Reel News
Writer signs deal for
Hawaii series on ABCThey just keep on coming! "Kamehameha" screenwriter Greg Poirier has inked a deal with Touchstone and ABC for a Hawaii-based TV series, the fourth action show (three of them about law enforcement) announced for here since last month.
The Maui-raised Poirier will head write and co-produce the untitled series with Arnold Kopelson. The shows will focus on an ensemble cast like "21 Jump Street" rather that a single character, Poirier said.
The hourlong pilot will be shot next February or March 2003 in hopes of making the fall season. The production will be based in Honolulu, but Poirier plans to film throughout the state using "lots of local actors." This summer, Poirier made a "blind script commitment" with Touchstone, which means, he said, "I wanted to get into television and the studio wanted to work with me." The pilot script will be done in two months ...
Let's talk money. Disney's "Lilo & Stitch," which opened June 21, is a certified blockbuster with worldwide ticket sales to date of $198 million. "Lilo" reportedly cost $80 million to make.
Universal and Dreamworks' "Blue Crush," which opened Aug. 16, last weekend brought in $9 million at the box office for a $29 million total in two-plus weeks of release. The film, which reportedly cost about $30 million, will receive, over the next five years, nearly 50 percent in investment credits from the state's Act 221. Industry analysts expect "Crush" to make about $40 million in domestic theaters, not including DVD and video releases.
What's amazing is that "Crush" had no big stars and was released late in the summer. The release date was deliberate to set the movie apart from earlier summer blockbusters that had bigger budgets, name stars and availability to more theaters, Dreamworks execs said. "Crush" had been scheduled to open July 12, but there were already 10 films in more than 25,000 U.S. theaters that weekend: "Men in Black II," "Road to Perdition," "Reign of Fire," "Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course," "Lilo & Stitch," "Like Mike," "Minority Report" and "The Bourne Identity." A relatively small film like "Blue Crush" would have been unlikely to get into more than 3,000 theaters for a July opening, as it did Aug. 16.
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Contact Tim Ryan at tryan@starbulletin.com.