Makers of movies and TV get boost from accelerator

Five film and TV projects conceived in Hawaii each received $50,000 in seed money this month, including some from the state, as part of a new program to accelerate the development of creative ideas.

The projects — two reality TV series, two feature films and a 3-D IMAX documentary about volcanoes — are part of the Global Virtual Studio Transmedia Accelerator, located in Kona.

The team behind the long-winded moniker wants to go global and stay local, said David Cunningham, a filmmaker who serves as executive director of the accelerator.

"Our theme is ‘Created in Hawaii but made for the world,’" he said. "We are looking for stuff that competes globally."

Cunningham, who grew up in Kona, hopes that each creative entrepreneur will become successful in Hawaii instead of in more traditional media locations such as Los Angeles and New York. Cunningham, 43, had an established film career on the mainland before returning to Hawaii in 2004 to start a family. Two of his better-known films were shot in Hawaii: "Beyond Paradise" and "To End All Wars."

He founded Global Virtual Studio, a virtual production house, five years ago so he could connect projects from around the world and work on them from Kona. His staff of 20 works with artists and facilities in 15 countries.

"I really believe we are more than just a back lot for Hollywood movies that say they want to come here," he said. "That’s a huge and important market, but we also want to grow our own industry, and it starts with creating your own content."

The state’s Hawaii Strategic Development Corp. has a three-year deal with the accelerator program and will contribute up to $500,000 in a matching arrangement with Cunningham. The budget calls for up to six projects a year, and if fewer projects are chosen, as was the case this first time, the leftover funds can be used the following years, said Karl Fooks, president of HSCD.

The accelerator fund will receive 10 percent of each project’s profits and will be shared equally.

Hawaii County is pitching in with $200,000 each year to help with some of the operating expenses, such as electricity at Honua Studios, home of the accelerator program, Fooks said. The state’s Creative Industries Division is helping connect projects to mentors.

ACCELERATORS have taken center stage as a way to build the economy in communities around the country, Fooks said. They provide new entrepreneurs with industry mentorship, business advice and resources to get going.

In this, the first creative media accelerator in Hawaii, the project entrepreneurs will receive story and script refinement, budget advice and distribution plans. The intensive six-month program will be tailored to their needs.

"Investors have had difficulty finding good concepts, and typically those people who dream these ideas up are not the best business people," Fooks said. "So the accelerator model brings the founders, the developers, and matches them with the business guys who can polish their idea, and then they bring in the investors."

But success or failure rests squarely on the projects.

"These are risky enterprises," said Fooks, who points out that the state’s contributions are considered an investment. "We never know what idea will catch fire."

More than 100 projects were submitted, including one successful pitch by Cunningham and screenwriter-producer John Fusco, who wrote "Young Guns," "Hidalgo" and "Forbidden Kingdom." The finalists were chosen by an independent board of entertainment and business executives.

All the projects have one thing in common: that funny-sounding term "transmedia." It means that all of the projects must be paired with another media platform — for example, a TV show and an app, a movie and a video game, or a documentary and a digital magazine, Cunningham said.

"You want to carry that story and those characters across multiple platforms," he said. "Think of it like your iPad. It has replaced Blockbuster video, arcade games and bookstores."

AND that’s a wrap …

Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.