Category Archives: #TCM

Robert Osborne Award and Russ Tamblyn Tribute #TCMFF

Posted by Larry Gleeson

After a successful Opening Night and a full day of classic film screenings, today brings more films, a tribute to Russ Tamblyn at Club TMC and a screening of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954). “It would be easy to get lost in a film featuring 14 major roles, particularly with Howard Keel and Jane Powell, two of MGM’s best musical performers, as the leads. But one highlight is Russ Tamblyn—who turned 20 during production—as the youngest brother, Gideon. MGM cast its contract players alongside professional dancers like Tommy Rall and Jacques d’Amboise, who might have been expected to carry the bulk of Michael Kidd’s athletic choreography. But Tamblyn’s experience as both a dancer and a gymnast led to his being given a standout moment in the film’s big “Barn Dance” number, while his acting skills delivered some of the film’s most memorable scenes.” (TCMFF)

Russ Tamblyn on the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival Red Carpet (Photo cr. Larry Gleeson)

 

In addition, Donald Bogle is set to receive the Robert Osborne Award later in the evening at the Hollywood Legion Theatre. “Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to our late host, Robert Osborne, with the Robert Osborne Award, presented annually at the TCM Classic Film Festival to an individual whose work has helped preserve the cultural heritage of classic film for future generations. In 2023, TCM honors film historian, author, and professor Donald Bogle for his pioneering studies of African American cinema and his tireless efforts to elevate the achievements of Black performers and filmmakers. ” (TCMFF)

Donald Bogle on the red carpet at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival (Photo cr. Larry Gleeson)

Donald Bogle is one of the foremost authorities on African Americans in the movies. In a series of provocative, culturally significant books, Bogle almost single-handedly pioneered the study, appreciation, and value of the work and achievements – as well as the heroic struggles – of Black artists working in films, primarily in Hollywood, where they boldly helped alter the face and landscape of American cinema. The range and scope of his coverage of Black film history has been breathtaking: from the silent era and the films of the Lincoln Motion Company, headed by Black actor Noble Johnson; to Oscar Micheaux; to the controversial but invigorating performances of such Black stars as Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Fredi Washington, and Louise Beavers; to such breakthrough performers as Ethel Waters and Lena Horne; to the work of Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier; to the arrival of such later African American directors as Melvin Van Peebles and Gordon Parks; to the rise of such filmmakers as Spike Lee, John Singleton, Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Kasi Lemmons, Carl Franklin, Antoine Fuqua, and Ryan Coogler; to such iconic stars as Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, and Viola Davis. Bogle has chronicled them all in his distinctive, lively, witty, and piercing style that has made his books highly readable, enjoyable, and enlightening. Film historian Leonard Maltin has commented: “No one knows more (or has written more extensively) about the history of African American contributions to cinema than Donald Bogle.” Vogue hailed him as “that pioneering safekeeper of the history of blacks in films.”  “Let’s all nod in appreciation to Donald Bogle for putting everything in historical perspective,” filmmaker Spike Lee has written. “Mr. Bogle continues to be our most noted Black-cinema historian.”

Many know Bogle best for his book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. The winner of the Theatre Library Association Award for Film and now in its 5th expanded, updated edition, TCMMB is considered a classic study of Black movie images in America and is used in courses at colleges and universities around the country. In his recent book Hollywood Black: The Stars, The Films, The Filmmakers — published by Turner Classic Movies in 2019 — Donald Bogle continued his pioneering examination of African American film history. Its Foreword was written by John Singleton, the late Oscar-nominated director of the classic Boyz N the Hood (1991).

Among Bogle’s other books is his groundbreaking Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography, which was praised by critics and led to a rediscovery of Dandridge, the mesmerizing and tragic star of Carmen Jones (1954) and the first African American (female or male) to be nominated for an Oscar in a lead acting category. Enthralled by the book, Whitney Houston wrote: “Dorothy Dandridge’s talents and gifts, like those of Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, and Paul Robeson, were never fully appreciated. She was, quite simply, ahead of her time. Donald Bogle’s book brings her triumphs and tragedies to life with richness, elegance, and dignity.”  Houston optioned the rights to the book and was initially set to play Dandridge in a production for Disney. Ultimately, Houston did not play the role. But the book is now considered a classic Hollywood biography, and a new edition was published in 2021.

Bogle is also the author of the critically acclaimed Heat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters. The New York Times Book Review wrote that “Bogle . . . has researched Waters thoroughly and presents, fastidiously, the great many facts of her long life and career.”  Hailing the Waters book as “an exemplary biography,” Liberty Journal wrote: “Bogle masterfully uses Waters’s story to examine the economic, aesthetic, and racial politics of the 1920s-60s popular culture.  This work is everything a biography should be.” “Powerful biography,” commented Publishers Weekly. “Bogle’s thorough and unflinchingly honest look at Waters’s brilliant and flawed life will undoubtedly be the definitive biography of this great woman.”

An updated, expanded edition of Bogle’s book Brown Sugar: Over A Hundred Years of America’s Black Female Superstars – which is a stunning examination of the lives and careers of African American entertainers from the early years of the twentieth century to the present with rare, seldom published photographs, from the eras of Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker to today’s Beyoncé – has also been published. Brown Sugar was adapted by Bogle into a four-hour, four-part documentary for PBS and German Educational Television.  Bogle wrote and co-executive-produced the series that was a winner of the American Women in Radio and Television Commendation Awards “in recognition of excellence in programming that presents a positive and realistic portrayal of women.”  He is also the author of such books as Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood; Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television; and Blacks in American Films and Television: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.

His book Elizabeth and Michael: The Queen of Hollywood and the King of Pop, a Love Story was praised by columnist Liz Smith, who devoted one of her last columns to discussing the book. “A surprisingly comprehensive, sensitive, and entertaining look at Taylor and Jackson, and not just their friendship,” wrote Smith. “Bogle has, essentially, written three books in one: Taylor’s biography, Jackson’s, and the tale of their mutual coming together, the how and why. . . The writer knows his subjects and his back-and-forth bios of Taylor and Jackson are extremely well done.” In a starred review, Kirkus commented: “Exhaustively researched. . . with a fresh and fair-minded perspective. . . Devoted fans of either star. . .  will appreciate the balance and compassion underscoring Bogle’s treatment. A grounded and consistently absorbing biography.” In the fall of 2016, People magazine named it one of the best new books.

Bogle has also appeared as a film/cultural commentator on numerous television programs, including Henry Louis Gates’s Peabody award-winning PBS series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013). In this ambitious, sprawling documentary series, which traces African American history from the period of slavery to the present, Bogle was initially interviewed at length by Gates about the careers of African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux; singer/actress Ethel Waters; and Ebony magazine’s importance in the cultural life of Black America in the late 1940s/1950s.  The New Yorker.com praised “the very sensitive interviews that Gates conducts with important thinkers ranging from the feminist scholar Paul Giddings to the film historian Donald Bogle.”

He has served as a commentator on numerous other documentaries. His articles have appeared in such publications as Film Comment, Ebony, Elan, Essence, Spin, and Freedomways.  He curated a major retrospective on Sidney Poitier at the American Museum of the Moving Image and another on Dorothy Dandridge at New York’s Film Forum, as well as retrospectives on Blaxploitation Cinema and on Images of African American Women in the Movies, also at Film Forum. At the American Museum of the Moving Image, Bogle also conducted onstage public interviews with Spike Lee and Sidney Poitier.

Bogle has a long association with Turner Classic Movies. Previously, he was the cohost and commentator with Robert Osborne for TCM’s award-winning 38-film series, Race and Hollywood, which traced the depictions of African Americans in Hollywood from the silent period, with D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915), up to Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) and Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus (1996). He conceived the series, selecting all the films to be broadcast.  Later he served as one of TCM’s on-air guest hosts, introducing over twenty films, including such classics as Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959) and Fred Zinnemann’s adaptation of Carson McCullers’s The Member of the Wedding (1952) with Ethel Waters. In 2018, he co-hosted a two-night series for TCM with Ben Mankiewicz on Slavery and the Movies. He has made other important appearances on TCM from 2019 to the present.

Bogle has been one of the principal film historians who have participated in Turner Classic Movies’s annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles. He has introduced films for packed screenings and conducted on-stage interviews with directors John Singleton and Spike Lee; Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr.; actor Richard Roundtree, the star of the Blaxploitation era film Shaft (1971); Katharine Houghton, a star of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967); Nancy Kwan, star of The World of Suzie Wong (1960) and Flower Drum Song (1961); Richard Sherman, the Oscar-winning composer of Mary Poppins (1964); pop star Lulu, featured in To Sir, with Love (1967); and numerous others. He also moderated the Festival’s highly attended panel discussion on the controversial “Cultural Legacy of Gone with the Wind.”

His other appearances at the TCM Festival have included engrossing visual presentations on his books Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams and Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks, which received rousing ovations. Bogle also provided the commentary for an evening screening of a series of controversial Black cartoons that had been taken out of circulation by Warner Bros. in 1968 because of their inflammatory stereotyped content. The Festival marked the first public screening of the cartoons in over forty years. Bogle was also one of the commentators for TCM’s seven-part documentary series on the history of Hollywood, titled Moguls & Movie Stars (2010). ” (TCMFF)

2023 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule Released

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Poolside screenings of BEACH PARTY (1963) with actor Frankie Avalon in attendance, A MIGHTY WIND (2003) with actors Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole in attendance, and the previously announced HAIRSPRAY (1988) with actor Ricki Lake in attendance

A 35th anniversary screening of STAND AND DELIVER (1988) with actors Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips and author Luis Reyes in attendance

A 40th anniversary screening of RISKY BUSINESS (1983) with actor Rebecca De Mornay in attendance

A 75th anniversary screening of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) with Danny Huston in attendance

A screening of the Sam Peckinpah Western THE WILD BUNCH (1969) presented in 70mm

The CLUB TCM presentation THE EVOLUTION OF HENSON PUPPETRY with Brian Henson – producer, director and son of the legendary Jim Henson – and a team of master puppeteers in attendance

WARNER NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, a recreation of the typical moviegoing experience from Hollywood’s golden age, complete with cartoons, short subjects, and trailers from the era, followed by a new restoration of the feature film THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE (1941)

And much more!

To view the full schedule including films and presentations, click here.

TCM Classic Film Festival – Day 3 Recap

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Day 3 at the 13th TCM Classic Film Festival brought forth a plethora of memories and good feelings. Film critic Leonard Maltin received the Robert Osborne Award and spoke at length about film as a true art form followed up by a tour de force performance by Actor John Barrymore in the 1932 Counsellor at Law.

In addition, several cast members from the 1982 classic, Diner, gathered for a pre-screening conversation at the Hollywood Legion Theatre. Also, Warren Beatty was in the house at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre for a conversation with TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz following the Beatty-led Heaven Can Wait (1981).

 

Check out the Highlights!

 

  • Respected film critic Leonard Maltin receives the Robert Osborne Award presented by actor and director Warren Beatty and TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: (L-R) TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, Robert Osborne Award recipient Leonard Maltin, and special guest Warren Beatty attend the Robert Osborne Award Reception during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the Hollywood Legion Theater on April 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM)

 

  • Special guests Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, and Paul Reiser join TCM host Dave Karger for the 40th-anniversary screening of “Diner”

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: (L-R) Special guests Paul Reiser, Tim Daly, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg, and TCM host Dave Karger attend the screening of “Diner” during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the Hollywood Legion Theater on April 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for TCM)

 

  • Warren Beatty joins TCM host Ben Mankiewicz for a screening of “Heaven Can Wait,” followed by a conversation about the film

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: (L-R) TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, special guest Warren Beatty, and General Manager of Turner Classic Movies Pola Changnon attend the screening of “Heaven Can Wait” during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the The Hollywood Roosevelt on April 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for TCM.

 

Until next time…. I’ll see you at the movies!

 

Larry Gleeson poses in front of the TCM display at the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of HollywoodGlee/Larry Gleeson)

 

TCM Classic Film Festival – Day 2 Highlights

Posted by Larry Gleeson

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: <> attends the Hand and Footprint Ceremony honoring Lily Tomlin during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre on April 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for TCM)

 

Day 2 at the 13th TCM Classic Film Festival picked up right where Day 1 left off. Ben Mankiewicz and Jane Fonda introduced comedic legend Lily Tomlin outside the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre for Lily’s Hand and Footprint Ceremony. One would have needed a knife to slice through the energy generated not to mention a saber to disperse the bursts of laughter and humor elicited from the audience. Later in the day, the 4K Restoration screening of Giant (1956) and to hear Ben Mankiewicz, Steven Spielberg, Geroge Stevens, Jr., and Margaret Bodde, Executive Director of The Film Foundation, discuss the film and the importance of restoration. Giant is considered a seminal film, progressive for its day, and its relevance holds up today.  A must-see!

 

Check out some of the highlights!

 

  • TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and special guest Jane Fonda honor esteemed comedienne Lily Tomlin at the TCM Classic Film Festival Hand & Footprint Ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: (L-R) Special guest Jane Fonda, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, special guest Lily Tomlin, and General Manager of Turner Classic Movies Pola Changnon attend the Hand and Footprint Ceremony honoring Lily Tomlin during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre on April 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM)

 

  • Special guests Steven Spielberg, George Stevens Jr., and Margaret Bodde join TCM host Ben Mankiewicz to showcase the world premiere of a 4k restoration of “Giant”

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: (L-R) TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, special guests Steven Spielberg, George Stevens Jr., and Margret Bodde speak onstage at the screening of “Giant” during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatre on April 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for TCM)

 

  • TCM host Alicia Malone welcomes two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern for a tribute screening of “Coming Home”

 

Leonard Maltin and Floyd Norman speak onstage at the screening of The Jungle Book (1967) at the El Capitan Theatre during the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California.

 

  • Disney legend Floyd Norman joins film critic Leonard Maltin for a tribute to Norman’s work on “The Jungle Book”

 

Until next time….I’ll see you at the movies!

 

 

TCM Classic Film Festival to Host The World Premiere Screening of 4K Restoration of Giant (1956)

Posted  by Larry Gleeson

2022 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL TO HOST WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING OF 4K RESTORATION OF GIANT (1956) WITH STEVEN SPIELBERG, MARGARET BODDE, AND GEORGE STEVENS, JR IN ATTENDANCE

 

Giant (1956)

 

Turner Classic Movies will be expanding its partnership with The Film Foundation with a multi-year financial commitment to fund the education and restoration of classic movies. As part of this partnership, the world premiere of the newly restored George Stevens production GIANT (1956) from Warner Bros. will be featured at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Prior to the screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will host a conversation with The Film Foundation board member Steven Spielberg, executive director Margaret Bodde, and George Stevens Jr.

Since its founding by Martin Scorsese more than 30 years ago, The Film Foundation has restored more than 900 classic movies. Scorsese and fellow board member Spielberg hand-picked this title as one of the group’s latest restoration projects, working with the Warner Bros. archives team for a year to complete the process.

The new 4K restoration was completed by sourcing both the original camera negatives and protection RGB separation master positives for the best possible image, and color corrected in high dynamic range for the latest picture display technology. The audio was sourced primarily from a 1995 protection copy of the Original Magnetic Mono soundtrack. The picture and audio restoration were completed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services: Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound.

“Anything that presumes to call itself GIANT better have the goods to keep such a lofty promise,” said Steven Spielberg.  “Both Edna Ferber and George Stevens far exceeded the title to bring such an epic American story to the big screen and I’m proud to have been a small part of the restoration team of this classic motion picture.”

George Stevens, Sr. won his second Oscar® for directing the sweeping family saga set in Texas during the days of the oil boom. GIANT stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. Based on Edna Ferber’s controversial novel, the movie’s release in 1956 was a massive box office hit and garnered 10 Academy Award® nominations.

“I was with my father during the writing of the GIANT screenplay and he measured films by how they stood ‘the test of time’,” said George Stevens, Jr. “GIANT has more than met that test and he would be grateful that Steven, Marty, The Film Foundation and Warner Bros. have achieved this brilliant restoration, so a new generation can see GIANT on the big screen, streaming and Blu-ray.”

Considered by critics as ahead of its time, GIANT is admired today for the breadth of its humanity more than its epic scale with its grand themes of generational conflict, racial tolerance, and social change. It exposed the marginalization and segregation of Mexican Americans for the first time on the big screen. At the center of the film, Elizabeth Taylor, as Leslie Benedict, portrays a strong and progressive woman who acts to stem the patterns of injustice

Festival passes, which include admission to GIANT (1956), and the full schedule of all festival events can be found here. Individual tickets will be sold as standby only at the event. This 4K restoration of GIANT (1956) will also be available on HBO Max later this year.

GIANT (1956)

Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean star in a sweeping saga of jealousy, racism, and the clash of cultures set in the vast Texas oilfields. Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict (Hudson) and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink (Dean) both woo Leslie Lynnton (Taylor) a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict’s disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

 

 

About the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival

Movie lovers from around the globe will descend upon Hollywood for the 13th edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The 2022 Festival is set to take place Thursday, April 21 – Sunday, April 24, 2022. Over four packed days and nights, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events, and more.

TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz will serve as the official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The Festival’s official hotel and central gathering point will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for Festival attendees. Screenings and events during the Festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43, and the El Capitan Theatre. For the latest news and information, follow us on social at #TCMFF.

This year’s theme is “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen.” In 2022, reunite with fellow fans, the movies, the memories, the stars, and the glamour. It’s all back live and in person, just as it should be and where it all began in Hollywood. From high school reunions to homecomings, TCM will celebrate milestones from the past as we look forward to making new memories together.

 

About The Film Foundation

The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization created by Martin Scorsese in 1990 to protect and preserve motion picture history. By working in partnership with archives and studios, the foundation has helped to restore over 925 films, which are made accessible to the public through programming at festivals, museums, and educational institutions worldwide. The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has restored 47 films from 27 countries to date, representing the rich diversity of cinema from around the globe. The foundation’s free educational curriculum, The Story of Movies, teaches young people – over 10 million to date – about film language and history.

TCM’s Thirty-One Days of Oscar Returns

Posted by Larry Gleeson

31 Days of Oscar Returns March 1st!

Lineup Includes Exclusive Content on HBO Max!

 

 

TCM’s annual 31 Days of Oscar programming returns for its 28th year, kicking off on March 1st with a month-long showcase of films recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year, for the first time, TCM will be celebrating The Winners, with each film having won an Oscar®.

This year, programming will be showcased 24/7 for 31 days on the TCM network, along with 31 films within the Classics Curated by TCM Hub on HBO Max, with exclusive content available from TCM Hosts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

View TCM Schedule here.

View HBO MAX Schedule here.

 

TCM celebrates 94 years of brilliance in film as recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Be sure to watch the Oscars live – Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT on ABC.

 

(News release provided by Taryn Jacobs, Warner Media)

TCM NEWS: TCM Classic Film Festival Reveals Fortieth Anniversary Screening of Blockbuster Hit – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Posted by Larry Gleeson

 

Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall To Attend Opening Night

 

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will kick off the 13th annual TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday, April 21stwith a 40th-anniversary screening of the beloved family sci-fi film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, with Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg in attendance along with Academy Award®-nominated producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. The 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival, held in the heart of Hollywood April 21st-24th, will center around the theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen.”

 

 

TCM Host, Ben Mankiewicz, at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival Press Conference (Photo by Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)

“I was 15 years old when E.T. came out and what was true then remains so today; the film continues to speak to both children and adults. And it’s fair to say that this is the most influential family film since The Wizard of Oz,” said Ben Mankiewicz, TCM primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “When Steven Spielberg started work on E.T., he didn’t imagine he was making a movie with mass appeal. We don’t get to say this often, but boy was Spielberg wrong.”

 

Pola Changnon

“E.T. is the perfect example of a modern classic movie that combines both innovative direction and heartfelt performances,” said, Pola Changnon, general manager of TCM. “This film is beloved by millions around the world and we’re honored to have it open our festival.”

 

 

At the center of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is Elliott, is a young boy who befriends an extra-terrestrial who is accidentally left behind on Earth. As Elliott attempts to help his new friend contact his home planet, so that he might be rescued, they must elude scientists and government agents determined to apprehend the alien for their own purposes…which results in an adventure greater than any of them could have imagined. Premiering on June 11, 1982, the film was a box office hit that became the highest-grossing film at the time, beating out Star Wars. The beloved masterpiece was directed by Spielberg and produced by Kennedy and Marshall.

TCM has previously announced iconic actress and comedian Lily Tomlin will be honored with a hand and footprint ceremony in the courtyard of the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre Imax® in Hollywood. In addition, the third Robert Osborne Award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, will be presented to one of the world’s most respected film critics and historians, Leonard Maltin.

About E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Journey back to the magic and adventure of “one of the great American films” (Leonard Maltin) with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the beloved masterpiece from Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg. Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Robert MacNaughton star in the unforgettable story of a lost alien and the 10-year-old boy who helps him find his way home. Digitally remastered for optimal picture and sound, this astounding story is sure to thrill viewers of all ages again with its timeless message of trust, courage, and the overwhelming power of friendship.

About the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival

Movie lovers from around the globe will descend upon Hollywood for the 13th edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The 2022 festival is set to take place from Thursday, April 21 – to Sunday, April 24, 2022. Over four packed days and nights, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events, and more.

TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz will serve as the official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The festival’s official hotel and central gathering point will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for festival attendees. Screenings and events during the festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43, as well as other Hollywood venues.

 

Larry Gleeson poses in front of TCM Past exhibit at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo courtesy of HollywoodGlee)

(News release provided by Taryn Jacobs)

TCM to Honor Lily Tomlin with Hand and Footprint Ceremony and Leonard Maltin with Robert Osborne Award

Posted by Larry Gleeson

TCM to Honor Lily Tomlin with Hand and Footprint Ceremony and
Leonard Maltin with Robert Osborne Award

Additional Titles Announced for 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival in
Hollywood, April 21-24, 2022

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) today announced it will honor iconic actress and comedian Lily Tomlin with a hand and footprint ceremony in the courtyard of the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre Imax® in Hollywood during the 13th TCM Classic Film Festival on Friday, April 22. In addition, the third Robert Osborne Award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, will be presented to one of the world’s most respected film critics and historians, Leonard Maltin. Festival passes for the annual event are currently on sale, with Early Bird pricing in place until December 10th.

In conjunction with the honors at the event, Maltin will introduce a screening of Counsellor at Law (1933) starring John Barrymore during the festival. Fans can also enjoy screenings of newly announced titles – After the Thin Man (1936), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), Force of Evil (1948), Baby Face (1933), and The Slender Thread (1965).

“I am thrilled that the TCM Classic Film Festival will be returning to Hollywood in 2022 and that we’ll have the opportunity to celebrate these two legitimate legends in person,” said Ben Mankiewicz, TCM primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “Lily Tomlin’s work has endured for decades because she brings a consistent joyous authenticity and richness to every character she plays. She pulls it off whether she’s performing sketch comedy on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In; working inside an ensemble cast in Robert Altman’s Nashville; trying to sneak a dead body out of a hospital with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton in 9 to 5; reinventing herself in Grace and Frankie; or breaking new ground in her innovative one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” Mankiewicz said. “And Leonard Maltin continues to be an indispensable source of film knowledge. His books were IMDB and Wikipedia in the pre-internet age. If you didn’t have a copy – or six – of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, you weren’t a serious film buff. He made information about movies accessible and compelling to millions of fans. I know because I was one.”

Tomlin, a Tony®, Grammy®, eight-time Emmy®, and two-time Peabody Award® winner, has had a remarkable career starting in the 1960s starring in cinematic classics, television staples, and on stage.  This marks the tenth year TCM has featured a hand and footprint ceremony at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®. In 2011, Peter O’Toole was the honoree, followed by Kim Novak in 2012, Jane Fonda in 2013, Jerry Lewis in 2014, Christopher Plummer in 2015, Francis Ford Coppola in 2016, Carl and Rob Reiner in 2017, Cicely Tyson in 2018, and Billy Crystal in 2019.

Maltin is best known for his widely-used reference work Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide and its companion volume Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide, as well as his 30-year run on television’s Entertainment Tonight. He teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and hosts the weekly podcast “Maltin on Movies” with his daughter Jessie.

The Robert Osborne Award was established at the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival in honor of the first primetime host and anchor of TCM, who helped millions of viewers discover and enter the world of classic movies, and dedicated his life to preserving and sharing the movies he loved. Past awards have been presented to Martin Scorsese and Kevin Brownlow.

Tomlin and Maltin were announced to receive these honors at the 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival, which was canceled due to the pandemic. To learn more, please visit tcm.com/festival.

Movie lovers from around the globe will descend upon Hollywood for the 13th edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The 2022 festival is set to take place from Thursday, April 21 – to Sunday, April 24, 2022. Over four packed days and nights, attendees will be treated to an extensive lineup of great movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, fascinating presentations and panel discussions, special events, and more.

TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz will serve as the official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The festival’s official hotel and central gathering point will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for festival attendees. Screenings and events during the festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43, as well as other Hollywood venues. For the latest news and information, follow us on social at #TCMFF.

This year’s theme is “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen.” In 2022, reunite with fellow fans, the movies, the memories, the stars, and the glamour. It’s all back live and in person, just as it should be, and where it all began in Hollywood. From high school reunions to homecomings, TCM will celebrate milestones from the past as we look forward to making new memories together.

About Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin, one of America’s foremost comediennes, continues to venture across an ever-widening range of media, starring in television, theater, motion pictures, animation, video, and social media.  Throughout her extraordinary career, Tomlin has received numerous awards, including eight Emmys, with 25 primetime and five daytime nominations; a Tony for her one-woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely; a second Tony for Best Actress, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics’ Circle Award for her one-woman performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of The Search; a Grammy for her comedy album, This is a Recording as well as nominations for her subsequent albums Modern Scream, And That’s the Truth,  and On Stage; and two Peabody Awards–the first for the ABC television special, Edith Ann’s Christmas (Just Say Noël), and the second for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, The Celluloid Closet.  In 2003, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and, in December 2014, was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC.

About Leonard Maltin

Leonard Maltin is one of the world’s most respected film critics and historians. He is best known for his widely-used reference work Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide and its companion volume Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide, as well as his 30-year run on television’s Entertainment Tonight. He teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, appears regularly on Turner Classic Movies, and hosts the weekly podcast “Maltin on Movies” with his daughter Jessie. His latest book is Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood; others include Hooked on Hollywood, The 151 Best Movies You’ve Never SeenOf Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, and The Great Movie ComediansThe Disney Films, and The Art of the Cinematographer. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association was appointed by the Librarian of Congress to sit on the Board of Directors of the National Film Preservation Foundation. He hosted and co-produced the popular Walt Disney Treasures DVD series and has appeared on innumerable television programs and documentaries. He is the recipient of awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, American Society of Cinematographers, the Telluride Film Festival, George Eastman House, Anthology Film Archives and San Diego’s Comic-Con International. Perhaps the pinnacle of his career was his appearance in a now-classic episode of South Park. (Or was it Carmela consulting his Movie Guide on an episode of The Sopranos?) He holds court at leonardmaltin.com. Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
About the TCL Chinese Theatres
Since 1927, The TCL Chinese Theatre has been the home of the most important, star-powered red carpet movie premieres and special events, where Hollywood’s biggest and brightest talents have come to watch their movies.  The most famous movie theatre on the globe is world-renowned for its unique forecourt of the stars, featuring cement hands and footprints of major movie stars, from Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt, and numerous stars from all eras of Hollywood. In 2013, the main theatre was relaunched as the world’s largest IMAX® theatre.

TCM Classic Film Festival Special Home Edition – Celebrating the past decade of the TCM Classic Film Festival

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Catching up after the sad news last month on the effect the current coronavirus (COVID-19) is inflicting on life as we know it and the TCM Classic Film Festival.

TCM Past
Larry Gleeson providing full coverage for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 14th, 2014, at the Chinese Mann Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo courtesy of Genworth and TCM)

After much speculation, the decision was made by TCM to cancel this year’s festival in early March with a public announcement from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.

Fortunately for TCM fans and classic film cinephiles around the world, this year’s festival was re-imagined into a weekend-long TCM Classic Film Festival Special Home Edition, April 16th-19th and announced to the public with another announcement from host Mankiewicz! After the video, check below for more intricate details on this year’s special edition and a spectacular moment from the 2016 Opening Night Mixer.

This special home edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival will feature favorite movies and festival moments, TCM hosts and special guests that can all be enjoyed from the comfort of home. As a part of the Special Home Edition, TCM is showcasing films that have been a part of the TCM Classic Film Festival, both from years past and slated for this year’s event.

 

TCM 2020 Home Edition

All times EST

Thursday, April 16

8:00 PM A Star is Born (1954)
Opening Night Film at the inaugural 2010 TCM Classic Film Festival, presented by Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin.
11:00 PM Metropolis (1927)
Closing Night Film at the 2010 TCM CFF, this was the North American premiere of a restored version of the film with footage found in 2008 in Argentina, with live score by the Alloy Orchestra.
1:45 AM Luise Rainer: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2011)
Recorded at the 1st TCM CFF in 2010 when Ms. Rainer, the first back-to-back Oscar winner for Best Actress, was 100 years old.
2:30 AM The Good Earth (1937)
Presented at the 2010 TCMCFF with Luise Rainer in attendance.
5:00 AM Neptune’s Daughter (1949)
Presented at the 2010 TCM CFF at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel pool on Opening Night, with Esther Williams and Betty Garrett in attendance and featuring a performance by the Aqualilies.

Friday, April 17

6:45 AM The Seventh Seal (1957)
Shown as part of a tribute to Max Von Sydow at the 2013 TCM CFF, with the actor in attendance.
8:30 AM She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Introduced by Keith Carradine, at the 2016 TCM CFF.
10:30 AM Sounder (1972)
Presented at the 2018 TCM CFF with Cicely Tyson in attendance, who was honored prior to the screening with a hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX.
12:30 PM A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
This world premiere restoration was introduced by Alec Baldwin and Don Was at the 2014 TCM CFF.
2:00 PM Eva Marie Saint:  Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2014)
Recorded in front of a live audience at the 2013 TCM CFF as part of a tribute to Eva Marie Saint.
3:15 PM North by Northwest (1959)
Presented at the 2010 TCM CFF with Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau in attendance.
5:45 PM Some Like It Hot (1959)
Presented at the 2010 TCM CFF with Tony Curtis in attendance.
8:00 PM Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story (2015)
West Coast premiere at the 2016 TCM CFF, with Lillian Michelson and director Daniel Raim in attendance.
10:00 PM Deliverance (1972)
A cast reunion was presented at the 2013 TCM CFF, with Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jon Voight and director John Boorman in attendance.
12:00 AM The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Presented in 3D at the 2018 TCM CFF, this was introduced by Dennis Miller.
1:30 AM Grey Gardens (1975)
Presented at 2014 TCM CFF as part of a tribute to Albert Maysles, who was in attendance.
3:15 AM Night Flight (1933)
Out of circulation for over 50 years, this was introduced by Drew Barrymore, granddaughter of the film’s star John Barrymore at the 2011 TCM CFF.
5:00 AM Kim Novak: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2013)
Taped in front of a live audience at the 2012 TCM CFF, as part of a tribute to Kim Novak.

Saturday, April 18

6:00 AM The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Presented at the 2011 TCM CFF with Nancy and Tina Sinatra and Vicki Preminger in attendance.
8:00 AM Mad Love (1935)
Introduced at the 2019 TCM CFF by Bill Hader with actress Cora Sue Collins in attendance in the audience.
9:15 AM Double Harness (1933)
Introduced at the 2016 TCM CFF, by James Cromwell, the son of director John Cromwell.
10:30 AM Vitaphone Shorts:
Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder (1929)
Don’t Get Nervous (1929)
Lambchops (1929)
Presented at the 2016 TCM CFF, as part of a program celebrating “90th Anniversary of Vitaphone,” by the founder of the Vitaphone Project, Ron Hutchinson.
11:00 AM Sergeant York (1941)
The first Festival program to screen at the newest venue of the TCM CFF, the Legion Theater at Post 43, this was introduced in 2019 by Andrew Jackson York, the son of Sergeant Alvin C. York and grandson, Gerald York.
1:30 PM Safety Last! (1923)
The first of four Harold Lloyd films presented at the TCM CFF, this was accompanied by live orchestra and music composed and conducted by Robert Israel, in 2010, and introduced by Suzanne Lloyd.
3:00 PM They Live by Night (1949)
Presented at the 2013 TCM CFF and introduced by Susan Ray, widow of director Nicholas Ray.
4:45 PM Faye Dunaway: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2017)
Taped in front of a live audience at the 2016 TCM CFF, as part of a tribute to Faye Dunaway.
5:45 PM Network (1976)
Presented as part of a tribute to Faye Dunaway at the 2016 TCM CFF, with the actress in attendance.
8:00 PM Casablanca (1942)
A perennial favorite, this film has been presented three times at the TCM CFF, including a screening introduced by Peter Bogdanovich and Monika Henreid in 2010. Peter Bogdanovich will return to co-host this on-air screening.
10:00 PM The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Presented at the 2010 TCM CFF, it was introduced by Peter Bogdanovich and David Kamp. Peter Bogdanovich with co-host this on-air screening.
11:45 PM Night and the City (1950)
Presented at the 2012 TCM CFF by Eddie Muller.
1:30 AM Norman Lloyd: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2016)
Recorded in front of a live audience as part of a tribute to Norman Lloyd, at the 2015 TCM CFF; Mr. Lloyd was 100 at the time of the taping.
2:30 AM The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Presented at the TCM CFF in 2013 with Norman Lloyd in attendance to talk about his friend, Alfred Hitchcock.
4:15 AM The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
The largest orchestral presentation to date at the TCM CFF was this 2016 screening, with live orchestra and the UC of Berkely Alumni Chorus (under the direction of Dr. Mark Sumner) performing an original score by Richard Einhorn.

Sunday, April 19

6:00 AM Jezebel (1938)
Presented at the 2017 TCM CFF.
7:45 AM The Set-Up (1949) )
Introduced at the 2018 TCM CFF introduced by Noir Alley host Eddie Muller and actor/filmmaker Malcom Mays, who did a live reading of the poem the film is based on.
9:00 AM Peter O’Toole, Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2012)
Recorded in front of a live audience, and part of a tribute to Peter O’Toole at the 2011 TCM CFF.
10:00 AM Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Screened as part of a tribute to Anne V. Coates, ACE, at the 2015 TCM CFF, with the Oscar-winning editor in attendance.
2:00 PM Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Presented at the introduced by film historian and author Cari Beauchamp at the 2017 TCM CFF.
3:30 PM Auntie Mame (1958)
Presented at the 2012 TCM CFF, introduced by Todd Oldham.
6:00 PM Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Presented three times to date at the TCM CFF, in 2010, 2012 and 2017 editions, with guests over the years including: Debbie Reynolds, Stanley Donen, and Todd Fisher and Ruta Lee.
8:00 PM Floyd Norman: An Animated Life (2016)
Floyd Norman was slated to be honored with a tribute at the 2020 TCM CFF.
9:45 PM The Hustler (1961)
The 2020 TCM CFF included a tribute to the actress Piper Laurie.
12:15 AM Baby Face (1933)
Longtime festival guest Bruce Goldstein intended to present a special presentation at the 2020 TCM CFF, about the censorship of the film and footage added back in decades later, to this popular pre-Code film.
1:45 AM Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)
Serge Bromberg was scheduled to present this recently restored silent with musical accompaniment at the 2020 TCM CFF.
3:30 AM Victor/Victoria (1982)
Julie Andrews was slated to attend the screening of this film, at the 2020 TCM CFF.

TCMFF-Home-Edition-Schedule 

 

TCM_0191
Larry Gleeson, left, taking direction at the 2016 Opening Night TCM Classic Film Festival, April 28, 2016, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo courtesy of TCM Backlot)

Malone_TCMFF
TCM Classic Movies host Alicia Malone provides a warm welcome, April 26th, 2018, to the TCM Classic Film Festival’s Delta Green Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo credit: Larry Gleeson)

Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies!

TCM 2020 Save the Date

 

(Sourced from TCM news announcements)

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) TO OPEN 2020 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL

Posted by Larry Gleeson

LLoyd

Turner Classic Movies announced that the 11th annual TCM Classic Film Festival will open with a 35th anniversary screening of BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985), with stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson and screenwriter/producer Bob Gale in attendance. BACK TO THE FUTURE personifies this year’s theme of GRAND ILLUSIONS: FANTASTIC WORLDS ON FILM, “a wondrous journey to enchanted worlds of fantasy and stories beyond belief. From myths and magical creatures to ghostly encounters and travels through time, you’ll escape with fellow movie lovers to places that will ignite your imagination.”

Fox
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly/Calvin Klein in Robert Zemecki’s 1985 classic sci-fi, comedy/adventure film, Back to the Future. Back to the Future is slated to open the 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival, April 16-19, 2020 in Hollywood, Calif.

 

 

TCM also announced additional film titles including: George Cukor’s A DOUBLE LIFE (1947), starring Ronald Colman and Shelley Winters; Cukor’s pre-Code comedic drama DINNER AT EIGHT (1933), starring Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler; Alfred Hitchcock’s remake of his original 1934 thriller THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956); Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn in Sam Wood’s THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES (1941); and Alfred Santell’s drama THAT BRENNAN GIRL (1946).

Passes for the 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival are still available, but only limited quantities remain. Passes make a perfect holiday gift for the classic movie lover!

For more information about 2020 Festival passes, please click here.

Stay tuned for more on this wildly popular event!

TCM House

TCM Classic Film Festival 2020