|
Producer hopes his
film ‘Pipeline’ breaks
out of surf
The movie is scheduled for
six weeks of filming on Oahu
in November
|
Jordan Alan was visiting fiancee Amanda Righetti on the "Baywatch Hawaii" set several years ago when he remarked how difficult it must be working long hours under the tropical sun.
"Amanda was wearing one of those 'Baywatch' swimsuits and gave me this funny look like, 'What are you, nuts?'" Alan says from his Los Angeles production office. "She looked at the ocean and the sky, then sort of laughed and left to do a scene near the water.
"I realized working here isn't so bad."
Director/cinematographer/producer Alan made his professional debut with the independent film "Terminal Bliss," starring pre-"90210" Luke Perry, followed by "Love and Happiness" and "Kiss and Tell."
Since that day on the beach in Haleiwa, he has considered relocating to Hawaii. So he created Hawaii-based Outer Reef Productions last year and with partner Josh Jashinski wrote the screenplay "Pipeline," a horror-surf-themed low-budget film scheduled for six weeks of shooting on Oahu in November. Alan also plans to film a second picture, "E Train," in Hawaii, Amsterdam and possibly Prague as early as next summer.
"Pipeline" is about five close-knit surfers in their late teens who experience tragedy one evening at the legendary North Shore surf spot. Kalani, a loudmouthed and cocky member of the group, has been seeing one of the guys' girlfriends. To teach him a lesson, the other four pull him off his board, letting him get carried out to sea by the riptide.
"No one helps him because they're sure he's able to swim in on his own, where they'll tell him why they did it," Alan says.
But the surfer disappears, and when his body is discovered, the legs have been ripped off, Alan says. "It looks like a force of nature, and it comes back four years later. Three of the surfers die the same way Kalani did, but during a Pipeline surf competition."
Surf footage for "Pipeline" was shot at Jaws in February and March.
Alan won't reveal his budget, but has done his homework about investment incentives and tax credits for films made in Hawaii. He's met with legislators and state film officials about the incentives, and hired local entertainment attorneys Rick Galindez and Roy Tjioe of Goodsill, Anderson Quinn & Stifel. Alan's five-year goal is to have all his films made in Hawaii and distributed from here.
"If your focus is on building a local film industry, then your focus must be to keep all the business here and not do it piece- meal," Alan said.
Alan's "Less Than Zero," starring Perry, was made for about $500,000 and grossed more than $3 million. The film was conventionally photographed with the usual crane shots, glossy look and well-rehearsed actors delivering scripted dialogue familiar to most Hollywood movies.
Alan's third feature, "Kiss and Tell," was built around the inspiration the actors find while playing off one another's character revelations. He created a basic outline but allowed his actors to discover the nuances of their characters as they created them.
"Pipeline," financed and distributed by Archlight Films Australia, will be more traditional.
"I want to make sure 'Pipe-line' breaks out from being known as a surf movie," Alan said. "For a general audience domestically and internationally to support 'Pipeline,' I really have to get outside of the surfing world, even just to show what a great and treacherous sport surfing can be."
Surf footage was shot from February through March.
"When I first went out to Jaws, I realized I was looking at $2 million in production values and knew I was seeing a page of my script," Alan said. "I never would have been able to stage that scene on the kind of budget we have.
"For that kind of filming, you usually take what you can get, and that can be expensive and disappointing. I've experienced that too many times when dealing with Mother Nature."
Alan ultimately connected with well-known surf videographer Larry Haynes to help with the water filming. "Larry is willing to go in and get any shot he needs," Alan said. "He's a true animal."
"E Train," though international in scope, is likely to be funded entirely by Hawaii investors, he said. Alan was shooting part of the film in Amsterdam when he learned about Hawaii's investment credit legislation and tax credits.
"E Train" is about a recent college graduate with a degree in pharmaceutical chemical engineering who is being courted by major drug companies. During a visit to his best friend in Amsterdam, he's introduced "to sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" and is drawn into his friend's dealings in Ecstasy, under threat of blackmail.
Alan changed the main character to an Asian American raised in the Diamond Head area. "He grew up in a honor-code family and now that's being challenged, but eventually sticks to his code."
"E Train" would film for about five weeks in Honolulu and four in Europe.
"The money I make in Hawaii I'll reinvest in more Hawaii films," Alan said. "Then you can have what Peter Jackson has done for New Zealand."
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