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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 21, 2004

O'ahu's going Hollywood: four TV projects shot here

The "wreckage" of an airplane at Mokule'ia is just part of the show for "Lost," a two-hour ABC pilot filmed on O'ahu.

ABC

By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer

The impressive mock wreckage of a wide-bodied jet scattered across a beach at Mokule'ia is just one of many unmistakable signs that the television industry has descended on O'ahu. In fact, no fewer than four television networks are backing projects in the Islands.

One island, four shows

• ABC's "Lost"

Background: By "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams, "Lost" is about a group of plane crash survivors who are stranded on a remote island.

Status: Filming of the two-hour pilot is scheduled to be completed Saturday.

Featuring: Matthew Fox ("Party of 5"), Dominic Monaghan ("The Lord of the Rings"), Terry O'Quinn ("Alias"), Naveen Andrews ("The English Patient"), Ian Somerhalder ("Smallville") and Harold Perrineau Jr. ("Oz").

• • •

• Fox's "The North Shore"

Background: The show follows employees and guests of the fictional Grand Waimea Hotel.

Status: Thirteen episodes will air, beginning June 14. Filming of the pilot wrapped last month. Cast and crew will begin shooting the first of 12 regular episodes April 29.

Featuring: Brooke Burns ("Baywatch"), James Remar ("2 Fast 2 Furious"), Rachel Shelley, Kristoffer Polaha and Corey Sevier.

• • •

• NBC's "Hawai'i"

Background: The drama follows a group of Honolulu police officers.

Status: Filming of the pilot wrapped early this month.

Featuring: Sharif Atkins ("ER"), Ivan Sergei ("Crossing Jordan"), Eric Balfour ("Six Feet Under) and Michael Biehn ("The Terminator").

• • •

• WB's "Rocky Point"

Background: "Rocky Point" is about a North Shore woman who takes in her estranged father.

Status: Production begins this summer.

Featuring: Unconfirmed.

The carcass of an L-1011 jetliner is a humongous prop for ABC's two-hour pilot, "Lost," which has been filming throughout the island and is slated to wrap Saturday.

Less than a week later, on April 29, Fox producers will begin filming the first of 12 regular episodes of "The North Shore," with shooting also taking place at the Hawai'i Film Studio in Diamond Head. NBC's cop-show pilot, "Hawai'i," wrapped earlier this month, and a WB project, "Rocky Point," is scheduled to start shooting on the North Shore in June.

With "The North Shore" picked up as a series, at least for one season, industry officials are optimistic. Locally filmed network shows mean economic opportunities statewide, said Walea Constantinau, commissioner at the Honolulu Film Office.

"Having the interest of those three networks simultaneously is tremendous for economic diversity," Constantinau said. "You not only have the immediate injection of dollars that each one of those projects brings, but you also have the incalculable worldwide exposure when these (shows) come to air."

The economic benefits to Hawai'i are "very widespread," Constantinau said, from employment of locally hired talent and crew members to the business done with local vendors, including hotels, airlines, and car and furniture rental businesses.

"The idea is to have as much of the crew from here as possible," said Bill Nuss of "The North Shore," an independent producer hired by the Fox network. Nuss and Fox executives were in town this week to work on the series and to support a tax credit for TV and film productions that is being considered by the Legislature.

Spending on the Fox pilot, which wrapped filming at Turtle Bay Resort last month, came to $6 million, said Nuss, who was also involved with "Pacific Blue." The series' 12 episodes will each be shot over an eight-day period and will cost at least $2 million per show.

A full season consists of 22 episodes, which would require studio presence for at least 10 months in Hawai'i, according to Fox representatives.

"The North Shore," scheduled to premiere June 14, is set in the fictional Grand Waimea Hotel. Construction of the elaborate lobby complex is under way at the Hawa'i Film Studio and will continue six days a week, 24 hours a day in 12-hour shifts, Nuss said.

Originally created to be filmed in San Diego, but moved to Hawai'i to take advantage of Act 221 investment tax credits, and formerly called "O'ahu," "The North Shore" has a storyline that's a cross between "Melrose Place" and "Hotel," Nuss said. The show follows the lives and loves of the luxury hotel's employees and its guests.

"What 'Melrose' was to '(Beverly Hills) 90210,' 'The North Shore' is intended to be to 'The O.C.,' " Nuss said.

Producers are throwing around the possibility of having "American Idol" finalist Jasmine Trias make a guest appearance. They are also considering using local musicians to perform the show's theme song.

Meanwhile, the cast and crew of ABC's "Lost" are scheduled to wrap up the two-hour pilot this weekend, executive producer Bryan Burk said, while on location in Kualoa.

Filming of the show began March 11 in Los Angeles and March 22 on O'ahu, with 12-hour work days, six days a week. After filming of the pilot is completed, editing will be done in Los Angeles, Burk said.

"Lost" follows survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island.

"It has elements of all your favorite genres: mystery, action, adventure, romance, horror," said Burk, also an associate producer on ABC's "Alias." "It has a little bit of everything."

The concept was developed by Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC, and J.J. Abrams, creator of "Alias," said Damon Lindelof, also an executive producer on "Lost."

Creators came up with the idea that the island itself had to serve as a character, adding elements of mystery and suspense to the plot, said Lindelof, who has also been involved with "Crossing Jordan" and "Nash Bridges."

"Lost" has a main cast of 15 actors, including former "Party of 5" star Matthew Fox, who was on site last week at Kualoa, where a large white tent, catering truck and several trailers served as a temporary headquarters.

The cast joins at least 230 local crew members — from caterers on set to airline workers who flew cast members to Honolulu, Burk said — in addition to another 50 crew members in Los Angeles.

" 'Lost' is using a lot of local hires ... for extras and background," said Brenda Ching, the Hawai'i district executive of the Screen Actors Guild. "So we're real pleased with that."

And producers could not be happier with all the help they've received. "Everyone here has been amazing," Burk said.

In addition to Mokule'ia, locales have included Nu'uanu, He'eia Kea and Kualoa, where the last scene of the show was being shot last week.

"We're shooting everywhere, and what I've discovered is this island is gorgeous," Burk said. "You can point the camera anywhere and it's a beautiful shot."

Burk and Lindelof would not discuss the show's budget, but jokingly said it was "more than $30" and "less than the national deficit."

The two producers have high hopes the show will get the green light by the network.

"The goal of any television show is to make a little movie every week, so we're keeping true to that," Lindelof said.

Filming of NBC's pilot, "Hawai'i," which follows a diverse group of Honolulu police officers, wrapped early this month. Production of WB's "Rocky Point" is scheduled to begin this summer, but details are still being worked out.

"That one is still pending, but we're cautiously optimistic," Constantinau said.

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.