THE BIG HAWAII film industry news this week was Disney announcing that some of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, will be filmed here. The fourth picture in the pirate series is expected to bring $85 million into the state, according to a state release. Now such a plum does not simply fall into the laps of those seeking to attract films. Right after learning of the news I wondered how much work former Hawaii State Film Commissioner Donne Dawson and her Hawaii Film Office staff put in to attract “Pirates” to Hawaii shores before she and much of her staff were ousted in a “cost-saving move.” I never could understand booting out people who who bring millions of filmmaking dollars into the state, to save the state money. Something is certainly wrong with that picture. Donne worked with Disney on the third “Pirates” movie when it filmed here for a short time and with the late Roy Disney on “Morning Light,” the film involving the Transpacific Yacht Race. She and her staff also did ground work on Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter,” that just wound up filming on Maui.
OCKING WITH “FIVE-0:” Among other film projects, Donne and her staff tried to land both a “Hawaii Five-0″ film and a ”Five-0″ series, two separate projects. Over on Maui, Kalani Kinimaka heard about the possibility of a “Hawaii Five-0″ picture being made. he appeared in more than 50 “Five-0″ episodes and had a pile of about 18 residual checks in a drawer. He decided to go to a bank and cash them. When he handed them to a cashier, a young girl from the mainland, she looked at the checks and said, “CBS Hawaii Five-0, is that a rock band?” That gave Kalani a laugh and he explained that it was a hot television show in earlier years. He said he still has the first residual check from a 1968 show, for $3.98. “I’ve had bigger ones,” He said, “One for 7 dollars and something.” Kalani’s four brothers Iva, Titus, Dutchy and Percy Kinimaka all appeared on “Five-0.” Kalani, a romantic baritone, had been singing at weddings on Kaanapali Beach for the past 35 years but is new singing for couples renewing their wedding vows at the same beach. He said the couples are seated in peacock chairs surrounded by flowers…