Saturday, November 20, 2010

Hawaii Five-0: On the 7th Day The Lord Put His Foot Down

By Pam

I know that Alex O’Loughlin puts 110% into the work he does.  It’s his work ethic that drives him. I read once that he took a Sunday afternoon to practice one stunt for Hawaii Five-0.  Now, that’s dedication…and he loves his work. After grinding out eleven episodes of Hawaii Five-0 so far, can he continue the pace?

This article appeared in the April 14, 1973 issue of the AUSTRALIAN TV WEEK.  Sounds like Jack Lord set a precedent….or did he?  
JACK BEATS THE SYSTEM

HAWAII FIVE-0 star Jack Lord is a man who insists on relaxation.  Even on a whirlwind promotional tour of Australia the well-muscled giant insisted on time off to enjoy the scenery. Which is why he took a boat trip around the Sydney Harbor, an attraction which never fails to get visitors from the States.

Jack, back home in Hawaii, completely revolutionized television series-making all on his own, because of his insistence on peace and relaxation and shorter working hours.

“Things were just getting out of hand,” he told TV WEEK. “I was working all hours of the day and night and the weekends, too, so I decided that enough was enough.  Now I don’t lift a finger at the weekend, except maybe to paint, and I will not work the long hours that I used to.”

When Jack first put his foot down the television producers howled and said it couldn’t be done.

“You know what?” drawled Jack. “They soon found out it could be done.  It had to be. I didn’t intend working myself into the ground.  Suddenly schedules were tightened up, and time wasting was cut to a minimum.  The same guys that were crying suddenly started to grin when they were working just five days a week, without masses of expensive overtime – and getting a good product on the screen.  There is so much time-wasting goes on with a series and it can so easily be cut down.  Now I reckon we have the happiest working crew in television.  We are relaxed and know that we can enjoy our leisure time without work cutting into it.  And for me, that’s how any job of work should be – even in television.”
Scott Caan plays Danny “Danno” Williams in the new version of Hawaii Five-0.   “There’s no time off, so you see people more grinding and grumpy than having a great time,” says Caan. “The no-time-off drives me crazy.  That’s my fight if it goes another year, because I need to do other things I like to do.  It’s sort of unhealthy doing this show.” 

Alex O’Loughlin, who portrays Steve McGarrett, also opens up about the situation.  “You move away from your family and friends to a small Island where everyone knows your business and the time you’re not at work, you’re at home studying for the next day.  Even when the red carpet stuff comes around, you’re so tired you don’t even want to go.”**

“I don’t have free time. I have one day off this weekend and I plan to surf or sleep. Or I just lie in bed.”

Hear that CBS?  If you want to pay homage to Jack Lord and the original Hawaii Five-0, how about giving your people some much needed down time as Jack Lord insisted he and “his people” have?  Take time to smell the hibiscus. 

1 comment:

  1. One of them mentioned that they have a 12-16 hour day 6 days a week. I guess it might sound stupid and I am not that well informed, but is that normal for shooting a film? Well I guess you cant compare the film buisness to a "normal" job but isnt that a little too long?

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