Wainaku Wednesday

Yesterday there was a film crew a block from my apartment. They were shooting under a pop tent on Wainaku street. The cops were blocking traffic. The crew had a bunch of trucks parked at The Wild Ginger Hotel.

When I drove past I wondered if I just made my film debut. They were filming the group of houses that look like a tiny trailer court between Iliahi and Ohai streets. I've never seen a group of houses like this anywhere else in Hilo. I have no clue how they got around Hawaii's zoning ordinances. For the shoot, there was a big blue "OPEN" sign set up in the street, as if the trailer court was actually meant to be a store.

I have seen some interesting things in my neighborhood: a duck riding on the back of a German Shepherd, a giant sow in a cage, nine cop cars surrounding the Yellow Victorian, but this is the first film shoot I've seen here.

This is not the first film shoot I've ever seen. When I was attending law school, they filmed "Tommy Lee Goes to College" at UNL and they shot some of the scenes of Tommy taking a test in our law library. Apparently, it had good lighting. Later that year, I saw Tommy at a Nebraska football game.

This morning the trucks, the film crew, and the cops were gone, and it was business as usual in Wainaku. According to "The Hilo Happenings" Facebook group there is a movie shooting in town that is looking for extras, but there were no further details.