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SHOW BIZ
Hollywood's just a heartbeat away now
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
FILM CLIPS: Georja Skinner, the Maui-based film-industry official, has opened a Burbank office of her Skinner Entertainment operations to be closer to the heartbeat of the Hollywood industry. She's partnering with producer Greg Williams (whose Puppet Studio lists such credits as "Men in Black" and its sequel, "PeeWee's Playhouse" and MTV's "Super Adventure Team") and they're already pitching projects to Comedy Central and Spike TV.
Skinner has lots on her plate. She's working with "Myth-Quest" producer David Braun; the show has a PBS order for three more seasons, so she's hoping to bring it to Hawai'i and possibly establish a post-CGI house to handle special effects. With "MythQuest" also being eyed by video-game developers, she sees opportunities for Island-based digital artists. Further, Skinner has completed her second DVD-directing gig for best-selling author John Saul, whose comedy "The Last Rose of Summer" was staged and taped last summer at the Maui Writers Conference. The DVD is en route to the William Morris Agency in New York. And her book, "The Christmas House," is to be published by New World Library, with an agent, Pat Quinn of Innovative Artists, signed on to shop the book as a TV or film possibility down the line. ...
THE HAWAI'I LOG: Donne Dawson, Hawai'i film commissioner, had been attending movie-related sessions on the Mainland when she heard about "Baywatch" tapped as a future DreamWorks movie. "We have been in discussions, and the people involved (who also did the short-lived 'Baywatch Hawai'i' over two seasons) really want to work in Hawai'i again," she said, with a note of optimism. It's no secret that series co-founder Greg Bonann, who will be one of the producers, has been trying to launch another project. ...
Ex-Kailuan Scott Coffey, who wrote "Ellie Parker" for Aussie pal Naomi Watts, is putting the finishing touches on a new feature based on the same character, with Watts starring alongside Chevy Chase as Parker's manager, Rebecca Rigg as her best friend, Mark Pellegrino as her boyfriend, Coffey as a possible love interest, and Blair Mastbaum as a director. Watts will be seen next in Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong." Coffey is polishing his "Free Radicals" script, which he intends to direct. ...
Belated congrats to Vilsoni Hereniko, whose "The Land Has Eyes" was named Best Dramatic Feature at the October ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival in Toronto, the largest indigenous film festival in the world. You may recall that the film (with music co-composed by Audy Kimura) also copped the Hale Ki'ioni'oni Award at the Cinema Paradise festival, so the latest win caps a mighty good year for the University of Hawai'i professor. ...
PERSONALITIES: Augie T., the comic and deejay, is back from his Alaska jaunt, where he performed at the Slow Goose Restaurant in Anchorage. "I fell off the stage — 5 feet," he said of an unplanned moment, "but I got up and did 10 more minutes afterwards. I told the crowd that my comedy comes with stunts." Ouch! His DVD, recorded a few weeks back in a Hawai'i Theatre concert, should be out later this month or early next. Meanwhile, he's prepping for a Kona gig Dec. 4, then he treks to the California Hotel in Las Vegas Dec. 8 to 10. ...
Speaking of the Hawai'i Theatre: Tickets are on sale for "A Merry Christmas With Friends and Nabors" (the Nabors being Jim), set for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3-4 and 2 p.m. Dec. 5. Jimmy Borges, Karen Keawehawai'i, Emma Veary, Philip Huber and the Huber Marionettes are among the guests; the Honolulu Symphony, with Matt Catingub conducting, will provide music, of course. ...
FINALLY: Orchids to Rick and Donna Keefer, marking the 25th anniversary of their Sea-West Studios. Their first site was in Hau'ula, where Hawai'i's "Out of the Dark" was their first recording venture; they've been in Puna, on the Big Island, for the past 15 years. Over the years, Sea-West has recorded a gamut of talent, including Brother Noland, Cecilio & Kapono, Marvin Gaye, Crosby Stills & Nash and Kalapana. May the Keefers celebrate 25 more years. ...
Publicist Lisa Josephsohn, a cat person if there ever was one, has been mourning the loss of her precious Ali, a Siamese who was a princess of a kitty for the past 13 years. Ali is survived by two brothers, Mel and Harry, and surely must be in cat heaven now. ...
And that's Show Biz. ...
Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, or fax 525-8055.
