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Hawaii
ONE of the happiest people watching the Oscar telecast had to be attorney Jeff Portnoy, especially after Kevin Spacey won the best actor award for "American Beauty." Portnoy is chairman of the board of the Hawaii International Film Festival and was quick to point out at the HIFF-sponsored Academy Awards showing at the W Diamond Head Beach Hotel that Spacey produced and stars in "The Big Kahuna," the film Spacey film will
open HIFF festkicking off HIFF's Spring Festival April 14. It doesn't hurt that the film has a Hawaiian word in the title, either ... Thanks to the fact that KITV honcho Mike Rosenberg is also on the HIFF board, the partygoers got to see the awards show live on a large screen, rather than delayed on the local ABC outlet. Actually, only the first part of the showing was live, as they shut down a couple of times to give out door prizes. One was a party for 10 at the Ultrazone Lazer Light Club, won by City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura. Portnoy got off the best zinger: "Hey Jon, why not invite the whole council and use real bullets?" ...
THE consensus was that Billy Crystal was again funny, that Michael Caine had the most gracious acceptance speech, and that "Boys Don't Cry" star Hilary Swank should have reminded her adolescent-looking spouse, Chris Lowe, what the title of her movie was. As she coolly gave thanks, tears came down Lowe's cheeks ... And in a post-party discussion, Bill Maher asked the same question I did, "What's with Angelina Jolie and her brother?" ...
Ricky ticky savvy
BACK in the faded '50s, America watched open-mouthed as a young Mississippian named Elvis Presley swiveled his hips. When he appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," however, they only showed him from the waist up, perhaps assuming watching such movement would be deleterious to one's health. Well, as they say, we've come a long way, baby. Now Ricky Martin can shake his "bon-bon" and turn on girls and boys alike. He was interviewed by Barbara Walters on her ABC show Sunday night after the first of his two shows at the Blaisdell Arena. (Better two shows in the Arena than one at half-filled Aloha Stadium.) Walters asked Ricky straight away about his sexuality, and he was coy about answering. She finally answered for him, suggesting it would double his popularity if everyone thought of him as desirable. Sort of like Woody Allen's observation about doubling your chances of getting a date on Saturday night. But Martin handled it well. What's the old song? "Ain't nobody's business but my own." ...PEOPLE magazine picked up on the item about Pierce Brosnan toasting his engagement to Keely Shaye Smith in Wailea with a bottle of the finest champagne Carelli's on the Beach had to offer. There's also a photo of the two kissing there ...
Have a ball
PALS are forever kidding financier Franklin Tokioka because he uses such a variety of balls when golfing at Waialae. Now here's a guy who could probably afford to buy a decent-sized ball manufacturing company, but he shows up with a Titleist one day, a Top-Flite the next, etc. How come? He lives just off the Waialae Golf Course and people keep hitting balls into his backyard. As long at they do, he uses them and saves a buck. He may never buy another ball. One pal recently bought a bag of 100 various lost balls and dumped them into Tokioka's yard. Whodunnit? I'm not telling ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com