Every so often a small royalty check graces Matt Pennaz's mailbox, sort of his "almost famous" reminder.

Pennaz, who plays Freddy Benson in Diamond Head Theatre's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," gets his royalties from the 2008 comedy filmed on O'ahu "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

"I was the bratty kid's dad," Pennaz said, laughing, "but my scene was cut, so you can only see me on the extended DVD version."

Pennaz is also on the board of directors of Manoa Valley Theatre. He found out his scene was left on the cutting-room floor when a friend in New York saw a preview and phoned to tell him he wasn't in the show. "That's the way it goes," he said. "Of course, I'm biased, but I thought the scene was brilliant ..."

If you want to preview the caliber of comedians Pipeline Café is bringing in Wednesday nights for its comedy series, tune in to HBO at 7 p.m. Saturday for its one-hour standup comedy special, "Jim Jeffries: I Swear to God." Jeffries performs June 3 at Pipeline Café. ...

Right now the Friday luncheon at the Outrigger Reef hotel's Kani Ka Pila Grille isn't a weekly event, but we'll keep you posted on when the next one comes up. They've done two so far, and all we can say is it is a very cool event with great food, giveaways and great live Hawaiian music. Na Leo and Jeff Rasmussen performed last Friday. The luncheon and music is broadcast on 105 KINE, with Mr. Everywhere Billy V emceeing. The sound quality during the show is amazing. ...

Look for more repeats at this fall's Hawaii International Film Festival. Chuck Boller, HIFF's executive director, said that's a lesson learned from the spring festival.

"We found that second showings of movies were usually more packed because of friends telling friends," Boller said. "The word-of-mouth buzz a movie gets makes a big impact."

Boller said HIFF's spring festival exceeded ticket sales by more than $17,000 and HIFF membership grew by $5,000. HIFF's fall showcase is set for Oct. 15 through Oct. 25. ...

With "American Idol" winding down, one new show you can get your geek on with is Fox's "Glee." A preview to the musical series is at 9 p.m. Tuesday. This is not a show you'd expect from the makers of the racy "Nip/Tuck." It's more "Grease" meets "Scrubs" with some cheesy humor, a bit of a serious side, and music that will have you quietly tapping your feet to ...

Pipeline Café promoter Greg Azus said everything was a go for a June concert featuring former Journey frontman Steve Perry, but despite signed contracts with Perry's agent, Perry's management team canceled the deal because he's not permitted to play another gig when he comes to O'ahu to perform at a private function. "In my eight years promoting, this is a first," Azus said. "Everything was signed and ready to go."

Emptied from TGIF staff notebooks.