Book 'Em Andy! Talent Agency Hopeful for Hawai'i's Film Industry

*ADR official logo

It’s a sweltering, stuffy day in Hawai‘i.  More so than usual.  The air-conditioner is out again at ADR agency – a talent company that has helped recruit new “faces” for TV shows and feature films on the island – and talent agent Nazarene Anderson sits calmly at her desk.  A somewhat sleepy town compared to its former home in Honolulu, ADR now resides in the city of Kaneohe, a scenic half an hour drive Northeast from the hustle and bustle of Nordstrom shopping, movie theaters, and trendy restaurants.

“It’s okay,” says Anderson as she keeps her cool with a small desk fan and comfy flip flops (a.k.a. – slippers).  “We get used to changes around here,” she says with a big smile.

In 1983, three “local boys” named Amos Kotomori, Doug Kaia, and Ray Sasaki combined their interests’ in the growing entertainment industry on the island of O‘ahu and created the ADR (Amos, Doug, Ray) Agency.  Sasaki soon took over and handed the reigns over to local model Ryan Brown in the early nineties as he portrayed the very passion to discover unknown local talent that helped the success of the company.  ADR has since survived through the unpredictable weather of easily canceled TV shows looking for an excuse to work in the sun to box-office hits ready to sword fight with Johnny Depp.  Brown’s sister, Anderson, soon peaked interest in the company as she helped coordinate ADR’s events, and became a booking agent in 1998.

Pirates of the Caribbean IV movie poster
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“The greatest part of my job is calling the talent to let them know they received a role.  I love it,” said Anderson, her voice beaming with pride.  “The excitement…especially if it’s their first booking.”

A self-proclaimed “work-a-holic” and busy mother of four, Anderson has helped ADR become one of the “top model and talent agencies” in Hawai‘i.  All of which she credits her models and talents for being highly trained “professionals”.  No matter if they’ve studied in Los Angeles, New York City or Honolulu, “training” has been the main ingredient to her talents’ and ADR’s success.

“The industry gets more and more competitive each year.  If you look back to the 80’s and 90’s, the level of acting skill was definitely not at the standards as they are now,” says Anderson.

Production costs have also increased throughout the years since then and it’s not just actors in front of the camera anymore.  It’s actors and special effects, car bomb or pirate ship explosions, stunt doubles, personal trainers, caterers, make-up artists, production assistants, dog walkers, dog walkers’ assistants and so on.  With that, Anderson feels more pressure to drill the word “training” to all her newbie’s heads.

So called "Baywatch beauties of the 90's" says Anderson -
need more than just good looks for show business today.
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“Without training, you will get no where in the business.  You can no longer just be booked for a project because you have a great look.  You have to know what you are doing on set and you have to know how to hold your scene.  Productions have no time or money for re-takes, which is the most challenging part for any large production.  As it is right now, stunts are being done by digital imaging.  Soon they are going to figure out how to computer generate a leading man.” says Anderson laughing with a tinge of panic.

As ADR and other talent agencies throughout the island (12 total), continue to adapt to the growing entertainment industry, ones things for certain that keeps productions coming back:  Location.  Location.  Location.

“People love to see our beautiful island,” says Anderson.  “They want to see and be a part of what our island has to offer.”

Nazarene Anderson (pictured second from right) along with 

brother Talent Agent Ryan Brown to left, meeting with SAG 

Agent Kathy Muller, SAG Hawai'i President Glenn Cannon,

 and SAG Agent Scott Rogers at the annual SAG Hawai'i

 branch meeting in Honolulu, HI (9/2011).

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Night falls and Anderson is still on the phone.  There’s still no air-con, not even a slight breeze outside their doors to endless concrete highway, or to compliment the planted coconut trees in the one-way-in one-way-out ten car parking lot.  But Anderson remains optimistic as she happily tells a client she just booked them a gig.