Hawaii Five-0 updates:

• Tim Ryan blogs that the Waikiki Marriott will be the temporary HQ for the Hawaii Five-0 production. (As you know, after Lost wrapped ABC continued to rent the Hawaii Film Studio for its new series Off the Map.) He also adds that Rachel Sutton is now H50′s Hawaii casting director – she held the same position on Lost.
• The Show Girl added another snippet from a previous phone interview with Daniel Dae Kim to a recent video.

Hawaii Five-0 articles & buzz:

• Jean Smart recently had a long interview with Bullz-Eye and a small mention was made of Hawaii Five-0:
  

  BE: Well, I’m sure we’re coming up against the wall here, but…I know you’re in the pilot for “Hawaii Five 0,” but are you anticipating being a regular on the show?

  JS: No, I can’t be a regular, because I’d have to move to Honolulu. (Laughs) But I’m going to be doing a recurring role, yes.

  BE: Were you a fan of the original series?

  JS: Oh, sure. Who wasn’t? Absolutely.

• Neely Swanson, (former?) SVP at (David) Kelley Productions and teacher for the USC School of Cinematic Arts’s film and TV writing program posted an interview with former Moonlight executive producer Chip Johannessen. Swanson is apparently not convinced that Alex has been cast correctly as McGarrett, but Johannessen has only good things to say about him.
  

  Chip: In defense of “Hawaii 5-0,” anything with Alex O’Loughlin is worth trying. I worked with him on “Moonlight” and he’s pretty great.

  Neely: I guess CBS is hoping this will fall into the category of “the third time is a charm.” I must say, though, and I did say it in an article I wrote for Baseline Studio System, I liked the pilot script of “Hawaii 5-0” and I’m actually looking forward to seeing that pilot. It’s a very expensive, but really good action piece. On paper it works and if CBS doesn’t spare the expense it will work on screen. My impression of Alex O’Loughlin is that he’s a heart throb and may be too soft to play Steve McGarrett. It might have been better (and they would never have considered this for any one of a number of reasons) to cast Scott Caan as Steve and Alex as Danny. I could very well be wrong.

  Chip: Yeah, they wouldn’t do that. But honestly, I love Alex O’Loughlin. He might be a little soft, but I have to say that in “Moonlight” he had this impossible task and he really delivered amazingly well. He had to show a lot of colors when he transformed into this aggressive vampire. He was great. He’s a real actor, that guy.

• Stana Katic, Castle star, to The TV Addict on the time slot competition Hawaii Five-0 will bring in the fall:
  

  This season CASTLE will get a new time slot competitor in CBS’ much-anticipated reboot of HAWAII FIVE-O. Have you given any thought to it and are you at all concerned about the competition?
  “Well you know I think the viewers that have created an allegiance to CASTLE are there for a reason. Something like HAWAII FIVE-O is a different show entirely and I think we’re going after different audiences. That said, I’m sure producers are aware of it, they’re all smart people. And if CASTLE is capable — at least from my understanding — of bouncing of CSI: MIAMI that means it has got some legs and I’m sure that will help us sustain its own sort of audience.”

• Some good feedback from foreign buyers who were at the LA Screenings in May posted by WorldScreen:
  

  CBS’s Hawaii Five-O reboot was among the shows cited by a number of buyers as having strong potential. “We thought Hawaii Five-O was very good, and it’s a genre that hasn’t been done in a while,” says Francesco Mozzetti, the head of acquisitions and sales at Italy’s leading commercial broadcaster, Mediaset, of the CBS Studios International show starring Alex O’Loughlin and Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim. Rüdiger Böss, the head of acquisitions at the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, was also impressed with the series, along with another CBS show, the legal dramedy The Defenders with Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell. “We have already secured the rights to these series,” says Böss. Roxanne Barcelona, the VP of GMA Worldwide, the acquisitions and sales arm of Filipino broadcaster GMA Network, was a fan of the original Hawaii Five-O and notes, “This remake did not disappoint me, as the pilot script was very well written, production quality was very good, and there was a lot of action.”

  “The CBS series Hawaii Five-O does have potential,” concurs Dirk Schweitzer, the executive VP of program acquisitions and sales at RTL Television. “The pilot, however, was produced very expensively, and it remains to be seen whether the quality of the series [can meet] expectations.

• David Rancken at Dallas’s 103.7 Lite FM posted this about the pilot:
  

  “The remake of Hawaii 5-0 is really really good. Action packed. Great cast. Alex O’Laughlin is a great Steve McGarrett. Scott Caan is Danno. Daniel Day Kim is Chin Ho. Great first episode.”

• A UK reviewer for Cambs24 (Cambridgeshire) who wrote about The A-Team movie has a convoluted way of saying that our pilot rocks:
  

  “There is also the upcoming remake of Hawaii Five-0 that’s out later this year on US television networks, starring Jin from Lost. I saw the pilot of this the other day and this looks like it breaks the mould in terms of dreadful remakes.”

• Matt Mitovich and Julie Zied at FanCast share their opinion on the pilot:
  

  What Works: I wanted to start our First Look series on a high, and ‘Five-O’ is one of this season’s most entertaining pilots. The Hawaii setting is of course gorgeous (even if it perhaps gives ‘Lost’ vet Kim flashbacks to The Island!), and the cast is among TV’s most telegenic. The task force’s first assignment is sufficiently engaging, even as it works to set up the series’ premise and intro the players. Jean Smart (’24?) is the Hawaii governor who taps McGarrett for this plum gig, while James Marsters (’Buffy’s Spike) guest-stars as a nasty (and hopefully recurring) baddie. And yes – the theme song is the same, with near-identical visuals in the opening credits.

  What Needs Work: In this his third CBS series, O’Loughlin isn’t “popping” as much as he did sporting ‘Moonlight’ fangs, but that could balance nicely with Caan’s Danno, who is one entertainingly quippy cop. Also, the pilot screams expensive, kicking off with a literally explosive sequence that introduces McGarrett’s demons; it’ll be interesting to see how they maintain that quality on a weekly basis.

  Take Two, from Fancast’s Julie Zied: Given that I often regard procedurals as background filler best viewed while occupied with other tasks, I was surprised by how instantly captivating this pilot was. O’Loughlin shines as the cocksure pack leader, and his exchanges with his reluctant partner are some of the show’s wittiest. (“You let your daughter sleep here?” McGarrett asks upon seeing Danny’s shabby pad. “Who are you, Nanny 911?” Danny retorts.) As the series progresses, I’m curious to learn more about Jin’s Chin’s shady past and what happened between Danny and his ex that led him to set her ringtone to ‘Grim Reaper.’ I also look forward to the inevitable fan debate over which eligible bachelor – Danny or McGarrett – Kono should sleep with. Bottom line? Beautiful cast + solid writing + exotic scenery = a series poised to give ‘NCIS’ a run for its money as CBS’ most popular drama.

  The Fancast Forecast: ‘Castle’ may wish that ‘CSI: Miami’ had stayed put.

• Hawaii’s KITV4 News has an article and video about TV and film productions that are helping to put Hawaii on the map: “New ABC TV Series Filmed in Hawaii”.

The Back-up Plan updates:

• A short video with some footage of the cast at the LA premiere was posted by Celebrity Footage.
• The Back-up Plan has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award 2010 in the category “Romantic Comedy”! Strangely enough, although Jennifer is nominated in the category “Actress – Romantic Comedy”, Alex is nowhere to be found. Only US residents between 13-19 are permitted to vote. Voting is limited to once per day per category and closes on August 6th.

Other updates:

• Carol Barbee was presented with a Donate Life Hollywood Inspire Award as well as a Crystal Heart Award for Three Rivers at the Donate Life Hollywood Inspire Awards dinner on June 12th in Beverly Hills. Glenn Matsuki has posted a lovely video of Carol’s acceptance of both honors on the Donate Life Organ & Tissue Donation Blog. Dr. Gonzo spoke at the ceremony and Alex also adds his congratulations at 1:19:
  

  “Carol, congratulations on everything. I love you so much, it’s so wonderful working with you, we’re about to work together again and all the hard work and dedication and passion and honesty and beauty you put into the show called Three Rivers that I was so proud to be a part of, it’s paid off. Congratulations! I love you.”

• Sabine Atkins posted some more great photos from the Donate Life Hollywood event and shares an amusing account of her meet & greet with Alex! Check out: “Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Proper Gift Giving”.
• Deadline Hollywood reports that Alex has switched agencies – he is now represented by United Talent Agency. The post suggests that he may have made the change in order to stay with Chris Hart:
  

  Alex O’Loughlin left ICM for UTA. (Chris Hart was on his team, and the agent just jumped from ICM to UTA.)

• Alex appeared in a fashion feature in the July issue of Madison magazine with photos shot by Carlotta Moye. You can view some scans on the Sassi Sam blog; I’ll be posting HQ scans in the gallery this coming week.

Gallery updates:

• A small article from an internal CBS publication was added with a picture of Alex and Daniel Dae Kim at the recent LA Screenings.
• More images from the June 11th Donate Life Hollywood cocktail party have been added, including some lovely images by Susan Whitney.
• Added The Back-up Plan posters from Hungary, Poland, Israel and a French version of the first poster.

So, this short update is the result of a “quiet” week… We can expect to have a couple more as the show doesn’t start shooting till mid July. Hopefully CBS will announce the premiere dates for the fall shows in the next two weeks. Things will start revving up as we approach the TCA Summer Tour early August and then I expect it will be non-stop action until Christmas. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can!