U Intl., a Japanese commercial production company, has begun filming "The Hotel," a Japanese TV drama, in Honolulu. This is the first time in the show's nine-year history that it will film an entire season outside its usual Tokyo Hilton location. Each of the 13 hour-long episodes will cost about $300,000, said Takao Uno, president of U Intl. He adds that working within union guidelines is also a first.
The Hawaii Film Office and Tourism Bureau worked closely with the production company to coordinate the filming. High Japanese tourism in the area was also a factor in selecting the island location. About 80% of the filming will take place at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel from Feb. 15 to late May.
The production company includes about 15 actors and 30 crew members from Japan. About a dozen local crew will be hired, as well as many extras.
The series has been televised in Hawaii on KIKU-TV. The Hawaii episodes also may be aired here in the fall, if contractual matters are worked out, said Mika Tanaka-Lee of KIKU and JN Prods.
"The Hotel," which stars Masanobu Takashima and co-stars Hiroki Matsukata, Tetsuro Tamba and Akira Akasaka, revolves around the "Platon Hawaiian Resort" and its Japanese staff's attempts to improve the resort's business while dealing with problems of cultural differences.
Dialogue for the show will be mainly in Japanese to focus "on moments of happiness and sadness of Japanese people who work in and travel to foreign countries," explained Uno.
Kahala Mandarin officials agreed to the hectic four months of filming because "it's a great opportunity for exposure, especially to the Japanese market," said Suzanne Erler, the hotel's public relations manager.
Margaret Doversola, casting director for the series, adds that with the current drop in TV production, "The Hotel" could serve as a pilot for future TV series in Hawaii.
"The Hotel" will be broadcast on the TBS/Tokyo Broadcast System from April through June, reaching an audience of about 25 million.
* * *
VIRGINIA HAS NO problem attracting film production. Preliminary 1997 figures indicate a 2.5% increase in film and video production. Revenue for '97 will exceed $40 million, while '96 figures exceeded $32 million.
Several theatricals and telefilms made in the state over the past two years are scheduled for future release.
Turner Network Television's drama, "The Day Lincoln Was Shot," was filmed in and around Richmond and Petersburg.
DreamWorks' "Deep Impact," which stars Elijah Wood, Tea Leoni and Robert Duvall, filmed several scenes in the Northern Virginia area.
The Hampton Roads area was the scene for filming a large portion of Universal Pictures' "Virus," a sci-fi thriller about the crew of an American tugboat that enters a top-secret Russian research vessel and finds its taken over by mysterious forces. The feature stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin.
(Tim Ryan in Honolulu contributed to this report.)
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com