WHEN TV KNOWS TO PULL A SHOW

You’ve got to respect and applaud a network procedural to yank an episode because of what’s transpiring in real life.

With the most recent gunman killing innocent school youngsters at a Texas elementary school today, CBS –which was to air a finale of “FBI” tonight (May 24) — has yanked the episode from viewing because it contains an issue of a firearms heist and airing it might be insensitive with the tragedy playing out on live TV news shows as the number of deaths mount, in real time. CBS was right to pull the “FBI” episode.

Jeremy Sisto

According to a show biz website, TheWrap, the potentially inflammatory episode involves the son of Jeremy Sisto’s character, Jubal Valentine, and his reluctance to share data with ties to a massive gun heist about a fellow classmate involved with firearms. The son is portrayed by Caleb Reese Paul.

No date has yet been announced when the episode might air. The other two “FBI” series: “FBI: Most Wanted” and “FBI: International,” will air as scheduled.

TV dramas infrequently yank shows after real-life tragedy, but also take cues using real life episodes from news headlines to create fictional plots. …

Aloha, Jackie

Karen Keawehawaii and ‘ohana bid a fond aloha to her hubby, John “Jackie” Farias, in services Sunday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. He died last April 25.

Jackie Farias

In true Hawaiian spirit, there was mele and hula galore, and touching ‘ohana memories shared by daughters Tracie, Staci, Winona and Melody, with mo‘opuna Puna, Haweo and Acacia also taking the mike.

The menu for after-services fellowship “was dictated by Jackie’s favorites,” said Keawehawaii. “Sweet-sour spareribs and laulau.”
The big hit was the take-home mini-carrot cakes, based on Jackie’s Christmastime recipe, with daughter Staci, aka Kalani, spearheading the “Carrot Cake Challenge” by creating 410 take-home “favors,” Kalani is the lone Farias soul who loves to be in the kitchen, and obviously was the one who spearheaded the bake fest, with some kokua from mo‘opuna Pi‘ikea and Ka‘onohi.

“My only involvement was taste-testing,” said Keawehawaii, adding that the services wouldn’t be complete without the carrot cakes. …

Names ‘n’ places

Dan

The “Dan Del Negro Trio Plays Swingin’ Jazz, Beautiful Ballads, Hot Latin, and Full-out Funk” is the theme of a jazzfest at 6 p.m. Friday at Medici’s at Manoa Marketplace.

The Del Negro Trio features Del Negro on piano, Dean Taba on bass and Noel Okimoto on drums; it appeared last month to enthusiastic crowds, hence the return visit.

Tickets: $59, includes a supper before the show. Visit:
www.tix.com/ticket-sales/musicatmedicis/5142/event/1269047

Out Maui way, Eric Gilliom’s one-man show, “White Hawaiian,” is set for a trio of gigs at ProArts Theater in Kihei. The playdates: July 8, 9 and 10, Aug. 12, 13 and 14, and Sept. 16, 17 and 18.

Tickets: (808) 463-6550, www.proartsmaui.com

And that’s Show Biz. …

A TITLE SPONSOR FOR UKE FEST

A few changes are forthcoming, when the 52nd Annual Ukulele Festival – a summertime attraction and destination for locals and visitors alike – unfolds at 7 p.m. July 17 as a virtual event.

New: a title sponsor, Tony Group Autoplex, will strum in this year, making the event possible. Thus, the annual event will be formally known as the Tony Group Autoplex Annual Ukulele Festival.

Unchanged: Through retired, Roy and Kathy Sakuma, co-founders of the world’s largest and most popular uke activity, are returning to jump-start this year’s attraction with plans to keep alive the spirit of the festival’s success.

The Sakumas earlier retired as co-founders of the ukulele festival, when another couple expressed interest in keeping the fest alive, but clearly, the deal fell through, reasons unexplained.

So Sakuma will be aboard, hosting the event along with Hawaii’s most famous and versatile uke man, Jake Shimabukuro.

What’s also new: a free virtual ukulele workshop on July 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hawaii time, a week ahead of the virtual festival.

Roy and Kathy Sakuma, back in the uke saddle.

The Sakumas continue their year-round work to train and instruct ukulele students at their Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios. “That’s what I enjoy most – working with the young kids who want to learn to play the ukulele,” said Roy Sakuma, who, in recent years, returned to host in-person classes himself, becoming part of his studio’s teaching staff. And yes, the kids love him. “It’s so much fun…like the old days,” said Roy.

Jake Shimabukuro

“We wholeheartedly would like to thank all of the ‘ukulele manufacturers, performers, entertainers, international groups, students, sponsors, volunteers, and the entire community of residents and visitors who came out to Kapi‘olani Park year after year to support the festival,” the Sakumas said in a joint statement.

“The ukulele, so small and seemingly ordinary, touches lives in extraordinary ways, and we will continue to spread the joy of the ukulele,” said Kathy.

Shimabukuro, who earned his chops as an early learner, now serves on the board of directors of the Ukulele Festival Hawaii. “It is because of Roy and Kathy’s work that the ‘ukulele is embraced and enjoyed worldwide today with other ukulele festivals throughout the world, and I salute them for their efforts,” said Shimabukuro. …

A Lightbulb Concerto

Streetlight Cadence, the acoustic group from Hawaii, have a reputation of thinking and playing outside the box, which make ‘em truly refreshing.

Ensconced in a room at Sunset Beach in Pupukea recently, the band had a couple of hours to kill following a concert, so they decided to create something special, and impromptu, and recorded a beaut and posted it online.

Streetlight Cadence, with lone “ghost” light, in impromptu video filming at Pupukea.

If the footage — promptly dubbed “A Lightbulb Concerto” –seems unusually dark, clearly it’s intentional: a simple “ghost light,” that single-bulb lamp traditionally left on overnight, a common practice on a Broadway stage, provided the illumination, as Jonathan Franklin performed on violin, Brian Webb on cello, and Ben Chai on banjo, with friend Clara Stegall guesting on guitar . No word on the whereabouts of Jesse Shiroma, the group’s accordionist, but  maybe he was the cameraman?  Looks and sounds like a winnah! …

Friday filler

So who and what will replace  Jay Hernandez and the “Magnum P.I.” crew on Friday nights this fall, on CBS? Taking over the slot: Max  Thieriot, from “SWAT Team,” heading up an inmates-and-firefighter drama, “Fire Country,” tucked in between “SWAT Team” and “Blue Bloods.” ….

And that’s Show Biz. …

REMEMBER YOUR COMMUNITY MOVIE THEATER?

Just asking…

Remember stand-alone movie theaters?

Before the arrival of mega-plex movie theaters, there used to be your community go-to-place for film-watching. One screen only.

Palama Theatre

And it worked: screens in Kaimuki, Liliha, Kapahulu, Kailua, Kewalo, Kuhio (in Waikiki), Waikiki, Palama, Aala, etc. Titles rotated – though the Kuhio and Waikiki were deemed first-run spaces, becoming road show sites with extended showings of hit titles.

Kewalo Theatre

Other theaters had names like Royal, King, Queen, Princess, Liberty, Cinerama, Roosevelt, Golden Wall instead of place-oriented names.

Multi-plexes – sites with anywhere from six to 10 screens – are the norm now, offering choices of films and even luxe seats. And higher prices, for everything, from admission to snack bar items.

THEM BONES, THEM AKU BONES…

In days long gone, did your family enjoy fried aku bones (the bones of the aku, with some flesh still on), to have an oh-so-ono dinner or lunch?

For an earlier generation, fried aku bones was — and still is a–  delicacy. That’s if you can find ‘em.

When salted and peppered with or without a dash of chili flakes, and fried in your cast iron skillet, aku bones are a treat. Broke da mouth ono! Add shoyu, and it’s perfection; Finger -licking good, with apologies to Colonel Sanders.

It was such a treat to have these cast-away bones for a meal. Markets, particularly with a local butcher, used to sell ‘em alongside the fresh aku. It even used to be considered a throw-away thing, but many hungry souls adored this treat, and if you were lucky enough to find these bones to buy, you were lucky, lucky, lucky.

If your family has fishermen who catch aku, you know there’s a treasure amid the catch.

It’s probably a thing of the past, but just wondering: do you know any market that still sells ‘em?

And when was the last time you ate aku bones?

LOOKS LIKE IT’S MOMOA, THE MERRIER

Seems like Hawaii’s keiki o ka ‘aina Jason Momoa is all over the movie map.

The Honolulu native, who is part Hawaiian, will write, star in and executive-produce a straight-to-series, “Chief of War,” for Apple TV+.

The eight-episode project will deal with the colonization of Hawaii, from an indigenous viewpoint, with production likely to begin in the late summer or fall this year.

A general plot outline has not been mentioned, nor cast details revealed yet, but according to Variety, “Chief of War” is a creation of Momoa, and will be produced by Endeavor Content and Chernin Entertainment. Doug Jung will be showrunner, with negotiations under way for Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”) to direct the first two episodes.

Jason Momoa

The producing team also includes Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett, Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Erik Holmberg.

With its island-roots orientation, hope Momoa can encourage his film-making partners to hire more locals, and some with secondary roles, to truly make this a “made-in-Hawaii” success.

Further, Momoa’s schedule includes:

  • Momoa’s Apple TV series, “See,” in which he portrays Baba Voss. The unique show, still streaming episodes, is set in the distant future where a deadly virus has decimated and impacted humans, who are blind or with low vision. Voss has twins born centuries later – with eyesight.
  • A  spec project entitled “Shots! Shots! Shots!,” a Universal Pictures acquisition which will star Momoa. It’s described as a family-centric adventure-comedy flick, with Momoa one of the exec producers, along with his partner, Jeff Fierson. Details are lacking, but among the Hollywood names attached to the project are Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows wrote the spec script.

Momoa, in disguise.
  • Momoa now is in Italy, filming “Fast & Furious 10,” the Vin Diesel franchise (also known as “Fast X,” in which he’s playing a villain. In an online post, Momoa says, “Gonna be fun; I get to play the bad guy, which I haven’t gotten to do for awhile. A very flamboyant bad boy. A little panache.” To minimize getting recognized, Momoa has fashioned his own disguise – sun glasses shielding his eyes and face, plus a scarf around his head, a la the pic he posted himself.
  • His sequel to “Aquaman” is in the can, and that project, dubbed “Aquaman and the Lost Frontier,” will be on screens in March 2023. FYI, the sequel features Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s ex now engaged in court battles with the actor; she’s blaming media coverage that her role of Mera, intended as a three-flick project, is being downplayed because of the she-said, he-said court fight.

Smooth as silk

That Silk Sonic name is absolutely perfect for Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, whose vocal strokes of rhythm and blues and funk and soul have never been better.

Bruno Mars, appearing in his Silk Sonic video.

And the silky and smooth harmonies, demonstrated by Mars and .Paak, have once again boosted the emblematic, retro and reflective aura of the smooth soul grooves of the ‘60s and ‘70s. “Love’s Train” is choo-choo charming, a cover of Con Funk Shun’s 1989 recording that Silk Sonic now owns, thanks to the group’s performance of the tune on the recent Billboard Awards show.

From costumes with bell bottoms and choreography reminiscent of all those soul dudes of the past, the delivery of “Love Train” was as good as it comes. “Love’s Train” currently tops Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay Chart, and is destined to emerge as another No.1 hit for Mars and .Paak. Silk Sonic is a nominee in the BET Awards 2022 show airing June 26 on BET-TV. …

Casey comes to bat in ‘Chicago Fire’ finale

Jesse Spencer

For the finale of NBC’s “Chicago Fire” on Wednesday, Jesse Spencer – firefighter Matt Casey on the show – will return to attend the wedding of Taylor Kinney (Severide) and Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).

Thus, the windup one of TV’s favorite series will be somewhat sentimental; in the context of the show, Casey exited the show last October to relocate to Oregon to help the Darden’s (a firefighter buddy who was previously killed in action) sons complete high school in three years.

But he’s also making good on his promise to support his Firehouse 51 buddies when they get hitched – and a permanent homecoming is not in the cards since the three-year commitment is not yet over. …

And that’s Show Biz. …