Jerry Ketcham, executive production manager for Disney, said principal photography will take about two weeks on Oahu, and three weeks for second-unit photography on Kauai to include stunt work and aerial photography. Molokai possibly will be used as well, he said.

Several Disney executives recently scouted Oahu for the third time in about a year.

"George," scheduled for release in July, will start filming Sept. 30 in San Francisco then Los Angeles. The film is being produced by Banana Pictures, a Walt Disney subsidiary.

Most of the Oahu filming will be on location and may include Waimea Falls Park and Kualoa Ranch, Ketcham said.

The Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head will primarily be used as "a cover set" in case bad weather forces filmmakers indoors.

Availability of the sound stage influenced Disney's decisions to come to Hawaii.

"It means if it rains we can retreat there and not lose a day's work," Ketcham said.

Disney, thanks primarily to Ketcham, has an eye on Hawaii as a location for additional films, including the on-again, off-again "Meet the Deedles," a remake of "Mighty Joe Young," and, perhaps, "Mr. McGoo."

"Deedles" will be back in production in a year and part of it will be filmed on Oahu, Ketcham said.

"If ("George") works out well, Disney will come back to Hawaii," he said.

Doing "well" means reasonable hotel room rates for cast and crew and "an enthusiastic and helpful" local crew, he said.

"With word of mouth that things went well during filming, it'll make Hawaii an easy sell to the next filmmaker. I think it's all going to work out very favorably."