Kai Bovaird's Cause & F(x) visual effects and animation house will soon be branching out to Los Angeles.

Bovaird, whose expertise can be seen in the "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Lost," said the new office should be up and running within a few weeks.

"It'll help us tap into the L.A. market," he said.

In keeping with his ongoing mission to develop and highlight Island talent, Bovaird will keep Honolulu as his base of operations.

While Bovaird is well known for his visual contributions to films such as "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Hero," and for being visual effects supervisor for ABC's "Lost," he makes time to handle smaller projects, including the locally produced animated film "Bucky and the Hui" and the upcoming indie "Far Sighted."

He's also helping develop the video-game component of Peter Britos' ambitious new "Black Sand Hawaii" franchise. More on that this Sunday.

PRESTON COMES HOME

Hawai'i-born actress Kelly Preston is scheduled to appear at tomorrow's Sunset on the Beach event at Queen's Surf in Waikiki.

Preston ("Jerry Maguire," "Sky High") will talk about "What Every Parent Needs to Know to Keep Your Kids Drug-Free" before the screening of her film "What a Girl Wants." She will also speak at a gathering of families at Kuhio Park Terrace.

ANAPAU, TOO

Actress Kristina Anapau is back home this weekend for the Big Island Film Festival screening of "Self Medicated."

Anapau, a Hilo High graduate, will appear with Monty Lapica, who wrote, directed, produced and starred in the semi-autobiographical film about a troubled teen who finds himself placed in an abusive juvenile rehabilitation program.

The film screens tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Waikoloa Kings Golf Course driving range.

"Self Medicated" took top honors at the Rome Film Festival and has garnered a lot of other recognition in 20 screenings worldwide.

Anapau, in a strong co-starring role, has previously acted in "Cursed," "Escape from Atlantis," "Madison" and "100 Girls."

For more about the film, see http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Aug/08/il/508080307.html.

For information on the Big Island Film Festival, visit www.bigislandfilmfestival.com.

HAWAI'I PING

There's a heavy Hawai'i presence in the upcoming film "Balls of Fury," a martial-arts-inspired spoof on ping-pong directed by Ben Garant ("Reno 911," "The State").

Jason Scott Lee is aboard, and so is Maggie Q ("Rush Hour 2," "Mission Impossible III") and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

The film stars Dan Fogler, James Hong, Christopher Walken and George Lopez.

FULL, UPRIGHT POSITION

Tagawa has been racking up the frequent-flier miles recently with stops in eastern Asia (for film and other business), Kazakhstan (to finish up "Blizhny Boy: Final Fight" with Cung Lee, David Carridine, Gary Busey and Eric Roberts), and now Los Angeles for the "Balls of Fury" project. He will be back in Hawai'i this summer to conduct a pair of Pacific New Media workshops.

Tagawa, who has recently been coaching aspiring local actors Tani-Lynn Fujimoto and Jordan Segundo, will teach the Art of Acting on July 8 and 9. For more information, visit www.outreach.hawaii.edu/pnm.

Local viewers can catch Tagawa for free in the broadcast premiere of Dana Hankin's acclaimed film "True Love and Mimosa Tea," June 6 on KHNL.

The film, based on a short story by Joey Char and adapted by Cam Eason, also stars Elizabeth Lindsey ("Byrds of Paradise") and Tamlyn Tomita ("The Joy Luck Club").

KAMEN GROUND

Hey, Spider-Man is great and all. So are the Green Hornet, the Yellowjacket and Wasp. Make a case for Fearless Fly, if you must. But for kids growing up in Hawai'i in the 1970s, no buggy superhero was quite as cool as Kamen Rider V3.

Miyauchi Hiroshi, who starred in the short-lived Japanese live-action series, will join Kikaida star Ban Daisuke and a few costumed friends for an autograph and photo session 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Shirokiya at Ala Moana Center.

Daisuke has appeared in Hawai'i before, but this is his first time sharing the autograph table with Hiroshi.

The event is sponsored by JN Productions and its Generation Kikaida show in cooperation with Shirokiya. JN, which has enjoyed surprising success in reviving the old Kikaida craze, released a Kamen Rider V3 DVD box set last year.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.