By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Hawai'i Film Partners, the local film company founded by Rann and Gina Watumull, will host a special sneak preview of its new tween action series "Flight 29 Down" Sept. 3 at the city's Sunset on the Beach program on Queen's Surf Beach.
The TV series, shot on location on the North Shore, is a co-production of Hawai'i Film Partners, and co-creators Stan Rogow ("Lizzie Maguire") and DJ MacHale. The show premieres Oct. 1 on NBC as part of the Discovery Kids programming block.
The Sunset on the Beach event features screenings of the first two half-hour episodes. It includes a performance by Hapa, and appearances by local cast members Tani Lynn Fujimoto, Blade Rogers and BK Cannon. Fujimoto is also scheduled to perform.
"Flight 29 Down" (formerly "29 Down") follows a group of teenage castaways stranded on a deserted island somewhere in Micronesia. In addition to the Hawai'i actors, the series stars Hallee Hirsh ("ER"), Johnny Pacar ("Boston Public"), Corbin Bleu ("Catch That Kid"), Alan Alvarado, Kristy Wu, Lauren Storm and John Kapelos.
Plans for a special Sunset on the Beach season premiere of "Lost," with members of the cast present, are in the works for Wednesday, Sept. 14. More details soon. ...
Who's that, Guy?
Yes indeed, that was former Hawai'i resident and pro surfer Guy Camilleri on this week's "Babies and Bathwater" episode of Fox's "House." Camilleri played Hayden Brown, a neurotic patient who believed he had cancer.
Once a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant and fitness director for Gold's Gym, Camilleri left Hawai'i in 1997 with a headshot by local photographer Sergio Goes and zero acting experience. Since then he's built an impressive resume of theater, film and television work.
Recent work includes the new film "Simple Lies" (with "Hawaii" alum Eric Balfour) and the Russian miniseries "Love Without Borders."
You can also catch Camilleri in a new commercial for Pennzoil Platinum, a takeoff of old spaghetti westerns, produced by Ridley Scotts' RSA company.
'KAY 'DEN'
The University of Hawai'i's Whitetip Reef Shark Research Project is featured in a 12-minute segment on "Dens of Danger," which airs at noon and 11 p.m. today on the National Geographic Channel (Oceanic Cable channel 73, Oceanic Digital Cable channel 347).
The show, part of the "Dangerous Encounters" series with Brady Barr, shows UH biologist Nick Whitney and his team conducting their groundbreaking research on the whitetip reef shark around Maui's Makena area.
MOLOKA'I AND MAUI
A MauiFEST Moloka'i Film Festival-Moloka'i Against Cancer fund-raiser took place last weekend, with Honolulu-based filmmaker Edgy Lee receiving an Aloha Visionary Filmmakers Award from festival directors Uncle Boy Kanae and Ken K. Martinez Burgmaier. Organizers report that hundreds of Moloka'i residents and tourists watched films, including the world premiere of Maui film "Ho'okipa" (heading to HIFF) at Kaunakakai Ball Field.
More films will be on tap at the MauiFEST Hawai'i-Maui Community College Drive-in Theater Saturday: "Ho'okipa," Laura Seward Marguiles' animation/live-action hula short "Rolling Down Like Pele" and Aaron Yamasato's "Blood of the Samurai," along with the celebrated documentary "Surfing for Life." Information: (808) 573-5530 or mauifest.net.
PICK OF THE WEEK
There's still time to catch Adam Bromley's environmental wake-up call "Oasis of the Pacific: Time is Running Out."
The powerful documentary about threats to Hawai'i's near-shore waters and the animals that live there screens Sunday at 5 p.m., in UH's Spalding Hall auditorium.
The film, produced by zeroimpact productions and co-sponsored by KAHEO: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, kicks off UH's cuisine-and-screen film series Earth Magic: An Intimate Diary of the Planet.
The film focuses on the negative impact of shoreline sprawl, pollution and overfishing, drawing an important relationship between the health of the ocean and human well-being.
The filmmakers would love to take the film to the Neighbor Islands as well. Want to help? Want to get educated? Check out www.oasisofthepacific.com.
GETTING REAL
Couple of reality TV opportunities to pass along:
In the show, mothers from two disparate households swap places for 10 days to see how the other family lives.
The show is looking for families that consist of two parents with at least two children, over the age of 5, living at home.
Participating families will receive a $20,000 honorarium. To apply, contact casting producer Michelle Friedman of ABC Television at (212) 404-1468 or michele.friedman@rdfusa.com.
The renovators or their families have to be living in the home. If the property was renovated and sold, it doesn't count.
The structure has to be a single-family home. That means no warehouses subdivided into lofts.
Finally, the new home has to retain some reminders of its history. So if the home used to be, say, a firehouse, it should still look something like a firehouse.
To share a tip, contact Heidi Clark at (303) 712-3170, hclark @highnoonentertainment.com or (fax) 303-484-6198.
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.
