50 Firsts Dates | Page 5

many different ways to do and say
things.”

Another key comedic role is Alexa, Henry’s highly sexed, if not terribly attractive
assistant, who is played by Lusia Strus. “In real life, Lusia is extremely attractive,” says
Segal, “but we’ve dressed her and done her hair in such a way that she’s really
unattractive. The ‘before-and-after’ photos are remarkable. Basically, she looks like a
Russian shotputter. She’s been a great sport about it.”

There is one non-SAG actor in the film - Jocko, a walrus who resides at Six Flags
Marine World Park in Vallejo, California. According to Allen Covert, "In one of the drafts
of the script Henry took care of a walrus, but I thought the relationship was a little too
psychological. Why not just have this crazy walrus be a joke machine? Of course, we
had no clue whether we could find a walrus to do this. But we talked to some people at
Marine World Park in Vallejo and showed them the script. They said that with enough
time, they could teach walruses to do tricks (Jocko is really one of a team of walruses
used in the film). The entire time we were filming in Hawaii, they rehearsed the
walruses. And they really were hilarious."

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Originally the story for 50 First Dates was set in Seattle. It was Sandler’s idea to move
the story to Hawaii. “Once Adam talked about moving the story to Hawaii,” recounts
Ewing “it just seemed like the very best possible place to do it for many different
reasons. You don’t see many movies shot there, so it was a great experience to film in
a different locale. And it is such a spectacularly beautiful place for a romantic comedy.”

11The movie shot for six weeks in Hawaii, but the other six weeks were shot in and
around Los Angeles. Like a huge circus coming into town one night and leaving at dusk
the following day, the 50 First Dates production roamed Los Angeles County filming at
the Cabrillo Beach Bath House, the American Cetacean Society, the Brigantine
Boatworks in San Pedro, the Ocean Trails Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes and
Leo Carillo State Beach in Malibu, as well as the Unocal Building in downtown Los
Angeles.

In all, 50 First Dates filmed at more than a dozen locations on Oahu, beginning with
Marlin’s house in Waikane and ending on Henry’s boat in Heeia Kea Harbor in
Kaneohe. In between, the company criss-crossed the island for six weeks filming at
such remote locations as the Kualoa Ranch in Kaaawa Valley, on dirt roads in Wahiawa
and Waialua, the pineapple fields of the Dole Food Company, at Makapuu Lighthouse,
at Sandy Beach - where only the bravest mount their boogie boards, on the Dillingham
Ranch and on the beach made famous in From Here to Eternity. Other locations
included Honolulu's Hawaii Film Studios and Island Seaplane Airport and, perhaps most
importantly, Henry’s workplace, the Sea Life Park in Waimanalo.

Although the scenes in Henry's office were filmed on stage in Los Angeles, most of the
exteriors were shot at Sea Life Park. Situated on Oahu's east shore overlooking the
Pacific, Sea Life Park is known not only as a refuge for sea mammals who have been
injured but as a facility to educate the public on the importance of marine ecology.
Among the areas used in scenes for the movie were the Sea Lion Pool and the Dolphin
Cove, where the playful dolphins showed off for the cameras.

Upon returning from Hawaii, the company flew to Napa Valley for scenes in the Walrus
Cove and Shark Tunnel at the Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California, and then to
Whittier, Alaska, for a final day of filming at sea in Prince William Sound.

12There were three major sets built on stages at the Culver Studios and at Sony Studios.
The first was the interior of the Hukilau Café, the interior of the Whitmore house and the
interior of Henry’s office. Comments producer Giarraputo, "We were lucky enough to be
able to work with a lot of wonderful people, many of whom we had worked with before.
It makes it easier when you know the team and can speak in shorthand."

Production designer Alan Au, who had collaborated with Segal and Happy Madison on
Anger Management, returned to oversee the design and construction of the interior
sets. “The biggest challenge for the art department,” he relates, “was that we were
filming exterior scenes at actual Hawaiian locations and needed to match the buildings
on stage in Los Angeles.

“In my initial talks with Peter Segal,