Submitted by Comics + College
Nathan Chisholm and Marlee May
January 17, 2016 – It was yet another early morning at the Inaugural Coronado Island Film Festival. We were privileged to see Tim Johnson, the director of DreamWorks Animation’s “Home,” again this morning. When he arrived, he came up to say hello and he leaned over to us and said “what better way to start your morning than at the movies?” Tim was at the Vintage Village Theatre this morning to introduce his movie “Home,” with producer Suzanne Buirgy. Though there was a small turnout, this movie had a huge heart.
“Home” is a movie about an alien named Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons), who arrives to Planet Earth with his fellow aliens, whom are called the Boov. The Boov ran away from their enemies, and came to Planet Earth for a “friendly takeover” where they relocated all of the humans to Australia. The outsider Boov named Oh meets Tip (voiced by Rihanna), a human who avoided the Boov’s relocation strategy and got separated from her mom. The story takes us on an outrageously fun adventure of Oh and Tip, as they search for Tip’s mom and try to correct a mistake that Oh made, which put the entire planet in danger. Included in the incredibly talented cast is Steve Martin, who voices Captain Smeck, leader of the Boov, and Matt Jones, who voiced the Boov named Kyle.
We were so pleasantly surprised at the comedy, love and heart that this movie gave to its viewers. The 3D technology they used was outstanding- none of us got a headache, and we were in awe of how real it seemed! The story was heartwarming and it sent a lovely message that you will have to see to understand for yourself. Overall, we absolutely loved this movie, and cannot wait to show our friends and family its brilliance! As we must remember from the words of the amazing people on the Animation Panel yesterday, animated movies are not made for kids, they are made for a general audience of any age.
After the screening, we took a break at Leroy’s for lunch, where we got an amazing deal as a part of San Diego Restaurant Week. We headed over to Coronado High School to get a feel of the Hospitality Tent. It really was an amazing place to relax and have a small snack. The tent had baked goods from San Diego local company Bliss & Baker. The small treats were fantastic including the simple but addictingly sweet rice krispies treats. While eating the delicious goodies we got a chance to talk to the author of the great book 101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up, Suzette Valle. You can purchase Suzette’s book on Amazon. Mrs. Valle gave some amazing advice about how to write and how to gain traction with our audience. She so generously signed the book that we purchased and we are looking forward to checking some movies off of her list.
From the Hospitality Tent we moved to the CoSA Theatre to see the premiere of the locally made film “Daydream Hotel.” The film received a great turnout, with the lines going down the block. The Coronado School of the Arts Theatre was packed as everyone excitedly got to their seats. The movie starred local CoSA students Emma Kidd, Patrick Clark, Ben Shapiro, Rachel Taylor and future CoSA student Zoe Hunt. Each actor did a great job bringing life to their characters. It was especially exciting to be able to see friends we went to school with on the CoSA screen, and to see the technical theatre kids running the booth. Filmed at the Hotel Del Coronado, the shots provided by the drones, thanks to the Navy’s clearance, were so gorgeous. It was such an amazing sight to see the whole community come together to support local upcoming talent. Also, to be a part of the Inaugural Coronado Island Film Festival is such an exciting opportunity. We can’t wait to see what doors this movie opens for the local actors who we are lucky to call our friends.
Daydream Hotel Clips from Surf’s Up Studios on Vimeo.
While today was relatively mellow, the overall atmosphere of the film festival was still alive. Tomorrow is the last day and we can’t wait to see what it brings! A premiere of DreamWorks Animation “Kung Fu Panda 3,” a showing of “Some Like It Hot” on the beach in front of the Hotel Del, and more are in store for the Festival goers!
