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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 18, 2010

'Pirates of the Caribbean' filming here all in 3-D


By Wayne Harada

Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," with Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow for the fourth time, will be the first in the franchise that will be shot entirely in 3-D — loaded with special effects. Director Rob Marshall ("Chicago," "Nine") starts location shooting here in June, for a May 20, 2011, launch.

Web site buzz is that Depp wants Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stone, aboard — not a done deal. But French beauty Astrid Berges-Frisbey will play Syrena, a mermaid who befriends Sparrow.

The cast includes Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbossa), Ian McShane (Captain Blackbeard) and Penelope Cruz (Blackbeard's daughter), with Steven Graham just announced as Scram. With Orlando Bloom (Will) out, the hunk role goes to Max Irons (son of Jeremy Irons), though his part is not identified. ...

SPEAKING OF HUNK: That "Hawaii Five-0" pilot, with Alex O'Loughlin as Steve McGarrett, is playing it hunk and hip. The Aussie actor, putting his new spin on the classic role originated by Jack Lord, has discovered the task does come with some pain — and skin. The new McGarrett filmed scenes with open shirts, something the starchier Lord/McGarrett would never do, and O'Loughlin has bruises as badges from doing his own stunts, such as jumping out of a tank. He told one interviewer, "If I took my shirt off, I look like a beaten piece of meat." With two failed CBS series earlier ("Moonlight," "Three Rivers"), O'Loughlin would rather avoid striking out. ...

SUMMER FUN: Roslyn Catracchia, the late Lisa Matsumoto's composing-conducting partner in their series of pidgin musicals (such as "The Princess and the Iso Peanut," winding up today at the Hawai'i Theatre), will be musical director of the Manoa Valley Theatre's summer remount of "Once Upon One Time," July 8 to 25. "We are lucky to have Elitei Tatafu Jr. directing, and Patrick Fujioka will be a creative consultant," said Catracchia. She agreed to conduct "because I felt it's important to try to continue to get out as much of Lisa's vision as possible during these early years after her passing. I'm hoping more of the 'Ōhi'a (Productions) family will continue to look for more ways to keep her work alive." Catracchia consults with Matsumoto's family as a project emerges and has a circle of devotees involved, too. ...

ITEMIZATIONS: Entertainer Matt Yee, who has been performing aboard ship cruises, will return to Hula's Bar & Lei Stand at 8 p.m. Friday and April 30, and May 7 and 14, with the final date pegged as a fundraiser for Gregory House Programs. Limited reservations are $20, with added cost for the benefit dinner. Hula's will mark its 36th anniversary July 8, with folks like Robert Cazi-mero expected to participate. ...

Musician-singer Cyril Pahinui celebrates his 60th birthday at his weekly gig (6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday) at Kani Ka Pila Grille, in the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Expect Pahinui 'ohana to join him. Pahinui also serenades at the Outrigger Reef's Aloha Friday Luncheon, beginning at 11:30 a.m. this Friday (broadcast live on Hawaiian 105 KINE with host Billy V). And on Saturday, Pahinui will be at the Waikiki Spam Jam, playing on the Outrigger Waikiki stage at 5:30 p.m., with fellow Kani Ka Pila Griller Weldon Kekauoha at 7:30 p.m. ...

Manoa DNA, the family group featuring dad Lloyd Kawakami and sons Nick and Alex, has a new CD, "Pure Aloha," a JVC Victor release out Tuesday in Japan. The trio is hot in Japan, where its NHK music video is on heavy rotation on "Minna No Uta," so naturally a Japan tour follows soon when Manoa DNA represents Hawai'i tourism in Japan. Alex's composition, "Our Hawai'i," is the theme for the 2010 campaign. ...

Note: "Marlene Sai — Legacy" is due shortly, a CD compilation of classic '60s Sai tracks. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail .com. Read his blog Fridays in TGIF and at http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com.