About this Event
FRIENDS OF GARDENA CINEMA presents a special event with a book signing by Garrett M. Brown for his newest novel, TIN SEA: A MEMOIR GONE ROGUE. Garrett M. Brown is a Golden Globe nominated American character actor whose work you’ve seen in film and television over the past 40 plus years—you know him by sight, perhaps, but not by name. He was John Candy’s brother Bob in Uncle Buck; he was karaoke-singing and baseball-capped John Whitsig on five seasons of NBC’s Golden Globe nominated series, Sisters; he was the father of Kick Ass in both of the Kick Ass films and more recently he played Murray, the over the hill comedy writer, on the 5th season of Hulu’s Good Trouble.
He's not a big star nor a big celebrity—his wife Marie calls him a “modest celebrity”—but he’s written a big book. Tin Sea. It’s not a M**der mystery, nor a big thriller, and God forbid, it’s not a celebrity memoir but it is a version of memoir—gone rogue. That is, as Mark Twain once wrote in Huckleberry Finn, “it’s got some stretchers”.
Before he became an actor, before he began writing and having plays produced in LA and NY City and before he finally decided he would not be a doctor, he was a young college grad set on becoming an artist, a painter—Tin Sea is about his first summer after college when he joined his best buddy to sell dictionaries door to door in the Deep South of Tennessee, but that didn’t happen. What unfolds is a magical fable of a young man’s first callings—of art, love, and work and the evanescence of a Tennessee summer’s sweetness, light, and loneliness--and an invisible rabbit named Harvey.
The Book Synopsis: It’s the summer of 1971: just out of college in the Northeast and determined to become a visual artist, Garry Brown is invited to join his best friend selling dictionaries door to door in Tennessee. But dictionaries soon become hay bales, library books, and paintings when Garry is hired by a haying crew and befriended by the local librarian who believes in his gifts as an artist. Sleeping under the stars beside Old Hickory Lake, not far from the Grand Ole Opry, he longs for his college sweetheart as he gradually begins to understand the ethos of an artistic and spiritual calling—not to mention the intrigues of an invisible rabbit. Funny, poignant, picaresque, it is a mis-adventure that finds its curiously mysterious way.
Author's Bio: Garrett M. Brown is an actor, writer, playwright, and visual artist. His poems have been read at Ensemble Studio Theatre LA and published in the Valyermo Chronicle; his plays have been produced in Los Angeles and New York City; his drawings and paintings have been exhibited around the United States—in fact, one of his pieces is on display at The Whitney Museum of Art in New York City (a doodle he did at the Whitney bistro was admired by the café manager—it's hanging in her office!); and three of his stories are in the recent Lagoon House Press anthology, Three Writers/One Photographer, published in 2023. Tin Sea, A Memoir Gone Rogue, debuted in September, 2024. He’s married to the writer and poet, Marie Pal-Brown. They live in Long Beach, and like his creative comrades of Lagoon House Press, he, too, was mentored by the beloved writer and poet, Holly Prado Northup.
Schedule of Events:
2:30 pm: Screening of HARVEY (1950).
4:15 pm: Garrett M. Brown reads selected chapters of TIN SEA: A MEMOIR GONE ROGUE.
4:35 pm: Brief Q&A with actor, author & visual artist Garrett M. Brown.
5:00 pm: Book signing in lobboy by Garrett M. Brown. A limited number of TIN SEA: A MEMOIR GONE ROGUE can be purchased at Gardena Cinema for $24.
6:00 pm: Encore presentation of HARVEY (1950).
8:30 pm: Encore presentation of HARVEY (1950).
HARVEY is a 1950 American comedy-drama film based on Mary Chase's 1944 play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Jesse White, Victoria Horne, Wallace Ford and Peggy Dow. The story centers on a man whose best friend is a púca named Harvey, a 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) tall white invisible rabbit, and the ensuing debacle when the man's sister tries to have him committed to a sanatorium.
THIS IS AN INDOOR CINEMA EXHIBITION. PLEASE PURCHASE ONE (1) TICKET PER PERSON.
ONE (1) admission ticket is required PER PERSON! If tickets are not available on Eventbrite, please purchase your tickets at the box office on the day of the event.
FAQ's
WHAT TIME DOES THE MOVIE START?
HARVEY starts on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 2:30 pm, 6:00 pm & 8:30 pm. Actor, author & visual artist Garrett M. Brown will read selected chapters of his newest book, TIN SEA: A MEMOIR GONE ROGUE at 4:15 pm, a short Q&A at 4:35 pm & a book signing at 5:00 pm. Books can be purchased at the event for $24.
WHAT TIME CAN I ARRIVE?
Attendees will be allowed to enter the auditorium up to 30 minutes prior to show time.
WHERE DO I PARK?
Free parking is available in the parking lot adjacent to the Gardena Cinema on the north side.
WHERE IS GARDENA CINEMA?
Gardena Cinema is located at 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena, CA 90249.
HOW DO I REDEEM MY TICKET?
Upon purchase, ticket will be emailed to you as a PDF attachment from Eventbrite. When you arrive to the event, please show the entrance attendant the bar code on your ticket at the entrance to the cinema, either by holding up your printed version, or by displaying it on your phone or smart device. Attendant will scan it to check you in, and you'll be good to go into the auditorium!
CAN I BRING FOOD / SNACKS?
NO! This is an indoor screening. Please do not bring outside food or drinks inside the cinema. Tasty refreshments and fresh popped popcorn will be sold at the cinema snack bar.
WILL YOU HAVE RESTROOMS?
YES! Gardena Cinema's lobby, snack bar, and restrooms will be open.
MAY I BRING MY PET WITH ME?
Sorry, PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE ACTUAL CINEMA BUILDING, (where restrooms and snack bar are located).
WILL YOU BE HOSTING MORE OF THESE?
YES! We intend to continue curating and programming some of the BEST cinema in Los Angeles County! We provide both an intimate Drive-In style setting, as well as traditional indoor cinema experiences. Please support by following us on Instagram and Facebook -- we'll keep you posted on our screenings and events! @GardenaCinema
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Website: www.gardenacinema.com
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Boulevard, Gardena, United States
USD 14.64
