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Al Masini
closes shop, cancels
‘Destination Stardom’
Masini says the company could have
By Tim Ryan
survived had the Legislature passed
a bill to help the industry
Star-BulletinAl Masini Productions, a force the last four years in promoting Hawaii's television industry, has shut down while announcing that the Pax Network show "From Hawaii ... Destination Stardom" produced by the company will not return for a second season.
The company had been headed by president April Masini, 34, and her husband, Al, 70. The couple divorced last year but said their breakup had nothing to do with closing their Hawaii office.
April Masini moved Masini Television & Film Enterprises to Los Angeles earlier this year, where she is representing, among others, Honolulu fireman Kala'i Miller in his fledgling acting career.
Al Masini said he can no longer afford spending mostly his own money to keep his production office going and is "very, very disappointed" that a bill he helped write to steer funds to Hawaii's television industry has been so watered down to have little effect. Masini said that if Bill 2959 had been approved by the state Legislature, the couple would have continued to help the state's television industry.
"The most upsetting part of this is that critics of (Bill 2959) never really understood that we weren't proposing to give money away but use it to attract shows that would promote Hawaii," he said.
"You make money by investing in something that gives you a good return."
Masini said Hawaii's television industry was making progress.
"We were so close to really winning the game. ... We could have built a solid foundation," he said.
The frustration of having to explain the ABCs of the entertainment industry reached a critical mass for the successful producer.
"'Destination Stardom' isn't returning because there's been no state funding approved for it this year, Masini said.
The show received about $1 million in goods, services and cash last year from the state.
The Masinis were reimbursed by the state for office expenses last year, Masini said.
During the past four years Masini estimated that his personal out-of-pocket expenses were hundreds of thousands of dollars. The couple did not receive a salary, state officials said.
Al Masini created such ground-breaking television shows as "Entertainment Tonight," "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and "Star Search," winning 33 Emmy Awards.
Masini this year kept the Al Masini Production office open in Aina Haina, though it cost him $22,000 a month. The massive $250,000 "Destination Stardom" set stored in a Sand Island warehouse is costing him another $4,500 a month.
"I was hoping for some direction from the state in regards to the pending legislation but it never came," said Masini, who has offered the set to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Masini originally moved to Hawaii to retire and he will now "actively pursue that goal" as well as "scale down" his lifestyle, which includes selling his Hawaii Loa Ridge estate. The asking price is $10 million.
