HANALEI — Heavy showers interrupted the otherwise-sunny day, sending beach-goers scurrying from the shores near the Hanalei pier Thursday, the afternoon squall temporarily obscuring the green, waterfall-punctuated mountains and blue sea.
“This is supposed to be a summer setting,” said Sean McNamara, director of the Bethany Hamilton movie which Thursday scheduled a one-day filming on the North Shore.
Eddie Abubo, the Kaua‘i coordinator for the filming, said the plans were for the crew to fly in, film at three sites, and leave Thursday evening.
“They started out at Tunnels before moving to the Hanakapi‘ai Trail at the end of the road,” Abubo said. “The final site was at Hanalei Pier.”
But the weather interruption gave the crew an opportunity to grab lunch while waiting for the weather to clear.
“I got to see a preview of the movie,” said Tom Hamilton, Bethany’s father, who met the crew at the Hanalei Pier. “The director is a surfer and is really working toward realism. The portions that I saw was so good it almost made me cry.”
Abubo said McNamara spent several years directing the “Baywatch” television series and knows his way around surf and beaches.
Also on hand for the Thursday filming, actress Anna Sophia Robb, who plays Bethany in the film, Lorraine Nicholson, who plays Alana Blanchard in the movie, and Jeremy Sumpter, cast as Byron Blanchard in the flick, took advantage of the break to get into more comfortable attire after huddling in rain gear during the squall.
They were also entertained by Sunshine Patey and Irie Driscol, who accompanied Noah Hamilton, Bethany’s brother, and strummed out a rendition of “Beautiful Kaua‘i,” the piece attracting the young stars to try their hand at ‘ukulele.
The impromptu concert also got McNamara involved as he plucked out a few pieces, attributing his ability and callouses on his fingers to playing guitar.
Michael Coots, a Kaua‘i photographer, was also part of the crew, responsible for shooting stills during the production of the movie, a large portion of which is being filmed on O‘ahu.
“This is pretty small compared to the O‘ahu production,” Coots said. “The crews there are so huge they go out in trucks and large vans.”
Thursday’s crew was able to transport equipment and personnel in a couple of pickups and station wagons.
Art Umezu, Kaua‘i county film commissioner, said he was glad the movie is finally underway.
“I’m relieved and very happy for Bethany and her family,” Umezu said in a phone conversation. “It’s been six years since the shark incident and there has been a lot of talk about a film. I’m glad it’s finally being done.”
Umezu said when speaking with the producer initially, the producer said it would be difficult filming the piece on Kaua‘i. That resulted in a large part of the film being done on O‘ahu, but the crews coming to film on Kaua‘i for establishing footage.
“The crews will be back for more shooting later in the month,” Abubo said. “But we don’t know if any of the players will be part of that group.”
