Contest time! What would you ask on the SOTB Red Carpet?

Last year I had the privilege of standing on the red carpet of the Hawaii Five-0 season 2 Sunset on the Beach premiere.  I had the chance to meet and interview many of the show’s stars and live the Hollywood life for one night.  I may have the privilege of doing it again this year, so we’ll see!

Hawaii Five-0 Season 2, Sunset on the Beach. (Photo: Ernest Sanada)

But if you were on the red carpet, what questions would you ask?

So we’re opening up our final contest for the LAST Season 2 Hawaii Five-0 badge that show runner Peter Lenkov had gifted to me, and in turn, to all you Undercover Special Agents.  I wish I could give all 50,000 of you a badge, but unfortunately, I only have one more.  To earn this badge, all you have to do is think of one question that you would ask to any one of the Hawaii Five-0 stars, and SUBMIT IT AS A COMMENT on this page.  Terry and I will select the most creative or thought provoking question, and the writer will win the badge!

Win this cool Hawaii Five-0 badge!

Contest rules: 

1)  Enter as many times as you like.  Post a question as a comment on this page.  The contest closes Saturday, September 22, 7 PM, Hawaii Standard Time.  No email or Facebook entries are accepted.

2) If you’re under 18, please inform your guardian/parent you’re entering and if you win, the prize will be addressed to them.

3)  No prying personal questions.  We’ll have the right to edit or delete questions we deem inappropriate.

4)  Everyone from anywhere in the world may enter.  You will need to have a valid mailing address to win.

5)  Have fun!

Alex O’Loughlin storms the Mighty Mo

Alex O’Loughlin with Jackie and Mike Buck                                            Photo credit: Mike Buck

Hawaii Five-0 revelations from TV Guide (Spoilers)

These spoilers may not come as a surprise to many faithful Hawaii Five-0 viewers, but don’t read any further if you don’t want your speculations confirmed.

From TV Guide
I need some fresh Hawaii Five-0 spoilers! — Wendy
ADAM: If you’re still wondering how Kono escapes from the watery grave into which we last saw her descend, know this: Thanks to clever thinking by Chin Ho, she gets help from a somewhat surprising source. But Kono’s rescue isn’t the only major event that takes place underwater. Also: While McGarrett spends much of the episode trying to hide his mom from Wo Fat, it turns out that she doesn’t need his help at all — for more reasons than one.

The Hawaii Five-0 fan tour weekend

This past weekend was Five-0 filled for the lucky fans who participated with Bruce Fisher (@alohabruce) and Hawaii Aloha Travel’s Hawaii Five-0 fan weekend.

Almost fifty people gathered at Tiki’s Bar and Grill at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel last Friday for the Hawaii Five-0 Kickoff, a social mixer, where fans from near and far met for the first time in person and had conversations without the need of a keyboard or PDA.  Thanks to the Aston Hotel, we had a specially designated  pool side seating section.  I met fans from all over the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.   It was some people’s first trip to Hawaii, and locals including blogger Wendie Joy Burbridge, Lisa Woo and Keith Sato were more than happy to share travel tips to the other fans.

Saturday’s event included a specially chartered catamaran cruise across the shores of Waikiki.

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend, with the Hawaii Five-0 Fan Tour, a half day bus tour of Hawaii Five-0 filming locations which ended with a Hawaiian dinner at Kualoa ranch.  This tour was conceived, conceptualized, produced and directed by yours truly, Officer 808.  Fellow blogger of the Five-0 Redux Wendie Joy Burbridge co-piloted with me and gave us some excellent insight on Hawaiian culture and history.  The tour started in Waikiki, passing by numerous filming locations, including the Hilton Hotel and Wailana Coffee House.  We passed through the backstreets of Kakaako to see the locations of car crashes and peeked down the alley where Captain Fryer and Dr. Max were shot.  The tour wouldn’t be complete without stopping at the Five-0 headquarters (Ali’iolani Hale), with a quick stop also at the scorched facade of the “Honolulu Police Department” (the CBS stage).  Other stops included Punchbowl National Cemetery and Pearl Harbor.

The tour ended at Kualoa Ranch on the Windward side, where Kualoa drivers gave us a tour of all the filming sites in Ka’a'awa valley, including Godzilla, Jurassic Park and Lost.  Of course we were there for Hawaii Five-0, so we got to see a part of the bunker where McGarrett was tortured in “North Korea”, and the strip of road where terrorists attempted to spring Anton Hess from McGarrett and the SEALs.  We got special access to see the mock up of the heiau (temple) used in “Ka Iwi Kapu”.

By then, the sun was setting and we settled in for dinner in the luau area.  But Wendie and I had a special surprise for the fans: actors Dennis Chun (Sgt. Duke Lukela), Brian Yang (Charlie Fong) and Teilor Grubbs (Grace Williams) graciously joined us for a meet and greet with the fans!  Fans spent a few minutes with the stars, asking questions and taking photos.

Wendie, along with fan Ellen Swedberg presented the quilt that Ellen had made and announced that they  raised over $3000 for the Wounded Warrior Project in their fundraising efforts, which is a pretty impressive amount!  After dinner, the fans settled in for an authentic Hawaiian show.

In all, it was a whirlwind Sunday.  We all made new friends, and hope to see everyone again next year!

If you were on the tour, please share with us your comments!!!

See some of the video clips of the tour on Bruce’s Hawaii Aloha Travel Fan Tour Facebook page.

See tour photos compiled by Hawaii Five-0 Australia fanpage on Facebook.

Hawaii Five-0 episode 302 teasers

Oh, how we love it when Peter Lenkov is in the mood to share.  The executive producer of Hawaii Five-0 is in the midst of editing the second episode of the coming season, and shared a couple of frames via twitter.  And what great images they are!  Episode 302 is reportedly called Kᾱnalua” (Doubt) and features the return of Ed Asner as August March.

“I love this!” – Peter Lenkov

“Carguement!” – Peter Lenkov

You can follow Peter on twitter; @Plenkov

Hawaii Five-0 Halloween treat

Last year’s Hawaii Five-0 All Hallow’s Eve episode was one of my favorites, with Robert Englund (“Freddy Krueger”) joining in for an entertaining combination of eeriness and laughs.  After it aired I’d commented that I hoped Halloween-themed shows would become an annual affair, and now I’m very happy to say that the show will be airing another spookilicious story this year.

Robert Englund, Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan – “Ka Iwi Kapu”

More at EW

Hey Sandra! I’m dying for some Hawaii Five-0 scoop? Can you help me out pllleeease?! — @lexi_girl89
Pretty Little Liars isn’t the only one planning a Halloween ep! I hear there’s a pretty fun-sounding Halloween-themed episode in the works that finds McGarrett and Danny working a murder that took place at a costume party, and Kono and Chin Ho working a case with a pagan twist. My hope? We see at least ONE person rocking a costume. In my dreams, it’s McGarrett as Batman. Mmm…(I’ve clearly gone off topic.)

Peter Lenkov teases Hawaii Five-0 Season 3

Since last season’s final episode, Hawaii Five-0 fans have wondered just how Steve McGarrett would react after learning that his “dead” mother, was in fact, very much alive.  Happily, we won’t have much longer to wait.

From Entertainment Weekly

Will Hawaii lose Five-0?

We knew that Hawaii Five-0′s home base, The Honolulu Advertiser Building had been sold, but after reading this article by Mike Gordon, I’m left wondering if the show can stay on the island.  If CBS is unable to find a new studio on Oahu and has to relocate to the mainland, the people of Hawaii and fans of the popular show, will be devastated.  Not to mention the fact that stars Alex O’Loughlin and Daniel Dae Kim, have put down roots in the Aloha State.  Let’s all cross our fingers and wish Peter Lenkov and company, pōmaikaʻi in finding a new home!

Photo: DWalst

From The Star Advertiser

Tropical beauty may be the face of “Hawaii Five-0,” but the uncredited star of the series is an aging building on Kapiolani Boulevard that was just bought by a developer who plans to evict the show as early as next spring. Although CBS won’t say publicly how serious a blow this is to production, the sale of The Honolulu Advertiser building, which “Five-0” has used for sets and offices since it began shooting in 2010, underscores a larger problem for television production in Hawaii: There are few buildings that can be converted for use as a soundstage. The state Film Office is helping “Five-0” in its search for a new home, but has not found anything yet, said state film commissioner Donne Dawson. “This has been known for a long time, since the building was for sale,” she said. “We’ve been looking for quite a long time.” When a large space becomes available it’s typically a warehouse in transition. But most of those structures are less than ideal for filming. They lack high, wide ceilings and thick walls that limit outside noises. Or parking is tight. And some, like the Advertiser building, are on the market for a more profitable use. Hawaii has only one true soundstage — the state-owned facility at Diamond Head. It’s leased to Sony Pictures Television, which is shooting a TV show for ABC called “Last Resort.” So any production that needs a studio has to improvise. When the ABC series “Lost” first arrived in 2004, it had to use the old Xerox building on Nimitz Highway. That same year, NBC’s short-lived cop drama “Hawaii” used a huge warehouse in Mapunapuna that was 30,000 square feet but came with only 20 parking stalls. Honolulu film commissioner Walea Constantinau, who helped “Five-0” find the Advertiser building about two weeks before shooting began in July 2010, has told producers not to hesitate. “I told them if they have found a space now to take it because it is hard to find space,” she said. “The types of buildings that are needed are not the kind of buildings we usually have, so it is a challenge to find them.” “Five-0” has invested heavily in the Advertiser building, making roof repairs and improvements to the air conditioning, lighting, electrical and plumbing systems. The show uses every square inch of the property, including a nearly 20-foot-tall warehouse once used to store newsprint and the former press room — 59,956 square feet of space. The three-story, 78,439-square-foot building houses production offices and several spaces regularly used for temporary sets. “It’s a unique space,” Dawson said. “You are not going to be able to duplicate that.” DEVELOPER Marshall Hung closed a deal last month for the 3.7-acre property and plans to build two 400-foot-tall high-rise condominiums. Unless there is a change in the current lease, “Five-0” will have to leave the building at the conclusion of filming of the show’s third season, which should be sometime in April. “It’s going to have to be enough time,” Dawson said. “The show is very important to us. The show is very important to the state.” It would seem unfathomable for “Five-0” to leave Hawaii, although other TV shows — “CSI: Miami” and “Burn Notice” — have used Los Angeles as a stand-in for Florida. Peter Lenkov, the executive producer who created the rebooted “Five-0,” has often said the beauty of Hawaii is one of the stars of the show. He would not comment on what might happen once the lease expires at the Advertiser building. “It would be a complete undoing of the fabric that this particular show has with Hawaii,” Constantinau said. “Nobody wants that.” AND that’s a wrap. …

Masi Oka tests the indie waters

Between his role on Hawaii Five-0 and his appearance in a new independent film, the multi-talented Masi Oka is maintaining a very full schedule.  His new movie “Searching for Sonny” sounds quite intriguing, and coincidentally, stars Jason Dohring, Alex O’Loughlin’s pal from his “Moonlight” days.

From iamRogue.com

American-Japanese actor Masi Oka actually began his career as a visual effects artist at ILM working on such films as The Perfect Storm, Hulk, and the most resent Star Wars trilogy. But it was his role as Hiro Nakamura on the fan-favorite NBC series Heroes that took him from behind the camera and made him a household name.

Since the popular series ended, Oka has appeared in several popular films including Get Smart, Balls of Fury, The Promotion, and Friends with Benefits, as well as landing a role on another hit television series; Hawaii Five-0. But now, the talented young actor can once again be seen on the big screen in the new film noir comedy Searching for Sonny, which was helmed by first time director Andrew Disney and will be available on VOD, DVD, Blu-ray, and in theaters via TUGG on August 28^th.

Searching for Sonny tells the story of Elliot (Jason Dohring), Calvin (Nick Kocher), Gary (BrianMcElhaney) and Eden (Minka Kelly), four old friends who find themselves chief suspects in a murder mystery at their ten-year high school reunion. Ironically, the events surrounding the disappearance of their former-classmate Sonny (Oka), is reminiscent of a high school play they once performed, coincidentally written by Sonny himself. Deception leads to scandal and the truth surfaces as the friends learn that shady businessmen and school officials, including their former principal (MichaelHogan) are involved in a complex scheme of money and murder.

I recently had a chance to speak with actor Masi Oka about making Searching for Sonny, as well as his work on Hawaii Five-0. Oka discussed his new film, taking on a small but pivotal role, making his first independent film, director Andrew Disney’s script, working with Battlestar Galactica actor Michael Hogan, life after Heroes, and joining the cast of Hawaii Five-0.

Here is what he had to say:

IAR: To begin with, while your character in Searching for Sonny is the title role, it’s a very small part. So what attracted you to this project?

Masi Oka: Well first of all I think Andrew is a great guy. He’s very interesting and I think he has a lot of potential as a director. I love the tone video he created. He created kind of like this mini trailer and I thought he was like really talented, so I wanted to work with him. I also knew that my friend Minka(Kelly) was going to be working on it too so I thought it would be fun to just dive in and do something. Also, I’ve never done an indie before so I also thought it’d be a great experience just to learn what that side you know the job is like.

So you wanted to get a little indie cred going, is that right?

Oka: Yeah absolutely, but it was kind of scary because when you go to an indie film, literally I found that everybody on set except for maybe two people were younger than me. So I felt like I was getting old.

Well you’ve been at this game for a long time now, haven’t you?

Oka: Yeah I don’t feel that way, but now reflecting back … I guess I’ve been around.

What was your initial reaction to reading director Andrew Disney’s script?

Oka: I think it was a very fun script. It’s a great cast, great crew, and it’s a lot of fun to work with a very young energy. It’s was also fun to have that trailer with everybody in it, we were all in one trailer so we were always just goofing around, playing games and singing, so that was our big thing there. The script was also really smart. I loved all the tonal things he was going to do with the murder mystery and the kind of a noir-ish feel vs. the juxtaposition with real the world as well.

You’ve worked on some big studio movies in the past as well as two hit television series, so what was it like for you as an actor to be a part of an Independent film like this?

Oka: It was a great learning experience. It’s great because everybody’s chipping in, and everyone’s learning. It was a very professional environment. It was very surprising because you don’t expect that much, but this was really well done for an independent film.

Did you have a lot of time to work on the scenes with Andrew and the other actors? Were you able to do as many takes as you wanted, or was it kind of a “run and gun” shoot and you just had to do the best you could because they needed to move on to make all their shots for the day?

Oka: It was pretty much run and gun. I talked to Andrew before the shooting started. I came in while they were shooting. I think I came in the last week or the week before they were about to wrap. It was a week’s worth of shooting for me and then Andrew was already deep into the production so it was pretty much a run and gun thing, especially with my character. It’s kind of funny because everybody’s wondering where Sonny is and all of a sudden my character just comes in, pops up and says, “What are you guys doing? Oh, and by the way, I’m fine.”

In one of the scenes you appear in, you worked with actor Michael Hogan. Were you a big fan of Battlestar Galactica and if so, was it fun for you to work with him?

Oka: Yeah, it was definitely fun to work with him. I haven’t seen the whole season but I promised my colleague Grace Park (Hawaii Five-0) that I would watch the series when I get a chance. It was definitely fun though. That’s the good thing about making an independent film, we’re all together and we’re just talking. There were a lot of interesting people on that show and there were a lot of interesting stories, so that was definitely a fun thing to hear all their stories.

Finally, I wanted to ask you about life after Heroes and returning to television on another hit show, Hawaii Five-0. What has that experience been like for you? Did you have to move to Hawaii?

Oka: Well right now I’m commuting between L.A. and Hawaii. I do have an apartment here in Hawaii, but you know even as a series regular I have a lot of time off because on the show I’m not carrying the show like I was with Heroes. So I have a lot of time and I’m trying to do a lot of producing. I shuttle back from L.A. and even Tokyo back and forth trying to keep things moving. But it’s been a great experience. I love the crew here and the cast, Daniel (Dae Kim) is a great friend of mine, and it’s great to be finally working with him. It’s just great to get to go on set and do some fun stuff. It’s a lot more technical than it was on Heroes. I am learning another foreign language and there are all these Latin and medical terms, but it’s amazing to be able to work in Hawaii and to go from one hit show to another is a rare opportunity and I’m very grateful for it.

Searching For Sonny opens in theaters via TUGG, and will also be available on VOD, DVD. and Blu-ray August 28th.

To read our exclusive interview with Michael Hogan about Searching for Sonny, please click here.

To watch an exclusive clip from Searching for Sonny, please click here.

Scheduled screenings include:

Nashville – September 6th

Atlanta – September 12th

Chicago – September 18th

Phoenix – September 19th

Update: Hawaii Five-0 calendar update August 28, 2012

CBS will be showing the final Hawaii Five-0 episode from last year, the week before the premiere of the new fall season.  I’m disappointed that the August March (Ed Asner) episode isn’t being re-run, but at least we’ll have him back for Season 2.

A handy rundown of the upcoming episodes:

Monday, September 3:  ”Ka Iwi Kapu” (Sacred Bones)  Some viewers thought that Robert Englund ( Freddy Krueger) was under-used in this episode, and while they’re probably correct, I found I didn’t care since the humor surrounding Danno was the high point for me.  Englund’s “Samuel Lee” is actually only the second creepiest character in this outing, with Erin Way giving a wonderfully eerie performance as a mental patient.   You can find Officer 808′s review here.

“Ka Iwi Kapu”

Monday, September 10:  “Pā Make Loa” (Touch of Death)  This is the NCIS: LA crossover episode and was lacking team leader, Steve McGarrett.    Sadly, the most interesting character in it (Dracul Comescu,) was killed off much too soon.

Saturday, September 15:   “Ki’ilua”  (Deceiver)  It’s the third time around for the rescue-McGarrett-in-North-Korea episode.

Monday, September 17th:  ”Ua Hala” (Death in the Family) This drama-filled chapter brought us the end of Fryer (Tom Sizemore,) and the introduction of Karl Herlinger as “Toothpick.”  Delano (William Baldwin) presents Chin Ho Kelly with an impossible choice that will haunt him for some time to come.  And of course, that final word – “Mom?”

Monday, September 24th: Season 3 Premiere   ” Lā o Nā Mākuahine” (Mother’s Day)  Steve McGarrett meets the mother he long believed to be deceased.  Doris McGarrett is being played by Christine Lahti.