Program Announcement Party

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The 28th annual Florida Film Festival pass and package holders as well as other festival supporters gathered for this kickoff event featuring the announcement of all films, events, and special guests selected for the 2019 Florida Film Festival. The big announcement was that actress Nichelle Nichols best known for her role as Lieutenant Uhura on the original Star Trek series would be featured in the opening night’s film titled Women in Motion. Back in the 60s when Star Trek aired it was unheard of for a black woman to featured as a senior member of a crew. After leaving the bridge, she saw a film about the space program that featured all white men. She wondered why there were no women of color in the space program. She spoke to people in charge and ended up becoming the single most influential figure in the recruitment of women and minorities in the filed of space exploration.

The Blair Witch Project was made in 1999 with a budget of $25,000. The premise of the film was that the film makers hiked in the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland
to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair
Witch. The three disappeared, but their equipment and footage was
discovered a year later. The purportedly “recovered footage” was the film
the viewer saw. I first saw the Blair Witch Project at the Enzian. The Blair Witch Project grossed nearly $250 million worldwide on a modest budget of $60,000, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. The Cast and Crew will be returning to the Enzian for an evening to see and discuss the making of the film.

This year the Oscar for the best film went to a film made for Netflix. This might be an indication that audiences have a growing taste for independent films. The Florida Film Festival is an Oscar qualifying film festival. So for the independent film creators, this is an important step in their film’s journey.

Following the announcement, trailers were screened. This year there are more films by women filmmakers than ever before. Pam Schwartz wrote comments for each film so we knew what the best films to see might be. Her choices included,  

Chef’s Diaries: Scotland, food travel.

Dachra, Investigative reporting about witchcraft.

Dog in the Woods, a magic universe dog.

All is True, Shakespeare’s biography and finding his voice after retirement.

The Biggest Little Farm, a couple on a farm faced the hardships of nature.

General Magic, an early computer company dreamed of the pocket cell phone and was ripped off by Apple.

Tungrus, was a hilarious short about a rooster terrorizing a family home in Mumbai.

Of the animated shorts, I liked,

Sister, about memories of an annoying sister. I incorporated this film into my sketch.

Hybrids, looked like  gorgeous epic about life in the ocean with crabs wearing bottle top helmets.

Cerulia, a creepy Burtonesque film.

Beginning April 13, 2019 the Festival will screen 180 films over 10 days. Festival passes and individual tickets for the film Festival are on sale now. It will be 10 days of Film, Food and Friends.

Sam Rivers Tribute Band at the White House.

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The Sam Rivers Tribute Band gathered once again after years of being apart at the Timucua Arts Foundation White House (2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806.) this concert was thrown together at the last minute.  The band had not performed together for years. 

Sam Rivers is one of the greatest jazz legends of our
time, performing for over 70 years. In the 1970’s he was the first
artist to open a jazz cultural arts center in Greenwich New York, which
was used as a venue to help artist exhibit their talents and gain
recognition.

The one of a kind, intensely original compositions of Sam Rivers came to life once again in a rare performance of his 16 piece Rejuvenation Orchestra. (formally known as the Rivbea Orchestra. I sketched Sam Rivers as he performed at the Enzian Florida Film Festival wrap party in 2009.   He was a joy to watch and fun to sketch.   Sam Rivers died on December 26, 2010 at the age of 88 from Pneumonia.

I was excited to see if his magic still infused the Orchestra he had formed when he moved to Central Florida in the early 1990 with his wife Beatrice.  Several platforms were set up on stage for all the horns and saxophones.  Sam performed on bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano, but I loved watching him perform on the soprano and tenor saxophones.

I sketched as the orchestra took to the stage.  I recognized the string players but some of the sax players looked like they were still in college.  The performance was aggressively loud, as if each performer was trying to play louder that everyone else.  At times various performers stood for solos.  Rivers derived his music from bebop, but he was an adventurous player, adept at free jazz. He was also an adept composer and it was his sheet music that sat before every performer.  I hope this orchestra performs together more often.  In time they could bring back the polish that helps support the inspiration.  Sam’s parting words at many of his concerts was, “Tell them what they missed.”

Birdman questioned what is real and what is imagined.

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Terry and I went to see Birdman at the Enzian Theater,1300 S Orlando Ave, Maitland, FL. While I waited for her to arrive at the Eden Bar outside the movie theater, I couldn’t resist doing a sketch. I ordered an Orange Blossom Pilsner and sketched as fast as I could. The advantage of being an artist in this digital age is that people who focus their attention on their phones become completely absorbed and therefor never notice that they are being sketched.

Birdman turned out to be one of my favorite movies of 2014. It was much like Hitchcock’s The Rope in which there were no discernible cuts between scenes. The movie was about an actor who was famous for his role as Birdman in the movies but he wanted to be taken serious as a true artist. He wrote and directed a play for Broadway that he hoped would revitalize peoples perceptions of him as a true artist. The camera followed his every move as opening night approached. The first scene showed him in his dressing room in a cross legged yoga pose. As the camera pulled back you realized that he wasn’t only meditating, he was floating above the floor. My disbelief was suspended and I accepted each of his supernatural yet ego centric quirks.

What happened on stage always seemed to reflect what was going on in his own life. Because there were no obvious camera cuts, the moments seemed to play out in real time right until the opening night of the show on Broadway. Much of what happened might have been imagined by the narcissistic director played by Michael Keaton. There was a hilarious moment when he took a cigarette break right outside the stage door. A stage hand closed the door locking him out and he had to walk around the block, through Times Square in his underwear to get to the front entrance of the theater. Did this actually happen, or did he imagine the humiliating situation? Every scene raised these type of questions. This wasn’t a CGI effects block buster, but it was a smartly written drama that raised more questions than answers. I absolutely loved it. The film garnered wide critical praise, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with the Best Director for González Iñárritu, the Best Original Screenplay, and the Best Cinematography from a total of nine nominations, tying it with The Grand Budapest Hotel for being the most nominated film of the Academy’s 87th annual awards ceremony. Michael Keaton deserved to win the Academy Award as the best actor.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon Screened at the Enzian

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As part of the Cult Classics Series, the Enzian Theater screened the original 3-D version of The Creature From the Black Lagoon made in 1954. Gina Stanley, the actress that was the Creatures on screen crush was at the screening. In the film she wore a stunning white swimsuit that was quite revealing for its day. Much of the film was shot in Florida swamps. In the film, Gina is screaming every time she sees the creature. The actor inside the creature suit, Ben Chapman, who was 6 foot three, played the creature on land. He was a former Polynesian dancer under contract with Universal Studios. His height and size made him perfect to play the creature. A second actor, then a college student, Ricou Browning, played the “underwater Creature” for
the film, and he wore the “underwater Creature suit” for the sequences
shot in Florida

Julia had an incredible career as an actress outside the lagoon. She starred
opposite Tyrone Power, Glenn Ford, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, Jimmy
Stewart, and Charlton Heston. Working on a horror film was considered a step down for many actresses so she almost turned the film down. It is ironic that today, this is the film she is most known for.

There was a somewhat disastrous design of the Creature’s head, that
almost made it into the final film. But a screen test at the eleventh
hour convinced the studio head that the look of the
creature did not work, and the head was redesigned and became the
classic we know and love today. The film was impressive on the big screen and it became clear that many scenes were staged to take advantage of the 3-D effects. After the screening Gina signed autographs and I had her sign my sketch.

Mennello Gala

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The annual Mennello Museum Gala on February 22nd was referred to as, “An Evening With Fabulous Friends.” In exchange for illustrations supplied for the Museum’s 25th Anniversary, Terry negotiated tickets to the Gala held at the brand new Alfond Inn, (300 E New England Ave. at Rollins College, Winter Park FL.) Each year, The Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art host an elegant gala to raise funds for the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and programs. This, the Eleventh Annual Gala celebrated The Mennello Museum of American Art, located in Orlando Loch Haven Park, which is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. The Gala also celebrates the passion of its founders, Michael A. and Marilyn L. Mennello. Marilyn passed away years ago and a statue of her is in the museum.

I was working from 9am to 5pm at Full Sail on the Saturday of the gala. Terry agreed to bring my suit and tie to the inn. I met her up front as her Porsche was being valet parked. I felt a little awkward being in jeans surrounded by tuxedos and women in ball gowns. Terry was in a gold sequin dress and blended right in. I rushed off to find a men’s room to change in. There was no large bathroom stall so it was like getting dressed in a very tight closet.

The silent auction items were in a small rotunda with a green house glass domed ceiling. Everyone crowded into this tight space with a craps table taking up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the room. I spent most of my time trying to keep people from tripping on my art supply bag. Terry flourishes in this type of crowd and she squeezed her way around the room handing out fliers for my retrospective show next month. For a brief moment we stepped outside where it was cool and airy but we immediately went back into the chaotic crowd. I bumped into Michael Mennello and shook his hand. I’m not sure if he remembered me from the day I sketched him in his home.

When they opened the dining room, Terry and I found our way to table 26 which was the Enzian Theater table. Sigrid Tiedtke was warm and inviting, giving us both a hug. I was very flattered that she knew of my work. She looked much like her daughter Elizabeth who I often see at the Enzian. Philip Tiedtke sat next to Terry. The Tiedtke family established the Enzian Theater back in 1985 and it is Orlando’s top art house movie theater. The annual Florida Film Festival is now one of the top ranked film festivals in the country. Another couple at the table turned out to be musicians and I hope to sketch them performing some time soon. Frank Holt, the Executive Director of the Mennello Museum also ended up sitting at our table. Although table 26 was far from the podium, we were surrounded by talented heavy hitters in the arts community.

My tie wanted to keep flopping down onto the wet sketch. I dropped my pencil several times. The room was constantly buzzing with activity as the staff rushed to serve food. I picked at my plate of food as I worked, but I spent more time sketching than eating. The live auction had a fast talking auctioneer. The largest item was a trip to Colorado and most of the other items were group restaurant outings. Before I knew it, the Gala was over. Such events seem so rushed when you try to capture them with a sketch.

500 Days of Summer

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While traveling I’ll be posting sketches from that were not posted from 2009. This sketch was done at the Enzian Theater before seeing 500 Days of Summer. The film was about a summer romance. The guy was head over heels in love but the girl didn’t believe in love. She went through the motions but in the end dumped the guy after 500 days. It was an annoying premise. Soon after, she did fall head over heels in love but with someone else. I wanted to see the movie because it showed the guy sketching on the movie poster. In the final scene the unlucky lover was sketching buildings with contentment like a true Urban Sketcher. Who needs love when you have a pencil and paper? A sketch is sure to meet expectations.

At a gas station yesterday I spoke with another guy pumping gas. He was heading to New Orleans, having come from Miami. His brother worked as an armored car driver in New Orleans. Several days ago, his brother was shot dead the second he opened the armored truck door by three gunmen. There is a $50,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the killers and thieves.  So this guy and his wife were on their way to his brothers funeral a few days before Christmas. The killing was senseless and the couple at the gas station had many more miles to drive before meeting family at the funeral. He showed me the news footage on his cell phone. I’m not sure why he shared so much. Perhaps that much grief needs to be shared. Live every moment. Life is precious and short.

Flash Gordon

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On July 31st, I went to the Enzian Theater (1300 S Orlando Ave  Maitland, FL) to see the free outdoor screening of Flash Gordon. The inflatable screen was unloaded from a U-Haul truck and blowers quickly inflated it. As people arrived on the lawn, I placed them in the sketch. I slathered on bug spray as it grew dark. A couple next to me were joking that enough people were wearing bug spray to discourage mosquitoes from feeding on the crowd so they were safe without it. The guys next to me were discussing how bad the Sci-Fi TV movie, “Sharknado” had been. It was so campy and bad that it had to be seen to be believed.

 In a trivia session before the movie I learned that director George Lucas wanted the rights to the story. Since another movie studio bought the rights he decided to make a little film called “Star Wars” instead. In this update of the 1930s comic strip, Flash Gordon is a football hero who is skyjacked aboard Dr. Hans Zarkov’s rocket ship along with beautiful Dale Arden. The threesome are drawn into the influence of the planet Mongo, controlled by Ming the Merciless. Ming has been testing the Earth with unnatural disasters, and deeming it a threat to his rule, he plans to destroy it. He also intends to take Dale as his concubine. From the opening song by Queen the film felt dated but it was sure to be fun. I had never seen the film.

In the opening scene of the movie, Flash is piloting an airplane through a turbulent lightning storm. The trees around the Enzian lawn flashed brightly and thunder rumbled in surround sound. I was impressed. Perhaps strobe lights had been placed in the trees. Then the movie screen went dark. An announcer said that a huge thunderstorm was approaching and they would have to stop the screening for our safety and the safety of the equipment.  As I walked back to my car, it started to rain. On the drive home the rain was torrential

Mark Your Calendar! Tonight’s screening around 8pm is “Dirty Harry” starring Clint Eastwood.

Wednesday night Pitcher Show outdoor screenings
are dependent upon Florida’s famously unpredictable weather conditions.
In an effort to avoid cancelling an event, the theater may wait until 30 minutes
prior to the set screening time to officially post a cancellation
notice; which will be posted on their Facebook page.
You may also call Enzian’s Box Office at 407-629-1088 x230 for more
information. Thank you for your understanding, and if your screening is
rained out – keep an eye out for a rain date.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday August 10, 2013

9am to 2pm Junk in the Trunk Rummage Sale! Alden Road in Ivanhoe Village near The Venue. Ivanhoe Village Main Street will team up with Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival to present the Junk in the Trunk Rummage Sale! In addition to finding some bargains, you’ll be able to sip free mimosas and enjoy the cuisine of Local Yolk’l food truck. Proceeds will benefit IVMS and Orlando Fringe.

10am to 5PM $7-10 Eco Friendly Pepper Expo. Saturday and Sunday.  International Palms Resort and Conference Center 6515 International Drive. Learn how to survive the apocalypse. omproinc.com

6:30pm to 10pm $150 Taste of the Nation. Orlando World Center Marriott 8701 World Center Dr. Orlando, Florida. Taste food and wine from all the best local restaurants all in one evening.

Sunday August 11, 2013

1pm to 3pm $5 Film Slam. The Enzian Theater, 1300 S Orlando Ave  Maitland, FL. See films from local film makers.

4:30pm to 6:30pm $13 Roller Derby Season Closer  Semoran Skateway 2670 Cassel Creek Boulevard, Casselberry, Florida. Come watch the Arkham Assailants and the Sunnyland Slammers battle it out one last time this season. The winner will take on the Serial Thrillers. Doors open at 4:30 and first jam is at 5:00.

7pm to 9pm Free White House Concert t2000 South Summerlin Orlando FL. P.J. Rohr who will play jazzical music (Claude Bolling and more) with her favorite pianist, Lee Lallance. Visual art will be by Maryse Jupillat. Doors open at 7PM and the music starts at 7:30PM.

Enzian’s Makeover For 2013

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For 28 years, the Enzian has shown thousands of great movies to millions of people in an environment that encourages friendship and community. The annual Florida Film Festival brings famous and infamous film directors, producers and actors to Central Florida. Between screenings, if you turn to your neighbor at the Eden Bar, there is a good chance they are in the business of making films. At the lavish parties at the Enzian, people have met, fallen in love and formed lasting friendships.

The theater is however showing its age. The curtains are torn, the chairs are worn and the carpets have certainly worn from thousands of feet and spilled drinks. The theater is getting a makeover. Everything that is worn out or broken will be replaced. New carpets and curtains have already been installed. New furniture will allow the service staff more room to take orders and serve food while also improving sight lines for the audience. Technological advances, already in place, have improved the movies picture and audio.

In 2013 the Enzian Theater will continue to renew, revive and refresh. The makeover will enhance the movie viewing experience without detracting from the unique character of place. The theater will still have a cozy feeling, where you can enjoy films with friends. Large semi circular seats will be replaced by lighter more streamlined seating. Circular tables will be replaced by more compact and ergonomic square tables saving space. Benches will be added to the back of section C again saving space.

I was hired to do a sketch of the theater as it will look after renovations. I sat up in the projection booth and sketched as the theater filled with patrons for a screening. The projectionist introduced herself and she reached over me to press a button. As the theater went black, I turned on my book light and continued to paint. I used a computer rendering from Raleigh Design to place new tables and chairs into my location sketch.

The Enzian is inviting patrons to be part of the enduring legacy by investing in the makeover. For as little as $25 you can “own a piece of the Enzian” and express your appreciation for this unique cultural icon.

$5,000 makes one booth a reality.

$3,000  makes a banquet seat and a table a reality.

$1,000 makes a chair or 4-top table a reality.

  $500 makes a 2-top table a reality.

  $250 makes a coffee table a reality.

    $25 makes one square foot of carpet a reality.

All donors of $250 or more will be recognized by name on a beautifully crafted commemorative plaque that will be permanently displayed at the Enzian.

Florida Film Festival Preview

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I look forward to the Florida Film Festival every year. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the festival. Twenty years ago there weren’t as many film festivals as there are today. The opening night of the Florida Film Festival 20 years ago had such heavy hitters as Paul Newman and Oliver Stone. Today the Festival will showcase 164 films picked from 1035 submissions from 25 countries. This years theme is “Fresh Squeezed Indies” implying this is a film festival with a reputation for southern hospitality.

When I arrived at the Enzian Theater (1300 South Orange Avenue, Maitland), I immediately made my way to the press table to get my credentials. Jordana Meade was there and she said, “I knight thee” as she tapped each of my shoulders. She has always been a warm and welcoming supporter of the mission of this blog. I found a table in the press area and settled in to sketch. Before I was too involved in the sketches details, Bess Auer from Central Florida Top 5 came over to say hello. We talked about the Space Shuttle Discovery Launch and the tweet-up event associated with raising public awareness about the space program. She is in the sketch with the bright orange scarf. The couple in front of me in the dark business suits held hands constantly. They were adorable. Terry Olson joined me at the table. He thought he might be late but things at the preview got started slowly. My wife, Terry had been caught in traffic but even she arrived before the trailers started. In the first trailer, a young couple asked an older couple what their secret was in keeping their relationship fresh and alive. The woman responded, “We sleep with other couples.” A strand of spaghetti dangled from the young woman’s pursed lips. Terry and I looked at each other in the semi darkness and laughed.

I of course paid close attention when the animated shorts were announced. I’m looking forward to “The Gruffalo“, a cgi animated short that looks charming. It was recently nominated for an Oscar for best animated short. One documentary called “Made in India” is about how American couples are paying Indian women to conceive their child using in vetro fertilisation. The problem is that after 9 months, it isn’t easy to give up a child. There are 43 women directors showcasing their films in the festival this year. Love is found in so many entries, like “God of Love” and “Young Goethe in Love.” Along with the many juried films, several old classics will be screened like a remastered 35mm print of, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s“, “The Yearling” and “Amarcord” by Fellini.

Find your favorite films on the Festival website. The Florida Film Festival is truly unique, a chance to meet the creators and actors first hand at the Eden Bar between screenings. You never know who you might meet or what you might learn. For me it is a vibrant artistic experience that can’t be missed.