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Reel News Tim Ryan |
Raid on Maui inspired
new isle cop seriesA Maui police raid last summer convinced a NBC executive to push for a Hawaii-based cop series. Chris Conti, senior vice president of drama development, watched what he described as "this very real-life arrest by real-life cops. But I also noticed in the distance a beautiful blue ocean and green mountains. I knew then I didn't want to see another dead body in some New York alley in one of our new shows." He called NBC president Jeff Zucker strongly urging his boss that a planned network cop show be filmed in Hawaii. "That's how 'Hawaii' was born, Conti said.
The NBC series, which begins filming July 15, likely will be based at the Haseko warehouse in Mapunapuna. ABC's "Lost" reportedly has closed a deal to operate out of the Xerox building on Nimitz Highway ...
Writer-director Ken Biller is a new co-executive producer on Fox's "North Shore," which premieres June 14, though cast and crew will get their own special preview the night before ...
The Jack Lord Memorial Dedication will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 19, at the Macy's end of the Kahala Mall. Lord died Jan. 21, 1998. The $10,000 bronze bust was created by local artist Lynn Liverton. Doug Mossman, a regular on "Hawaii Five-0," helped organize the memorial committee, along with Zulu, Jimmy Borges, Moe Keale and Kam Fong. Lord frequently shopped at the mall ...
Here's what happening in states where government officials are serious about building a film industry: New Mexico's film revenues jumped 1,000 percent, from $8 million in 2002 to $80 million last year, after the state, with the governor's urging, approved a 15 percent tax rebate on all production expenses. This year, there's even more activity, including 14 film and TV movies.
Last fall, the state's governor made a promotional trip, touting the state's advantages to Hollywood studio heads, including Paramount chair and CEO Sherry Lansing. The result is that the studio is filming a large part of the remake of "The Longest Yard" there.
Hawaii had been considered as a location. But New Mexico's " ... important financial incentives ... created a winning package," said line producer Barry Bernardi.
Now Oregon's Film and Video Office plans to establish an office in Los Angeles "to have someone on the ground in the L.A. area and immediately accessible to the industry," an official said.
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