TIM RYAN /TRYAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Publicist Blaise Noto spent his first year in the islands studying Hawaii's production industry needs before opening the doors to his own company here. Noto worked on some of Hollywood's most successful films over the years. In fact, his publicity campaigns for "Spider-Man" and "Forrest Gump" earned him achievement awards. Other films Noto has promoted include "Mission: Impossible," "Rocky," "Grease," "Dirty Dancing" and "Chariots of Fire."
World-class film
publicist seeks isle niche
THE FIRST DAY on the "Titanic" set in Nova Scotia, Blaise Noto, head of publicity for Paramount Pictures, met one of the major challenges of his career. It was preceded by the filmmakers' four words: "We have a problem."
"The crew and some cast were getting sick, really sick," said Noto, who moved to Maui a year ago. "Since they got sick after eating the seafood lunch, we called public health officials to check for food contamination."
It wasn't spoiled fish, but PCP poisoning.
"Someone had put it in the clam chowder, and some people were hallucinating," Noto said. "We never learned who did it, but just figured it may have been a disgruntled worker."
Noto was unable to keep the incident from the media because the involvement of public officials made it public record. He later had to head off rumors that laborers at the set were essentially being fed "bread and water" while their American counterparts dined luxuriously.
"So not true," said Noto.
He called a trusted and respected entertainment reporter who had made lengthy visits to the "Titanic" set. The reporter wrote that the poor-food stories were false.
In his nearly three decades as a Hollywood publicist, Noto has seen, heard and experienced many production horror stories. His job has been to keep bad things out of the press and correct inaccuracies and unfounded rumors.
Besides Paramount, where he was vice president of publicity and promotion, Noto has held key marketing positions at other Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., United Artists, Orion Pictures and Vestron Pictures and for producer Dino DeLaurentiis.
His campaigns for "Spider-Man," "Titanic," "Braveheart" and "Forrest Gump" made him the four-time recipient of the Publicist Guild of America's Outstanding Achievement in a Motion Picture Publicity Campaign.
He also designed and implemented the campaigns for high-profile films such as "Mission: Impossible," five "Star Trek" films, "Grease," "Terminator," "Rocky," "Amadeus," "Chariots of Fire," "Annie Hall" and "Dirty Dancing," to name but a few.
He's worked with Hollywood's most successful producers, directors and actors: Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Nicole Kidman, Paul Newman, Sissy Spacek, Sean Connery, Jodie Foster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Michael Douglas, Will Smith, Richard Gere, Madonna, Bette Midler, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Scott Rudin, Richard Zanuck and David Brown.
Now he's brought his expertise to Hawaii, establishing Blaise Noto & Associates, affiliated with publicist Claudia Gray, of Gray Co. in Los Angeles. The company handles marketing, publicity and special events for projects in film, television, theater, music, clubs, restaurants and retail, as well as represents artists and performers.
Rather than jump head first into the state's entertainment business, Noto spent his first year after moving to Maui studying, watching and analyzing Hawaii's production industry needs.
"I may know how to operate in Hollywood, but that doesn't immediately translate to Hawaii," he said. "I wanted to see where I could fit, where I could help."
The self-described "idea concept guy" believes his promotional experience can be especially helpful to independent filmmakers and event organizers.
"Maybe I can help show how to create more razzle-dazzle, turn up the volume a bit."
If Noto was a big deal in Hollywood, his Hawaii persona seems anti-ego. His tone is subdued, attitude modest, and he listens more than talks.
"I believe I can help Hawaii's entertainment industry grow," he says. "I've seen a lot of people here who are trying to get their productions started while at the same time trying to arrange financing and distribution and missing a lot of other opportunities -- like proper photography, videos shot behind the scenes, getting important interviews done and a licensing program.
"It may be lack of time and some inexperience understanding the importance of how that part of the business works."
One of the hallmarks of his career was molding the publicity for the oh-so-unconventional "Blue Velvet," which no distributor would touch.
"In the early screenings, no audience could understand it, but 1 percent thought it was brilliant and had to talk to someone about it," Noto said.
He sought out critics who had liked "Dune," another odd film by David Lynch, and then screened "Blue Velvet" for 89 of them individually.
The reviews were more favorable than expected, though the film still didn't do well with mainstream audiences.
"But David Lynch did get an Academy Award nomination," Noto said.
"Titanic" remains Noto's biggest challenge, with its high-profile director, huge budget and at-the-time un-bankable stars.
The movie's problems -- real and imagined -- had become widely known, especially when the release date was postponed from summer to December in 1997.
The marketing game plan was to emphasize romance as well as action to attract women without losing the males who would come for the special effects.
"A marketing campaign is a dance between film marketers seeking to shape coverage and the media seeking access to stars," he said.
Noto and Gray have worked with some Maui businesses without fees so far, but with a caveat that if the company decides to use their campaign, they hire the pair to implement it.
"When I left L.A., I made a conscious decision to leave behind a lot of things," he says. "What's so exciting to me about this venture is, I'm almost like a kid again starting something new with such different challenges in a beautiful place.
"I'm here for the long haul."
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