NBC's 'Pearl City' to start filming in spring

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

NBC will start filming the pilot this spring for "Pearl City," a new police drama set on O'ahu, Hawai'i film industry officials confirmed yesterday.

Whether the network will turn the pilot into a series next fall and give the state a long-term commitment won't be known for months, but film officials here are clearly excited about the possibility.

Donne Dawson, manager for the Hawai'i Film Office, and Walea Constantinau, commissioner for the Honolulu Film Office, spoke to NBC officials about the project Monday and yesterday. It has been described as an action-adventure drama about police detectives in Pearl City.

"I think they've got a great concept for a story," Dawson said yesterday. "It's one of those things where we think it will be conducive to Hawai'i."

Preproduction work is expected to begin in February with filming possibly in March, Dawson said. No parts have been cast yet, but local actors are expected to receive some roles, she said.

"Something like this is really important to our local talent and our local labor pool," she said. "Traditionally, a television series, once up and running, is worth probably somewhere around $20 million a year to the economy."

Just because it's called "Pearl City" doesn't mean that will be the only location for filming, said Dawson, who is a big fan of the title. The pilot's original title was "Hawaiian Blue."

"I think they probably came upon the name because of how it sounded and because of its broader appeal," she said. "Everyone and their mother knows where Pearl Harbor is."

The pilot's writer, Jeff Eastin, visited for a few days in October, said Constantinau, who showed him around the island.

"He was very interested in getting a flavor for the island and understanding what the island had to offer," she said of Eastin, describing him as a "sponge."

"There is a depth of stories and enough diversity in the island and the culture that gives him a really good basis for stories," she said.

The pilot's title surprised her.

"We just drove through a bunch of areas, and his reaction there was not more or less than anywhere else," she said with a laugh. "It didn't seem like a watershed moment."

But Constantinau said that title could mean a TV series that breaks old Hawai'i molds and she likes that.

"I think it is quite positive that he is looking beyond the obvious," she said. "It may be a very interesting and creative aspect. The fact that he has taken a different approach and angle is exciting and different."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.