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HBO pilot may
not film here
because of
high costs
Officials are to make
By Tim Ryan
their final decision within
a week on 'Lessons Learned'
Star-BulletinHawaii's high film-production costs may doom HBO Pictures' plan to shoot a Vietnam-era pilot here for an hourlong television series.
But executives for "Lessons Learned" say Oahu is the preferred location if the show is picked up early next year.
Dan Kaplow, "Lessons Learned" producer, said yesterday that no decision has been made on whether to film the pilot here in September or in California.
Hawaii's high costs and other undisclosed factors are still being weighed, Kaplow said.
"We have not made any decision on where the pilot or the series (episodes) will be shot," Kaplow said. "But I will say that (HBO) is serious that for the nature of this show Hawaii is the place we want."
Kaplow's statement contrasts with that of a state film official, who said HBO officials in Los Angeles decided Wednesday not to shoot the pilot here and notified the Hawaii Film Office of the decision.
Kaplow referred media questions to HBO's public relations office, where no one was immediately available for comment.
HBO officials are expected to make their final decision within a week, Kaplow said.
Typically, an hourlong television pilot filmed in Hawaii costs $3 million to $5 million.
Even if the HBO Pictures' pilot isn't going to be filmed here, Kaplow and state film office officials yesterday requested a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to base the show's main set on state property in Maunawili, currently part of a banana farmers' coop and behind the Luana Golf Course.
If "Lessons Learned" is picked up by the network, 12 hourlong programs could be filmed in Hawaii early next year.
"Lessons Learned" is being written and directed by Patrick Duncan, who wrote the screenplay for "Mr. Holland's Opus," "84 Charlie Mopic," a classic Vietnam war genre for television that was broadcast in the early '80s on HBO, and the Vietnam War Stories series.
The stories center on a survival school in Vietnam. Mostly unknown actors will be hired for the ensemble cast, which is expected to number as many as 40.
