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Hawaii courts
movie moguls

Film office wines 'em
and dines 'em at the
Sundance film festival

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By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

Hollywood production heavyweights arrived by the dozens, holding scrolled invitations inside zippered coconuts, greeted with orchid lei and presented with tropical fruit and drinks decorated with tiny paper umbrellas.

Nearly 200 entertainment executives attended "The Film Offices of the Hawaiian Islands at Sundance" reception to meet with Hawaii's film commissioners. They discussed future projects, collected information about filming in the state and renewed professional friendships.

The entertainment business is "completely based on relationships; it's always an issue of networking from one relationship to another," said Judy Drosd, Kauai County's film commissioner who just returned from her ninth Sundance event. "Hollywood pays major attention to Sundance. It's a microcosm of the Hollywood universe and imperative to have a presence there."

The reception -- including food, decorations, promotional material and invitations -- cost about $15,000, shared by county and state film offices. In addition, each individual county sent a film commissioner at a cost of $2,000 to $3,000 for a four- to five-day stay.

The late-afternoon reception drew three vice presidents of production from Universal Pictures, the director of Worldwide Co-Productions for Warner Brothers, the president of Production Seven Arts Pictures, producers' representatives, location managers, established and fledgling filmmakers, investment advisers, entertainment attorneys, agents, online production companies, animators, music composers, model and talent agencies and others.

The interest isn't surprising. Last year four major motion pictures filmed in the state: "Pearl Harbor," "Windtalkers," "Jurassic Park III" and "Final Fantasy," as well as the television series "Baywatch Hawaii." All Hawaii's productions accounted for an estimated $125 million in revenues, the most in state history, up from $98.1 million in 1999 and the previous record of 99.1 million in 1998.

Tangible results from these promotional forays are not always immediate, although Drosd said it's not unusual for her to receive as many as four calls from production people soon after Sundance. She has already received an email from a filmmaker about the possibility of working on Kauai.

"And that's how it all starts."

Maui commissioner Amy Kasten and Maui Film Festival director Barry Rivers were with VH1 executives at Sundance when the idea of a VH1 mini-show during River's June festival came up.

"You need to be in people's faces so they remember Hawaii as proactive," she said. "You have to keep that momentum going."

Attending Sundance is just one cog in a much larger promotional wheel, the commissioners said. Other strategies include attending the national "locations" meeting each February in Los Angeles and occasional familiarization tours. That's when studio execs are brought to Hawaii at state and county expense to tour film locations and facilities.

"FAM" tour results are more likely to be immediate, while establishing relationships with studio executives and promoting Hawaii's image at special events are long-term considerations.

"It's like the stock market," Honolulu's film liaison, Wailea Constantinau. said. "You have your day traders and you have your long-term investments. You need both to succeed in this business."

It's not tough to convince production companies to want to film in Hawaii, but the trick, Constantinau and Drosd agreed, is showing them how to make it work financially.

"The more you meet with them, be it in L.A. or Sundance or wherever, the more you learn about their constraints so you can come back to offer real assistance," Drosd said.

The commissioners strive to capitalize on Hawaii's paradise reputation, something especially attractive in the cold Park City, Utah, winter climate that is the backdrop for Sundance.

"Hours after people left our reception they were still wearing the leis we had given them or guys were giving them to girls," Constantinau said. "The excitement and buzz extended well beyond the event."

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