RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, WWE wrestler and film star, gave a shaka to a friend at the Blaisdell Galleria in June.

‘The Rock’ film
casts Kapena Falls
in stunt

Universal Studios wants to plunge
a jeep over the waterfall

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By Tim Ryan and Diana Leone
tryan@starbulletin.com | dleone@starbulletin.com

Kapena Falls, a sacred bathing area for royalty in ancient Hawaiian times, could be the site for the biggest stunt in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's untitled film being shot here.

Helldorado Productions' executives will ask the state Board of Land & Natural Resources today for a permit to allow the Universal Studios production to send a jeep over the 30-foot waterfall into the pool below. Kapena Falls is just off Pali Highway a couple of miles from downtown Honolulu on unimproved state park land.

The jeep shell has had its engine and transmission removed, and the glass replaced with lexan plastic.

The jeep will be brought to the edge of the falls on a makeshift ramp set on jack stands leading up a launch ramp of wood framing and plywood with a "movie front," or fake rock, to match the existing rock. According to location manager Randy Spangler, the elevated ramp will be constructed in a way to minimize impact to the surrounding area and vegetation.

Stunt men will roll off another rock into the pool, then look up to see the empty jeep coming over and landing near them.

The plan calls for a helicopter to lift the jeep out of the pool for permanent removal.

Filming of the stunt is set for early next month. Equipment will be removed from the entire site by Oct. 23.

Public access into the Kapena area will not be prevented, though during filming, people will be asked to stay out of the camera sight angles.

The production began five weeks of filming on Oahu on Monday. The film, formerly called "Helldorado," is about a bounty hunter, "The Rock," who travels to the Brazilian jungle to settle a debt, but realizes that the bad guy really isn't. The two join forces to search for hidden riches in the town of Helldorado while avoiding the town's evil kingpin.

The state Parks Division often deals with requests for filming on state land, but because of the magnitude of this stunt, Land and Natural Resources Chairman Gil Coloma-Agaran will make the final decision on whether to allow it.

Coloma-Agaran asked movie producers to appear before the Board of Land & Natural Resources to explain the plan, said Dan Quinn, parks administrator.

Quinn is concerned that if the jeep misses its mark, "it could really make an impact."

Johnson is a professional wrestler and film star who spent parts of his childhood here and attended McKinley High School.