Reel News
Arnold Rifkin, producer of "Tears of the Sun" (formerly known as "Hostage Rescue") starring Bruce Willis, gives Hawaii crews four stars for ability, efficiency and "sheer willpower" to get the job done. The often "dreadful" weather conditions during filming on the Windward and North Shore areas of Oahu were the most difficult he's ever faced. Oahu movie crews get props
"This film is about a journey, which meant (the production) was always moving, always climbing, and in March and April we worked in torrential rains," he said. Conditions got so bad that equipment trucks were unable to use roads, so a helicopter transported cameras and other equipment to key locations. At one point cast and crew wrapped their knees in cellophane to stay dry.
The good news? "The red clay of Africa -- where the story is located -- looks just like the red clay of Hawaii ... and what it all looks like on camera is extraordinary," he said. Hawaii won location rights over Costa Rica and Mexico, in part, because there are no poisonous creatures here, Rifkin said.
Rifkin estimated the production spent about $40 million in Hawaii, nearly half of its $80 million budget, including hiring about 50 percent local crew and renting more than 300 hotel rooms and cars, and leasing several homes for five months. Revolution Studios and Rifkin's and Willis' Cheyenne Productions are seeking state investment credits -- rebates actually -- under Act 221 legislation signed into law last year ...
Location manager Bill Bowling completed two weeks scouting Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai for Sony Pictures' big budget, post-WWII action drama "Fertig" (a k a "They Fought Alone"). Hawaii would double for the Philippines.
It's based on the exploits of American soldier Col. Wendell Fertig and his pursuit of victory in the face of daunting odds as he and a ragtag team of American soldiers stage a guerrilla stance against the Japanese.
Fertig and his men harassed the Japanese so thoroughly that the Japanese could not ultimately control the island by the time Gen. Douglas MacArthur made his promised return.
The director is David Fincher ("Panic Room") and Brad Pitt is reportedly interested in the project. This would be the third Fincher/Pitt collaboration after the successful "Seven" and "Fight Club."
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Contact Tim Ryan at tryan@starbulletin.com.