The soundproofing on the ceiling of his new soundstage was barely in place when Socrates Buenger got a dose of Hollywood drama.
The owner of Maui Film Studios thought he would benefit from a pair of film projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars: "Tarzan," a $175 million Warner Bros. remake starring Alexander Skarsgard, and a five-film deal based on the young-adult book series "The Order of Ethyrea."
He had worked with production officials for months — heady times for a soundstage that wasn’t even finished yet.
Then on the same day last month, Buenger was told that "Tarzan" was going to film in London and that insurance issues with "Ethyrea" were delaying that project.
"I was quite surprised, but the nature of this business is that it is very fluid," he said.
That the Apeman swung away from Maui is probably a better reflection of Hollywood’s bottom line than what happened next to "Ethyrea." Maui may not have had enough soundstage space for "Tarzan," but it had so much beauty that "Ethyrea" author Danica Fontaine, who serves as writer and producer on the film project, felt she could not give up. Last week she said the film project had found a way to make Maui work.
"Maui never came off the table," Fontaine told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week. "I never caved. I never wavered. Maui and Molokai, that’s where we will be filming."
She has big plans and wants to work with Maui Film Studios. Buerger’s fledgling operation is home to the state’s largest soundstage, built in a 22,000-square-foot warehouse space in Kahului.
Fontaine said it will take five years to complete her family-friendly sci-fi series, which will start with "Ethyrea: Code of the Brethren." The budget has been scaled down to $105 million, of which about $60 million will be spent in Hawaii, Fontaine said.
"I already have a home on Molokai," she said. "We will be setting up shop and hiring local."
The stories take place in a fantasy land with griffins, gargoyles, dragons, a skeleton army and apelike creatures that disappear in shadows. Its hero is a character named Prince Xandreus. He hasn’t been officially cast yet.
"The movies have been described by my special effects team as ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ meets ‘Clash of the Titans’ on steroids," Fontaine said. "There is a really hefty special visual effects budget."
Fontaine hopes to be in Hawaii next month and hold casting calls in December. Filming the first part of the series should start in May and run through the summer, she said.
"This film is so fantastical, it needs to be done in a setting that is not only exquisite, but honors the realm that Ethyrea is: the realm of nature," said Fontaine, who looked all over the world for the right location. "Hawaii is that."
Lush beauty wasn’t enough for "Tarzan" and executive producer Jerry Weintraub, according to state Film Commissioner Donne Dawson, who reached out to the producer and explained the state’s new 25 percent neighbor island tax credit for filmmakers. But the film needed more soundstage space, she said.
"It really came down to a dollars-and-cents decision, and that’s usually what happens," Dawson said. "I think there was a genuine interest in their coming here. Obviously, Hawaii has jungles. The types of locations they would be interested in, we definitely have."
What Maui County doesn’t have at the moment, though, is a film commissioner. Harry Donenfeld, who got the job in August 2011, abruptly left the office last month. Neither he nor Mayor Alan Arakawa’s office will say why.
Arakawa’s office put together a search committee for a new film commissioner that includes Buenger and actor Owen Wilson, who has a home on Maui. A commissioner would certainly come in handy since the mayor’s office wasn’t aware of "Ethyrea" when asked about it last week.
"I’m thrilled that the county seems interested in getting the matter resolved as quickly as possible," Buenger said. "Not having a film commissioner is extremely disruptive to developing a film industry."
AND that’s a wrap …
Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
