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Almost everyone can tell stories of what they’ve had to deal with from the neighbors, be it the kid next door with the drum set who thinks he’s John Bonham to the retiree who sprays pesticide on his tomatoes when the wind is blowing in your direction.
On a little street off Kailua Beach, neighbors are having to deal with a French reality TV show.
“In the middle of the night, they were yelling and arguing in French,” Moira Bussey said. “It was lovely,” she joked.
To hear other neighbors tell it, it has not been lovely.
Next to their homes is a luxury five-bedroom house that is being used as a film location for “Les Anges de le Telerealite.” The production started in January and will continue through February.
Barbara and Michael Morelli have taken up a fight against what they feel is an intrusion to their quiet lives.
“There was screaming one night, and when I called they said they were rehearsing,” Barbara Morelli said.
Online fan descriptions of the show tally the number of fights per episode, though the show purports to be about grooming talent and doing charitable projects.
“Hawaii Five-0” also shot part of an episode at the same house on Kalaheo Avenue, but the neighbors say that was a different experience. “The ‘Hawaii Five-0’ people came to our door, they told us what they were planning to do and asked if it was OK.”
That shoot was for a few days. This one will stretch over a two-month period.
The complaints aren’t only about noise. The exterior of the house is lit up for the filming. Dr. George Bussey said he went for a walk on the beach late one night and was surprised by the bright lights.
“At first I thought wow, it must be a full moon glistening on the waves.”
Barbara Morelli’s description is more dramatic. “You can see it from space!”
“I sleep with the AC on, earplugs, two noise machines and the phone noise machine on,” Moira Bussey said.
The Morellis have made numerous calls to police and the city. In response the city issued a Temporary Use Approval Permit through the Department of Planning and Permitting. “It lays out best practices,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s information officer Andrew Pereira. “We’re trying to be good stewards from the film office.”
Among the stipulations in the permit are quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., an agreement to turn out the lights at 10 p.m. and a rule stating no barnyard animals on the property.
… Barnyard animals?
“They had a potbellied pig and a pony for the French cast to bond with,” Pereira explained.
The owners of the home also hired a security guard overnight to help maintain the quiet hours. Though the situation has gotten better, the Morellis are at the point where they don’t want to put up with any of it.
“It’s just not right. This is a residential neighborhood,” said Michael Morelli.
“There’s only so much we can do,” Pereira said. “Not all of it is out of bounds.”
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
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