Back to the Toyota Dealership for scheduled maintenance.

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My Prius was due for its 40,000 mile maintenance check up. I got a letter in the mail last week that let me know that a digital title was on file with the Florida department of motor vehicles. The car was finally paid off. I haven’t had a single issue to date, but I figure everything will go haywire once there aren’t any other expenses.

The Toyota dealership is close to my home and the place is brand spanking new. There is a commissary and comfy chairs for people waiting for repairs. One costumer snoozed while his girlfriend surfed the web. I only needed an oil change, but the technicians checked everything.  The sales rep, Jay Morales, let me know that there was some wear and tear on my tires. When I park on the street, I tend to scrape the tire against the curb to get as close to the curb as I can. I’ve scrapped the front passenger side hub cap and scuffed up the rubber quite well. Since all the scrapes are on the passenger side of the car it is easy for me to ignore the damage. They have back-up cameras on some cars now. I need hub cap cameras that show me how close the tires are to the curb.

Judging from my sketch, I’d say that my wait at the dealership was about an hour. My synthetic oil was changed and my tires were rotated along with a multi point inspection. My sales rep saw me sketching and he told me that his girlfriend Melanie Daniels had done a series of paintings called “Movement in Time.” The paintings depict a view of the landscape as it streams by, as if viewed from a fast moving car. I thought I would find her paintings online, but my search only lead me to find that Melanie Daniels was the character Tippi Hendren played in Alfred Hitchcock’s, The Birds.

Tippi Hendren

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On April 12th at 7:30PM as part of the Florida Film Festival, there was a screening of Alfred Hitchcock‘s “The Birds“. I was the very last person to enter the Enzian Theater for the sold out screening. The last seat was in the front row right in front of the seats where actress Tippi Hendren was going to be interviewed after the film. I’ve seen the film before on TV but it is much more impressive on the big screen.

Barry Sandler acted as the moderator asking Tippi questions to get things started. She praised Hitchcock’s film making genius and was thankful for all the acting tips he gave her. She also worked with Charlie Chaplin who would act out the whole scene himself and then ask the actor to repeat it. There were several truly fanatical fans in the audience who would shout out in delight to Tippi’s responses.

In the middle of the interview she spoke at length about Hitchcock’s dark side. He became sexually obsessed with her and asked her to do things that she refused to do. In the birds Tippi had seagulls and crows tied to her in the attic scene and for five days, they threw birds at her. The crew grew concerned for her safety but Hitchcock was unrelenting. She was pretty good at deflecting the birds, but after so many takes the birds got quite cranky. One cut her cheek just below her eye. A doctor advised her to rest for a week. After shooting “Marni”, another Hitchcock film, Tippy had to get away from him.  His advances became more brazen. If she broke her contract, Hitchcock vowed to ruin her career which he did. Other directors wanted Tippi to be in their films but Hitchcock would always say she was busy.

Tippi’s daughter is Melanie Griffith. Tippi was shocked when Melanie told her that she got a part in a movie. She should have had some ides of how difficult it is to work as an actress. You are always looking for work and the hours are horrendous when you are working. That didn’t stop Melanie.

Now Tippi is involved in an organization that hopes to save wild cats like tigers and lions from captivity. Some people assume she is rich from starring in Hitchcock’s films. She was paid just $500 a week when making the birds. “That money is all gone” she assured us. She is desperate to raise money  through Shambala to protect these wild cats. Hitchcock may have ruined her  acting career, but he certainly didn’t break her spirit.

Free Samples

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After finishing a sketch at the Regal Winter Park Cinemas  , I looked to see if there were any other films playing in the Florida Film Festival that might interest me. “Free Samples” directed by Jay Gammill had a Tippi Hendren playing the role of a sage old Hollywood actress. I rushed over to the Enzian Theater and got in just as the film began.

The film stars Jillian played by Jess Weixler as a Stanford law school drop out in Hollywood trying to find herself. She tried music but realized it was too difficult and she gave up painting for the same reason. She seems to have her life on hold for her Stanford boyfriend or fiance.

A girlfriend asks Jillian to spend a day in a soft serve ice cream truck handing out free samples.  She interacts with the costumers with dead pan wit not caring about the consequences. When a local musician asks if she will come see his band perform, she plainly states that the band sucks.

When a little girl arrives with her dad who is distracted arguing on a cell phone, Jillian becomes sincere lamenting her own parents. The little girl takes Jillian’s hand and says it will be alright.

Tippy comes up for a sample needing two walking sticks. Jillian and the old actress sit together and have a magnificent candid conversation. The sincerity and honesty of the characters had me wiping my eyes a few times. Jesse Eisenberg as Tex, shows up in a suit asking Jillian where she would like to go to dinner. She had been so drunk the night before, she forgot she had agreed to the date. The adventure of the day had softened her allowing her to let people back into her life any softening her empathy for others.

After the film, the director in his lace less sneakers and Tippi in her blue jumpsuit took questions. On person asked if the role had been written specifically with Tippi in mind.  The director was pleased and amazed to get such a legend into his first feature. Jess Weixler’s playful deadpan performance was the cement that brought this amazing film to life.

Florida Film Festival Press Preview

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The 22nd Annual Florida Film Festival will be returning to the Enzian Theater and other venues April 5-14. This year’s festival will showcase 160 films many of which might be Oscar contenders. The theme for this years festival is “Open your eyes”, so prepare to see films that push the envelope.

Henry Maldonado, the Enzian’s CEO, got on the Enzian stage to announce some of this year’s highlights. The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock will be screened and Actress Tippi Hendren will be there to talk about her experience in that film and her unique relationship with Hitchcock.

The Festival has always been about Films, Friends and Food. This year author and food historian Francine Segan will present “The Magic Behind Movies and Food”. There are sevaral food related parties during the festival and the closing night party, “Revel 22” will be free and open to the public.

Several short animated films were screened once Henry left the stage. A rather funny one was Una Furtiva Lagrima by Carlo Vogele. It featured an opera singing fish who sang as he went from a supermarket freezer to a frying pan. A second short by Morgan Miller had a raccoon waiting roadside to eat a dead crow. When he ventures onto the road he is immediately hit by a car. The short then ended with another crow waiting to eat the raccoon carnage. The screening ended with a tongue in cheek documentary called, “A Brief History of John Baldessari.” John is an artist who is best known for placing dots over celebrity faces.