I prefer to stick to news and avoid celebrity “;sightings”; in my column, but I feel compelled to mention Henry Ian Cusick's impressive performance in last Sunday's Jaco Rehab/Jamba Juice Lanikai Triathlon. Who knew Cusick, who plays Desmond on “;Lost,”; was a triathlete? Blending nicely into a sea of Spandex and muscles, he seemed to go unnoticed—or at least un-bothered—for the most part. But there he was, walking along the beach toward the 500-meter swim start at 6 a.m. with Kailua physician and top athlete Amy Barcia Harpstrite. A 12-mile bike ride followed, and the race finished with a 3.1-mile (longer, in reality) run. It's good to see our favorite “;Lost”; actors out at local arts events, but it's absolutely fantastic to catch them supporting the Hawaii sports scene.

The HenHaus Film Society is offering an intensive four-day seminar called the PreProPost HD Filmmaker series. It covers everything from making a shot list to completing a scene, editing digitally and uploading it to YouTube.

“;Our man goal is to educate people and support the filmmaking community here,”; said instructor Henry Mochida, an ACM graduate and freelance filmmaker with his own video production company. “;It's everything I would like to have learned right off the bat.”;

The seminar will be held over the next two weekends, April 25-26 and May 2-3, at Bess Press publications, 3565 Harding Ave. For students the cost is only $62.50; a special introductory fee of $100 applies to everyone else. To learn more, contact Mochida at 255-4477. If you miss this one, he and his fellow instructor Mark Wolf also will offer a two-day version through Pacific New Media May 16-17. Visit http://www.outreach.hawaii.edu/pnm for details.

Catch of glimpse of Mochida's work at the “;Diversity in Place”; festival at UH, where his film “;Blue Tarp City”; about Hawaiian homelessness screens today.

I'm getting excited for the wildly successful play about independent women, lost love, romantic reunions and the emotional drama that is parenting to come to Hawaii for a three-week run. Tickets are now on sale for “;Mamma Mia,”; but my full story won't be published in HILife until May 7.

Featuring tunes from Abba's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the engaging musical (I saw it on Broadway with my children) has grossed more than $2 billion since its London opening, including a 7-year sold-out run on Broadway.

“;Our show is incredibly successful in that what it sets out to do is give the audience a good time,”; said Michael Aaron Lindner, who plays Harry Bright, from Los Angeles. “;The economy is tough right now, and people are struggling and they don't have a lot of money to spend ... so I feel like when they come to see our show, they really get a good bang for their buck.”;

Indeed, there's something magical about seeing it in the theater, said Broadway veteran and “;Mamma Mia”; star Martin Kildare. “;I think people really appreciate that someone took the trouble not just to send a digital file ... but we're all packing our sun block and our swimming suits, and we're coming to Hawaii! We're going to do it for you live and in real time, and we'll meet you by the stage door and say hello and ask you how you liked it. The human element of it is so great.”;