Reel News
Maui Film Office neglected
Maui Mayor-elect Alan Arakawa's recent announcement of Cabinet appointments didn't include a Maui Film Office, which has been headed by Amy Kasten for four years. Sources say Kasten will be out of a job come Jan. 2. There has been no announcement of whether the film office, which has brought in $29 million in production revenues to the county since 1998, will even continue. Sources say Kasten has been unable to meet with the mayor-elect.
Kasten was instrumental in bringing Universal-Imagine Entertainment's "Blue Crush" to Hawaii, though the originally titled "Surf Girls of Maui" was eventually set on Oahu ...
Another administrator on the outs, sources say, is former Gov. Ben Cayetano's executive assistant and high-tech guru Joe Blanco, who has been Act 221's overseer of sorts. The former friend of production executive April Masini has been subpoenaed by her in a fraud case involving a local law firm and millions of dollars in fees alleged owed in connection with "Blue Crush" ...
Minnie Driver made a surprise appearance in Warner Bros.' "The Big Bounce," which filmed beach scenes at the Banzai Pipeline last week. Director George Armitage, who directed Driver in another film, convinced her to do the cameo ...
Sundance Channel will air the TV premiere of "Charlotte Sometimes" Dec. 30 and 31. The film is by Eric Byler, who grew up in Honolulu and attended Moanalua Middle and High schools. Themes of loneliness, longing, betrayal and race are explored in the drama about the intersecting lives of four young Asian-Americans in Los Angeles. Film critic Roger Ebert gave it an important "thumbs up" when it screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The film will close the Cinema Paradise 2002 festival tomorrow night ...
Plans to film "ER" on Oahu next month have been postponed until March due to scheduling problems, sources said. "ER" execs scouted Oahu last week ...
The Ouch! factor: Marty Katz, producer of Miramax's World War II epic "The Great Raid," starring Joseph Fiennes and Benjamin Bratt, says the production "made the right choice" in choosing Shanghai as a location. Hawaii was one of the final choices, but Katz said "Hawaii was too expensive."
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Contact Tim Ryan at tryan@starbulletin.com.