Even as the Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head opened its doors last month to the new ABC television series "Last Resort," the latest in a long list of productions to use the studio’s soundstage, state film commissioner Donne Dawson found herself struggling with a familiar drama: how best to ensure the aging facility remained viable despite inadequate funding.
The studio, wedged between 18th Avenue and Kapiolani Community College, needs nearly $10.4 million in renovations, according to the Hawaii Film Office, which oversees the complex. In a funding request to lawmakers earlier this year seeking an initial $3.45 million for planning and repairs, the office said the aging portions of the studio complex are "an embarrassment to Hawaii’s film industry and a liability to the state."
Problems were noted in almost every building on the 7.5-acre complex:
» The primary soundstage, a 16,500-square-foot facility built in 1994, needs a new air-conditioning system.
» Large double doors on a separate building that houses a water tank — built in 1999 by the producers of "Baywatch: Hawaii" — are "dangerous to move," and the building itself lacks electricity.
» Four wood cottages dating from 1976 and the original "Hawaii Five-0" need to be replaced because they have extensive termite damage to railings, windows and doors; carpenter ants in the electrical systems; and rats in the attics, air-conditioning vents and sewage system. Additionally, the flooring in the wardrobe cottage is not safe to walk on.
» Mold was growing on the furniture in the new production offices, which were finished six years ago.
Instead of the full amount, lawmakers gave the film office $1.75 million, which will be used to plan and prioritize overall improvements at the film studioand to address the air-conditioning problem in the primary soundstage, Dawson said.
"The portion that was new back in the early ’90s is now aging significantly, and things are starting to break and need to be fixed," she said. "We have a lot of unexpected repairs that come up. So we are doing the best we can with what resources we have. Could it be better? Absolutely."
Dawson, who was laid off in December 2009 during the state’s fiscal crisis and rehired in May, promised to improve the facility she said is responsible for more than a billion dollars in production spending since it opened.
Her office oversees an industry that is typically worth about $180 million in direct spending each year in Hawaii but also experienced a blockbuster year in 2010, when $407 million was spent here by film and TV companies.
"What is riding on it right now is the fact that it is the only soundstage facility of its kind here that is of the scale and scope of what the industry needs," she said. "It’s a critically important piece of the puzzle."
ABC has been a steady tenant since it moved the hit show "Lost" into the facility in 2006, which was the same time the state began a $7.3 million renovation to build production office space and a building where sets can be made. The renovation project was the last time the state put serious money into the facility, and it required the film office to make some hard choices, Dawson said. The money was supposed to pay for a backup soundstage, but the production mill "was seriously dilapidated and was a safety hazard," she said.
After "Lost" ended in 2010, ABC kept its rental agreement and used the facility for "Off the Map" and then "The River," both of which were canceled after their initial seasons. The network then contracted with Sony Pictures Television to shoot the pilot for "Last Resort," which was picked up as a series and will begin filming episodes later this month. "Last Resort," which premieres this fall, follows the crew members of a submarine who become hunted fugitives after they ignore orders to fire nuclear missiles.
During the "Lost" tenure, ABC’s agreement poured $37,500 a month into the state’s general fund, meaning the money was not earmarked for the Hawaii Film Office. The network negotiated a lower rate — $30,750 a month — for the two dramas that followed because ABC agreed to pay up to $50,000 a year for studio maintenance and repairs, Dawson said. But the network never reached that cap, she said.
"It is just keeping things going at a very basic level," Dawson said. "It works because we have to make it work. It is not an ideal situation. But they’re flexible, and we need to take care of things and keep the facility going. They basically help us carry that load."
Sony does not have a maintenance agreement and is paying $40,000 a month to the general fund, Dawson said. Sony officials had no comment on conditions at the film studio.
BUT EVEN if the studio were in better shape, it would still be far too small to lure a major film. Most productions that come to Hawaii are in the islands for the scenic beauty, and when those tropical images are captured, it’s off to a large soundstage on the mainland.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie wants to change that by building a larger state facility with a soundstage at least twice as large as the one at Diamond Head, Dawson said. Nothing has been formalized, but the cost could be between $30 million and $100 million and the project would be built in partnership with a private developer, Dawson said. The existing studio complex would remain open as well, she said.
"We are going to look for an alternative site," Dawson said. "If we are going to get a soundstage studio complex of the size and scope that the industry could really use, it is probably going to have to be built somewhere outside the urban center. But we don’t know that for sure. There may be possibilities within Honolulu."
Dawson said Abercrombie would like to see a potential location and cost estimate within the next year. "The governor is determined to build a new soundstage," she said.
A Los Angeles real estate firm already has a head start on the idea, complete with a proposed design and a signed lease with Campbell Estate for 22 acres in Kapolei.
SHM Partners/Film Studio Group has been trying for seven years to get the project started, said Stephan Smith, president of the development firm. The $50 million plan outlines four 18,000-square-foot soundstages and 60,000 square feet of production office space.
Smith said he has spoken with Hawaii lawmakers but not directly to the governor. The continued sluggish economy has made it difficult to obtain public financial support, he said.
"My understanding is that the administration supports the idea of additional production facilities, but it hasn’t gone to the next step of saying how can we make that happen," Smith said. "It simply isn’t going to happen as a pure private initiative."
Because it has no facility to keep a production in the islands after location shots are done, the state is missing out on half to two-thirds of the production money spent on any given project, Smith said. With a larger studio, the record year Hawaii experienced in 2010 could easily become a more common occurrence, Smith said.
"It’s a real economic development tool, and the places that understand that do get behind a studio," he said.
A larger studio could also help the state lure another television series, said Ricardo Galindez, a founding partner at Island Film Group, which helped produce the films "Soul Surfer" and "Princess Kaiulani" and has worked with Smith. While other television shows have used empty buildings and warehouses — including the new "Hawaii Five-0," which set up in the old Honolulu Advertiser building — such spaces are seldom ideal, Galindez said. A large studio changes that.
"It’s a big endeavor, but you can have multiple projects coming and going and keeping the facility up and running," he said. "Otherwise you are a one-trick pony and you have to hope the series runs forever, and when it dies you have another ready to go."
Expanding the current studio would be shortsighted, he said.
"You could squeeze another stage in there, but again you still have a small parking lot with only 100 spaces for cars," he said. "You would be shoehorning yourself in, and at some point the question becomes, Why? Why not build a larger facility?"
AT THE MOMENT, the only scheduled improvements are routine maintenance.
The grass, which had grown wild in many places after ABC finished shooting "The River" in November, was cut recently, Dawson said. Sony started moving into the production offices and planning how best to use whatever the state has to offer.
The saving grace, perhaps, is that productions are capable of working in less-than-ideal surroundings, Dawson said.
Case in point: In addition to the main soundstage, "Last Resort" may also use the old "Five-0" soundstage, an often sweltering, 12,000-square-foot space without air conditioning or soundproofing, Dawson said. It’s been used for several years to store leftover set dressing and props, but much like the water tank building, it has badly damaged swinging doors that are dangerous to open.
Still, when it’s time to shoot a scene, a production team can easily blast the soundstage full of cold air using a portable air-conditioning system and turn it off when it’s time to shoot to eliminate noise, Dawson said.
Sony is "not overly concerned about the condition" of the film studio, she said, and the alternatives are few and far between.
"That is why it is such an important facility," Dawson said. "It is not a situation of liking it. It is the situation of needing it. They need that facility to get the job done, so we make it work."
