‘20 minutes’ film about Hawaii’s false missile alert to debut

A movie that aims to capture the terror that Hawaii residents felt during the false missile alert in January 2018 will appear in theaters across Oahu starting Thursday.

The motion picture, called “20 minutes,” is by veteran movie director/producer Tim Chey, the same man who created the 2019 movie “The Islands” and then sued the state in a dispute over its film tax credit.

His latest movie, also filmed in Hawaii, tells the story of how an incoming ballistic missile to Hawaii changes the lives of 12 people when they realize they have 20 minutes to live.

Chey, a part-time Hawaii resident, was in the islands when state emergency management officials sent out to cellphones across the islands a text that warned of an incoming ballistic missile. “SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” the warning said. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency did not rescind the warning for 38 minutes.

Widespread alarm and panic weren’t the only things the incident triggered.

“It caused a movie idea to pop into my head,” Chey said in his promotional material. “I used to be a former atheist, and I knew this missile warning would cause many atheists to think about God.”

Chey, director of at least 13 faith-based films, made news in Hawaii nearly six years ago when he announced the upcoming production of “The Islands,” a motion picture that he said would capture the sweeping arc of Hawaii history from Capt. James Cook’s 1778 arrival to the 1893 overthrow of Hawaii’s last monarch.

Chey pledged to hire Native Hawaiians in most of the lead roles and vowed to discontinue the project if he didn’t land one of a list of 16 A-list actors for the part of Cook, including Tom Hanks, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Anthony Hopkins and Kevin Costner.

In the end, the director excluded Cook, Kamehameha and Lili‘uokalani and focused on only one story: that of Hawaii island Chiefess Kapiolani, who in 1824 defied Pele in a display of her new Christian faith by descending into an active volcano.

That storyline became the movie that was “The Islands,” starring Mira Sorvino and John Savage, who played the roles of missionaries.

Chey, who is also an attorney, made headlines again even before the movie came out. Filing a lawsuit that seeks $100 million in damages, he accused the Hawaii Film Office of discriminating against his Christian-themed movie and conspiring to deny a substantial tax credit due his production.

The state’s 20% film income tax credit is based on a production company’s Hawaii expenditures while shooting in the islands. To earn the refundable tax credit, productions must spend at least $200,000 in the state, make reasonable efforts to hire local talent and crew, and make a contribution to the local film industry.

The suit claimed fraud and deceit, violation of civil rights, civil conspiracy, intentional misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other charges.

The complaint was voluntarily dismissed by Chey a few months later, and his production received the tax credit certification after he provided the necessary documentation.

The Hawaii Film Office said Chey applied for the state tax credit for “20 Minutes” three years ago.

Featuring a cast without any big Hollywood names, Chey’s latest movie is scheduled to open Thursday at Regal and Consolidated theaters across Oahu.