Asian men discuss racial typecasting

"THE Slanted Screen," a documentary about the stereotyping Asian men face in the entertainment industry, will air at 10 p.m. May 10 on KHET/PBS Hawaii. Extensive interviews with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Jason Scott Lee highlight the informative and somewhat alarming film (makeup transformed Caucasian men into Asians in some early films). Tagawa said the all-too-relevant documentary was filmed a decade ago. Recently, Dan Boylan followed up on the topic with Tagawa, and their half-hour discussion will run at 7:30 p.m. Monday and again at 3:30 p.m. on April 22 on KHET/PBS Hawaii.

Unity Church of Hawaii is drawing big crowds with its showings of the movie/ marketing phenomenon "The Secret." The next one is at 7 p.m. Saturday at the church's Diamond Head Circle location. Call 735-4436 or visit www.unityhawaii. org. David Tasaka, public relations officer for Unity Church, said the last screening drew an enormous crowd of people anxious to learn more about the law of attraction and how holding the right thoughts can meet your needs in life.

"Lost" star Elizabeth Mitchell had a "fantastic time" with Evangeline Lilly while they filmed last week's wet and muddy-while-handcuffed-together episode. "We were freezing!" she said. That's why she and Lilly huddled in a tent between takes, drank hot tea covered in towels, and giggled. "Well, she was chuckling," said Mitchell. "I was giggling, because I'm more girly. But we were definitely having a wonderful time."

Sunset on the Beach should draw a crowd this weekend. Penguins will dance on the giant open-air screen Saturday in "Happy Feet." Sunday will feature Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Too bad the former vice president can't be like the "Lost" stars and sign autographs before the documentary starts at 7:30 p.m.

Leo Sears' second annual Big Island Film Festival will light up Waikoloa Beach Resort May 17 through 20. Sixty-two independent films from local and international artists will keep attendees busy when they aren't hobnobbing with the directors at the festivities. Admission starts at $5; packages for all four days are also available. Check out the complete list of films on the Web at www. bigislandfilmfestival.com.

Last night, Don Brown's Midweek Music Mixer got started with a screening of Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" at the new Honolulu Design Center. A bonus for movie-goers: the opportunity to see a few locally made shorts before the main event. The $15 price tag included the movie, wine tasting and pupu. Call 237-5462 for reservations to the first "Cuisine and Screen" on April 22. Admission to "Babette's Feast" is $40, which includes a delectable French meal.

"Screen Time" is an occasional feature in the Today section. E-mail knichols@starbulletin.com.