Todd Peterson – Lost and Found

Q.  What are the current projects that you are working on?

A.  First of all, I don’t know how much you know about me already, but I do acting, directing, and producing.  I do pretty much all of it, I have a lot of different types of projects going on.  As far as acting, I’m doing a guest starring appearance on “Judging Amy,” I’m a police detective in a movie called The Departed with Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.  That is as far as acting goes, I’m producing a new show here in Hawaii called “Two Sea Chefs.” 

Q.  How did you get to be a producer on the show “Lost”?

A.  Oh yeah, on “Lost,” I’m good friends with the film commissioner, in fact I worked in the film commission office as a volunteer basically to help promote Hawaii as a good place for producers to come do their films.  Every time I would go to Hollywood I would talk to my friends and go to parties and I was always putting a plug in for Hawaii as a place to go.  So, because of that I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with the state, the governor’s office, all the different offices involved with economic development.  When “Lost” was coming here they were having some problems getting their filming permits because of the nature of the type of show it was, they had to crash an airplane on a beach, have a lot of things on fire.  It was difficult to get these types of permits because you’re not allowed burning on the beaches at all, so they were just flat out denied.  So, they were upset and they were dealing with the film commissioner and she didn’t have time to do it because she had ten other things that she was doing.  She said “let me just give you this person as a liaison,” and she called me up and asked me if I wouldn’t mind, so I said “Sure, go ahead!”  That’s how I got the credit as a producer on “Lost” and made me a consulting producer, because any time they need something they call me. 

Q.  What made you want to be involved with the show?

A.  I have a strong interest in bringing production here because I love Hawaii, that’s where I live, I live in Honolulu, I fly back and forth two or three times a week to Los Angeles.  Basically, I just want to live in Hawaii and work in L.A., if I can ever do that, but it seems they want to keep me over there! 

Q.  Why do you think that Hawaii is starting to pop up on map for places for production?

A.  Well, we have some very good incentives here, film initiatives that we have passed in house and in the senate, it’s called Act 221, basically it allows a filmmaker to come in and go out and get investors to get money for their productions.  It’s a big incentive for large companies like electric companies and insurance companies that huge tax bills, tax liabilities, so they can cut that into a third basically.  By giving you the money, instead of giving it to the state, so that’s one of the things that’s really helped to promote Hawaii as a place to come.  Another thing is, Chris Lee, he’s the former president of Columbia TriStar, he’s a Honolulu native, he came back to the islands and to live and work from here.  Right now he’s an executive producer onSuperman that’s filming over in Australia with Brian Singer, but he’s from here and together he and I actually got a film school going at the University of Hawaii.

Q.  You’ll be seen soon in the movie The Departed, what can you tell us about the film?

A.  The Departed, its original name that it was known by was Internal Affairs, it’s basically about the Boston police department and the gangs in Boston.  Gangs against the cops kind of thing and then you have the people in the department that are siding with the gangs.  It’s going to be a very interesting film because it has Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, it has Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and a few others, it’s directed by Martin Scorsese.  The only people who have intimidated me are Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood, just being in their presence it bothered me at first, because they are like Gods and they walk on to the set, Jack Nicholson will walk on set with a pack of cigarettes in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the other hand.  His dark glasses on, with his hair sticking up, he looks like hell warmed over, he’s got the crazy look on his face, it’s kind of intimidating. 

Q.  Recently you were in an episode of “Entourage,” your character returning from last year.  What made the show bring you back?

A.  Basically it’s kind of like our life already, actors you know, it’s a show about a bunch of us.  Some of the people that were the parts that were in there, that was actually written about us.  My part was actually written about me, my character has kind of a crazy, just doesn’t give a crap about going out and auditioning.  All of his friends are saying he’s crazy because they are out everyday trying to get jobs and I’m the one that’s like I don’t care if I get a job or not.  I’m like, I’m not going to kill myself everyday and they liked the way I played that and there was some positive feedback from everyone and they decided to put me back in the next time. 

Q.  Who is in your entourage and what makes a good one?

A.  Well, I  got a lot of friends, I have a lot of well known actors that I hang out with, not on a regular basis but I would consider good friends anyways.  For instance, Matt Damon is a good friend of mine and I see him regularly, not maybe once just every couple of months.  He threw a surprise birthday for him here at the W Hotel last year, which that was very surprising and exciting.  I just don’t look at myself as the type of person that people would do a lot of thinking in advance, like “Let’s throw a party for this guy,” because I’m not in any crowd you might say.  I try not to be in the “In” crowd!  I have a lot of friends here locally in Hawaii, I am very politically active in Hawaii as well as in California, so I have a lot of friends that are congressmen and senators, the governor of Hawaii, she’s a friend of mine.  These people are people I deal with all the time, I don’t know if they are in my entourage or not, they are people I deal with all the time.  What makes a good entourage is that they’re like a support group, basically it’s a bunch of people that you can count on, you know you don’t have to worry about saying or doing the right thing.  They know you well enough to know who you are as a person and that’s your group of friends that you can count on.

Q.  You also had a minor role in the movie Bewitched, are you a fan of the original show?

A.  Actually, I used to watch that religiously, all the reruns and everything.  I would watch it as a kid, I would sit two feet right in front of the TV and my mother would have to move me back.  That was one of my favorite shows!

Q.  Is there a summer movie you are really interested in checking out?

A.  I see all the movies when they come out but I’m also in the Screen Actors Guild nomination committee, so that allows me to see any movie that I want to see.  Basically, I go see all the movies when they come out, unless they’re really stupid.  I like comedies mostly I guess, I like acting in very serious parts in movies.  For instance, I was in The Legend of Bagger Vance, I played the Mayor of Shanty Town.  That was a depression era movie, and I’ve been in a couple war movies, Windtalkers, I played a solider in that, a bazooka guy.  Then, I was in The Patriotas well, I played General Cornwallis’s right hand man in that.  Those are the type of serious roles, historical type things, but I enjoy watching comedies.  I don’t think I’d be good in a comedy, but I don’t know! 

Q.  What is your latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, activity, sport or music group?

A.  Something that I’ve always been into is flying.  I am a pilot, I love flying, I was flying way before I was acting and actually I have a commercial license, so I could essentially go work for an airline if they would hire me.  That’s one of my passions is flying, I love flying, I have an airplane over here in Hawaii, a small Cessna that I fly. 

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  Well, for all those who actually know who I am, I know there are a few of them out there, I appreciate working in the industry and I enjoy it.  To me it’s not a job, it’s more something that’s a fun adventure and I appreciate the fact that I am allowed to do that.  Because people like me, I keep getting roles, so that helps and I  just would say thanks for that.