SFIAAFF Panel Included Hawaii-Raised Filmmaker Jon Moritsugu

Jon Moritsugu's "Scumrock"

Michael Guillen has posted a transcript of the SFIAAFF's panel discussion, "Down and Dirty Pictures" with Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, and Jon Moritsugu, moderated by Strand Releasing's Marcus Hu. (Thanks for the link, Kevin!) The filmmakers discuss their own filmmaking experiences, lament about the (sad) state of (Asian American, independent, general) filmmaking today, and talk trash about James Schamus and Justin Lin. It's well worth the long transcript read!

Hawaii folks will be interested to know that Jon Moritsugu was born and raised in Honolulu, attended Punahou and Brown, and made a name for himself as an underground filmmaker in New York and San Francisco. His films include Scumrock (2003), Fame Whore (1997), and Mod Fuck Explosion (1994) and Terminal USA (1993). Moritsugu is based in Seattle now, but did live in Honolulu recently, teaching a class at UH, playing "scuzz punk and bliss pop" around town with wife and collaborator Amy Davis, and apparently, finishing a Hawaii-based script: "I finished a script when I moved out to Hawaii. I wanted to shoot a big budget movie in Hawaii. Everything got chaotic and fell through and I left Hawaii. I don't live there anymore. That script I put on a back burner because right now it would be difficult logistically to try to make a movie in Hawaii."

>> 2007 SFIAAFF: Down and Dirty Pictures" Panel Discussion with Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, Jon Moritsugu and Marcus Hu -- Part 1, Part 2 [The Evening Class, 3/27/07]

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Big Hollywood Feature Scouting Kauai

Blue Hole on feature film-friendly Kauai

This week, The Kauai Garden Island News and the Honolulu Advertiser reported that a major Hollywood feature has been scouting Kauai for a summer shoot. Kauai film commissioner Art Umezu declined to name the production, but USA Today reported last week that "This summer, film crews will arrive for the making of Tropic Thunder, a war movie being directed by Ben Stiller and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black." I am not going to confirm or deny whether this is indeed the film in question, but I will say that the film in question would not have scouted Kauai at all were it not for the fact that I personally told the production exec (to his shock and delight) about the 20% neighbor island film tax credit. Score another victory for Hawaii's 15-20% refundable film tax credit!

Incidentally, Kauai is the most popular of the Hawaiian Islands for feature film shoots, having hosted all the Jurassic Parks, King Kong (1976), 6 Days/7 Nights, Outbreak, Dragonfly, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. (See a complete Hawaii filmography.)

>> Hollywood courts Kaua‘i, no commitment yet [Kauai Garden Island News, 3/23/07]
>> Big-budget movie may shoot at Kaua'i locations [Honolulu Advertiser, 3/24/07]
>> Kauai, Hawaii: Paradise has its share of price swings [USA Today, 3/20/07]

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>> Universal Feature to Shoot on Oahu
>> Films Set in Hawaii Make Big Bucks
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Dog the Bounty Hunter Honored by Legislature

"Dog" Takes the Floor (Photo: Bruce Asato, Honolulu Advertiser)

This week, the Hawaii State House of Representatives passed a resolution to honor "Dog" the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth for getting crooks off the street.

I'm not sure which is sadder: the fact that "198 media outlets across the country, Canada and as far away as France and New Zealand picked up on the largely ceremonial gesture," or the fact that the Honolulu Advertiser bothered to report this fact (after doing a Google search to discover it!). (Yes, Hawaii has a serious inferiority complex about not getting national/ international media coverage.)

>> Latest 'Dog' news goes national, international [Hnl Advertiser, 3/22/07]

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Hawaii Films Get SFIAAFF Awards

The 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival just announced its award winners, and among them were two films with Hawaii ties: Lisette Flanary's "Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula" nabbed the Comcast Audience Award for Documentary Feature, and "Tre" directed by Eric Byler and starring Kimberly Rose-Wolter got a Special Jury Award.

"Na Kamalei" documents Robert Cazimero's all-male hula halau (school) and "Tre" is Byler's third feature-film foray into the realm of dysfunctional romantic/sexual relationships.

>> SFIAAFF Award Winners Announced [3/23/07]

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"Lost" 4 Gets Greenlit

We still have jobs!

Those trucks and trailers and honeywagons around town will be sticking around for another season of "Lost." So will the cast/crew jobs! Guess those paranoid naysaying TV "journalists" harping on declining "Lost" ratings were, well, paranoid. Or, more likely, had nothing better to write about. Much like me in this post.

>> 'Lost' gets green light for Season 4 [Hnl Advertiser, 3/23/07]
>> Moving 'Lost' away from 'Idol' helped [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 3/22/07]

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>> ABC Exec: "Lost" is Not Lost!
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It's Ki'i, Not Tiki!

Hawaii has endured decades upon decades of cultural butchering by journalists, filmmakers, writers--really, anyone attempting to depict the unique islands. So, the Hawaii Tourism Authority has just put out a "Style & Resource Guide" targeted to travel journalists, PR guys, and ad agencies that promote/cover Hawaii. You filmmakers and TV writers might want to check it out too to avoid debacles like the one on NBC's now-dead "Hawaii" cop series in which a Hawaiian princess' bones were dug up to resolve a feud between two Hawaiian families over who killed her. Oy vey!

>> Style guide clears up Island miscues [Hnl Advertiser, 3/20/07]

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Job Opening: Asst Professor in Post-Production

The Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is looking for an assistant professor to teach post-production/editing. Details:

Assistant Professor, position number 0070058, UHM Colleges of Arts &Sciences, Academy for Creative Media, (Manoa), tenure track, full-time, 9-month, to begin 8/1/07 and is contingent on position clearance and funding. The Academy seeks an Assistant Professor to support a curricular program in digital cinema production with an emphasis in post-production and editing.

Duties: Teach undergraduate courses in digital cinema production, editing, and post-production; develop curriculum; advise and mentor undergraduate students; publish or produce refereed research or other juried scholarly or creative works in appropriate media; and perform university, educational outreach, and professional service.

Minimum qualifications: Ph.D. or terminal degree (e.g. MFA) in appropriate media-related field and established professional achievement; demonstrated teaching experience and record of scholarly and/or creative work; knowledge and experience in various nonlinear digital and film editing software formats as well as traditional film and video linear editing; evidence of excellence in production, post-production and editing, documented by a production reel/portfolio; and suitability and enthusiasm for teaching across disciplines in a highly collaborative curriculum and program building.

Desirable qualifications: Knowledge and experience in sound design; strong record of professional accomplishments; experience and productive relationships with industry professionals andorganizations in cinema production and editing; previous university-level teaching experience.

Pay range: Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

To apply: Send letter of application specifying position number 0070058, curriculum vitae, portfolio or samples of creative and scholarly work, official transcript from terminal degree, and a list of at least five references and contact information to:

Search Committee
Academy for Creative Media
2550 Campus Road, Crawford 210
Honolulu, HI 96822-2217

No e-mail applications or attachments accepted. ABDs must submit a letter from committee chair attesting that dissertation and all degree requirements will be completed by start of employment. Continuous recruitment. Review of applications will begin on April 9, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled.

Inquiries: Dr. Thomas Brislin, 808 956-3788, tbrislin@hawaii.edu

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Hawaii the Almighty on "American Idol"

A feature on Yahoo! TV yesterday explored the mystery behind Sanjaya Malakar's continuing ability to survive the axe on Fox's "American Idol"--mysterious because apparently, he's not the most talented of the bunch. After throwing out a few plausible theories, writer Vera HC Chan came to a surprising conclusion: votes from the state of Hawaii are keeping Sanjaya alive!

Why? Because the kid lived on Kauai for four years. Yes, Hawaii folks love those Hawaii connections, however tenuous--and especially on TV, where Hawaii people and things are scarce. It's like, imagine what it was like for Black Americans in 1965 to see one of their own on TV. Or what it's like for Asian Americans today to see an Asian Am brother or sister as a principal character on a TV series or in a film. Well, that's what it is like for Hawaii residents.

Perhaps Hawaii keeping Sanjaya on "Idol" isn't so weird when you consider how the state collectively kept Jasmine Trias chugging along a few seasons back.

Now, if only Hawaii residents could apply that same voting fervor to participating in political elections! The state has had the lowest voter turnout in the country during the last three elections (in Nov '06, a measly 40% of the voting-eligible population turned out to vote!). So, sorry Obama, even though you went to Punahou, I doubt if Hawaii folks will be able to help you get closer to the presidency.

>> The Malakar Mystery [Yahoo! TV, 3/15/07]
>> Finalist on 'Idol' lived on Kauai until 2000 [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 2/23/07]

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Hawaii Celebrates "Hawaii Five-O" on DVD

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin had no fewer than 4 features on Sunday talking about the recent DVD release of the first season of "Hawaii Five-O." Plus, there was a DVD launch party on Friday at the Ilikai Hotel (featured iconically in the show's opening sequence). That just shows that Hawaii folks still regard the series as the pinnacle of television production in Hawaii--in its employment of local actors and crew, its portrayal of Hawaii's unique local culture, and its ability to command the attention of U.S. audiences for 12 years.

From Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3/11/07:
>> Five-O forever
>> Moody, retrospective and wistful for ‘Five-O’s’ Honolulu
>> Almost 40 years later,'Five-0' still packs a punch
>> DVD box set features pieces of local flair

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John Lennon Killer Film at Tribeca Film Festival

"The Killing of John Lennon" shows Mark David Chapman in Hawaii (Photo: Picture Players Ltd)

New York's Tribeca Film Festival (Apr 25-May 6) will host the North American premiere of Andrew Piddington's "The Killing of John Lennon" in its Spotlight category. The biopic follows Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to his murder of John Lennon. Much of this film was shot in Hawaii, where Chapman lived for several years.

>> The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Selections for Its Competition and Spotlight Sections [Press Release, 3/12/07]

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Job Opening: Creative Industries Administrator

Hawaii's Dept. of Business, Economic Development, & Tourism (DBEDT) is looking for a Creative Industries Administrator to lead its Creative Industries Division (CID). The Hawaii Film Office and the Arts & Culture Development Branch fall under CID. Here's a brief description of the job:

POSITION: Business & Industry Development Administrator, Recruitment # 207044 (EM-08)

SALARY: $5,919 to $8,758 per month + benefits

SUMMARY: Administrator position serves as chief of the new Creative Industries Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. Responsible to plan, administer, coordinate activities of two branches; promote growth of, work as a business advocate for, Hawaii's film, video and digital media production industry centered around Hawaii's diverse artistic/cultural industries; and implement other leadership/administrative responsibilities described in career opportunity announcement.

Must meet all requirements: Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited four-year college/university. Six years of progressively responsible professional specialized experience, of which a minimum of two years involved research/analyses of products/businesses/industries to
evaluate economic potential and constraints; a minimum of two years of experience with demonstrated knowledge in the various forms, operational aspects, business requirements and impact of creative industries on business and economy, with involvement in development and/or promotion of one or more artistic/cultural arts/film and/or entertainment industries. Must also possess two years each of supervisory and administrative experience; knowledge of business development and management principles, practices and strategies; including the ability to plan, organize and administer a creative industries development program.

Click here for full details and instructions on how to apply.

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ABC Exec: "Lost" is Not Lost!

This letter to the editor in the Honolulu Advertiser from ABC's VP of Media Relations is a week old, but here it is in case you missed it...

ABC BELIEVES 'LOST' WILL KEEP DOMINANCE

Regarding your article, "Real 'Lost' Mystery: Can TV Show Survive?" the answer is yes.

"Lost" consistently has been one of the top 10 shows on television — including the weeks you referenced as evidence of its demise.

The show has aired in three different time slots since its 2004 debut and dominated each with the audience (adults 18-49) targeted by the network and coveted by advertisers.

"Lost" at 10 p.m. has increased ABC's audience for that hour by more than 5 million viewers and has beaten its closest competition by 33 percent in its target audience. "Lost" is ABC's highest-rated show in that time slot in 10 years and remains the No. 1 scripted show on Wednesday
night.

The audience for "Lost" is smaller at 10 p.m. because the TV audience is smaller at that hour, about 12 percent smaller compared to 9 p.m.

However, that does not mean viewers aren't following the show. "Lost" continues to be one of the most recorded shows on DVRs and one of the most popular shows on iTunes and on ABC.com's broadband player.

Meanwhile, fans in more than 200 countries and territories tune in regularly both on air and online.

The new time slot hasn't changed the appeal of "Lost," and neither will the dire predictions of industry watchers and reporters.

"Lost" remains one of the most successful shows on television, and we'll continue to rely on the expertise and support of the Hawai'i community throughout its production run.

Charissa Gilmore
Vice president, media relations, ABC Television Studio

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Universal Feature to Shoot on Oahu

Tax credits have lured us another feature film! Universal Studios will be shooting a romcom on Oahu starting in April. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" stars (and was written by) Jason Segel of CBS's "How I Met Your Mother" and NBC's "Freaks and Geeks." Kristen Bell, "Veronica Mars" herself, will also star. Judd Apatow ("The 40 Year Old Virgin," "Freaks and Geeks") is producing.

>> Hollywood movie to film on Oahu [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 3/8/07]

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