3 Days of Filming Puts Front Street On Big Screen

By Wendy Osher

A portion of Front Street in Lahaina will be closed to traffic tonight as filming gets underway on the Romance/Thriller Hereafter.  The Warner Bros. film is being directed by Clint Eastwood, who owns a home in Makena on Maui.

Lahaina's Front Street is one of three sites being used for the filming of Hereafter. File Photo by Wendy Osher.

Filming begins today at a Kaanapali Hotel, them moves to Front Street tomorrow, and then to a private property in Kapalua.  Maui Film Commissioner Benita Brazier tells Pacific Radio Group and MauiNOW.com that the production will infuse an estimated $4 million to $6 million into the local economy for the production dates alone.  That is non-inclusive of the cast and crew, some of which have been here since December.

An estimated 70 extras have been hired locally including a young girl and her mother who have day-play roles.

Brazier said the production is the largest Maui County has seen since Crowfoot, a TV series filmed in the early 1990s.  She said the new production is also the only to take place in the middle of a Maui town.  Other recent productions in Maui County included Tempest on Lanai last year and Pirates of the Carribean the year before in Kaupo and on Molokai.

“It’s been a nice way to start the New Year…as we continue to try to diversify the job opportunities here,” said Brazier.

“Hopefully this will be the first of a few productions that we will have coming in this year,” said Brazier.

Actor Matt Damon is among the leading actors in the film, however he is not included in the Maui portion of the production.  Other Hereafter stars include Cecile De France and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The screenplay, written by Peter Morgan, tells the story of three people who are touched by death in different ways.  Their lives intersect and are forever changed by what they believe exists in the hereafter.