"(Academy for Creative Media chair) Chris Lee told me how the students have had trouble finding or getting the rights to music for their projects," DeMello said. "I thought it was only proper for us to support something that was educational and inventive."

Thanks to the new agreement, students will be able to produce movies that not only look like Hawai'i but sound like it, too, using songs by local artists such as the Brothers Cazimero, Henry Kapono, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Irmgard Aluli, Keola Beamer and others.

Ordinarily, usage fees can run anywhere from $200 to more than $200,000, DeMello said.

DeMello said he's confident Mountain Apple's investment in the program will yield positive returns.

"These students are at that point in their education where they are scared to death yet fearless at the same time," he said. "And the kind of things they can produce could be earth-shattering. I can't to wait to see what comes out of this."

'North Shore' going south?

Producers for Fox's "North Shore" aren't expecting a decision on whether the show will return next season until next month.

The production is keeping its soundstage intact at Diamond Head Studios, but computers and other office equipment are being put into temporary storage.

It was widely assumed that the show was a goner after struggling in the ratings all season, but the network may be willing to give the show more time after an improved showing its new Thursday night time slot.

The final episode of the season airs at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Comic stunts

Local stunt professional Dale Radomski has been tapped to serve as the stunt coordinator for the movie adaptation of Image Comics' "Hellhole."

Shooting for the Dimension Films project begins in Tokyo in May.

Radomski — winner of numerous stunt awards including a Communicator, a Telly and an Aurora — will be spending a lot of time in Japan this year. He's there this month to try to find more work as a stunt coordinator, and he'll be back in the early spring to help promote the Hawaiian Stunt Connection at a trade show.

While Radomski has had no problem finding work as a stuntman during his 25-year-career, he said too few productions that come through Hawai'i are willing to hire local stunt professionals as coordinators.

"It's sad that I can find work as a stunt coordinator in Japan, but not in my own back yard," Radomski said.

Radomski did stunt work for the short-lived "Hawai'i," helped with rigging on "North Shore" and made a brief appearance as "the Tourniquet Guy" in the pilot episode of "Lost," a role he is scheduled to reprise.

'Lost' ratings solid

J.J. Abrams' back-to-back shows on Wednesday, "Lost" (pictured) and "Alias," won their time slots, though the "Alias" premiere took second to "Law & Order" in its second hour. ABC

This week's episode, "Hearts and Minds," should be just as enticing: "When Locke learns that Boone wants to tell their secret to Shannon, Shannon's life is placed in sudden peril, and the shocking truth about her past with Boone is revealed. Meanwhile, Kate is puzzled by Sun's mysterious behavior, and a hungry Hurley must repay a debt to Jin" (from an ABC press release).

'Alias' premiere

"Lost" creator J.J. Abrams had a great Wednesday night all around: The two-hour season premiere of Abrams' "other" show, "Alias," won the 8 p.m. (Hawai'i time) time slot and took second to "Law and Order" in the second hour with an overall 11.3 rating/16 share.

2-day movie school

You don't learn how to make a feature film overnight, but two days is apparently doable.

Leading independent film instructor Dov S-S Simens brings his "Two Day Hollywood Film School" to Honolulu Jan. 29 and 30.

The school, offered at an appropriately low-budget $389, offers instruction on screenwriting, digital filmmaking, cost-effective directing, cinematography art and craft, low-budget secrets, budget and scheduling, and publicity and festival awards.

Simens, who taught at USC, UCLA and New York University before starting his own Hollywood Film Institute, counts Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee and Guy Ritchie among his two-day students.

Information: 258-8018, www.lclarkproductions.com.