HOLLYWOOD came to Halawa when the Fox TV-Imagine Entertainment pilot "The Break" descended on the correctional facility last week with more than 100 cast and crew members to film scenes featuring star Dylan Bruno, Kris Kristofferson and 14-year-old Chas Chidester. They’re making a ‘Break’
for it at Halawa prisonBy Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com"I didn't do it," joked Ray Gover of Waikiki. He and a few dozen other extras were portraying inmates in a fictional visitors area.
In the hour-long pilot, 30-year-old Dane Patterson (Bruno) returns to Hawaii with his troubled 13-year-old son, Alexander (Chidester), and takes him to the prison to meet his inmate father, Izzy Patterson (Kristofferson).
"I hope they don't get me mixed up with the population here," said a prison-garbed Kristofferson as he and six extras were allowed inside a main prison building emptied for filming.
It's the first time in a decade -- since the TV series "Marker" -- that a show filmed at the prison, officials said.
"The Break" creator John Stockwell contacted the state and Halawa Warden Nolan Espinda six weeks ago about using the facility for filming. The state allowed use of the prison without charge to support Hawaii's film industry, Espinda said.
The production primarily used a back section of the Minimum Security Facility, made up to look like an outdoor visitors center. The gymnasium was used as a staging area.
Stockwell wanted to use real inmates as extras, but Espinda nixed the idea, citing security concerns.
Some correctional officers did take the day off to play themselves.
"I gave up about $180 to make $65 as an extra," said Monte McComber. "I thought it would be interesting to really see how a show is filmed."
Espinda assigned two correctional officers to assist the production, which had to follow visitors' rules, which call for shoes and slacks.
"All I asked for was an autographed picture with Kris Kristofferson to hang in my office," Espinda said.
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