Frank Sinatra filmed in front of Lahaina’s old Pioneer Inn in the adventure movie “The Devil at 4 O’clock.”

With Hawaii long serving as an iconic backdrop for films and TV series, the new book “On Location in Hawaii: A Guide to Where Your Favorite Movies & TV Shows Were Filmed from Jurassic to Eternity,” is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in exploring the islands’ rich cinematic legacy.

It takes readers to the real-life locations where many of Hollywood’s most memorable scenes were filmed, offering a fascinating behind-the-scenes journey through our state’s enduring role in entertainment history.

Set for an August release, this extensively illustrated guidebook opens with an introduction by Grammy-winning musician/actress Tia Carrera. “These islands are more than a backdrop,” she wrote. “They are a place of deep-rooted culture, layered history and everyday beauty that becomes part of your soul.”

With a cover that includes Maui scenes from the Emmy Award-winning first season of “The White Lotus” and Jason Momoa at Hana Bay in “Chief of War,” it is organized by islands including Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.

The staff of “The White Lotus” resort meet arriving guests at Olowalu Landing. Courtesy photo

Compiling past, contemporary and upcoming productions, highlighted locations range from Molokai’s Pōhaku Māuliuli Beach in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” and Māʻalaea Harbor featured in Charlton Heston’s 1970 movie “The Hawaiians,” to Elvis Presley at Hanauma Bay in “Blue Hawaii,” and Oahu’s Byodo-In Temple in the Jason Momoa and Andy Samberg action comedy “Protecting Jared,” scheduled for 2027 release.

“There’s a growing trend in the visitor industry called set-jetter,” said co-author Ed Rampell. “A set-jetter is a traveler who goes to a specific destination to see where scenes from his or her favorite movie or TV show were shot. A growing trend, it’s a new way for outsiders to see Hawaii through the lenses of the movies and TV shows that were made there.”

Co-authored by Luis I. Reyes, their previous books include “Made In Paradise: Hollywood’s Films about Hawaii and the South Seas,” “Pearl Harbor in the Movies,” and “The Hawaii Movie and Television Book.”

An L.A.-based author who lived on Oahu for 12 years and wrote for Honolulu Weekly, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and the long gone Haleakala Times, Rampell was the only full-time journalist profiled in the University of Hawaii Press book “Autobiography of Protest in Hawaii.”

Reyes is a renowned scholar, author, and lecturer who specializes in the film history of ethnic minorities in the Hollywood film industry. “He is quite an extraordinary film historian and is currently a guest host and programmer for Turner Classic Movies,” Rampall noted.

The authors have paid special attention to local filmmakers in the islands with the Maui section including Matty Schweitzer’s “Lahaina Rising.” “We definitely have focused on the growing trend of Indigenous filmmakers and local filmmakers, people who may not be of Hawaiian ancestry,” said Rampell. “Our book ends with two films that were shot on location in Maui County.”

The Maui chapter includes Frank Sinatra filmed in front of Lahaina’s old Pioneer Inn in the adventure movie “The Devil at 4 O’clock,” and “The White Lotus” resort staff meeting guests at Olowalu Landing.

The authors highlight the George Helm film “Hawaiian Soul” in the Molokai section, by Native Hawaiian filmmaker Aina Paikai. “It’s a beautiful short film,” said Rampell. They also include Alika Tengan’s drama “Moloka’i Bound,” which Rampell suggested “is one of the most important films in the growing trend of Indigenous and local filmmakers.”

Rampell hopes their book appeals “to local readers who are interested in the film and the TV industry, and of course the general visitor and those who want to see where those movies and TV shows that first exposed outsiders to the Hawaiian islands and lured them there so they see it with their own eyes.”

They close their book with a hope for the future of homegrown island filmmaking. “We end our grand tour with a new beginning: The growing trend of Native Hawaiian and local filmmakers shooting at what Hollywood might call ‘locations,’ but which these talented islanders simply call ‘home’.”

“On Location in Hawaii: A Guide to Where Your Favorite Movies & TV Shows Were Filmed from Jurassic to Eternity” is published by Mutual Publishing, available in August.