‘LOST’ in Makiki (Updated)

SPOILER ALERT! (Updated 11:59 p.m. HST ) Just in time to kick off the weekend, the “LOST” production crew was spotted in Makiki… not two blocks from where my family and I used to live. They’ve commandeered a four-story apartment complex at 1818 Anapuni St. to film a scene with Naveen Andrews and Jorge Garcia.

It’s a night shoot, with Klieg lights on cranes illuminating the whole building. It was raining when shooting started, so they kept the parking lot wet with a hose. In one corner, dozens of empty cardboard boxes and several large athletic-style foam blocks. On the street, an ambulance. Looks like a stunt fall is in the cards.

The scene: Hurley and Sayid drive into the apartment complex parking lot in a late-model blue SUV. (It and the other cars have California plates.) They exit, Sayid looking sharp in a black shirt and dark khaki pants, Hurley wearing a thick, long, grey bathrobe over a blue T-shirt. Hurley’s also holding a big burger and paper cup. They make their way stealthily up the stairs, and walk the length of the building, past several apartments. They work their way up to the top floor, Hurley eating the whole way.

Security is keeping an eye on me. I even voluntarily submitted to a bag search. These guys don’t mess around, but fortunately I’m also a known factor. They’ve yelled down several other people with cameras. People I eagerly introduce myself to afterward, of course. (Thanks!) Otherwise, I’m just standing under the lighting crane, watching Hurley and Sayid walk. Again and again, back and forth…

Finally they reach the apartment they’re looking for. They confer for a moment. Sayid seems to reach for the top of the door, looking for a key, perhaps, when something startles them. Sayid pushes Hurley aside, and draws his gun, pointing it at the door. It opens, and there’s a struggle inside. The next moment, Sayid throws a man over the railing to the asphalt four stories below. There’s a second man inside. Shots ring out. Hurley emerges from the apartment, gun in his hand, and looks over the railing in disbelief.

Looks like Sayid is introducing Hurley to his new career.

I initially thought the shoot was taking place down the hill at Central Union Church, but that turned out to merely be “base camp” where trailers were parked and craft services cooked up dinner. My original report follows.

Churches appear in ‘LOST’ quite often. Not surprising, given the show’s underlying themes of faith and redemption. Today, the production set up shop on the beautiful lawn fronting Central Union Church in lower Manoa.

They’re setting up for a night shoot, and there will apparently be exterior scenes, as crewmembers seem to be inspecting and staging some cars that could appear on screen. No tell-tale signs or props just yet, but a friendly gentleman wiring up a trailer suggested that Jorge Garcia and Naveen Andrews were to be the beneficiaries of his handiwork.  (Of course, he only knew them by their general physical descriptions.)

Central Union Church had a brief cameo in an earlier episode of ‘LOST,’ where Locke attended a support group meeting and met Helen in “Orientation” (Season 2, Episode 3).