Looks like the Hawai'i Opera Theatre's production of "The King and I" is short one king.

Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, the veteran Hollywood actor and Honolulu resident, was slated to play the lead role but has left the production by mutual agreement.

A HOT representative said the split was due to scheduling conflicts related to Tagawa's upcoming film projects.

Tagawa ("Memoirs of a Geisha") declined to get into specifics, but it had been circulated that Tagawa, known for his sensitivity to Asian issues, had asked that references to "Siam" be omitted out of respect to the people of Thailand, many of whom find the stage depiction of the real-life King Mongkut insulting.

The HOT representative said she was not aware that the proposed changes were related to Tagawa's departure, but said the copyright for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, for which the theater is paying royalties, "does not leave a lot of gray area" for revision.

HOT is close to signing another "strong lead" to replace Tagawa, the representative said.

Tagawa is in Kazakhstan this month finishing up the action film "Blizhny Boy: Final Fight" with Cung Lee, Gary Busey, David Carradine and Eric Roberts.

SHOOTS, BRAH

Director David Rosen and his Shooters Film Production crew are heading to the Mainland to shoot another spot for their award-winning SwedishAmerican Health Systems advertising campaign.

Local viewers may be familiar with Shooters' work for the Honolulu Symphony. Their "Campfire" commercial recently won a local AICP Award for best actor (Pomai Brown) and a Pele Award for best cinematography (Shawn Hiatt).

'LOST' IN THE AIR

Grumblings about the start-and-stop pace of "Lost" episodes have been swirling around the Net and have also been taken up by TV critics as the latest season of the hit ABC series spools out. Those criticisms have reached the execs at ABC.

In this week's issue of TV Guide, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said he may change the pattern of airing episodes, to air more shows consecutively.

"I like the idea of people knowing that 'Lost' is on and is going to be on in originals for a long period, then have it take a break and put something else in there," he told TV Guide. "Whether that's a January through May run or a big installment in the fall and another post-January, I'm not sure yet. But we're definitely considering it."

AND A CAST WINDFALL

"Lost" the Mobile Spinoff is finally a go, thanks to a new agreement between Touchstone Television and guilds representing actors, writers and directors.

"Lost Video Diaries," a spinoff of the ABC hit "Lost" created specifically for mobile phones, had been stalled because the guilds objected to the proposed use of third-party contractors and nonunion talent.

Under the new deal, "Lost" actors, writers and directors will earn residuals at the same rate as pay TV, according to Daily Variety.

The "mobisodes" will begin production this summer and will debut in conjunction with the start of the third season of "Lost."

GLOBAL INTERACTION

Because there apparently is no such thing as overkill where "Lost" is concerned, ABC, Channel 4 Television in Britain and Seven Network in Australia have teamed to present "The Lost Experience," an Internet-based game that allows viewers in 20 countries to interact with a parallel storyline not featured in the television broadcast. According to ABC, the new marketing campaign "provides insight to unlock some of the island's secrets for those savvy enough to collect the clues, make the connections and find the answers."

How that will play out exactly is itself something of a mystery. According to zap2it.com, the game will require players to trade e-mail messages and phone calls, and examine billboards (sorry, Hawai'i), commercials and Web sites to collect clues.

Prompts for the first clue, accessible by toll-free number, will appear during next Wednesday's U.S. broadcast.