According to Maui County Film Commissioner Brian Kohne, there are a couple of proposals currently making their way through the state legislature that could affect the film and TV production industry in Hawaii. Courtesy photo

Where once Hawaii was a valuable, booming location for film and TV productions, the future looks pretty dismal. In 2024, only one major TV show was being filmed in the islands, Fox’s “Rescue: HI-Surf,” action drama which follows the lives of lifeguards on Oahu’s North Shore.

“Things have been very slow,” explained Maui County Film Commissioner Brian Kohne. “It is just a difficult time for the industry, and Hawaii is going through an incredibly difficult period after many years of prosperity and activity. Oahu has lost three of its four television programs, leaving a lot of our brothers and sisters out of work.”

“NCIS: Hawai’i,” “Magnum P.I.” and “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” have all halted filming here. “The only program currently airing, ‘Rescue: HI-Surf,’ is highly rated and pretty entertaining,” Kohne said. “But they have yet to commit to a second season. So the big question is why? To simplify it from my perspective, Hawaii, from a governmental standpoint, needs to strengthen film production incentives. We haven’t done that, and that sent a message out into the world, that Hawaii may not be committed to this industry, which is a dangerous message to send.”

While CBS cancelled “NCIS: Hawai’i,” “they didn’t pull ‘NCIS: Sydney’ because Australia is fully committed to incentives,” Kohne added. “And make no mistake, the motion picture industry in the islands is a major driver for our visitor industry, and can definitely play a prominent role in Maui’s return to prosperity if we all work to that end.”

According to TheWrap, filming of the first season of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus,” at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, reportedly boosted tourism and contributed $12.9 million to the local economy.

“The production helped to get a number of properties here to reopen during the pandemic, not just the Four Seasons,” Kohne said. “There is a direct complementary relationship between the visitor industry and our motion picture industry, and that probably began with the Elvis movies. ‘Hawaii Five-O’ drove the growth and even the reboot was aired in 220 countries.”

All around the world locations compete for movie and TV business by offering tax incentives. Oahu offers a refundable income tax credit of 22% on production expenditures, while its 27% on Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai and Hawaii island.

“Hawaii no longer competes just with Hollywood,” Kohne noted. “We are now competing on a global scale with New Zealand, Australia, Hungary, Thailand and the list goes on.”

A recent example is the upcoming Apple TV+ mini-series “Chief of War,” starring Jason Momoa as a Hawaiian chief.

“It has a budget somewhere in the $200 to $250 million range,” Kohne said. “It takes place in the time period of Kamehameha, but because of economics, Hawaii only saw a small percentage of production. Six months was shot in New Zealand. If that doesn’t illustrate that we’ve got a problem, I don’t know what is.”

Another example is the upcoming Momoa/Dave Bautista action movie, “The Wrecking Crew.” “It takes place in Honolulu, but they only shot on Oahu for about two weeks,” Kohne said. “Then they went over to New Zealand where they did another two to three months. A high-profile Kevin Costner project has also recently turned their back on us, and will be produced in Thailand instead.”

A Baldwin High School graduate, Kohne gained a bachelor’s degree in art and radio/TV/film from San Jose State University in Calif. An associate professor at the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, he directed the Maui-based films “Get A Job” with Willie K and Eric Gilliom, and “Kuleana,” which included Maui actor Branscombe Richmond.

“Maui County has so much to offer,” said Richmond, the star of many TV shows and films. “There’s a plethora of talent here, and we hope to continue to grow this industry in the state of Hawaii. Maui is a wonderful component to the whole field of manufacturing content.”

Soon to be seen in “The Wrecking Crew,” Richmond said, “I’ve got two good movies coming out with Jason Momoa. I did one in New Zealand and one here. Maui is a wonderful place to film. It has everything that movies, television shows and content need. The talent is here. The opportunities are here, and there isn’t a double for the Hawaiian islands. The reason I say it like that is, to get that look, they’re going to Puerto Rico. They did the live action ‘Moana’ in Georgia.”

Maui actor Branscombe Richmond, who’s starred in many TV shows and films, says Maui County has so much to offer the film and TV industry when it comes to producing content. Courtesy photo

At the current legislature, bills are impacting the future of movie/TV production in the state. “There’s one (SB732) that’s designed to strengthen and improve the film production incentives, which is incredibly important,” Kohne said. “Then there’s a worse bill (SB796) that’s designed to absolutely decimate tax incentives in the state. And another one (SB1641), seeks to establish a statewide film commission, which might sound good in theory, but it is ill-informed and problematic. Sen. Yamashita from Maui, who’s the head of the finance committee, is in a position of influence on this matter. The legislature holds the cards on whether the industry sinks or swims this year.”

With the economy shrinking, some worry it would be foolhardy to take any steps to make it worse.

“I’ve attended a number of industry conferences and been in the presence of the biggest movers and shakers globally, and they’re all saying the same thing,” Kohne said. “Improve your incentives and focus on your infrastructure.”

On Maui, Stefan Schaefer, Leah Warshawski’s Inflatable Film, Richmond Family Films, Ken Burgmaier and Tom Vendetti have all produced Maui-connected works.

“Kuleana” producer Schaefer, who directed the Maui-set mockumentary “One Million Dolla,” is currently in post-production on the feature documentary “Epic Swim Maui.” In July 2024, some of the world’s top open-water swimmers swam 134 miles around Maui to bring awareness to ocean health. It’s also planned as a limited TV series.

Also currently in post-production, the feature documentary “Lāhainā Rising,” told and created by generational families, vividly captures the chaos, suffering and heroic efforts to battle the inferno that razed the town.

Despite the relative gloom, Kohne feels optimistic for Maui’s homegrown industry, through emphasizing educational opportunities.

“The Maui Film Office has a wealth of initiatives already developed to establish Maui’s identity as a premier location for low to modestly budgeted independent work, along with national commercials,” Kohne said. “The support we are receiving from our council members and (Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen’s) administration has been incredible. But things playing out in the legislature will in no uncertain terms determine whether or not Hawaii, let alone Maui, will have a seat at this global motion picture table. The stakes could not be higher, and our representatives hold many of the cards right now.”