Posted on: Friday, July 27, 2001

Movie Scene
Actor envisions Isle TV series

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

In the months ahead, actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who lives on Kaua'i and in Los Angeles, hopes to launch a Hawai'i-based TV series, titled "Poi Dog," which will tap Asian, European and U.S. resources.

"It's a cop story, in which I would have a role, and I want to have a part in jump-starting the film industry in Hawai'i," he said.

Tagawa is co-starring in Disney/Touchstone's "Pearl Harbor," and will be seen as the gorilla Krull, a good ape, in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes," opening today.

"There are so many local stories to tell, I want to be involved in the telling," he said.

One is the biography of University of Hawai'i swimming coach Soichi Sakamoto, who trained Island kids who went on to win the Olympic gold in 1952. "There are several versions of this story kicking around, and if done right, I would love to be involved," said Tagawa.

Because filming on "Pearl" and "Planet" kept him away from his Kaua'i home for nine-and-a-half months the past year, Tagawa said he needs to find work that will not only give him visibility here but enable him to share his craft with residents. He already has presented several acting workshops.