a part of all of that. Some of the earliest films were made at The Del. I used to walk
our sidewalks and imagine Rudolph Valentino, Frank Capra, Mary Pickford, Charlie
Chaplin, Errol Flynn and so many more of the old greats walking there before me. Our
beaches and weather and glorious natural light were irresistible and The Del became
Hollywood’s home away from home. Today, Coronado’s proximity to Hollywood–so close
and yet so far away–makes us the ideal destination festival. So I think we were just an
idea whose time had come.
Coronado Island
Film Festival 2018
Highlights
• 95 movies and panels
• 5 studio film pre-releases including
opening night screening of Green Book
Tell us about your history with Hollywood.
starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala
I was a busy working actor for many years, burning up the freeway to L.A. and back
Ali, directed by Peter Farrelly
several days a week for auditions, classes, callbacks and filming. I began doing theatre
at a very early age as a dancer and musical comedy was pure magic to me. After
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Screening of documentary Studio 54,
studying acting seriously in the early 70s, I did film and TV, and a ton of commercials. Room directed by Matt Tyrnauer, an award-
My kids started doing commercials too, and those residuals sure came in handy when winning journalist for Vanity Fair
they were at UCLA. Now, two of them – Terry Curtin and Larry Baldauf – are successful
marketing executives in Hollywood, and have worked at studios like Fox Searchlight and
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at Hotel del Coronado, which included
DreamWorks Animation. My daughter Corinne Lynch is in publishing and her husband
awards to actor Jacob Tremblay (Room),
Todd is a filmmaker, who works with us putting the video clips together for our festival’s
screenwriter Stephen Chbosky (Wonder,
Celebrity Tribute and awards ceremonies. This festival is actually a family affair, which is
Perks of Being a Wallflower), and costume
so much fun for me.
designer Betsy Heimann (Green Book)
•
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch with Chris
Lemmon, son of Some Like It Hot star Jack
What was the highlight of the 2018 festival?
Lemmon for Coronado High School arts
It’s hard to pick one highlight. I think the pure energy of the people—twice as many as
students
last year—and the variety of films, panels, performances, and, of course, the spectacular
parties, all combined, made it the very best yet. We had a super board and staff this year
Leonard Maltin’s Celebrity Tribute gala
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Culinary Cinema showcasing documentary
with over 200 volunteers. Every visiting filmmaker and celebrity commented about how films about food and small bites by
welcome they felt here, and how helpful and gracious our volunteers were. The beauty of acclaimed chefs
this is how our community has embraced this festival and taken on a very special “host
role.” But I think my favorite time will always be bundling up in my Adirondack chair by the
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starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and
bonfire on closing night, watching Some Like It Hot on the very beach where it was filmed
Olivia Colman
60 years ago! To have my own family next to me and Jack Lemmon’s grandchildren right
in front of me—all of us laughing uproariously—made it especially great this year. The
Lemmons have become like family to our festival. We adore them.
Closing Night screening of The Favourite
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Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Some
Like It Hot with a closing night screening on
the beach at Hotel del Coronado
Why should people attend CIFF 2019?
What better way to spend Veterans Day weekend than in Coronado with so much to do?
It’s four jam-packed days you’ll never forget.
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