Culture runs deep in paradise. (Hawaii's Culture).

Seeing stars

The opening scene for the soon-to-be-released James Bond movie "Die Another Day" is a surfing sequence filmed at Jaws, a famous beach on Maui.

The downtown Honolulu post office is doubling as the interior and exterior of the Nigerian presidential palace for Bruce Willis' search-and-rescue war movie "Tears of the Sun."

"We are going to be very well represented in theaters for many months," said Walea Constantinau, the city of Honolulu's film commissioner.

Hawaii's natural settings--lush tropical mountains, sandy beaches, blue waters and cascading waterfalls--used as backdrops in Hollywood blockbuster movies pump millions of dollars into the state's economy According to the Hawaii Film Office the industry generated $136 million in revenues in 2000. Last year's figures are being finalized.

"We are incredibly photogenic," Constantinau said. "The fact you can get a lot of looks in one place makes us desirable."

Another movie filmed in Hawaii this year was "Blue Crush."

Television series such as "Baywatch Hawaii," shot on Oahu and the neighbor islands, as well as commercials and documentaries, have added to the growing industry The number of inquiries received by the film commission office has regained momentum since Sept. 11, Constantinau said.

"Hawaii over the years built a relationship with really important production companies and studios, and that is why Hawaii is on their radar screen," she said.

The Big Island's Film Commission office receives more than 300 inquiries a year from production companies, said Jane Testa, director of Hawaii County's Department of Research and Development. Most recently 20th Century Fox was on location filming the "Planet of the Apes" starring Mark Wahlberg.

--Debbie Sokei

Cultural enrichment

Hawaii's appreciation for culture extends far beyond Waikiki showrooms.

Visitors can find throughout the islands an array of cultural and intellectual treasures that include outstanding museums, world-class art academy and opera, an orchestra performing classic and contemporary music and annual film and jazz festivals.

The cultural richness of the arts is one of best-kept secrets in Hawaii, said Georgianna Lagoria, director of The Contemporary Museum.

"It always comes as a surprise to people how much the state of Hawaii has to offer in terms of culture and the arts," she said. "There's an amazing richness that's here. I think we compare wonderfully to other destinations, plus we have other gorgeous natural wonders. You can have all the excitement and variety of an urban center with the beauty of a tropical resort -- we're incomparable in the world that way"

People today aren't traveling to Hawaii just for surf and sand, but also for its cultural attractions, said George Ellis, director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, which offers 40,000 Asian and Western works from ancient times to the present.

"Cultural tourism in the last five or 10 years has been growing throughout the nation and the world," he said. "Hawaii has always been viewed as one of the most beautiful places in the world and a desirable place to visit and that will not change, but we have something more than that, that most cultural destinations in tropical locations do not have. It's value-plus here."

- Kristen Sawada

Students from abroad

Students from around the world have found Hawaii to be the ideal place to study their disciplines.

Hawaii Pacific University currently has more than 2,100 international students from more than 100 countries. The University of Hawaii system last fall had nearly 3,000 U.S. mainland students, or 6.5 percent of total enrollment. Foreign students from 77 countries comprise nearly 1,400, or 3 percent of UH's total enrollment.

Aside from its beautiful beaches, sun and surf, Hawaii's diverse cultures, natural resources and people play into a well-rounded academic career.

"I basically wanted to go as far away from home [as possible] to get something different," said Ralf Mitteregger, a Hawaii Pacific University graduate student from Austria. "Hawaii's the best place to get this because so diverse, you meet so many people and you experience so many cultures. The environment influences the education. You have incredible nature all around you and the people here -- that's what influences the learning process."

Hawaii universities historically have strong reputations in programs such as oceanography astronomy and Asian and Pacific studies because of the state's location, said Karl Kim, University of Hawaii interim vice chancellor for academic affairs.

-Kristen Sawada