Posted on: Friday, May 11, 2001

Hawai'i scenes familiar in several summer features

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i played Hollywood last year, as the state's entertainment industry recorded its highest revenue earnings of all time, thanks to some big-budget films that used the Islands as their backdrops.

Here's a run-down of movies filmed in Hawai'i opening this summer, with scenes — and some extras — familiar to you:

• "Pearl Harbor" (May 25): A three-hour docu-drama with all the elements of a summer blockbuster: Romance, explosions and Ben Affleck.

What to look for: Unlike most films that use Hawai'i as a stand-in for another location that might be too expensive and logistically impossible to film, "Pearl Harbor" is set in the Islands. You'll see familiar coastlines, mountain ranges, street corners and neighborhoods — but not too many familiar faces, as the main ensemble, which includes Cuba Gooding Jr., Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett and Alec Baldwin, are hardly local.

• "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (July 11): One of the most highly anticipated movies this summer, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" has been tempting fanatics with online previews and glimpses into its production. The film puts Hawai'i on the animation map: The full-length feature film, done with computer-generated animation, was created in Honolulu.

What to look for: Names in the credits. Because the movie is set in some futuristic wasteland, you probably won't see Diamond Head or Aloha Tower in any scenes.

• "Jurassic Park III" (July 18): When will these dinosaurs ever become extinct? Well, not this summer, as Steven Spielberg presents the third installment of the science-fiction tale set in the same island chain, with a similar plot.

What to look for: As with the first two movies, "Jurassic Park III" shot footage on Kaua'i. The film crew spent just days on the island, filming location shots, so don't look for any familiar faces.

• "Planet of the Apes" (July 27): Call it a "re-imagining" of the original film series. It's not a remake, and it's not a sequel. But with Tim Burton at the helm, the movie will have his signature flair that will set it apart from the 1968 classic.

What to look for: Part of the movie was filmed on the Big Island with local extras, who play starving human slaves. Long hair and rail thin. Know anyone like that?