Hard Rock Cafe

Posted on by Thor

In pre-pandemic times, Several instructors from Savannah College of Art and Design were in Orlando and invited me to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

I looked up online that parking was free for Florida residents. The parking attendant however thought my somewhat old drivers license looked suspicious, or maybe he just thought I looked suspicious and he insisted I pay for parking. Instead, I backed out and drive around the block. I approached a second parking attendant and he let me in with no hassle.

The instructors were doing the Universal theme parks and even had sketched from inside one of the Harry Potter rides. It would have been fun to join them on those sketch outings but this was the last day of their trip. In the Hard Rock there was a car hanging from the ceiling. That would have been a fun sketch but the food arrived before I had time to sketch. The sketch above was done before everyone arrived. I sent them a photo of the sketch so they would know where to meet me.

 

Pulse: Pablo Quinones

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The director of the Orange County Regional History Center was about to leave her position. She asked me to come to the History Center to do one last sketch for a Pulse related oral history. As she said, this would be the “swan song” that ended the series.

The directors office had a HEPA air filter so this was a rare instance where I sat indoors and did a sketch without a mask. If more venues had HEPA filters I might indeed return to sketching indoors mask less.

Pablo Quinones was a first responder that the Pulse Nightclub shooting. After the shooting he went on to become the personal driver and security officer for Mayor Buddy Dyer. Being the mayor’s security office has to be an adventure since the mayor attends all the best events in Orlando. After the Pulse shooting I remember seeing the mayor arrive at many of the fundraisers and artistic memorials with a large entourage.

Pablo has been a law enforcement officer and civil servant since 2000. He attended Western Illinois University and the College of  Lake County.

Since the City of Orlando purchased the the Pulse Nightclub site for 2 million dollars from the One Pulse Foundation there was no security at the site. A sign in front of the Pulse nightclub was vandalized in February of 2024 with bold graffiti. Sayings on the sign, like “Love is Love”, “Love never Dies, it Transforms” and “Love will always Win” are now obscured under giant spray painted bubble letters. Efforts are being made to scrub away the graffiti, but of course the messages of hope and love will also be scrubbed away in the process.

One Pulse had a gorgeous plan for the site that had a brightly colored fountain and an enclosed seating area. I liked this design and feel it is a shame that it will not be created. The cost for the memorial and a museum skyrocketed beyond the fundraising abilities of the One Pulse Foundation. The city is planning a far scaled back memorial which they hope to complete by 2028, which is 12 years since the tragedy occurred. The club is on an incredibly noisy intersection so the thought that a peaceful site of remembrance might be created with a few coats of paint seems insane. What it attracts so far is urban spray paint.

 

 

COVID Dystopia: Screening Times at Orlando Film Festival

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COVID Dystopia was placed in Animated Film Block 1 at the Orlando Film Festival which starts October 31, 2024 and runs through November 7, 2024.

The Orlando Film Festival takes place at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE (155 S. Orange Avenue downtown Orlando FL).

COVID Dystopia will be shown twice. The first showing is on Friday November 1, 2024 at 4:15 PM in theater 9. The second showing is on November 6 at 2 PM also in theater 9.

This film shouts into the void that wishful thinking does not stop an airborne virus, the effects of which are hard to ignore if you are paying attention. I honestly thought this film would never be shown in Florida since so many scenes mock Florida governor DeathSantis’ handling of the pandemic. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

Passes are now available for the Orlando Film Festival. One day passes are $20, seven day passes are $100, VIP passes are $150 and VIP Elite passes are $350. You can experience independent films for a day of a solid week.

The Orlando Film Festival is now in its 16th year of showcasing incredible cinema from around the world. The CMX Plaza Cinema Café is the Festivals home. The Cinema has twelve beautiful theaters with high-end digital projection located right in the heart of Orlando. All of the Film Festival events take place in or around the theater. Audiences do not just watch quality cinema but also get an immersive experience full of spirited Q & A’s, panel discussions, script reads and fantastic parties. This is the perfect opportunity for filmmakers and screenwriters to directly interact with their audience, as well as others in the industry.

Cordillera International Film Festival: Reno Airport

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The Cordillera International Film Festival was a whirlwind of independent film screenings and meeting filmmakers.

It was a bit strange having COVID Dystopia reclassified as a music video. I never know if it is a documentary, horror, or animation. It is certainly not for kids. None of my young animation students has seen the film.

It seems the main point of the festival for filmmakers  is the face time, but my face was always masked when I was indoors. It seems funny to me now how people insist on packing into tight rooms to shout at one another, usually over loud music. After my screening and question and answer session, I had several pleasant conversations outside and no one had to shout. My only goal was to get more eyeballs to see the film and that goal was accomplished. The applause was gratifying and I could relax.

In the airport digital devices and slot machines shouted for people’s attention. On slot machine kept shouting “Wheel of Fortune!” with the roar of an audience. It was quite annoying. I never touched a slot machine, but I am glad I got to sketch one before I left.

 

Cordillera Industry Insiders Panel Discussion

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At 9 AM there was an Industry Insider’s Panel Discussion at the Cordillera International Film Festival. I thought I gave myself plenty of time to get there but my first Lyft driver got lost and never picked me up. I then needed to wolf down some complimentary breakfast to last the through the day.

I got into the theater a bit late and slipped into the font row. I knew I didn’t have much time to sketch. Bill Farmer is seated 4th from the left. He is the voice talent behind Goofy and several other Disney Characters. Exiting a theater I was mistaken for Bill since I had on my John Henry Disney jacket and maybe since I have grey hair. As I was explaining that I was not Bill, he walked out and I introduced him to the adoring fan. Later I shook his hand thanking him for getting me out of the sticky situation.

The question from the audience that really got the panel fired up was a question about AI and the industry. The tech on the panel said it would be foolish to ignore AI. It would be like ignoring sound after the silent film era. How AI will creep its way into films has yet to be seem. The fact is that anything that is online is already available to the AI bots. Protecting intellectual property will be the ongoing battle going forward. Across the board the panelist flt that the human touch is needed to create meaningful heart felt stories.

Sandrene Faucher Cassidy seated on the left spoke about how she helps aspiring filmmakers who feel like they have run up against a brick wall with their films and might consider any other profession. I laughed since I am very much in that boat having produced a short film that few are willing to show, since it does not embrace the notion that life has returned to “normal”. Sandrine sat next to me in a screening after this panel and I introduced myself and thanked her for her feedback on the panel. There wasn’t much time to talk since the theater went black and the films started up. As a jury member she dutifully marked her ballot after each short film was shown. She left before the question and answer session with the filmmakers. She seems to be in charge of Festivals and Distribution Licensing, which is something I know nothing about.

Cordillera International Film Festival: COVID Dystopia screening

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COVID Dystopia screened at the Cordillera International Film Festival in Reno Nevada, on September 27, 2024 in the 10:30 PM, Music Video Party Film Block at the Greater Nevada Baseball Field (250 Evans Avenue). For me this was a solid day of watching independent films. By the time the music video party started my butt hurt. There were a few booth seating tables around the edge of the room and I snagged one of those to rest by butt to watch COVID Dystopia.

There were a lot of short films in this film block. When it came time for the question and answer session there were about 10 film makers standing in  front of the screen. There was still an image projected on the screen when we got up there so we were blinded by the light. I remember the woman standing next to me had a blue bar projected across her face which looked a bit menacing. I had my baseball hat on to block the light.

When asked about how my film came to be, I gave my usual answer of how I started doing a painting a day starting the day the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. I pointed out that we are coming down off the 9th wave of the pandemic which peaked in August 2024 and was twice a severe as the early waves in 2020.The very idea that the pandemic is not over drew blank stares. It isn’t my job to preach but to entertain.

Paul Sloop the shorts programmer asked us all what our favorite music video of all time was. Most of the other filmmakers were kids and I had no idea what they were talking about when they answered. When my turn rolled around, I blurted out that I was from the MTV generation and loved Thriller with Michael Jackson. The room erupted with laughter. Then the woman next to me followed up with the fact that she saw Thriller as a child and it inspired her to start creating. I wish I had caught her name, the introductions slipped by so fast.

Cordillera really is a spectacular film festival. I learned so much from each question and answer session after each film block. So much time, energy, and money, is invested to bring these films to life. I wasn’t great at networking since I had no desire to stand in a tight enclosed room shouting into peoples faces. That is pre-pandemic behavior that makes no sense to me today. After the screening I went outside and sat in the cool open air and took my mask off for a bit. One woman approached and we had a lovely conversation. I also spoke with another animator outside and learned about a new animation software called MOJO that I have to look into. Since I am so starved for conversation, every encounter was a delight. I spent an entire year in isolation working on the film. It felt good to be among other who may have been similarly laser beam focused for so long.

There was a stage set up outside and flashing lights, but it was last call at the bar when the films stopped screening. I did have a white wine outside to wind down after the screenings. Any notion of a dance party was a myth. There was some canned music, and I swayed my hips and stretched my legs since I had been sitting all day long in dark movie theaters. My stretching calisthenics may have been the only dancing that happened that night at the dance party.

Cordillera: Bottle Rocket

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On the flight out to The Cordillera International Film Festival in Revo, Nevada, Delta stopped over in Saint Paul, Minnesota for about 3 hours.

I walked to a deserted section of the airport and decided I should get lunch/dinner. The airport restaurant I decided to sit in was called the Bottle Rocket which boasted good local food.

There was literally no one in the place when I arrived except the two servers. I ordered a burger and salad and calculated the risks of eating mask less. The airport air circulation system was being worked on and there were open ducts right outside the Bottle Rocket. The waitress apologized for the draft since the air was blowing right at my table. I considered this an advantage hoping that the breeze might be fresh air blowing into the restaurant. I went mask less long enough to wolf my meal down and then masked up to sketch. I wish there were outdoor dining options at airports but I suppose that would be a security risk.

The waitress kept refilling my Coke. I got a straw from the bar and would lift my mask briefly, hold my breath and sip, then pull it up and exhale hard before breathing again. I’m sure this is a flawed system but a meal was needed before the next long leg of the trip. I would rather risk the airport air in a relatively empty restaurant than the air in the sardine can fuselage of a plane. The waitress and bartender were super friendly and I shared my sketch with them when I was done, to break up their day.

Cordillera International Film Festival: Flight Out of OIA

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The flight to the Cordillera International Film Festival from Orlando International Airport just happened to line up with the day Hurricane Helene was churning north in the Gulf of Mexico. My sister reported that the eye of the hurricane would be west of Port Charlotte about Noon on that day.

I caught a Lyft to the airport about 10 AM to catch a Noon flight. It was cloudy but clear when I left, but we drove right towards a wall of dark grey clouds on the trip south to the airport. Half way there it began to rain. I joked with the driver that it would likely rain for the rest of the day. I realized that I likely left a ceiling fan on at home. There was no going back. Perhaps a power outage might save some electricity?

In the airport waiting area it seemed like everyone was checking their phones to see the track of the eye of the storm. I was sure the airplane would fly north away from the front bands of the storm. I was sure of that since airplanes roar over my home daily every half hour or so, their engines rattling the windows. I had hoped that I might sketch someone else wearing a mask, but I was the only one, except several airport staff. Am I crazy? Well that is rhetorical, I know the answer, but I also know too much about the invisible damage the virus is doing to peoples vascular systems, brains and immune systems.

There was a 15 minute delay boarding, but we were assured that we would make up the time with a strong tail wind. Strangely as the plane tires left the tarmac, it was sunny out. There were a few gut wrenching bumps on the ascent to cruising altitude but after that it was a smooth flight. I watched the movie Dune on the flight north west. We flew to Minneapolis where there was a 3 hour layover before catching another flight to Reno. It felt good to be flying thousands of miles away from the advancing hurricane. It was a rather extreme form of voluntary evacuation.

 

What the Constitution Means to Me

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I sketched a dress rehearsal for What the Constitution Means to Me, by Heidi Schreck is being presented by the Orlando Shakes at the Orlando Family Theater. Becky Baird dominated in the lead roll. The play rolls back the years to when Heidi was 16 years old an presented speeches about the Constitution at American Legion halls for cash prizes. She earned her college tuition this way.

There is a joyous excitement in her presentation about this document which she loves. yet during the presentation emotions start to run deep as she recalls her family history of a grandmother being sold to a outdoors man in Washington State. There is clear evidence of generational trauma throughout her family history. The constitution was written by the founders for the founders, in other words wealth white property owning men. Women never factored into the equation.

I loved what the actors broke the 4th wall towards the end of the play, breaking character and speaking to the audience as themselves. The Legionnaire who I assumed was rather conservative was actually a very liberal and open minded actor named John Voigt. A debate was held with an energetic high school debater. he debaters were played by Daisy Spann, and Tatriana Hinds. Each brought a unique energy to the roll. They  each argued their points on weather the constitution should be abolished or amended. Though the Constitution is very old and rather outdated, the youthful debate inspires hope for the future. With presidential elections only month away this play takes the audience on an inspired journey through what makes us all American and how we need to work hard to make democracy work for us all.

The play runs through October 13, 2024. If you only see one play this year, this should be it. Get your tickets now.

 

What the Constitution Means to Me: Final

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The final version of the poster for What the Constitution Means to Me has the actress much larger. There was an earlier version of this that had that looked too much like Heidi Schreck,

Altering the face and making her look much younger was actually quite fun. The paint itself was moved and morphed to fit the new drawing that I created for her face. I was surprised at how fast 20 years could be dropped.

The book cover was designed to match what an actual printed constitution looks like. Audience Members will each get a copy of the constitution to take home at each performance.

This really is a show that you should not miss. It will have you laughing out loud and also rethinking just what the founding fathers had in mind when they crafted this document. Presented by the Orlando Shakes, the show runs from October 2-13, 2024 at the Edyth Bush Theater at Orlando Family Stage, 1001 East Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Get your tickets now.