AOLR Weekly Wrap-Up #56

Hawaii Five-0 Articles & Buzz:

• The Honolulu Star-Advertiser included a snippet about how Daniel Dae Kim celebrated his 42nd birthday:
  

  DANIEL DAE KIM of “Hawaii Five-0″ celebrated a birthday with dinner at Tango Contemporary Cafe in the Hokua building Aug. 4. His small group of family and friends included Grace Park, also of “Five-0,” and publicist Erika Kauffman. They all must have been happy about the new series being the cover story on the Aug. 16-22 double issue of TV Guide. A solid shot in the arm for the show.

• Hawaii Five-0 generates the most buzz according to Comcast’s TV Pulse Survey, an annual independent survey involving 1,000 individuals across the USA.  An impressive 40% of the respondents ranked H50 as the first of five shows named. See also “Chicago Viewers Want to See ‘Hawaii Five-0′ This Fall”.
• From Channel Guide Magazine’s preview post of Hawaii Five-0:
  

  It’s faster and more dangerous than the original, but even more than the heightened level of action, what really gives it the edge on its predecessor is the human interplay between McGarrett, Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan) and the others on the squad. Back in the days of Jack Lord, the original McGarrett, we rarely knew anything about the personal lives of the supercops who combed the vermin out of their islands, but this time around, we get that insight into their personal lives, even with a bit of tongue-in-cheek levity.

  At heart, though, what makes this series work are the three components that shored up the original’s success — action, intrigue and a bit of exotica. (The traditional Hawaiian blessing the show was given in Honolulu at the start of its shooting probably didn’t hurt, either.) Audiences should respond to the pace in particular: More happens in the pilot than one might have thought possible in a one-hour episode. Add to that the international scope of the action and you have a series that should appeal directly to 24 fans looking for their fix.

• Praise too for the pilot from Maggie Furlong, The Show Girl:
  

  “Another re-imagining that fires on all cylinders: Hawaii Five-0 wins the award for most fun pilot. It’s slick, sexy and seriously action-packed. Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are a force to be reckoned with and the gorgeous Hawaii backdrop sure doesn’t hurt.”

• A great write-up from Monsters and Critics, who include Hawaii Five-0 in their Fall 2010 TV Drama Picks:
  

  This version is cinematic, lush, well written, acted and is a contemporary take on the classic series about a new elite federalized task force featuring the fit Detective Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin), a decorated Naval officer turned cop, returns to Oahu to investigate his father’s murder and stays after Hawaii’s governor persuades him to head up the new team: his rules, her backing, no red tape and full blanket immunity to hunt down the biggest “game” in town.

  What makes this series hum is the chemistry he has with costar Detective Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan), a divorced, newly relocated ex-New Jersey cop who prefers skyscrapers to the coastline but is committed to keeping the Islands safe for his 8-year-old daughter. Rounding out an excellent ensemble is Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim), an ex-Honolulu Police Detective wrongly accused of corruption and relegated to a federal security patrol, who is also a former protégé of McGarrett’s father, and his cousin Kono Kalakaua, played by Grace Park.

  If this show were meat, it would be spit roasted Kalua Pig, served up in banana leaves with a big fat Mai Tai chaser.

Hawaii Five-0 Updates:

• Hawaii Five-0 will once again be featured on Entertainment Tonight on Monday (that’s tomorrow) in the segment “From Big Buzz to Blockbusters: Hawaii Five-0 Hotties”, so set your DVR!
• CBS has confirmed the air date for the CBS Fall Preview that I mentioned a few weeks ago. The 30-minute primetime special will be hosted by Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell on Monday, September 6 at 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT and will offer sneak peeks of CBS’s new shows for the fall, including – of course – Hawaii Five-o!
• Keith Power has joined Brian Tyler to score the Hawaii Five-0 series. For an overview of his work, check out IMDb; he also has a new website that’s currently being developed.
• In addition to Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, Latin America, and Canada, now the Indian market can also expect to get Hawaii Five-0 on TV. A joint venture between CBS Studios International and Reliance Broadcast Network will result in the launch of three new English entertainment channels in Q4 this year, reaching a whopping 134 million households.
• For another video of our guys shooting at the Pacific Rim Bank on Waterfront Plaza, check out the one posted by The Red Band Project.
• Taryn Manning will finally appear as Steve McGarrett’s sister (now called Mary instead of Maryann) in episode 104, as will Catherine, McGarrett’s previously elusive love interest. The lucky actress’s identity has been tweeted recently (and it’s not Angela Gots as was rumored a few months ago), so if you absolutely can’t wait till episode 104 airs in October, you know where to search. Peter Lenkov (the Bigger Kahuna and such a terrible tease), did share the following:
  

  McG and Catherine in bed = Fun & Playful. SO GREAT! There’s enough footage to cut an entire show featuring the 2 of them under the sheets.

  Will we survive the taut navy trunks in 101, only to be floored by a hot love scene in 104?!

• Wayne Harada has posted more details about the Sunset on the Beach screening of the pilot on September 13:

Meanwhile, the network will air the pilot Sept. 13 in a “Sunset on the Beach” red carpet gala beginning at 5 p.m. on the beach at Waikiki, with the public screening set for 7:30 p.m. Actors O’Loughlin, Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Taryn Manning and Jean Smart will be on hand, along with producers Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci.
Another private red carpet party will follow for invited guests at Nobu’s at the Waikiki Parc Hotel, hosted by chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

• It doesn’t appear as if Hawaii Five-0 will be presented at the annual Fall TV Preview Parties at the Paley Center! This year’s event is scheduled on Friday, September 10 and only The Defenders, Mike & Molly and $#*! My Dad Says are included in the lineup, but hopefully we will be seeing our Alex and other cast members on various talkshows as the premiere date approaches.
• On Saturday, August 28 an open casting call will be held between 10 am and 4 pm at Aloha Tower Marketplace. H50 needs to cast speaking roles and background extras and adults of all ages and ethnicities are invited to come forward. No experience is necessary.
• Watch this cute local Philly Hawaii Five-0 sing-along promo featuring WYSP DJ Danny Bonaduce and assorted CBS3 viewers!
• A bandaged Scott Caan was spotted leaving an LA restaurant on crutches on Friday and he was sighted at LAX today. He will be back on the set tomorrow (also his 34th birthday), as confirmed by Peter Lenkov in a very recent tweet:
  

  Just flew into paradise with Danno. On the mend and mobile. Ready to shoot tomorrow.

  Welcome back, gentlemen!

• A slew of H50 related pictures appeared on Twitter and elsewhere recently that are fun to see:
  http://tweetphoto.com/39484086
  http://yfrog.com/b9x8guj
  http://tweetphoto.com/39481926
  http://tweetphoto.com/39474649
  http://tweetphoto.com/39472304
  http://tweetphoto.com/39465711
  http://tweetphoto.com/39499545
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7957972@N06/4917641429/
• And there are also some pics of the cast (yay – Alex!) posted by Cloudia and the Honolulu Star Advertiser! Cloudia also adds:
  

  All the buzz is about how really good the episodes are screening-out. Everyone included in the production (and that includes every Honolulu resident is very excited!

• Peter Lenkov also treated us to a picture taken of footage of Steve McGarrett playing high school football – check out the number on his jersey !
• And a new article from Mike Gordon about local extras having fun on shows such as Hawaii Five-0: “Films, TV Productions Bring Local Actors Extra Income”.

Other Updates:

• Donate Life is now accepting rose dedications for their 2011 Rose Parade float. If you haven’t sent Alex a gift for his 34th birthday, consider dedicating a rose to him in support of his favorite cause, as the fans of the German Alex O’Loughlin Fan Club did! More details on how to order a rose dedication can be found at the Donate Life Organ & Tissue Donation Blog.
• A cute mention of the Aussie hottie appeared in a recent Miami Herald article about The Back-up Plan and that other pregnancy movie:
  

  The soulmate with terrible timing is hunk Alex O’Loughlin. This attraction we get. The Australian star of the upcoming Hawaii Five-O remake is one hot property.

• Of course you haven’t forgotten that The Back-up Plan DVD and Blu-ray will be released on Tuesday, August 24! There are DVD giveaways  at NiceGirlsTV,  Beyond Beautiful and Lite FM as well as a chance to win $750 at SheKnows (all are open to US residents only).

Have a great week and stay safe!