ABC issues casting call for Hawaii-based show

By Mike Gordon
mgordon@staradvertiser.com

In an effort to create a piece of the Amazon jungle on Oahu, the producers of ABC’s new medical drama “Off the Map” are holding open casting calls this weekend for the Hawaii-based series.

ABC is looking for actors and extras of all ages, especially those who can speak Spanish or Portuguese, to help fill a South American village where the drama will take place. The casting directors are also looking for lots of children and boys who can play soccer.

Filming is expected to begin Aug. 30.

The first open call will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the 100th Infantry Battalion Memorial Building, 520 Kamoku St. Parking will be across the street at Iolani School.

The second call will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Turtle Bay Resort.

Executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice,” and creator Jenna Bans, also of “Grey’s Anatomy,” envision what they call “an uplifting medical drama that explores how far you have to go to truly heal.”

ABC describes “Off the Map” as an “ensemble drama” that chronicles “five doctors who have lost their way will go to the ends of the earth to try to remember the reasons why they wanted to become doctors in the first place.”

VIDEO: Daniel Dae Kim reports from Comic-Con

Courtesy CBS

By Mike Gordon
mgordon@staradvertiser.com

He may not dream of being a director, but give actor Daniel Dae Kim a video camera and brace for impact.

At the recent Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego, where Kim and fellow “Hawaii Five-0” star Grace Park took part in a panel discussion of the show, Kim created a video diary using a small camera he carried everywhere. Sometimes he shot scenes and other times someone else aimed the camera at Kim. Read more

Hawaii media get peek at ‘Five-0′ pilot

Craig T. Kojima / 2010

The cast of “Hawaii Five-0″ participate in a traditional Hawaiian blessing on July 15, the first day of filming for the new television series.

By Christie Wilson
cwilson@staradvertiser.com

The new, flashier “Hawaii Five-O” tips its hat to the original CBS series with snippets of familiar scenery from the show’s iconic intro, including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Steve McGarrett standing on a lanai at the Ilikai.

But in this latest version, screened Wednesday for local entertainment writers, McGarrett’s hair moves in the wind and there is lots more gun play, explosions, car chases, martial arts mayhem and liberal use of the word “haole.”

Even jaded kamaaina who’ve seen countless screen representations of the island’s landscape will be impressed with the stunning aerial photography of Oahu on display throughout the “Five-O” pilot. HD viewing is highly recommended.

The attractive cast, headlined by Alex O’Loughlin as McGarrett, Scott Caan as Danno, Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly and Grace Park as Kono, have good chemistry, and the characters are loosey-goosey enough to share a beer at the end of the day, a scene hard to imagine for their straight-laced counterparts from the past.

The “Hawaii Five-O” pilot also was screened Wednesday in Pasadena for the Television Critics Association, with O’Loughlin and Caan answering questions.

Hawaii will get an advance screening of the pilot Sept. 13 at a red carpet “Sunset on the Beach” event in Waikiki. The network premiere is a week later.

‘Hawaii Five-0′ reboot announces network premiere

Video courtesy CBS

By Mike Gordon
mgordon@staradvertiser.com

Ever since they started shooting, first on the pilot in March and now on the series, the cast and creators of the new “Hawaii Five-0” have felt an emotional link to the original series.

Now they have something even more: Both versions will share the same network premiere date, Sept. 20.

CBS launched the original version in 1968 with a pilot called “Cocoon.” It introduced the world to Detective Steve McGarrett and his arch-enemy, Wo Fat. When it premieres this fall — a week after a sneak preview at Sunset on the Beach — fans of the show will get a whole crew of fresh faces and nasty villians.

“The timing could not have been better,” said Peter Lenkov, the show’s executive producer, by email. Lenkov is at Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego, where he and cast members Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park will meet with fans and talk about the show.

“All of us making this show are huge fans of the original, so debuting on Sept. 20 is our way of honoring what came before us,” Lenkov said. “We have huge shoes to fill … and are reminded of that every morning when we say ‘Action.’”

“Hawaii Five-0” will air at 9 p.m. Mondays on KGMB.

Related Post: Hawaii Five-0 begins filming, announces free preview

Two Hawaii designers to join ‘Project Runway’ cast

By Nadine Kam
nkam@staradvertiser.com

Two Hawaii designers have made it onto “Project Runway.”

Andy South, far right, and Ivy Higa will appear in Season 8 of the Lifetime fashion design competition that starts airing July 29. Actress Selma Blair will join the cast to help decide which of the 16 finalists will be in or out from week to week as the show leads up to New York Fashion Week. Read more

‘Hawaii Five-0′ begins filming, announces free preview

Craig T. Kojima / ckojima@staradvertiser.com

Daniel Dae Kim’s Harley Davidson motorcycle got a critique from producer Peter Lenkov and co-star Scott Caan before filming.

By Mike Gordon
mgordon@staradvertiser.com

Hawaii will get the first look at the CBS remake of “Hawaii Five-0” during a special preview screening of the pilot Sept. 13 at Sunset on the Beach in Waikiki, the network said today.

No air date for the national network premiere was announced, however. “Five-0” will air in Hawaii at 9 p.m. Monday nights. Read more

K-Drama star reportedly commits suicide

Hyung-Jin Kim
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea » A popular South Korean actor and singer was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide, police and a news report said.

Park Yong-ha (pictured), 33, apparently hanged himself in his home in Seoul, Yonhap news agency reported, citing police.

An official with Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency told The Associated Press that Park was found hanging by the electric cord of his mobile phone battery charger. However, police were still trying to determine the exact cause of death, the official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

Park debuted in the late 1990s and starred in the 2002 television drama “Winter Sonata,” which drummed up a following in Japan and Southeast Asia. He held several concerts in Japan and one of his fans was said to be its former first lady Akie Abe.

Yonhap reported no suicide note was found but that Park told his family “I’m sorry. I’m sorry” while massaging his father, who is terminally ill with stomach cancer, early Wednesday, Korean time.

Park enjoyed visiting Hawaii, according to KBFD TV general manager Jeff Chung, who met the versatile performer during his visits here before doing two concerts, one in 2006 at the Waikiki Shell and another just last year at the Hawaii Convention Center.

“I met him several times, and I thought he was a nice guy,” Chung said. “He liked golf and we had a mutual affection for motorcycles. He was a pretty down-to-earth guy, personable, and news of his death seems completely unlike his character.”

Park’s popularity began with the 2002 series “Winter Sonata.”

“We aired it here before it was shown in Japan,” said Chung, “and it was there that the drama ignited the country’s interest in K-drama.”

Interest was such that the two times Park performed here, he brought over large contingents of fans from Japan with him as well.

“He was one of the very few TV actors that was an accomplished singer in Korean and Japanese,” Chung said. “Park was also one of the very few K-drama stars that had success overseas.”
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Star-Advertiser staff writer Gary Chun contributed to this report.

Hawaii resident among stars of Disney XD’s ‘Next X’

Courtesy Disney XD

Heimana Reynolds is among the contestants in a new season of “Next X” on Disney XD. New episodes will air Monday afternoons in Hawaii.

Star-Advertiser Staff
tgif@staradvertiser.com

He may only be 11, smack in the middle of grom-hood, but Honolulu resident Heimana Reynolds will show off his skateboarding skills in front of a national TV audience when Disney XD’s “Next X” reality show premieres Monday.

Heimana is one of four contestants — two skateboarders and two BMX riders — competing for time on ESPN’s X Games 16, which takes place from July 29 through Aug. 1 in Los Angeles.

During the show, which has already been filmed and produced, each young athlete was paired with a professional who served as a mentor during the program’s six-week run. The winner was named Next X; Heimana’s pro mentor was Rune Glifberg, a nine-time X Games medalist.

When “Next X” aired last year, it reached 24.7 million viewers, including 4.3 million boys.

“Next X” will air locally at 4:15 p.m. on Oceanic Digital Cable Channel 445.
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On the Net:
>> disney.go.com/xd/nextx

30 to be honored in 2011 on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES » Oprah Winfrey (pictured), Penelope Cruz, will.i.am and The Muppets are among the latest celebrities to be immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 2011 honorees were announced Thursday by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Thirty new stars will be unveiled in pink-and-black terrazzo, with recipients from movies and TV including Gwyneth Paltrow, Donald Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Danny DeVito and Tina Fey.

Honorees in the recording category include Melissa Etheridge, Los Tigres Del Norte and Rascal Flatts.

White-hot ‘Cleveland’ has ‘Golden’ roots

Associated Press

From left, actresses Betty White, Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, and Jane Leeves pose for a portrait on the set of the television show “Hot in Cleveland” in Studio City, Calif.

By Mike Cidoni
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES » It’s a sitcom about four single women of a certain age, portrayed by an ensemble that includes Betty White.

“Hot in Cleveland,” which debuts this week on TV Land, is not officially “The Golden Girls” redux. But the similarities don’t end with the set up. Just as White shared top billing with three golden character actresses (Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty), she now works with another trio of established comedy veterans: Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time”); Jane Leeves (“Frasier”); and Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me!”).

The four recently sat for an interview with The Associated Press on a key set for the series: the bar where three fifty-somethings (played by Bertinelli, 50; Leeves, 49; and Malick, 59) discover that while they may be past their prime in hometown Los Angeles, they are still “hot” in Cleveland. And, with that realization, they decide to stay there, moving into a house that comes complete with its own caretaker (White, 88). Read more

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