Vince Keala Lucero on Breaking Barriers in Hawaiian Filmmaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 10:00: Black Eyed Peas, Four Seasons Newport Beach, Hokulea, Kamehameha Schools
2. 10:00 – 20:00: Kamehameha Schools
3. 20:00 – 30:00: Lilo and Stitch
4. 30:00 – 40:00: Chief of War, Lilo and Stitch
5. 40:00 – 50:00: Hawaii Film Alliance
6. 50:00 – 1:00:00: Hawaii Film Alliance, Brian Kilana, Chief of War, Ford Motor Company
7. 1:00:00 – 1:05:09: Chief of War

Notable quotes from "Vince Keala Lucero on Breaking Barriers in Hawaiian Filmmaking"

• Today on the big picture, we're hanging out with Vince Kala Lucero, filmmaker, cinematographer, and all-around creative force from the west side of Oahu. Kala's been behind some of the most powerful stories coming out of Hawaii. Blending.

  about Vince Kala Lucero · at 0:00

• Yeah. So in 97 I graduated from Loyola Marrammont. my first my senior thesis was this video for the Black Eyed Peas.

  about Black Eyed Peas · at 2:31

• There was a group of us who was going to go down with a delegation with the Kamehameha Schools and Hokulea to do the sixth festival of Pacific Arts.

  about Kamehameha Schools · at 4:02

• Yeah and now you produce what do you call that Mary Monarch right yeah you is this was this your first year producing that or you've been doing that for a while now They asked me to do content for them.

  about Mary Monarch · at 5:21

• From there moved up to like an assistant director and then got hired by the Four Seasons Newport Beach. And then from there I was I think I was there like maybe a year before moving to the rich car in Kapalua.

  about Four Seasons Newport Beach · at 8:53

• Yeah. Look at Lilo and Stitch. Like we had an opportunity. and it's a Disney, cartoon, but it was still Hawaii and we when we worked on it, it was special to us. we.

  about Lilo and Stitch · at 24:51

• Circling back to around to what you said how you've been waiting your whole life to shoot a show like Chief of War because it's it's something that is our culture, right? It's…

  about Chief of War · at 36:40

• We're talking about the Hawaii Film Alliance right?

  about Hawaii Film Alliance · at 42:02

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Vince Kala Lucero — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:02
• Brian Kilana — Person · 1 mention · first at 58:01
  Like a TV series. it's a project called Malamako Aloha and it's a Paneolo series. So Brian Kilana and myself are executive producers. Anti- Shao Pahinui Sirill's Widow. we have Chris Kohunahana, Tai Sanga, Conrad Lehi Leehi, Shan Pimentel.

Books & papers

• Chief of War — Book · 4 mentions · first at 36:45
• Malamako Aloha — Book · 1 mention · first at 57:58
  Also something we have in development of like a TV series. it's a project called Malamako Aloha and it's a Paneolo series. So Brian Kilana and myself are executive producers.…

Companies & orgs

• Hawaii Film Alliance — Company · 6 mentions · first at 42:02
• Lilo and Stitch — Company · 3 mentions · first at 24:51
• Kamehameha Schools — Company · 2 mentions · first at 4:05
• Mary Monarch — Company · 2 mentions · first at 5:25
• Black Eyed Peas — Company · 1 mention · first at 2:36
• Hokulea — Company · 1 mention · first at 4:05
  There was a group of us who was going to go down with a delegation with the Kamehameha Schools and Hokulea to do the sixth festival of Pacific Arts.
• Four Seasons Newport Beach — Company · 1 mention · first at 8:58
• Kuoa Ranch — Company · 1 mention · first at 53:39
  Hawaii Film Alliance from other people in the Hawaii community businesses say like a Kuoa ranch right it's like is their business being affected by the Hawaii film industry…
• Ford Motor Company — Company · 1 mention · first at 59:43
  So Ford Motor Company to be able to come in as a sponsor. Hoping and praying for that. come on, Ford.

Concepts & topics

• Aloha — Concept · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Today on the big picture, we're hanging out with Vince Kala Lucero, filmmaker, cinematographer, and all-around creative force from the west side of Oahu. Kala's been behind some of the most powerful stories coming out of Hawaii. Blending culture, community, and craft in a way that is honest and impactful. He's worked on everything from local documentaries to national projects and he always brings it back to the roots. So, let's get into it. His journey, his process, and what it really takes to tell stories from a Hawaiian point of view.

0:49 You just got back what, yesterday? Yeah. Yeah. So, we're doing our um Soul Good show. Uh it's a reality series kind of based on ecourism, sustainability, um consciousness, and uh we did from Hawaii to my to uh Vegas. Spent a couple days in Vegas, then Miami for about 4 days, Jamaica for about a week, and then came back the opposite way.

1:14 Jamaica? Yeah. Oh, how was that, bro? Unreal. Is it sick? Oh my god. But it's kind of like if you're coming from Hawaii, um it's kind of like going to, you know,

1:25 similar. Yeah, real similar. Oh, wow. Went diving had all the same fish. Ooh, like squirrel fish, you know,

1:33 same trees, coconut trees. Yeah. It's kind of like Guam, you know, and you know what is cool? Everybody get their name of their their fish. We're like, "Oh, we call that a ooh." And they get their own name, you know.

1:44 But um pachi, you know that. You've been on the road for a little bit now. Are you still staying super busy, huh?

1:51 Uh, I mean I I try to stay busy for sure, you know. Um, with the slowdowns after, you know, I haven't worked in the union work since August of last year since rescue high surf ball.

2:02 Yeah. Um, and you're 600, right? Yeah. Local 600 65 600 for 600. Tori Tuku uh brought me on to Hawaii 5.

2:13 Shout out Tori. Yeah, respect. Big up. And um that was I think season one. Uhhuh.

2:21 Yeah. So 2012 or something like that. Uhhuh. But you've been you've been film making way before that. Years before that right?

2:31 Yeah. So in 97 I graduated from Loyola Marrammont. Um my first my senior thesis was this video for the Black Eyed Peas. No.

2:38 It was right after um they kind of split from E. Uhhuh. And so my roommate was managing them at the time. Rol Enfield. No,

2:47 he's actually uh the son of Roland Bolan, the guy who sings uh Bangong again. So legend, but uh so they come over, we're talking story uh they get, you know, we do the music video and I made like a X in the set. So we had we had the two hallways and then we had like three rooms that we could film. So we put everything together, you know, like studio like this. And that video um kind of helped get them signed with Innercope.

3:18 What? Cuz you know they're dancing and doing all this all the stuff. Real active three MC's just dropping knowledge. Crazy.

3:27 And so you must have got a A on that project. But um weren't you you were you film making in in high school or how did you get into the film? Because you where where you from? You're from Westside, right?

3:39 Yeah, I grew up nakuli. Um, had the bus, wake up 5:00 in the morning. Mom cooked me breakfast, dropped me off at the bus stop, catch an hour ride, bus ride to Kapal Lama, come hang me out schools. Um, in high school, I think I was a sophomore and Miss Gillespie was our teacher. And, um, I think my junior year there was a group of us who was going to go down with a delegation with the Kamehameha Schools and Hokulea to do the sixth festival of Pacific Arts. So made a um like a student film documentary on that experience which you know that was gamechanging for me

4:18 really. So prior to that you really had no experience in the film industry and so when you did that project in high school which that was provided by for your high school or was that an outside entity wanting you to cover that particular event? Um so Kamehameha their performing arts um team like the their halal basically does a lot of the pro had done a lot of protocols for Hokua. It's always been that way

4:47 since I think back in the day um since the launch of 75. So um you know we travel all over the world with hope uh we'll like film them leaving returning protocols all that stuff. So that delegation um actually our class of 93 you have like the people who went on the trip you look at them today it's like snowbird bento kumuhula

5:12 kho trinidad you know heavon who just did um a lot of the work for sir koy wow yeah so like these leaders

5:21 Yeah and now you produce um uh what do you call that Mary Monarch right yeah you is this was this your first year producing that or you've been doing that for a while now

5:32 uh They asked me to do content for them. I think that was back in 20 2015 maybe.

5:39 And so I've been shooting for them. I did the show open for them. That ran for a long time. Um they asked me to executive produce maybe five years ago and then been doing that ever since. We took a break during co

5:52 it was a co year and then came back. Yeah. But it's it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But luckily for us, you know, we we have a solid team who everybody knows like what is expected. It's funny the first year

6:06 we came in, we had all these grand dreams of like how to make it better, right? Coming from Hollywood and yeah, you know, Greg Doy is going to come in with his partner and bring the helium balloon lights. It's going to be awesome at the everybody's going to look great.

6:19 He was like, "No, no, no. Just keep it the same. You know, we want it the same. Just keep it." And so once that um was kind of realized, we still try and find ways to make it better. Like we implemented a second broadcast for Olo Havi.

6:33 Uh that's been a great success. So now we have two concurrent um shows happening at the same time.

6:38 Mhm. Oh man, that's huge. Um so when you decided, was it from that point in high school you're like, you know what, this is actually something I want to pursue. And is that u when you went to college, were you that's what you wanted to do and and major in? Yeah. Yeah. Um, so in high school after that after I made that film, I love the process of storytelling and I love filming it and putting together like um I remember I'll never forget Heather Juny uh and Figgy were my uh mentors and so you know there's like media from all over the world. There's like CNN and like just big cameras and big dudes walking around with the camera and stuff and she's like get in there like don't be afraid like this is your kulana too. This is your you have a right to be there. and I'm just, you know, junior in high school.

7:24 But, um, hope's coming in. We have like, I don't know, maybe like a hundred Maui and they're all, um, welcoming, you know, doing the protocol in and like I have my camera and I look up and remember there's like this lady just like waving like and like her soul was leaving her body and I was feeling it like right in her face, man. It was unreal. And I think that was a pivotal moment for me to be want to be able to capture stuff like that.

7:52 Mhm. And so you got that opportunity to do something major like the Black IP super early on in your career? So how did you follow that up where was it just like straight success after that or you was like okay now where I go?

8:07 No it's a struggle you know um I was in I was in Santa Monica and um that's where I worked at the time. I was living down in play and uh I wasn't really doing production work. I was doing like uh post-production stuff, but

8:22 more so there was it was a post-production house, but the owner um she wanted to launch like a almost like a West Elm type magazine.

8:32 Mhm. And so we were helping her with that and just doing like administrative stuff and then every once in a while we do like you know some fun stuff with post-production or

8:41 but uh that lasted for like maybe a year and then I was just looking for jobs. Somebody told me that uh the hotels were hiring for audio visual director. So I worked at the Renaissance.

8:53 From there um moved up to like an assistant director and then got hired uh by the Four Seasons Newport Beach. And then from there I was I was I think I was there like maybe a year before moving to the rich car in Kapalua.

9:07 Oh, sweet. So it brought you back home. Yeah. Yeah. All expenses paid. I was like sick.

9:13 Do you feel like did you feel like you were always in pursuit of the film industry and did you feel like at that time in order to be successful you had to stay in the mainland or did you ever see yourself working in the film industry and being successful here? Well, um you know like the audiovisisual um industry I got some great training. I went to like leadership training for a week they as a manager you know corporate I got to learn that whole side of management but uh it gets boring right because it's the same you know you're dealing with like major clients and it's fun when Lexus comes in and builds like a million dollar stage to rotate their new car

9:51 and help with all the video stuff and audio but after a while it gets kind of boring. So after Capalua um I came to work at the Ilikai which was awesome because you know surf right at

10:04 bowls. Oh lunch break. Okay. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah. So um that was incredible. But uh but then it got boring and so I started looking into um like video work and at the time even though I had this degree and this killer music video, nobody was hiring cuz you know once people

10:25 in production companies have like a solid core team um unless they have an opening somebody leaves they're not really.

10:32 So I submitted my uh resume to like a dozen places and no response. So I actually came here to u community television. No way.

10:41 Cuz they're hired. I was like, "Ah, you know, at least something." Yeah. I just found like when I was trying to start this podcast is the only time I really found out about this place. I mean, we would watch Olelo channel growing up, you know, and it's all the community board stuff and or some some, you know, random things. But, um, I think now they they kind of up their game, too. Everything going digital. They have a great website. Um, they still got the digital platforms on TV. It's a killer resource. And And did you learn anything here that you you've taken with you um throughout your career?

11:18 Um I learned how to follow instructions cuz I actually got fired like two weeks later. There was like a misunderstanding. Um I had to like go through some I guess like five training courses before I could use equipment. And I ended up taking equipment without doing my last course or something. And they're like, "Oh, but you know, I worked in the media center." And so I guess whoever checked out the equipment didn't tell me that

11:43 I wasn't eligible to do that. And so when I came back they're like, "Oh, we got to let you go."

11:47 Oh man. See what you created. Ole, one of the best filmmakers in Hawaii. It's crazy though cuz um when I look at when I look at that at the time, you're super bummed, right? Like how the how am I going to get fired out out of this place? It's community TV. I have like this degree.

12:03 But every closed door opens something else. So, Co-Creative Studios in 2007 was born with Scott Lee Mason. Uh, we had the first Red camera in Hawaii. Uh, remember going to NAB like year after year. And when the Red came out, everybody's like, "Oh, it's vaporware. This will never happen. There's no way it's going to look like film." But we we believed in it. So, put down the the money. And then when we came back, we had the First Raid camera. got into a whole lot of commercials like corporate stuff and then started making um like the hip trailers with Gerard Elmore you know all this stuff independent film.

12:39 How did you end up hooking up with Scott at that point? On Takaguchi his ad. No way.

12:45 Yeah. He he made this film called Public Access episode four of five and it was just like the script is wild but I think was through Gerard he's like he was Lon was looking for a DP. Uh Scott was on it. I think he was an editor at the time or something. Our DIT,

13:03 but we're, you know, we're just kids with a camera. Yeah. Running around filming people in the bushes of of a beach and all the way.

13:11 I love both of you guys. Both of you guys are ultra talented and Scott's one of those guys who have who has shared unlimited knowledge with me. He still is one of those guys. And I just kind of wanted to touch on when you came back to um producing and making your own films, how important was it for you to tap into that initial um um that initial feeling of capturing maybe culture and emotion? How important was it for you to now continue doing projects that are culturally aware or have something to teach? A huge part of me being able to tell our stories of the Hawaiian people, both historical and what we're going through today, was through Kamehameha Schools and Randy Fong's team. Um, Auntie Jamie Fong. He there he had a project um for the song contest, pre-show. Kamehameha Schools has a song contest. All the classes uh compete against each other in vocal singing ac capella. And so I think it was like a

14:15 month out that it was due. Um, but it was it was celebrating the Hawaiian language,

14:23 which isn't easy to do like to tell that story. And so he approached me. I said, "Yeah, we would me and Scott would love to do this."

14:31 And so, um, we filmed all the interviews in Ola, Hawaii. We everything was in Hawaiian except for maybe like I don't know 5% of some experts talking in English, right? But everything else had subtitles. So we had to get translations for all of the interviews. We had to cut it together which is not an easy thing if you you're not an editor who speaks.

14:54 Yeah. Um and how many editors do we have that do? Luckily now there's um you know there I feel like there's a few there's you know there's some solid there's been a lot of movement since then. M

15:06 uh put on a Leo just had 40 year anniversary last year I believe or two years ago.

15:12 Um you know I was in Costco the other day listening to pre-teens converse in Olo and just like amazing.

15:22 But after after you know we we pulled that off it was it was beautiful. They loved it. Um we did the song contest pre-show for the rest of um up until the present time. And so that taught me a lot about our history and culture. I growing up, you know, even though I was from Nanakuli, we we didn't we kind of lived Hawaiian, but we didn't know the history.

15:48 We didn't know some of the practices, the protocols, the pulle, the oli. Um, but working with Kamehahha and Hokua, uh, being able to see these protocols from, you know, all throughout Polynia, and being able to experience the people, like really opened me up to understanding we're all like as Polynesians, we all we're all family, right? You go to Rapanui, which is at the opposite end of um, it's Hawaii, Rapanui, and Altereroa, New Zealand. Mhm.

16:21 And we get off the plane and they're greeting us and talking story and we can actually converse

16:27 cuz the language is real similar. You know, there might be some words that are a little bit different or whatever, but it's crazy.

16:33 That's amazing. And and for you, how how much has film making taken you around the world?

16:41 Oh, yeah. Um I also got into uh these corporate corporate trips where they're like incentive trips basically. So these corporations, you know, like Fizer, um, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies take their top performers all over the world. And so for many years, I would be able to travel maybe like three times a year to like Thailand or Europe multiple times Asia

17:06 all over the place. Remember we shot that documentary in Italy? Yeah, that was wild.

17:12 Shout out to be one of the best drivers from Hawaii in Italy. Automatic. Automatic, bro. gripping and ripping. Um, that was wild. That's the craziest craziest place I ever drove was in Italy.

17:26 You got you got the hang of it quick, though. I remember the Maui coast. We're just like Yeah. zipping along.

17:30 Yeah. Good thing you know, my my dad's a driver from Boston, so I I picked up a few things.

17:36 It's in the blood. Yeah. But, um, that was epic. Um yeah, film making has has taken us around the world and and it's a really good opportunity because like you just said when you start traveling when you go around the world you can kind of um pick up on how there's a lot of similarities everywhere you go right and I think if we focus more on the similarities rather than the differences it can can unite us and and support each other a lot more and we can move forward. Um, so I think I met you on Hawaii 50 and you did eventually get your opportunity to um operate, right?

18:13 Yeah. Because I I believe I think I kind of really met you when I was pushing Dolly for you.

18:19 Yeah. Yeah. That was the first time we worked together on like the same dolly. We're like ecam.

18:24 Awesome. We're like D camera. But um Yeah. And then um then you went on you kind of stayed more in the independent world, right? You have a lot of films that have been in in HIF won awards. How is the independent film making for you?

18:44 That that for me is um that's my heart. That's like as a gorilla filmmaker coming up, you know, me, Gerard, Scott, some of the OGs of the the industry, we really wanted to tell stories. we really wanted to support each other because you know the these union gigs and um everything is cool but when you work on like an independent it's really like a family

19:06 and coming from the independent world I kind of got scoldings from uh our first AC Rick he's like bro you cannot you cannot help everybody I know you want to help everybody you want to grab a grip stand you don't want to you know grab a sandbag but there's a there's a reason unions have people doing what they do so just let don't take work away from them like don't take the work out of a man's hands. What was told to me that I'll always remember and I was like, "Okay, respect, respect." But um you look at Solderberg, he has like four people um when he does some films and they'll they're lean and mean and they'll just do everything. And I love because I'm so um because I I I know I can do pretty much everything. Maybe not makeup,

19:49 but you know, I can do set deck, audio, video, editing. So being able to know um top to bottom like how things work and what you have to do to prepare for the next step in the process I feel like gives me an edge. And that's what I love about independent filmm is you can learn about everything. And if you have the right crew you can you can have you can be super efficient

20:14 and get things done on time within budget which uh is incredible. And oftentimes you're telling stories that the studio system won't pick up, you know. So like Win and the Reckoning or um whatever else it is just I love doing it. Love telling stories from this place.

20:32 What is the challenging part of um producing movies like that? Cuz we all love it. I love it. You love it. How hard is it to put something together like that realistically?

20:44 Yeah, financing is definitely the hard part. And then secondly, distribution. So like where is it going to go? But now um things are changing and it's a little shaky because AI is coming into the picture. So uh we have to kind of pivot and learn how to use it as a tool. But you know we've been doing a couple things like resonance and all these other projects that we just come together and and do it for real but with a limited budget. But even just finding that budget is the biggest challenge I would say. Mhm.

21:15 There's also like crowdfunding which you can do. Uh some of our documentaries was were done through Kickstarter.

21:20 It's a good source. You know, I think you can you can have a a great story and Scott always says uh story is king.

21:27 So if you have a great story, you're going to find people who want to work on it. You're going to find people who are invested and are passionate about telling that story.

21:34 Yeah, for sure. Um how would how how does one go about trying to get funding? like you mentioned the Kickstarter and stuff like that, but is there a private um people that you you go and pitch to and is that locally or do you have to go mainland to try to get that money um and and sell our cultural stories, you know, and how hard is that, you know?

21:54 Yeah, it's, you know, there's grants. Um so, if you know lawyers or grant writers, that's a start. There's crowdfunding like Indiegogo or Kickstarter. Um you can have some rich friends. Y

22:06 you know, I've had a couple of That's That's the best. This was like, "Yeah, here you go. Here's the trick."

22:11 Yeah. And to be honest, film making is not really profitable. It's true. Yeah. I hate to say it. And anybody knows if you buy a camera, you're going to go broke.

22:24 It's just never enough. Yeah. Yeah. And any film making is more about um telling the stories that wouldn't have otherwise been told. So you look at like Wy K by Chris Kohunana, that was an important story for us. We we wanted to talk about homelessness in Hawaii. We wanted to talk about domestic violence in Hawaii, you know, cuz these things you don't see it on television.

22:44 No. And so to be able to tell a compelling story like that that um is representative of a lot of people

22:52 you know the people that society doesn't want to look at, they don't want to talk about. So that that became like our kana to do that.

23:01 Mhm. Yeah. because we get sold as palm trees, sandy beaches. Yeah. Everybody come here, RNR,

23:10 do whatever you like and dig out, you know. And behind that curtain is everybody struggling trying to survive out here. And so those are are the important stories to tell and we got to find a way to fund those stories to be told. I think a lot of people kind of question that like, hey, you guys had so much years with the tax incentive. Why don't we have a sustainable

23:35 ecosystem now? And for me, the answer is it's a lot harder than you think. There's a lot of gamble in the in the film making space. Yeah.

23:44 Yeah. Yeah. For, you know, for years, um, Gerard Scott and I have been talking about the Hawaii Film Fund. Like why doesn't Hawaii have an independent film fund?

23:56 You know, just take like 01% of the advertising budget from the tourism industry

24:03 and let let us tell Hawaiian stories. Let us tell local stories, you know, and and so there there's traction, you know, there's the model for a lot of what we do actually comes from, our cousins down there.

24:15 Yeah. both with like language with implementing culture the revitalization of that whole ecosystem like you look at Taika what he's been able to do with their film fund

24:25 right so if Hawaii was to have something like that like I 100% I've been work I worked all over the world you know in Hollywood um worked with crews in New York Chicago got some of the best best technicians best grips you know creative passionate people and especially if you're telling like a vocal story, bro. Best believe they're going to bring their their foot like they're going to bring their agame 100%.

24:51 Yeah. Look at Lilo and Stitch. Like we had an opportunity. I mean, and it's a Disney, you know, cartoon, but it was still Hawaii and we when we worked on it, it was special to us. You know, we work extra hard. We wanted this thing to be a hit and, you know, it was and we're pumped on it. Um, having said that, do you see what what can be the first step into trying to execute maybe a Hoy film fund or or anything? Maybe a group. Are we working in that direction? Do you see anybody working in that direction?

25:20 Yeah, there's there's definitely traction. Um, I guess the people who make decisions have to see their return on investment. And so if you look at hotel again and the films that are coming out of their film fund, that's created interest for our own film fund. And you know, I think a couple years back, Oh Short Film Festival actually created what was kind of like a film fund.

25:46 So they had submissions for scripts. The best scripts got made. You didn't have to put any money in. It was all, you know, people donated their time and equipment and resources to make it happen. And that's a short film, right? And so

26:01 be able to and now, um, Georgia Skinner with Creative Industries has, you know, it's like a a small budget. I think it's 400 grand, which realistically would make like one good independent movie,

26:15 right? Or a bunch of small ones, right? And so it's a start. It's something, right? It's a start. The crowdfunding thing is really important because if people people want to see like stories from Hawaii, people love Hawaii all over the world. They save up uh their life savings sometimes just to make get a trip to Hawaii.

26:34 Y because they love the people, they love our beaches. They love the aloha. They love, you know, just the feeling they get when they get off the plane. Yeah. So

26:43 100%. I think a lot of times we are you know asking you know maybe help from our state to maybe create this and it's it's unfair to compare because New Zealand is a country right so when they all lot something from a budget they have a lot bigger budget to work from

27:00 but sometimes it can feel like it's hard to convince maybe the state legislation politicians that this is a effective you know industry here. Yeah. um what do you think is the disconnect between what they're seeing and what we're seeing?

27:17 You know, there's this fight in the past decade or so over the tax credits, right? And I feel like the politicians, they look at numbers and they only see the numbers going out. They don't really understand the full return on investment of people coming here because they want to see these movies that are being made. They don't see how um like you know 150 to 400 500 people can be working on one film or one TV series and you look at 50 that went for 10 seasons

27:47 and so people were able to like buy the homes and put their kids through school like no problem with that.

27:53 Um when the tax credit got deferred that uh that was like mind-blowing for me because for the first time in 25 years no nobody was working. There's no TV shows here.

28:07 And so immediately I'm I'm a I don't know, good or bad, I'm a very reactive person. Yeah.

28:15 Sometimes. And like when the Maui fires happened, I started calling people. I'm like, "Wow, we got to do something. We got to do a fundraiser. Let's, you know, do Maui, which became the Maui Ola Teathon." I think it was 11 days after the fires happened. And we raised like $1.4 million in one night.

28:31 That's wild. But that was only because of the generosity and and the aloha that people had like 665 came out build the sets build the trust you know all the artists came out all the kumu loves came out they brought everybody and um it was incredible and so when the tax credit got deferred which you know so many people were at the capital and I heard so much positivity and it was some were saying it's a protest not a protest it was a rally in support of the industry.

29:02 Y it was looking like things were going good. You know, I heard the governor was on board. People were happy with it. And then all of a sudden, we get the bad news that it didn't go through.

29:11 And then you look at it now. There's no TV shows in Hawaii. So I was like, well, we got to do a campaign. You know, we got to show people and make them realize why this tax credit is important.

29:21 You know, in easy terms that they can visually see. Yeah. Because you're not going to see it looking at a piece of paper. tells you numbers that this is how much money was spent uh on the tax credits that taxpayers are paying and then the public is like oh you know they're giving away our tax dollars to these huge corporations and studios and stuff and

29:40 but it's like no like you're employing all these people in front of and behind the camera and for the for the first time I think in in a while like before huge productions would fly in their a lot of their crew

29:53 y but now it's being reversed like chief of before, bro. We had the most Hawaiians and Polynesians in front of and behind the camera I've ever seen. And that feeling like working on um the lava fields day one, Kilawea erupts.

30:10 Yeah. So, we're put on hold. They're like, "Okay." And you know, we we do the ple with Kamaka Eva, we do the blessing, and then that happens. To me, that was a nod. And then when we wrapped, she stopped. So when you have stuff like that going on, it's unreal.

30:29 Yeah. It's unreal to see what Hawaii people can do in front of and behind the camera.

30:34 And can you say how long you've been waiting to work on a project like that? All my life.

30:41 Yeah. You know, um when The Rock was talking about doing the Khamea story. And this is this is an issue. You talk about like crabs in a bucket. Um, this is definitely an issue that we as filmmakers and just Hawaiians in general have to we have to ponop pono with ourselves

31:02 because when that movie when he was pitching that movie and he did it the right way. He went out to the Kamehamehas, the lineage ancestors, discussed it with them. Super respectful, you know, if you know the rock, you know the rock. Super respectful, super uh professional. Um, but once word got out on social media, people are shutting it down. Oh, he's not even Hawaiian. Like, to me, I want like we're all cousins of Polynesia. Like, you know, I I found out on my DNA test, I'm part Alterero. like some of our DNA comes from um Altereroa. And so to me, if somebody's going to play Kamehameha, who united all the islands and created what Havi is today, I want that to be the best freaking actor possible.

31:47 Mhm. And to me, it's it's okay if he's not Hawaiian. You know, you so many people complain about, oh, the girl in Lilo and Stitch is not Hawaiian.

31:56 Yeah, but she's local. She grew up Kawaii. Like, who said Lilo is actually Hawaiian,

32:01 right? It's there's nothing on that in the script. You know, they don't call her a Native Hawaiian. So, in order for us to um to succeed in anything, I think people just have to like take a look at how hard it is to make these movies. Take a look at how hard it is to portray somebody like Kamehameh.

32:21 Yeah. You know, who's it going to be? He could be, you know, a native Hawaiian who doesn't have a lot of experience versus The Rock who has incredible experience right?

32:31 You look at Jason Mao and he's really the only one who could have brought brought that story and I'm glad that he didn't make it on Kamehameh.

32:38 He made it on a a chief, but he still he still talks about Kamehameha. I've been waiting all my life to see that happen

32:45 because that, you know, we our can trace to Ali and I want to tell their stories too right? Um, but it's hard like there there's momentum and there's movement and we're doing we're we're doing some pretty exciting development of TV series and other things, but um it's getting better basically and AI is only going to help us do that

33:08 because now you don't have to afford special effects and VFX. You know, Auna special effects was leaders in the industry when it came to that and that's a native company, right? And so being able to look at that uh they can still uh my roommate Matt, he he does Super Bowl commercials and he told me the secret to what he does is blending real action with V effects.

33:31 And so if you have like the special effects, a little bit of fire to add to layer into the V effects, like that's that's what we got to do. And AI is going to help us do that.

33:39 Oh yeah. Um, I I love that you're you're speaking about that because I as a local guy get super torn on why our stories can never really be told. Like they like that commitment story, right? It's like it gets to a certain level

33:55 and then so much drama basically is made around it. And what do you feel do in your opinion is that the majority of the people that feel that way or do you feel like it's a small group that create enough uproar that it's it it it's too sensitive to touch? I wanna I want to be sure that I say this correctly um with intention and a law. Um Native Hawaiian have been you know in like colonization colonization happens all over the world right and so we had our kingdom stolen by American businessmen. It was backed by the US military and the government. And so there's a lot of hurt. There's a lot of pain that Native Hans have to deal with.

34:40 And so when they see things like this and they see the possibility of cultural appropriation and tons of companies do it like Aloha Pokey, you know, uh, Aloha Brothers, the whatever burgers and stuff and to me that's not pono. Do you think it's majority of the people feel that way of yeah, we shouldn't be talking about that, you know, or do you feel like it's a small group that just gets so riled up and and sensitive and they shoot down every project that we're trying to make that represents our culture?

35:14 I I do feel like it's a smaller group of very vocal and sometimes very effective people and I believe their heart is in the right place. like they want cultural representation to be authentic. They want it to be real. They want it to be to come from a pono place. But as a filmmaker, I I don't while I prefer to use Native Hawaiian to tell a Native Hawaiian story, if somebody can do the best job they can do in that position, then I'm going to pick that person because I I want this to be a success for everybody, right?

35:47 I want to tell the best story possible, right? you know, and honor, especially if we're talking about kuno, honor them the best way I can. And so, as a producer, as a filmmaker, that's my kana.

35:59 And so, I do feel it's um it's a smaller group, but you know, there's a why you so crazy, bro.

36:08 How do we bring maybe those people into the fold? And maybe the general public might not know how much um you know cultural advisors that we bring into the fold like and it's it's all legit people that are giving you know like Lilo and Stitch right

36:26 we had cultural adviserss on on Hawaii 50 on a lot of these shows Moana so there is the due diligence being done you know and I just don't know if maybe people are not seeing that and and or they just still don't support it but But circling back to around to what you said how you've been waiting your whole life to shoot a show like Chief of War because it's it's something that is our culture, right? It's something that we love to work on. We've been working on Los Hawaii 50 Magnum PI which is great. We got all our experience but it it wasn't ours, right? And so I felt the same way. I was like when am I going to get an opportunity to work on something that I I really or I can't wait basically, right? But everything you see kind of gaining momentum kind of always gets shot down. And so it it's very it's very sad and it it gets me torn because I'm like I understand you know having the respect and doing it the right way

37:21 and um but I also because I grew up in the industry know that this is the entertainment industry is creative arts. You know it's it's interpretive. Yeah. And you know not everything is factual. It could be just like our ancestors telling stories around the fire.

37:38 They might exaggerate a little bit, you know, to keep the engagement. That's part of storytelling, you know. So,

37:45 um, I get really torn because I want our stories to get out there. I think it's something the world would really enjoy and be fascinated about and also allow people to gain interest to look into the real history of Hawaii, right? Like maybe Chief of War will spark people to go,

38:04 I want to learn more about it. Like 100%. Yeah. You know, um Chief of War, people are going to love it. People are going to hate it. There's going to be a lot of uh messaging flying around on the on the boards and social media. Guaranteed.

38:17 Guaranteed. But if you if you look at Kamehameha even, he was successful because of two Holly guys named Davis and Young,

38:24 you know, and so they were advisers, right? And so when we set up a team, especially to tell a Hawaiian story, I feel like the the people at the top, the P will have to be um or preferably they should be Native Hawaiian cuz Koko is important like to have the blood is important if you're going to tell a native story. I think the Cherokee Nation actually is starting a film fund where they're going to tell their stories. Like I just saw a post, Hawaii should have the Hawaiian Film Fund where we can tell our stories, but that doesn't mean that we can't have advisers. We can't have people who are part of the team like Kamehahha did uh to help us succeed. I've seen throughout my life people who have not one drop of blood of Hawaiian, but they speak fluent oolo beautifully. They do more for the Hawaiian community than a lot of Native Hawaiians, you know. So that's important to recognize and honor, you know. Uh, of

39:21 course. Yeah. I I wouldn't be supportive of old Hollywood where they took a Hawaiian story told by some white guy.

39:32 Yeah. You know, for Elvis or, you know, I agree. Yeah. And maybe that's the whole thing. Maybe times have changed. Maybe, you know, we've I think the world maybe has become more culturally sensitive and they know they can't get away with that kind of stuff, you know. So I think we are in an opportune time to do that.

39:50 And I think I think the the world really is looking for authenticity. Even like you look at a Hawaii Visitor Convention Bureau, what they're doing now with their ads.

39:59 They're they're telling Hawaiian um stories about people working in the Ko. They're providing opportunities for tourists to come and do community service like help these Native Hawaiian communities and uh nonprofits and and the people love it. They want a local uh experience. They want a Hawaiian experience. you know, so it's a win-win for everybody. So things are definitely changing and I I think the audience really wants something authentic.

40:24 Yeah, I I agree. I think I think we have a lot to share with the world. You know what I mean? Aloha and and Hawaiian culture and self- sustainability. There's so much there like we could talk about. The bottom line is we got to kind of come together and work as one, right? whether you're in um you know a studio owner or a production person um and and we need to come together sit at the table so we can speak to politicians a as one voice I don't think we've really had one voice as a film industry right no there there's always been this effort to kind of and I think back maybe 20 years ago uh there was a group that was smart people getting together to uh to help the industry uh survive and thrive. And so right now there there's been efforts to kind of recreate that by different entities along the way, but nothing that I've heard of being successful.

41:24 What do you see kind of in the industry um as as far as unity goes? You know, it has to get worse before it gets better. And so for the first time in 25 years, we haven't we don't have a show. A lot of people are out of work. When when the tax bill got deferred, the first thing I did was write a list of really smart smarter than me, people uh who were influential in media and law and you know, politics. And I texted them. I'm like, "Hey, we got to do something. You want to help me on this campaign?" Angie Le Pratt was like, "Oh, we're we kind of have a group. You should come join us."

41:59 And a lot of the people I had contacted were already a part of that group. We're talking about the Hawaii Film Alliance right?

42:04 Yeah. things kind of developed over time and with leaders in the industry like the people we have, they're effective and they're smart with the experience that we have in the industry seeing things and knowing politics and some people know media and some people knew press releases and people like you.

42:22 Yeah. Yeah. And and you know it's pretty cool. So just me creating this podcast which was giving a voice and a community to the Hawaii filmmaker. So many people when we're going through this process of kind of spreading the news and information of the bills going through affecting us, so many people reached out to me and was like, "Bro, thank you for making this platform because we never had anything like it." Which is kind of mind-blowing like what you mean we never have one centralized community that we all can come together and share information and resources? No, we didn't. And so there was a few people, a bunch of people actually reached out and said, "Hey, we need to start a group that kind of has everyone all together, whether it's different unions, different studio heads, uh, influential people who not only been in the industry, but been in the industry here and was raised here and have the heart for Hawaii's film

43:20 industry to be successful with no side agendas, right? And and I think that's the critical part about this group that is forming, the Hawaii Film Alliance, is that it's made up of a bunch of people with a good heart for the Hawaii film industry.

43:34 Yeah, 100%. I think that's why uh the other attempts to unify and create a group like this haven't really been successful. It's because there's a lot of egos. There's a lot of uh people who want power and you know, they want things to come to their company. But uh I do believe that the people invested in this group that we're part of uh they want what's best for the industry. They want what's best for the people, you know. And when I created the website and you know laid everything out, the focus had to be on the worker cuz to me that's the most important thing. I wanted I care about families, you know, I care about people here. I care about people from Hawaii. Um so it had to be on that.

44:15 Um so you know it's it's incredible. I mean being able to see everybody come together and now I initially called it the Hawaii film ohana but the alliance came out and yeah that's that's cool too HFA

44:28 yeah so yeah I mean it's super cool it's kind of like the Avengers of the film industry kind of coming together um there there's some movers and and shakers people that I respect um people that supported me my whole career um and so I I was I felt honored to be asked to be a a part of it and and I think I was asked to be a part of it because I do kind of have the voice of the the workers, right? Um I I feel like I get a good temperature of just your regular grip. Um

44:58 I mean, your dad's a legend, too. You kind of grew up on set, you know, so you know, you've seen a lot, you know, all the ins and out. You But you're

45:05 What I love about you, Brian, is and why you're perfect for this spot is you're a people person.

45:10 You know, you bring that warmth and aloha, and I appreciate that about you. Right on. Yeah. Thank you. And it's again I feel honored to be a part of it and and um you know so creating the HFA website what is the idea behind creating this website. So the the three things I wanted to focus on was uh share the the story of the worker because I think the public and the politicians you know they just see stuff on paper. They look at numbers and they're like we're not going to support that. So tell the tell the stories of you know why this industry has changed your life you know how it supports your family um share the passion you have for it because people can get behind that right Hawaii is all about family uh the second thing was create a centralized place where there's accurate up-to-date information because producers in the mainland were telling me there's nothing like that

46:10 you know and so um and then the third thing is is to affect change either political side or creation of like our own film fund.

46:22 That's the three things I really wanted to focus on. But I wanted it to be worker focused and I wanted it to be um it's really tricky because when you when you create an alliance like this, there's opportunities for accumulation of power. Mhm.

46:37 And so our bylaws have to be created where that doesn't happen where we change out people every couple years or something and you know has to be a de democratic process

46:48 and there's decisions that can be made by the board members who which we're a part of.

46:53 Um but there's other decisions that really should be brought to the whole group. Uh the challenge is sometimes people who haven't been in the industry long enough or who are not from here, they don't understand some of the intricacies

47:08 of the you know the moves that we have to make. And so that's why I'm I'm really happy with the people who are voted to the board

47:18 because they're they've been in industry for the longest like you know they understand and they've shown their track record is about caring for others you know and being fair being porno and so that's paramount for this to work.

47:33 Yeah I agree it's made up of some pretty solid people. Um, and I think the biggest point was to give your worker a voice, right? Like you said, because a lot of times your your industry worker is represented either by a union um or, you know, whoever goes in and speaks to any politician, right? And and that's kind of the faces that that these politician and legislation sees is it it's this person from this group, this person from that group. There's no unified voice of collectively as a film industry, these are the things that we want and these are the things that we don't want. And I think it's our our um responsibility for us to come to the table on our own time and then present that to the outside world. Right.

48:24 Yeah. Yeah. It's dangerous when you know individuals or people who are looking out for themselves go and talk to politicians

48:31 because then the politicians get a version that is not representative of the whole and so we 100% have to draw from different areas of the industry to create a group that is going to be representative of the whole and not just one you know one department or one union or whatever it is.

48:49 Yeah. And you know, we had Eric Hayes on this podcast a couple of weeks ago and um he he and we can learn from other people, right? And yeah, and this is what this is what we need to do, right? We need to go and like we're looking at New Zealand and their structure in their film fund, right? I was speaking to him about Louisiana and the things that they needed to do with their tax credits and what was formed and they formed a group of, you know, industry workers that went out and really was, you know, hosting whether it's studios, writers, um, production companies, hosting them and and, you know, in pursuit of bringing work to where they live. And I think we can learn a lot from that. And I think that could could be what HFA can be is your your hosting face to the outside film industries saying, "Hey, this is what we have to offer. We know because we've been working in it for a long time. The this is the places that you

49:49 want to be shooting. This is how you get the permitting. This is who you speak to when you get here. These are the incentives." And I think if we can create that and like you said, keep everything um with integrity, respect, and and fairness, I think that'll just, you know, make our industry here very strong.

50:08 Yeah. We're kind of like um the local fixer. So local knowledge is powerful. Like wherever I travel, especially overseas, like we um got the fixer in Vietnam from Anthony Bourdain,

50:19 and she just set everything up and like took us to the perfect spots. Everything was smooth, transportation, everything like amazing, amazing trip. And I feel like we can be a fixer in that sense for producers who want to bring projects here. You know, we have a lot of industry experience. We know where the best spots are like by you got to try this restaurant, get this caterer, go to these locations,

50:40 you know, just make everything share it. Yeah. And because prior to that, you had guys like me, but you know, I had a nonprofit and it was it was, you know, me who who went to the producers and the, you know, the company and said, "Hey, these are, you know, the local shelters. These are the people in need. This is humble hearts. Yeah. And this is the people you can affect here in a positive way and leave a positive footprint." So that's that's actually what this group can also be is how can you make a positive impact beyond your production and employment.

51:18 Yeah. And I and I think it has to be again it goes back to not you have to do it for the love of film. You have to do it for the love of the industry. You can't look at it as if I do this I'm doing it to to bring this work to my company. you know, it's if a group like this is going to succeed, um I think it's going to benefit everybody and may the best person win, you know, whoever has that connection, whoever has the knowledge, whoever I I truly believe, um that the energy you put out is the energy you get back. And I've seen it over and over again. And that's why, you know, I try not to talk bad about people. Everybody's going through their own journey. Just bring positivity, you know, and it always comes back. Where can you see the community supporting Hawaii Film Alliance?

52:08 You're talking about the community, Hawaii in general? Yes. Yeah, that's a that's a great question. Um, so obviously uh the industry workers are affected by the shutdown of no films coming in, the deferment of the tax credit bill. Uh but there's also the rental car companies, the hotel workers, the airline people, you know, all these other places, restaurants, caterers, all these other places that are supported by um uh film or a TV series, they can speak out about their um experiences. you know, even if you're like working at the rent a car desk, uh, you know, maybe it's busier when Hawaii 50 is in town. Maybe it's now it's like dead, you know.

53:01 So talking about and and just but also just educating yourself, you know, ask ask us, you know, if you know somebody in the industry, ask them questions like if you have questions because we don't know what the general public if they have questions or how they perceive us, right? And because there hasn't been anything like this. There's some behind the scenes stuff, but you know, there hasn't really been a place to share our stories like that.

53:28 Yeah. And um we're hoping like you said that we can get support you know through Hawaii Film Alliance from other people in the Hawaii community businesses say like say like a Kuoa ranch right

53:41 it's like is their business being affected by the Hawaii film industry they got whole tours tailor made for that and we love Kuoa Ranch Douggee always taking care of us over there. Um, but yeah, like you know, maybe the Hilton, maybe hotels, like you said, where we've shot so many things in those areas at those locations and I can tell you we've had crowds, people love it, right? It's something that they remember for a lifetime. Um, so when we create this Hawaii Film Alliance, we're hoping to get support from not only the industry workers and the people in the industry, but maybe other industries that would love to see us succeed because we affect other things. Like we are, like you said, completely supplemental to tourism, right? Like maybe if we took some of the $30 million marketing budget that the tourism industry gets, maybe we could put something together that attracts um film industry and economy in general here.

54:42 Yeah. Buy local, keep it here in instead of hiring mainland groups, right? Yeah, exactly.

54:46 I don't I never understood that why they hire um an outside company to tell a Hawaii story or to advertise Hawaii. But uh yeah, you know, I think if people in general are fans of film and especially local Hawaii filmm, you know, join like doesn't hurt. Like you're going to learn a lot. You're going to meet people from the industry. You're going to hear about the latest news. You're going to hear about efforts to bring production back, projects that are in development, you know, opportunities where you can be an extra, where you can come and just be a PA, help out, get into the industry, you know, if that's you, come sign up.

55:21 Exactly. and and we're hoping that it just creates a forum where everybody can give their voice, everybody can give their input. I think a lot of people in our industry feel left out of the decision making. Yeah.

55:33 And I think that's what Hawaii Film Alliance is trying to do is bring everybody into the pro pro uh process of

55:41 making decisions for our industry. Um so you've been working with the Hawaii Film Alliance. When is that really supposed to when we when are we launching that?

55:52 Uh we're going to launch pretty soon actually. Uh we just got the web domain unlock thanks to you. Um you know the the web development is pretty much up and ready to go. We Kristen Jackson has been working on the press release. So yeah, it'll be in the next week or so.

56:08 Oh, nice. Exciting times. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and and um you know just to kind of disclose is that group has already been you know setting up meetings with politicians with with with ourselves and

56:22 really including everybody in the industry. Um it I thought it would be more I thought it would be I knew the challenge would be bringing all the unions in

56:32 and it's not to have everybody be in alignment with what we're going to be doing. It's just to bring them through to a safe table

56:39 to so that we can you know talk about everything like listen to everybody's uh concerns and then make a decision as a collective.

56:46 Yeah. Unions um studio owners are people looking to to build producers, right? Um the bottom line is everyone is caring about people being able to take care of their family. Yeah.

56:59 I think that's what HFA is all about and and hopefully we can make that happen. you got that going on. What else you got going on that you're looking forward to? Uh any any projects you working on currently that that is kind of cool or that you're looking forward to?

57:14 There's a couple things. I mean, of course, Mary Monarch is always exciting and we're learning. We're going to do a new show open. We do it every couple years.

57:23 So, that's going to be exciting. Um just got back from Jamaica and Vegas and Miami for our show Soul Good. um the eco-friendly travel show uh talking about consciousness. Um I'm learning so much because things are rapidly changing on the way audience people audiences ingest information and entertainment, right? And so it's pretty exciting to learn how to implement these new ways of telling a story. Um there's also something we have in development of like a TV series. Uh it's a project called Malamako Aloha and it's a Paneolo series. So Brian Kilana and myself are executive producers. Anti- Shao Pahinui um Sirill's Widow. Uh we have Chris Kohunahana, Tai Sanga, Conrad Lehi Leehi, Shan Pimentel.

58:16 Uh that's our writer room. I mean just hammers, you know. Oh, those are all hammer.

58:22 It's gonna be fun, bro. I hope that. So, is that pretty much tracking? Yeah. Yeah, we're we, you know, we just built the team. We're going to have a fundraiser up in Ha Town by Parker Ranch area in August, August 28th. And we're going to have Slack Key Hawaii Music Barbecue. Um, a lot of lot of support from the ranching community, a lot of support from the Big Island Commerce. Uh, the mayor's on board. he wants to see this happen. Like we're getting a lot of um everybody loves the the idea and it's because the pitch deck really talks about how we can incorporate a lot of people in the community. Um you know, Chief of War was able to do that with extras

59:09 and actors and technicians and you know, people to build sets and build uh the props. All that stuff can happen with the Paneola story that we're doing. And it's kind of a nod to what audiences are hungry for in terms of like Yellowstone. Uh we had a great meeting with Ford there. They I didn't know this, but Henry Ford actually um had a group called the Hawaiians who would play slack music like he would take them on tour.

59:37 What? Yeah, bro. In the mainland and I think he took them to Europe as well. Automaker.

59:42 Yeah. So Ford Motor Company to be able to come in as a sponsor. Hoping and praying for that. Um,

59:49 come on, Ford. Yeah, but they they have an original Model T they said we can use and the guy was like so crazy. They they have wheels that um because the original wheels are like overundred years old, right?

1:00:02 But he's like if you really want to like we can put it all for the shot. Oh, incredible. Incredible.

1:00:10 That's awesome. I mean, Hawaiian paneos are no joke, bro. You look at a party story. Um, this is something incredible story of how, you know, the the history of the Hawaiian cowboys is super interesting. It's there's so deep and so rich. But this one story involving Eko Pertie and his uh fellow uh Paneolos, they went to Wyoming for this rodeo and you know they got sick on the way. Their horses got sick so they had to use wild horses. They had to break them before the rodeo and they still won.

1:00:51 They took they took home the trophy. Take my money, bro. I like watch that. I know. And even like music of the time of that era, um, musicians, slacky musicians and, um, singers were touring the world and they'd be getting like crazy reviews from, you know, invitations to go play for the Queen and people loved Hawaiian music. And so to be able to bring back the music and the stories of that time, it's super exciting.

1:01:17 Oh, that's epic. I can't wait. I I wish you all the success and I know a good you'll be on it cuz

1:01:23 I know I know a good you have to come work you have to come work on a big island but

1:01:27 hey I'm down bro work is work. Um before we kind of wrap things up I I always like to you know ask if if you have any wisdom or advice for the local Hawaiian filmmaker uh who's interested in in maybe making this a career or telling Hawaiian stories through this uh medium. What kind of advice would you give them? Um, realize your kana. Honor your ancestors in everything you do. Stay pono. Um, even though it might be an easy way to do something, if it's not pono, don't do it. If um if you can find mentors, uh get with groups of people who share the same passion.

1:02:13 Um, yeah, ultimately, you know, don't lose that fire. You're going to get a lot of nos, but just keep that flame going. When it's when it's hard, it's going to be hard, but if you can push through and you can find your tribe and you can hold them, you know, you can make your dreams come true. I mean, I I know I have so thankful and, you know, give gratitude. So, as we segue into the last part of our episode with Vince Kella Lucero, um we're going to do the lightning round. So, these are just a bunch of questions, quick answers. It's chill. Don't think too much. Just first thing top of top of the mind kind of stuff. Okay.

1:02:57 So, here we go. Lightning round. Question number one. Eastside sunrise or westside sunset?

1:03:04 Westside sunset. Oh. First camera you ever owned? Oo. Uh, JVC. I don't think they're around anymore.

1:03:12 Showing your age, bro. Favorite local grinds after a long shoot. Uh, LNL is cuz it's all over.

1:03:18 Oh, yeah. Plus, they sponsor. Yeah. Oh, shout out LNL. One Hawaiian value you try to live by every day.

1:03:26 Pono. What's harder, underwater shots or getting permits in Honolulu? Permits. If you weren't a filmmaker, what do you think you'd be doing?

1:03:38 Um, singer. Oh, Shia. Who's your dream collaborator? Dead or alive? Um, Bob Marley for singing?

1:03:49 Yeah. Surfboard or steady cam? Which one you grabbing first? Surfboard. Let's go. What's your favorite spot?

1:03:57 Uh, mah. Mice, too. What's one Hawaiian word filmmakers need to learn? Aloha. Always.

1:04:05 Which project taught you the most about yourself? Uh, chief of war. Canon, Sony, or Red?

1:04:15 Red. Oh, automatic. If your life was a movie, what's the title? Cruising. Oh. Most random thing you've used to rig a shot.

1:04:27 Duct tape. That's standard. That's not random. And last question. You You've got 48 hours and one camera. Where are you going and what are you shooting?

1:04:38 Antarctica. Wow. Shoot the penguins. Let's go. Thank you very much, Vince. Honor having you. Uh, I love hearing your voice. Love hearing your perspective. I love you as a human being, man. And always going to be here for support anything that you're doing. So, thank you for coming on.

1:04:54 Let's jump on that dolly, bro. Let's go. Thank you, bro. Did you have the back?

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Vince Keala Lucero on Breaking Barriers in Hawaiian Filmmaking"?

In order: 0:00 Black Eyed Peas, Four Seasons Newport Beach, Hokulea, Kamehameha Schools; 10:00 Kamehameha Schools; 20:00 Lilo and Stitch; 30:00 Chief of War, Lilo and Stitch; 40:00 Hawaii Film Alliance; 50:00 Hawaii Film Alliance, Brian Kilana, Chief of War, Ford Motor Company; 1:00:00 Chief of War.

What is mentioned in this The Big Picture episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Hawaii Film Alliance, Chief of War, Lilo and Stitch, Kamehameha Schools, Mary Monarch, Vince Kala Lucero. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Vince Keala Lucero on Breaking Barriers in Hawaiian Filmmaking"?

The episode runs 1 h 5 min; the transcript is about 11,791 words in 216 timestamped sections.

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