10/29/2024
My good friend Ruben Carrillo is one of the most highly accomplished figures in Hawaii's film industry, with a career spanning over three decades. I was lucky enough to work with him about 10 years ago, on and off for about 6 months, on a show called "Hawaii House Hunters." We also got the chance to work on a show called "Maui Water Rescue." He's been a camera operator for popular shows like Hawaii 5-0, Magnum PI, MacGyver, and Amazing Race. Rubin has also worked on feature films such as "Kong Vs. Godzilla" and "Finding Ohana" (Netflix).
While I was on a "Mini VaCa/Work Trip" in the midwest 3 weeks ago, I got a call from his partner that they needed help producing a season of the hit TV cooking show, "Cooking Hawaiian Style." I cut my trip short and myself and Kawika Hoke did everything we could to make sure things went smoothly for the entire cast and crew. Besides the great pleasure of meeting and working shoulder-to-shoulder with his team, I got to connect (for an entire week) with host Lanai Tabura.
Not only learning all the finer points of what it takes to build a show like this, I was able to brainstorm ideas with everyone above the line and also get valuable feedback on our team's efforts on "MOKU MOKU."
Thanks again, Rubin and Lanai! Looking forward to seeing you again in 2025!