Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 33

A INSIDE Television D6 Eiitr-rtuinmriit D7 ('(iinics D8 "''nHl'IlM ln FEATURES EDITOR Betty Sliimabiikuro 52LM777 1 fiT.C SUMMER SEASON ENDS ON HIGH NOTE Led by one of the biggest all-time hits, Johnny Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Hollywood will have rung up about $3.85 billion in domestic ticket sales from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, up 6.3 percent from last summer, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance was up about 3.1 percent. The figures mark a rebound for the industry after a dismal 2005. TODAY Monday, September 4, 2006 Section i THE OLD SCOUT Garrison Keillor Mil trail! Fans of the "Gilmbre Girls" are in limbo as they await a decision on whether the new CW network will air locally. If CW shows don't find a spot on a Hawaii station, the show starring Lauren Graham, left, and Alexis Bledel won't air here.

Nor will the established shows "Supernatural," "Veronica Mars," "Everybody Loves Chris," "SmalMlle" or "7th Heaven." Hawaii actress Tani Lynn gets tough in the second season of "Right 29 By Katherine Nichols knicholsstarbulletin.com Tani Lynn Fujimoto was relegated to a minuscule role in "Flight 29 Down" last year, but after earning a standing ovation from cast and crew on the set for her gutsy performance in four episodes of the upcoming season, she had best prepare herself for the spotlight. Indeed, anyone who heard the young talent belt out sev This country is squashing its young IT'S THE BEST part of summer, the long lovely passage into fall. A procession of lazy golden days which my sandy-haired gap-toothed little girl has been painting small ab-: stract masterpieces in tempera and crayon and glitter, reminiscent of Franz Kline or Willem de Kooning (his early glitter period). She put a sign out front, "Art for Sale," and charged 25 cents per painting. Cheap at the price.

A teacher gave her this freedom to sit unselfconsciously and put paint on paper. A gentle 6-foot-8 guy named Matt who taught art at her preschool. Her swimming teachers gave her free-, dom from fear of water. So much that has made this summer a pleasure for her I trace to specific teachers, and so it's painful to hear about public education sinking all around us. A high school math class of 42! Everybody knows you can't teach math to 42 kids at once, kids doped up on sugar, sleepy kids.

The classroom smells bad because the custodial staff has been cut back. The teacher is shelling out $900 per month for health insurance, one-third of his take-home. Meanwhile, he must whip his pupils into shape to pass the federal No Child Left Untested program. This is insanity. LAST SPRING, I taught a college writing course and had the privilege of hanging out with people in their early 20s, an inspirational experience in return for which I tried to harass them about spelling and grammar and structure.

My interest in being 21 again is less than my interest in having a frontal lobotomy, but the wit and passion and good-heartedness of these kids, which they try to conceal under their exquisite cool, are the hope of this country. You have to advocate for young people, or else what are we here for? I keep running into retirees in their mid-50s, free to collect seashells and write bad poetry and shoot video of the Grand Canyon, and goody for them, but they're not the future. My college kids are graduating with a 20-pound ball of debt chained to their ankles. That's not right and you know it. This country is squashing its young.

We're sending them to die in a war we don't believe in anymore. We're cheating them so we can offer tax relief to the rich. And we're stealing from them so that old gaffers like me, who want to live forever, can go in for an MRI if we have a headache. A society that pays for MRIs for headaches and can't pay teachers a decent wage has made a dreadful choice. But health-care costs are ballooning, eating away at the economy.

The boomers are getting to an' age where their knees need replacing and their hearts need a quadruple bypass "Right 29 Down" Second season premieres at 2 p.m. Saturday on Discovery Kids (repeats throughout the week) eral songs including a risky and beautifully handled Celine Dion number at Sunset on the Beach Saturday night knows the biggest challenge for the 18-year-old Sacred Hearts Academy graduate will be choosing which avenue to Fans of "Gilmore Girls" hope it lands a local channel before the season begins By Gary CW. Chun gchunstarbulletin.com A local fan of the female-centric TV drama "Gilmore Girls" let's call her Deb, as she wishes to remain in relative e-mail anonymity was concerned that her favorite show might not air later this month. Why? Because no Hawaii TV carrier has yet been picked to show the prime-time programming of the newly anointed CW broadcast network. The CW, a joint venture of CBS and Warner merges programming formerly shown on the WB and UPN.

The first problem is that the WB's shows which included "Gilmore Girls," as well as "Supernatural" and other niche programming was aired by KFVE. But instead of signing up the CW, that station instead chose to carry telenovellas from Fox's newest venture, MyNetworkTV. No. 2, UPN's shows were aired during the afternoon hours on KIKU, which also has declined to pick up the CW. KIKU General Manager Phyllis Kihara said the CW "wants its programming to be shown during prime time, as Intended.

But since we're already committed to our evening Japanese-language programming, KIKU will not carry the CW." Still an option: Oceanic Time Warner Cable, but so far, no decision. Which brings us back to Deb. How will she and other devoted Hawaii fans keep tabs on the lives of Lorelal and Rory Gilmore, and the rest of the quirky denizens of Stars Hollow, when the seventh season of "Gilmore Girls" Please see "Gilmore," D5 II nil KATHERINE NICHOLS KNICHOLSSTARBULLET1N.COM Tanl Lynn sang between episodes of "Flight 29 Down" at Sunset on the Beach Saturday night. The 18-year-old released her first CD in 2003. pursue first: film, television, singing, theater or a journalism degree.

A large crowd braved intermittent rain at Queen's Beach to catch Fujimoto and her teenage cast-mates in the second-season premiere of the 'tween drama "Flight 29 Down." The 13-part series follows 10 castaways stranded in Micronesia after their plane, carrying them from Los Angeles to an eco-adventure camp (without crashes in a storm. "I got to run through the dirt and climb up hills and eat roots," said Fujimoto, who uses the stage name Tanl Lynn. "Every girl's dream! I love to get dirty." Wearing skinny Calvin Klein jeans, suede boots and a crocheted shrug over a silk peasant top, Fujimoto held her own onstage with Mayor Mufi Hannemann and quickly made everyone forget that she Please see "29 Down," D5 THE NEW IV SEASON A day-by-day guide to the shows debuting over the next few weeks Pages D4-D5 COMING UP Edgy Lee discusses the art of filmmaking at Halekulani event Filmmaker Edgy Lee shares the inspirations behind her work in an appearance from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Halekulani. "The Sustainable Mind, An Evening with Edgy Lee" will include a discussion, excerpts from Lee's films, music and a reception of Halekulani wines and hors d'oeuvres.

The event is part of the "Halekulani Living" series of seminars, showcases and performances with local and international artists, filmmakers and authors. Cost is $45. Call 931-5005. 4 Lee's most recent work was "The Hawaiians Reflecting Spirit," a documentary on local culture, especially how it ties in with tal sustainability. The film premiered at the opening of the Museum of the American Indian in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

GO COURTESY RICK NOYLE CORNER Please see Old Scout, D5.