SHOW BIZ
'Scorpion King' co-star to be in 'X-men' sequel

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

FILM LOOPS: Kelly Hu, the Hawai'i actress who co-starred with The Rock in "The Scorpion King" earlier this year, will have a role in 20th Century Fox's "X-Men 2: X 2," the sequel to "X-Men." The movie also stars Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Anna Paquin and Famke Janssen. ...

Hu's also filming Jet Li's "Cradle to the Grave," produced by Jeff "Matrix" Silver, but she should have some hometown company in Mark Dacascos ("Brotherhood of the Wolf"), who also has a featured role. ...

Another local, Nito Larioza, the singer-dancer associated with live stage shows such as Power Rangers and such pop groups as Brownskin, Urban Jamm and The New Generation, is rehearsing for The Rock's next movie for Universal, "Helldorado," in which the wrestler-actor plays a bounty hunter who journeys to the Amazon. Larioza portrays an Indian and gets to battle The Rock. The movie requires jungle scenes, and The Rock hopes to film in Kaua'i, according to Larioza. ...

NAME-DROPPING: Actor Bruce Willis, the sometimes singer who has been in town to film his untitled World War II movie that disguises Hawai'i as Africa, took over the Ali'i Room at Ruth's Chris Steak House the other night for a small private dinner party. This made local artist Wally White mighty happy, since his painting, "Shower Tree," is exhibited in the cozy room. ...

Chris Lee, the Hollywood producer who now calls Hawai'i home again, is on R&B until the start-up this fall of his Columbia Pictures feature, "SWAT," starring Samuel Jackson and based on the old TV series about the elite L.A. police unit. His "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever," filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, with Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas, is undergoing preliminary previews now. ...

When J.J. Stokes dined at Pacific 'O in Lahaina, the staff figured he was an athlete and asked if he was a basketballer. He politely said no, said restaurant manager Jennifer Jackson, and admitted he was a San Francisco 49er. No hard feelings — he asked his server to snap a picture of him and his date. ...

Expected this month, for an island holiday: Mindy Sterling, who portrays Frau Farbissina, Dr. Evil's devilish henchwoman and secret lover in the Austin Powers films, including the summer sequel, "Goldmember" starring the irrepressible Mike Myers. ...

RANDOM NOTES: Gene Cajayon, director of "The Debut," marvels at the Honolulu response to his Filipino feature. It's exciting enough that the film has been running four weeks at Ward Centre, Pearl Highlands and Kapolei theaters; this week, it opens at Dole Cannery. "Pretty cool for a little indie with no ad budget," he boasts, marveling at the big summer competition ("Lilo & Stitch," "Minority Report,"). Also, the mixed audience support has been reassuring. "For the first time in our year-and-a-half-long tour, our audiences have been, on the average, about 50 percent non-Filipino." All this means that his mission to attract a diversified crowd has been accomplished. ...

Jerry Tracy has replaced Richard Pellett as Johnnypateenmike, in Manoa Valley Theatre's upcoming production of Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishmaan," premiering Wednesday. Pellett dropped out for health reasons. ...

Melissa Short, the former Miss Hawai'i, is on hiatus from the off-Broadway musical, "Birdy's Bachelorette Party," which starts up again July 19 in New York. But she landed an acting job on HBO's "Sex and the City" fifth season premiere show, playing a scene opposite Kim Cattral, who portrays PR exec Samantha Jones. The new season starts up July 21. ...

And that's Show Biz ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. E-mail him at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.