WIZARD OF IZ: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" surfaces yet again in Samuel Goldwyn Films' "Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School," pegged for release in the next few weeks. Frequent Island visitors Eliot and Bonnie Tiegel — he's a writer, she is senior supervising producer for both "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider" — caught a preview recently in Los Angeles. Bruddah Iz' voice and 'ukulele provide an inspirational boost in the opening sequence, emanating from a CD/radio player on the dashboard of a truck traveling along a Southern California freeway. The film features Marisa Tomei, Robert Carlyle, John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Astin, Donnie Wahlberg, David Paymer, Adam Arkin, Sonia Braga, Danny De Vito and Camryn Manheim. ...

THE LOCAL ANGLE: Local boy Albert Pyun's sci-fi horror thriller, "Infection," will be screened at the 24th Brussels International Film Festival of Fantasy on March 14. The film explores the spread of a biological infection in real time, captured in a single, unedited shot. The film won the Golden Unicorn Award at Spain's Estepona Film Festival (Best Picture, Best Director) and Pyun and his colleagues are looking for North American release via Lions Gate Entertainment. Bids for further screenings have come from the Dead By Dawn Fest in Scotland on April 23, the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland on July 8 and the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden on Sept. 22. Pyun's earlier films include "Mean Guns" and "The Sword and the Sorcerer." ...

Two Sundays ago, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, John Cruz and Fiji took to the stage at Aku Bone Lounge, giving guests a first-rate jam session. ...

Fiji was huddling with Sam Choy at Sam Choy's Diamond Head a few nights later. Fiji produced a reggae track, "The Best Thing (Poor Heartache)" for the aforementioned Gilliom in a new compilation, "Coconut Island," due shortly. The CD is delayed because of printer's errors discovered after 10,000 copies were ordered. ...

WHO'S NEWS: Remember Tiffany Shinn, who was Young Cosette in 1993's "Les Miserables" when Jason Tam was Gavroche? She has joined the production team on ABC's Hawai'i-based Emmy winner, "Lost." Though Shinn is not as theatrically inclined these days, she attended the University of Southern California (taking courses in both the theater and cinema-television programs) after Punahou and was eager to get into production. She moved to London, where she worked for Wall to Wall Television on a feature-length docudrama for FX television. She remains in touch with Tam, who'll play Paul in that "A Chorus Line" revival this October on Broadway. ...

Bud and Mary Enright, formerly of Hawai'i, escaped the Boston chill recently with Massachusetts pals Russ and Marian Morash. Bud Enright was with IBM here before becoming CEO of Wavefront Tech in California and since has been involved in graphics/techie companies (Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, etc.). They have a fondness for (and knowledge of) old-time performers such as Frank DeLima and Jay Larrin. Russ Morash, a TV producer-director (he's done Julia Childs' "The French Chef" and a succession of Childs programs, "Victory Garden"), conceived the PBS staple, "This Old House." His wife is a chef and author ("Victory Garden Cookbook," "Victory Garden Fish Cookbook") so the talk turned to dining when they gathered with local pals Stephen and Eunice Itoga (he's a University of Hawai'i professor, she's a retired Noelani School teacher) recently at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room. ...

SMALL WORLD: When Cecilia Fordham directed Iolani School's "Fiddler on the Roof" recently, she was pleasantly surprised when her Golde, played by Ashley Higa, introduced her dad, Scott Higa, who was one of Fordham's former students. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.