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Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, left), Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) are actors shooting a war movie who get caught up in a real battle in the action comedy "Tropic Thunder."
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Movie boosts Garden Isle
The cast and crew of "Tropic Thunder" impacted Kauai physically and financially during their long stay in 2007. Of 778 crew members used for part or all of the production, approximately 352 were hired locally. And the team used 285 different vendors on several islands. They even built bridges (to blow them up) and improved the road (still there) to central Kauai, where the largest and most complex set was constructed on Grove Farm property.
Other locations included Hanalei, Lumahai Valley, Kapaa, Bishop Estate, Kilauea, Guava Kai property, Kauai Ranch and the Kauai Sands Hotel, which was transformed into a Vietnamese town of sorts.
The major stars rented houses, but the rest of the team stayed at ResortQuest Islander on the Beach or ResortQuest Kauai Beach at Makaiwa. Trailers lined the empty lot next to Kintaro's, which became base camp, and Tradewinds Bar was one of the popular pau-hana hangouts.
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Cody (Danny McBride) is a trigger-happy explosions expert on an epic war film that goes awry.
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Even though Hawaii does not play itself in the movie, the actual location is listed in the credits (a requirement for producers to qualify for the tax rebate associated with Act 88). In a little bonus promotion, writer/director/star Ben Stiller mentioned Kauai during his appearance on Jay Leno's talk show earlier this week.
Word of mouth is likely to be good, too. Producer Stuart Cornfeld said Kauai "was just a very cleansing, perfect place to be."
In other entertainment news from the Garden Isle, TV Land's "High School Reunion" shot for two weeks there recently, and "The Lost Medallion," a children's movie, is slated to begin filming in September for approximately six weeks.
