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Reel News Tim Ryan |
‘Five-0’ deal
tough to closeHollywood is all about movie developments, so here's an update on two of Hawaii's most visible (and late) network TV series that are being considered for the big screen. DreamWorks had earlier won the bidding war to the rights to make "Hawaii Five-O" into a major movie. But the studio, and later Intermedia, couldn't close a deal with rights holder George Litto, who represented the series creator Leonard Freeman and now handles his estate. Litto says he's now in talks with another studio that, in his words, "should lead to a deal."
As for "Magnum, P.I.," local sources say that rights holder Imagine Entertainment and series creator Don Bellasario will "most definitely" film their movie version of the TV series in Hawaii "probably" sometime this spring. No actor has yet been cast to play the lead role of Thomas Magnum, the one that Tom Selleck made famous. ...
Action star and Hawaii's own Kelly Hu has been cast in ABC's "Threat Matrix." The "X2: X-Men United" star will appear in at least five episodes of the new drama. Hu will play a new member to the Threat Matrix team, an elite task force created to respond to daily threats to U.S. security. Production on the first episode featuring Hu begins Jan. 5. ...
Those two Maytag washing machines on the rock shelf below Lanai Lookout last week were part of a very expensive 30-second commercial for the appliance company. It was part of a week-long production, including two days filming. Randy Spangler was location manager, with aerial video done by Don King and a water safety unit headed by Brian Keaulana. The production hired, on the whole, about 15 local crew.
The gutted machines, part of Maytag's high priced Neptune line, will have special effects factored in, showing them being swept into the sea, since they are "born of the ocean," says Maytag rep Hardy Rawls. The machines had to be lowered down the cliff in specially built crates, with six people and a mountain climber assisting. ...
The media junket from Warner Bros.' "The Big Bounce" is set to be held in Waikiki Jan. 17 and 18. Columbia Pictures' "50 First Dates," starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, will hold its junket here sometime between Jan. 15 to 20. ...
Sears/Lands End just completed a week of photography all over Maui for their upcoming summer catalog, spending about $200,000.
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Contact Tim Ryan at tryan@starbulletin.com.