As much as I love and adore Hollywood and living the
”
L.A. lifestyle
”
that revolves around cell phones, sunglasses, lattes and
traffic, I still miss home a lot. When I was living at home, it
seemed like I would never be able to leave and now that I am gone,
I miss the familiarity, the beauty and the peacefulness of a place
like Hollister.
As much as I love and adore Hollywood and living the “L.A. lifestyle” that revolves around cell phones, sunglasses, lattes and traffic, I still miss home a lot. When I was living at home, it seemed like I would never be able to leave and now that I am gone, I miss the familiarity, the beauty and the peacefulness of a place like Hollister.
When I think back to my film roots and how my interest in movies began, it didn’t begin with Hollywood per say but more with Hollister. My favorite film of all time, one of the greatest films ever made and, above all, the film that made me want to make movies was actually shot right in San Benito County; that film is Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.”
The Master of Suspense himself walked the grounds of the mission and created a masterpiece that has eluded and mystified and above all left audiences breathless after one viewing. Hitchcock’s masterpiece stars Jimmy Stewart and the fabulous Kim Novak whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting. At a recent Vertigo screening at the American Cinematique, the recluse Novak came out of hiding specifically for a Q and A with adoring fans of both her and the film.
Standing six feet away from a screen legend is an incredible experience and seeing Ms. Novak was like none other. What was most memorable about the question and answer session was the gratitude she felt for the new appreciation for her work. She is absolutely thrilled that people and critics are now seeing her as a real “actress” who gave performances of emotional depth. One amusing thing she mentioned was that when she arrived at Columbia, for the first time, they took her to the make-up room. They didn’t even look at her face, they simply said, “Oh, the Crawford mouth would look great, the Dietrich eyebrows will be perfect,” etc. She said she would go to the bathroom and wash it off and then reapply it like she liked it so she could retain some degree of individuality.
Meeting Ms. Novak and seeing Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” again on the big screen with a restored 70 mm print was amazing and I wish that more places would do retrospectives that included this wonderful film that showcases some of our best scenery in our county. So while I may not be able to make it home as often as I would like, I am able to enjoy the beauty of it at least through the celluloid image. Interestingly enough, while living in L.A. and being a college student, I am often asked “Where are you from?” to which I reply “Hollister, California”. More recently, people think that I live where the Hollister Skateboarding/Clothing Company is headquartered, but usually if I say “Hollister” and the person has no idea what I am talking about, if I mention that Vertigo was shot in my county, then the person says, “Oh yeah! I’ve heard of that place” and that makes me feel happy. If you recall, “Vertigo” is about a San Francisco police detective (Jimmy Stewart) who develops a fear of heights and is forced to retire when a colleague falls to his death during a chase. An old college friend hires Scottie to watch his wife Madeleine (Novak) who has become obsessed with the past. Scottie follows her around San Francisco and is drawn into a complex plot.
Here is a list of other films that were shot in San Benito County. Be sure to check out when Hollywood has come to Hollister: 1953 “The Wild One,” Dir. Elia Kazan, 1955 “East of Eden,” Dir. Elia Kazan, 1958 “Vertigo,” Dir. Hitchcock, 1970 “Little Fauss and Big Halsey,” Dir. Sidney Furie, 1972 Topaz (scenes near summit of the San Juan Grade were used for a grassy knoll where the Mendozas observe the Russians unloading missiles in Cuba), 1980 “East of Eden,” (ABC mini-series) (Monterey Street covered with dust and the lovely Victorian homes used), 1987 “La Bamba,” our very own Luis Valdez, Southside Road and the old Southside School, 1988 “Sunset,” Dir. Blake Edwards with Bruce Willis, James Garner, Mariel Hemingway and 1989 “Strawberry Fields,” Japanese Film.
Andrea Damkar, originally from Hollister, is a junior at the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California.
