-made Amex, Visa, and McDonald's commercials

Hawaii has long been a popular destination for commercial shoots. The diversity, beauty, and drama of our landscapes make Hawaii perfect for shooting memorable commercials. Since the film commissioners will be going to the AICP Show this week and since we've got a great new 15-20% tax credit for which commercials are eligible, I thought it fitting to highlight some notable commercials that were shot in Hawaii over the past few years. Here are some you may remember:

• American Express: "My life. My Card: Laird Hamilton" (Maui)
• Honda: "Peaks" and "Buckles" 2005 Super Bowl ads (Big Island)
• Nike: "Crazed Referee" featuring Dennis Hopper (Locker room set built at the state-run Hawaii Film Studio in Honolulu)
• Visa: "Konishiki Revue" (Oahu)
• Bacardi Rum: Featuring Telly Savalas (Kauai)
• McDonald's: "Fossil Fuel" featuring an animated T-Rex skeleton in a museum awakened by the smell of french fries (Maui)
• Maytag: Featuring a washing machine on the rocks and the Maytag guy (Oahu)
• Mountain Dew: Featuring a submerged whale with "Do the Dew" on its fin (Oahu)

Other brands that have shot national ads here include: Subway, Nissan, Toyota, Kirin, Calvin Klein, US Army, US Navy, Daido Beverages, Volvo, Dodge, Home Depot, Campbell Soup, Armani, Shishedo, Loreal, Saturn, Barbie, Chrysler, Gatorade, and many, many, many more.

Among the commercial production companies that have shot in Hawaii in recent years are: @radical.media, Anonymous Content, MJZ, DNA, A Band Apart, Traktor, Gearhead Entertainment, PYTKA, NYDRLE, HKM Productions, HSI Productions, Area 51 Films, Chelsea Pictures, Dektor Film, Moxie Pictures, Palomar Pictures, and Link Entertainment.

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More Eye Candy in Hawaii (on "Lost")

"Lost" producers announced at Comic-Con this weekend that a new hottie will be joining the "Lost" cast. Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro ("Love, Actually," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle") will be part of "Lost"'s third season, a season which, according to producers, will be the most mind-blowing yet. The producers also announced that there will be 13 more Verizon-distributed mobisodes featuring Hurley (Jorge Garcia's character) this fall.

>> "Lost" Lands New Star, Reveals Numbers [E! Online, 7/25/06]

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Big Island Film Commissioner at Yokohama Hawaii Festival

Big Island Film Commissioner Marilyn Killeri is in Japan attending the Yokohama Hawaii Festival and promoting Hawaii's new 15-20% refundable production tax credit to producers of Japanese commercials. Hawaii is a favored shooting location among Japanese production companies, and year after year, many Japanese commercials, music videos, and TV programs come to shoot here. If you're a Japanese producer, please click on the link below for an overview (in Japanese!) of our new 15-20% tax credit.

>> Overview of 15-20% refundable production tax credit for film, TV, digital media & commercials (Japanese) (.pdf)

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>> Hawaii at AICP Show
>> Meet the County Film Offices
>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!

Hawaii at AICP Show

The Hawaii state and county film commissioners (except for Big Island Film Commissioner Marilyn Killeri, who will be in Japan promoting our new tax credit) will be in Los Angeles this week attending the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show and promoting our new 15-20% refundable production tax credit. For the first time ever, Hawaii is extending tax credits to commercial producers, in addition to film, television, and digital media producers. The AICP Show will take place Wed, July 26th at 6:30pm at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

>> AICP Show Los Angeles

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>> Meet the Hawaii Film Office!
>> Meet the County Film Offices
>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
>> Come & Get This: 2006 Production Guide
>> Come on Down! (You Know You Want To)
>> Visit Us at Locations Trade Show in Santa Monica

More Details on 15-20% Film Credit from Tax Dept.

On Tuesday, Hawaii's Department of Taxation issued Tax Information Release (TIR) No. 2006-02, which provides further guidance and details on our new 15-20% refundable production tax credit. Included in the release are specific examples of which types of production costs would and wouldn't qualify, how we are going to prorate the 15/20% credit differential based on qualified production costs incurred on Oahu versus the neighbor islands, and information on meeting the $200,000 expenditure threshold.

It's a must read for anyone interested in claiming the new 15-20% refundable production tax credit: Tax Information Release No. 2006-02

And the application forms for the credit are soon forthcoming, I swear! Just trying to get all the little nitty-gritty details ironed out before posting them. Keep checking back for them. Thanks for your patience!

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>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
>> The Big 3-0 & Tax Credit Implementation Woes

Honolulu is 4th Priciest Place in the U.S.

Downtown Honolulu (Photo: About.com)

Honolulu recently ranked #4 on Forbes' list of "The Most Overpriced Places in the U.S.," after Essex County, MA; San Francisco; and San Jose. To do this ranking, Forbes looked at cost of living, job growth, housing affordability, salary, and median home price (which, by the way, in Honolulu, was $625,000 in Q1 2006, up 18% vs. the same period last year). Ouch!

Good thing we got that new 15-20% film tax credit, huh?

Rounding out the top ten priciest places are: Cambridge, MA; New York City (although Manhattan by itself is the most expensive place in the country); Tucson; Oakland, CA; Boston, and Los Angeles. By the way, except for the California cities, the places above also have film tax credits.

>> The Most Overpriced Places in the U.S. [Forbes, July 2006]

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How Act 88 Will Help Maui

Maui's breathtaking Haleakala Crater

In Monday's Maui News, Maui Film Commissioner Benita Brazier wrote an editorial about the value of Act 88, Hawaii's new 15-20% refundable production tax credit, to Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.

She talks about how Maui specializes in being a boutique location for commercials and smaller projects that "may not offer the media attention, recognizable names and megabudgets of major features" but "have made a difference for Maui County’s economy...generate a continuous stream of employment for local workers in the area of film and, by and large, have a minimal impact on the community." Maui County has hosted over 200 productions in the past four years, including HGTV, Discovery, and Travel Channel shows; MTV reality pilots; Bravo and BBC documentaries; and numerous still photography projects.

Maui's status as a premier location for commercials has dwindled in recent years due to competition from cheaper locales elsewhere. However, with the passage of Act 88, commercials (and other TV and film projects) will qualify for a 20% refundable tax credit on Maui and the other neighbor islands. The challenges now, Brazier says, will be to train more Maui County residents to work on productions, and to provide affordable accommodations and adequate soundstage space to prolong a production's stay on Maui.

>> VIEWPOINT: Act 88 allows county to compete more effectively for film business [Maui News, 7/17/06]

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>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
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HIFF Trailer Shoot

Two weekends ago, the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) shot its annual promotional trailer on Waikiki Beach. This trailer will be shown at the start of every HIFF screening in October. LOST executive producer and director Jack Bender had come up with the concept, and served as the project's director. Mike Tsai wrote an article in yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser about the shoot, and he highlights many stellar local cast and crew members. The HIFF-trailer-as-short-film paradigm began last year with James Sereno's multiethnic mini-drama that actually caught the eye of Roger Ebert, who invited James to bring it to his Overlooked Film Festival.

>> All for a whiff of HIFF [Hnl Advertiser, 7/19/06]

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Random News Bits

• ABC has decided to split season 3 of LOST in two: 6 new episodes to run starting Oct. 4, then a 13-week break during which a new detective drama will air in its place (instead of LOST reruns), then the rest of the season's LOST episodes will return in February 2007. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson was quoted as saying, "It's a very, very difficult show to produce. You know, if we could run 22 straight in the fall, we probably would. But we just can't get the shows done in that amount of time."
• "You, Me, & Dupree," which shot in Hawaii for a week last year, opened #3 at the weekend box office, bringing in $21.5 million.
• New Line Cinema announced today that it would forego press screenings of "Snakes on a Plane," which opens August 18th, and which was partially shot in Hawaii. This move is in line with the recent trend to eighty-six press screenings of genre films for fear of negative reviews tanking ticket sales on opening weekend.
• Hawaii-based movie software co. PipelineFX recently reeled in another film school client for its flagship Qube! renderfarm software. Full Sail, an entertainment media school in Orlando, Fla., has joined the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media and the Pratt Institute's Department of Computer Graphics and Interactive Media in New York in acquiring the software for their students to use.

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>> 2005 Hawaii Film and TV Reverie
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>> Hawaii's "Digital Revolution" Continues

First All-Digital Theater Coming to Hawaii Next Week

Regal Entertainment Group's Dole Cannery Theaters will be the first in Hawaii to house an all-digital projection system next week. The first film to get the all-digital treatment will be 3-D movie "Monster House." Dole can count itself as one of just 3 dozen or so among Regal's 6,415 screens nationwide to be all-digital.

>> Dole Cannery to get Hawaii’s first all-digital movie theater [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/15/06]

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Cousteau Doc to Screen at Hanauma Bay Tonight

The film that made George W. Bush turn green (at least for a little bit) is being screened for FREE at Hanauma Bay tonight at 6:30pm. Jean-Michel Cousteau's documentary "Voyage to Kure" persuaded Bush to declare the environmentally sensitive Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument. For more info, contact the Hanauma Bay Education Program at 808-397-5840. If you can't make it, you can buy the DVD from PBS for $25.

>> Cousteau's Film to Screen [Hnl Advertiser, 7/12/06]

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The Big 3-0 & Tax Credit Implementation Woes

I've been so swamped trying to help get Hawaii's new 15-20% refundable production tax credit passed and implemented (btw, application forms are forthcoming, like, tomorrow or early next week very soon (sorry!)), I haven't been keeping up with what's going on in the rest of the country. But boy, have production tax credits reached a tipping point, or what?! Check out the latest on what's going on in other states:

• Connecticut: As of July 1st this year, CT's got a huge, whopping 30% transferable investment tax credit, and the minimum expenditure requirement is a measly $50K. This is officially the most generous investment tax credit offered by any state. However, there are apparently already some problems with implementation. The CT film office staff is apparently slow to answer producers' specific questions about which costs qualify for the credit because they quite simply don't know the answers themselves. As it turns out, some costs that were previously thought to qualify are actually not eligible for the credit--such as a major star's salary (only the amount up to double SAG scale is qualified). By the way, here in Hawaii, because the Hawaii portion of a major star's salary is subject to Hawaii income tax, that portion would qualify for our 15-20% refundable tax credit, no matter the amount.
• North Carolina: Turns out that the 15% refundable tax credit that went into effect last year is not actually 15%. This is because to get the credit, production companies must pay NC's 6.9% income tax, which waters down the tax credit to just 8%. As a result of this little glitch, for the first time in years, not a single TV pilot was shot at studios in Wilmington. Incidentally, here in Hawaii, visiting production co's are not subject to state income tax--you do not need to have Hawaii income tax liability to qualify for our 15-20% refundable production tax credit.
• New York: Just this past Tuesday, Mayor Mike Bloomberg just signed a bill to re-up NYC's 5% refundable tax credit through 2011 to complement a similar move made earlier by NY state for its 10% credit. City and state have also each raised their annual credit caps to $30M and $60M per year, respectively. Credits are still first-come, first-served, though, and have various requirements as to the % of total filming done in NYC, on a soundstage, etc. By the way, Hawaii does not have an overall cap on its 15-20% refundable tax credit--just an $8 million cap per qualified production (a "qualified production" is specifically defined in the statute).
• Massachussetts: A 20% tax credit on labor costs that went into effect in January this year isn't generating as much production business as people thought it would. The lackluster result is attributable, they say, to the fact that there is no MA film office (it shut down in 2002 due to budget cuts). However, the MA legislature recently approved a budget that would double the size of the MA Sports & Entertainment Commission and create a new new division specifically charged with generating movie business. If you're reading this, then you know that Hawaii has a film office (we've had one since 1978). Our office is charged with administering and marketing the new 15-20% tax credit, as well as being the central coordinator for all state shooting permits. We also help with finding locations and production resources, and are a generally friendly bunch.
• Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, others?: These are just some of the latest wannabe states for film tax incentives. So everybody wants to be a film town, huh? Wonder if states will get wise to this and turn their tax credit attentions to other worthy industries...

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>> It's Official: Hawaii Boasts 15-20% Film Tax Credit!
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Two Downtown Venues Host New Film Events

Local filmmakers now have two more local avenues to vent their creativity:

• "Showdown in Chinatown," a monthly 24-hour short film shootout hosted by thirtyninehotel. How it works: a topic is randomly selected and posted at showdowninchinatown.com at 10 pm on the third Friday of each month. Filmmakers then get 24 hours to write, shoot, and edit a 3-5 minute short film on that topic. The fee to submit a film is $20. The films are screened at 10 pm the following night (Saturday) at thirtyninehotel (viewers can watch for a $5 cover charge). Winners get chosen "Showtime at the Apollo"-style (by loudest applause), and winning films will be featured on the Showdown site until the next month (but I have yet to find the June 17th winner on the site). Watch for the next Showdown topic to be posted on Fri, July 21st at 10pm.
• rRed Elephant Cafe's "Trailer Trash Tuesdays," a weekly screening of movie trailers, every Tuesday from 7 to 9pm. rRed Elephant regularly accepts submissions of your trailers (under 3 minutes, in DVD format) at: T.T.T.s / rRed Elephant Cafe / c/o Rogerio Araujo / 1144 Bethel St. / Honolulu, HI 96813

>> Shoot ’em up [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/9/06]

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SAG Low-Budget Workshop, 7/26

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD HAWAII BRANCH PRESENTS
A LOW BUDGET AGREEMENTS WORKSHOP

DATE: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
TIME: 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Musicians Association Bldg, Studio One, 949 Kapiolani Blvd. (enter from Waimanu Street entrance)

If you are interested in using professional actors for your film projects, you should attend this workshop. It will cover the Student Film, Short Film, Ultra Low Budget, Modified Low Budget and Low Budget Agreements.

To RSVP, leave a message at 808-596-0388 or email bching@sag.org

>> SAGindie

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OHA Ditches KGMB Buy

By a 4-2 vote yesterday, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs decided not to pursue its purchase of local CBS affiliate KGMB, citing financial risks and regulatory murkiness. Media watchdogs can rest easy now.

>> OHA won't buy KGMB after all
>> OHA board scuttles talk of offer for KGMB

RELATED POST:
>> Office of Hawaiian Affairs Mulls Buying TV Station

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Mulls Buying TV Station

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), a quasi-governmental agency whose mission is to aid Native Hawaiians, is considering the purchase of local CBS affiliate KGMB. Emmis Communications, KGMB's current owner, has put the station on the block for $40 million. There are mixed reactions to this potential move--some are wary of a government-owned TV station broadcasting propagandistic messages, but others believe that an OHA-owned station would better serve the local community, particularly the Native Hawaiian community.

In its coverage of OHA's proposal today, the Honolulu Advertiser quotes two of OHA's trustees--Oswald Stender and Boyd Mossman--as saying that the KGMB purchase is merely an investment opportunity and not a vehicle for pro-Hawaiian broadcasts and initiatives. However, the same article later states that Stender "noted that ownership of KGMB additionally would open doors in the broadcast industry for Hawaiian students."

Furthermore, in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's take on the issue, OHA had consulted with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network of Canada (APTN), which owns and operates a radio and TV station. According to an OHA staff memo on the KGMB proposal, such ownership "is consistent with the firm belief and experience among indigenous peoples in Canada that ownership and control of media is connected to cultural survival." This same memo also allegedly states that an OHA-owned TV station could serve as a "medium of accurate and timely communication regarding Hawaiian affairs to the general public" and a "multi-media and technology center that serves as a platform for employment, job training and educational opportunities for native Hawaiians."

Hmmmm, doesn't sound like a mere financial investment opportunity to me...although there certainly does need to be more coverage of Native Hawaiian issues in the broadcast media. OHA will put the KGMB purchase to a vote among all its trustees today.

>> OHA considering KGMB purchase [Hnl Advertiser, 7/6/06]
>> Buying KGMB TV on OHA agenda [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 7/6/06]

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"Lost" Snubbed by Emmy Voters

Scottish rogue "Desmond" was the only Lostie to get an acting nod this year (Photo: ABC)

So "Lost" only got 9 measly Emmy noms this year, compared with 12 last year. It's no longer a contender in any of the the regular acting categories (though the excellent Henry Ian Cusick who plays "Desmond" got a guest starring nod), nor is it up for "Best Drama," which the (still hit) show actually won last year. Is this the beginning of the end? Or just another testament to the fickleness of Emmy voters, who every year, look for something fresh and new to crown (or something old to crown as fresh/new again)?

>> Lost Gets Dissed by Emmy Voters [The Lost Blog, 7/6/06]
>> '24,' 'Anatomy' among top Emmy nominees [AP via Yahoo!, 7/6/06]

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