Hawai'i production firm breaking into film

• What's a production assistant? Mostly a gofer with hopes

By Moon Yun Choi
Special to The Advertiser

Philip Marcus started his Pacific Film Hub business with partner Maria Bautista. The two have lined up work for themselves, and offer one-day courses on how to become a production assistant on filming projects. Production Assistant Association The movie career of Philip Marcus Age: 56 Birthplace: Philadelphia, but he lived in France from when he was 4, returning to America at 27. Career: Second-unit director and director of photography Fast facts: Marcus directed the B film "Terror on Alcatraz" (1986) and worked on music videos for acts including Journey, Santana and Nirvana. He served as second-unit director on a HBO Music Special, "The Return of Bruno (1988)," starring Bruce Willis. The rock comedy boasts a cast of rock legends and personalities that include Elton John, Dick Clark, Clive Davis, Jon Bon Jovi, the Bee Gees, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Grace Slick, and Brian Wilson. They all play themselves, except Willis, who plays a fictional character named Bruno who shapes the '60's music world.

As they approach a yellow Ferrari Spider convertible, the woman — dressed in a tight yellow dress and dark sunglasses — can't seem to contain her glee.

That is, until the man bypasses the Spider and sweeps her into the car parked in the next stall.

This car is not a convertible. It's not even yellow.

And the woman is no longer smiling.

Maria Bautista busts out laughing as she watches. The woman she's watching is herself —in film footage. She's watching a scene from "Honeymoon in Paradise," an independent film that spoofs the movie "Indecent Proposal."

In this version, a Los Angeles couple in desperate need of money meets a pseudo millionaire who offers her a trip to Hawai'i — and yet can't even afford a nice car.

"Isn't that funny," Bautista says, "... the looks of disappointment on her face when she gets into the other car?"

"Honeymoon in Paradise" is just one of many projects that producer/director/cameraman Philip Marcus and Bautista, his business partner, have lined up in Hawai'i. The 20-minute color short is targeted for film festivals.

But Marcus is more than a movie maker. In January, he and Bautista opened the Pacific Film Hub, a film production company comprised of Marcus, Bautista and two office employees. They also formed the Production Assistant Association, a crew agency that offers one-day training sessions for would-be production assistants.

Now a director of photography and indie film director, Marcus tells his story of growing from production assistant to second-unit director to where he is today.

He also emphasizes that being a production assistant may be the best way to get your foot in the door of the film industry. Especially in Hawai'i.

After watching production companies spend thousands of dollars to fly in their own production assistants from Los Angeles, Marcus opted to train local people to work at a major-studio level.

"It's proven to work very, very well," Marcus said. "I've trained a lot of people. Now, when the production companies come here, they contact us for their crew needs, and we let our members know what the contact information for these production companies are so they can apply for these jobs."

He and Bautista divide their time between Los Angeles and Hawai'i. They chose to film their independent feature "Leilani, Bobby, John and the Rock ..." in Hawai'i because of the tax break afforded by Act 221.

"Leilani" is a romantic comedy about Hawai'i villagers who call upon the gods, namely Pele, to drive out a drug lord. The budget is $5 million to $6 million. To finance it, Marcus is seeking investors in Hawai'i and on the Mainland.

So far, TV and film companies, including "MTV Surf Girls" and the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Kisses," have hired people trained by Marcus. "They're very satisfied by the quality of our PAs, which establishes a good precedent for hiring local people. We're very proud of that. ... The word is getting out."

Marcus and his partner also started the production-assistant agency Filmstaff in Los Angeles several years ago.

What's a production assistant? Mostly a gofer with hopes

•	Class at UH The University of Hawai'i-Manoa Pacific New Media program is offering its first production-assistant course Aug. 2 at UH-Manoa's Krauss Hall, Room 12. Cost: $85. Instructors: Irish Barber, Lee Kaneakua. Co-sponsored by the Film and Video Association of Hawaii. 956-7221

Scoring a production assistant job is no fast track to a director's or actor's chair. A PA is a flunky, in many cases — a gofer who runs errands or keeps track of props and materials. To be a production assistant is to be at the bottom of the totem pole, but film-school students often work in such jobs to get experience and exposure.

The monthly seminars offered at Philip Marcus' Production Assistant Association teach students what to do on the set and how to obtain jobs. The one-day course costs $99, which includes access to job postings on www.productionassistantassociation.com. (For information, phone 589-2400.)

Production assistants earn $75 to $150 a day. We talked to production assistants who scored one- to two-day gigs and some who got hired for weeks.

"It may seem like a simple job. However, you're dealing with heavy responsibilities in terms of critical decisions and financial commitments," Marcus said. "If the PA is late on the set for an hour, it starts a (negative) domino effect into our budget. Therefore it's very important they be schooled, disciplined and knowledgeable."

Through the association, production assistant Benjamin Wilcox got two jobs: on "Fifty First Kisses" and on an upcoming reality show by Warner Brothers.

While working on the "Kisses" set at Sea Life Park, Wilcox said, he happened to be the only production assistant wearing a Sea Life Park shirt. He ended up an extra in the movie, as a Sea Life Park employee. He also chatted up Allen Covert, "Kisses" co-producer.

Wilcox experienced the up side. He said the down side is the wait for a job: Work is infrequent. He advises people to "make a good impression so they call you back. Not just for yourself, but for other local production assistants, because they fly in their own PAs from L.A."

Rodney Brown, who worked on the "Kisses" set as a PA/locations assistant, made such an impression on the movie crew that they took him to San Francisco for a two-week shoot and then to Alaska for a one-week shoot after filming wrapped in Hawai'i in early June.

Brown's is a Cinderella story. The day after he took Marcus' class, an actor from "Training Day" came into the barber shop where Brown worked. The actor took a liking to the affable Brown and sent him to the "Fifty First Kisses" office.

For his first job on a movie set, he landed a locations-assistant job, a higher position than an ordinary PA gig. A locations assistant makes sure all equipment on the set is in working condition. Brown said he "went in blind" but caught on fast.

Brown made more money than he did as a barber. The Berkeley, Calif., native had only been in Hawai'i for 45 days when he was "discovered."

Brown, who interacted with stars, described Adam Sandler as a "nice, warm cool dude" and Drew Barrymore as "special, candid and more beautiful in person than on screen."

Although Brown didn't get his job through the association Web site, he said, "The course was a good tool that led me to get a job through other resources."