Posted on: Monday, March 7, 2005
Ripping tale of man and shark
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kyle Nakamoto says skin divers have two major fears: shallow-water blackout and sharks (though not necessarily in that order).
Nakamoto's "Hawaii Skin Diver" program dives in with the latter this month with a special episode dedicated to the deadly ocean predators. The episode debuts at 10:30 tonight on OC16.
The show features an in-depth look at Kane'ohe resident Davy Sanada's horrific encounter with a shark last year.
The shark ripped apart Sanada's shoulder, but the experienced diver was able to survive with both arms intact.
Nakamoto contacted Sanada as soon as he heard about the attack.
"Divers are a close-knit community," Nakamoto said. "When we hear about these kinds of things happening, we kind of feel for each other. I just wanted to see how he was doing."
Eventually, the two agreed that Nakamoto's diving show would be an ideal place to talk about sharks, and how humans can share the ocean with them.
In a rare interview, Sanada describes the incident and discusses ways that ocean-lovers can avoid or survive encounters with sharks.
"It's dramatic, but it's educational, too," Nakamoto said. ...
THE ROCK PAYS A VISIT
Photo courtesy of Linda Vollert Imagine their surprise when instead of a boring meeting, they got a sit-down with former wrestler and Hollywood heavyweight The Rock, also known as former Hawai'i resident Dwayne Johnson.
The erstwhile People's Champion came at the invitation of a friend on the production staff and according to a publicist working on the show, the actors freaked.
Rock offered advice and talked about his experiences in the entertainment business.
"29 Down," a 'tween castaway series shot on the North Shore, is co-produced by Hawai'i Film Partners, Stan Rogow ("Lizzie McGuire") and MacHale ("Are You Afraid of the Dark?"). The show is scheduled to debut next fall on the Discovery Kids programming block on NBC. ...
GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN
Kristoffer Polaha's initial response to this week's news that "North Shore" had been canceled was heartfelt and succinct: "Really? That sucks."
Polaha, who played hotel manager Jason Matthews on the show, returned to Los Angeles after filming wrapped up here in December. He said he misses Hawai'i already.
"I was driving the other day, and I realized that I really miss paddling over there," he said.
Polaha used to paddleboard from a spot near his Diamond Head rental down to the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii and back.
"I wish we could have had 10 seasons there," Polaha said. "It was a fantastic experience living and working in Hawai'i."
Polaha has much to remember Hawai'i by. "North Shore" was his first TV series. In December, he finished his first Honolulu Marathon. And most importantly, his son Kristoffer Caleb Polaha was born at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children.
"He's 7 months old and already 22 pounds," Polaha happily reported. "He's a poi-fed boy." ...
'HULA GIRL' REWRITE
"Hula Girl," a new film by Dennis James Lee ("Soap Girl") is undergoing a script rewrite in Los Angeles, with pre-production tentatively set to begin next month.
Lee said the film's budget will be $8 million to $10 million.
"Hula Girl," described by Lee two years ago as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" meets "The Beach," is now shaping up to be "Blue Crush" meets "Bring it On" with the Merrie Monarch hula festival in the background, according to co-producer Joji Yoshida.
Lee, a graduate of McKinley High School, said he's in negotiations with Kelly Hu and Jason Scott Lee to lead a mostly-Hawai'i cast.
Dennis Lee and fellow Islander James Kang recently co-produced the the $50 million feature "D-Wars," starring Jason Behr ("The Grudge").
The CGI spectacle, based on a Korean legend, is scheduled for major release in November. Check out www.d-war.com to see a trailer. ...
RECOGNITION COMING
Students from the University of Hawai'i's Academy for Creative Media are continuing to draw attention for their film projects.
The VC FilmFest, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, will screen Andrew Ma's "Game Over" and Kevin Inouye's "Tale of Haiku Jones."
The festival runs April 28 to May 5.
Meanwhile, Nelson Quan and his documentary "Humble Beginnings" will be featured as part of a documentary special on Don Brown's "Hawaii's Reel Stories," repeated throughout the month on OC16. ...
Reach Michael Tsai at 535-2461 or mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.
The young cast of "29 Down" might be troupers — they have to be able to handle working in the great outdoors every day — but even they were groaning when producer/director D.J. MacHale called an after-hours work meeting on the roof of their Waialua production office.
Hollywood star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson paid a surprise visit to cast members of "29 Down" at their Waialua production office recently.
