Here’s a high-school winner
who’s happy to be all wet

Congratulations goes out to Lani Kim, a ninth grader at McKinley High School. Kim's artistic masterpiece took the top prize in the "Show & Tale Us What About the Ocean Inspires You!" contest, sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu, DreamWorks Animation and the Hawaii State Department of Education. As grand prize winner, Kim received a private screening of "Shark Tale" for her friends, family and classmates; a Hewlett Packard PC computer for her school; a $500 gift certificate for art supplies donated by Hawaiian Graphics; and a weekend stay for her and her family at Aston Waikiki Hotel. Out of the 1,000-plus entries, prizes were also given to first grader Jasmine Piena of Sunset Beach Elementary, third grader Nicole Ono of Hanahauoli Elementary, fifth grader Samantha Dacanay of Iolani School and eighth grader Kealii Garcia of King Intermediate. They received a family four-pack to the advance screening of the movie and a gift bag filled with plush toys, coloring books, stickers, the movie soundtrack and other goodies from the film. "Shark Tale" opens Friday. ... For those planning on seeing "Shark Tale," look for these pop-culture references: a billboard ad for the clothing store Gup (Gap), Old Wavy clothing company (Old Navy), Kelpy Kremes (Krispy Kreme donuts), Coral-Cola (Coca-Cola), Fish King (Burger King), Sea Weedies cereal (Wheaties), FQ, Newsreef and Water magazines (GQ, Newsweek and Wired magazines), an ad for "The Hook" movie (spoof of "The Ring") and the 1976 song "Car Wash" is performed at the Whale Wash with this version being performed by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. ...

Speaking about movies, "Shall We Dance," scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 15, is a remake of the 1996 Japanese film of the same title. The films are very similar with small changes -- like the main character in the Japanese version (played by Koji Yakusho) is an accountant but in the new version he (Richard Gere) is a lawyer and instead of only having a daughter, the newer version gives the character a daughter and son. A couple of women who attended the sneak preview Saturday said they prefer the 1996 version although Gere is much cuter than the Japanese guy, one woman said. The new version also stars Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon and, for the younger crowd, Nick Cannon ("Love Don't Cost A Thing") and singer Mya have small roles in the film. Ja Rule also makes an appearance. For those who like Yakusho, you can see him next in "Memoirs of a Geisha," scheduled to be released next year. ...