Turner Classic Movies is one of my favorite TV networks, so I’m pretty excited to learn about their first ever TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood on April 22 – 25, 2010.
It sounds really cool, not just because of all the great movies, but also all the appearances by legendary folks who made the movies, panel discussions, and lots more. Most of us never have the chance to see these classic films on the big screen, so if you’re in the Hollywood area, this is a great opportunity.
Robert Osborne, TCM’s primetime host, will serve as official host of the festival, which includes more than 50 screenings of classic films with special introductions offering insider info and a behind-the-scenes look at the films.
Live far away from Hollywood? Enter the TCM Classic Film Festival Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize Winner gets a trip for two to L.A., 4-night hotel accommodations, a festival pass, and other fun stuff. Other winners will receive cool stuff like a $100 Amazon gift card, film festival and TCM swag, and a Robert Osborne bobble head! (I so want that last one.)
Filmmakers and actors scheduled to attend the film festival and talk about their work include Mel Brooks, Luise Rainer, Ernest Borgnine, Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis, Jon Voight, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Martin Landau, Buck Henry, Eli Wallach, Peter Bogdanovich, Stanley Donen, Norman Lloyd, Susan Kohner Weitz, Juanita Moore, Darryl Hickman, Richard Rush and special effects artist Douglas Trumbull.
Kicking off the four-day event will be the world premiere of a new restoration of George Cukor’s ‘A Star is Born’ (1954). Other films include ‘Metropolis’ (1927), featuring previously lost footage; a 50th anniversary screening of a restored version of Jean Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ (1959), introduced by star Jean-Paul Belmondo; a special screening of the 70mm road show version of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968); and ‘The Producers’ (1968), including a discussion with writer/director Mel Brooks, who will also be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the festival.
The lineup also includes the restored films ‘Sunnyside Up’ (1929), ‘The Big Trail’ (1930), ‘Dirigible’ (1931), ‘The Story of Temple Drake’ (1933), ‘Jubal’ (1956) and ‘The Day of the Triffids’ (1936).
Also on tap: a screening of an archival print of ‘Casablanca’ (1942); a presentation of ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ (1938), paired with the Bugs Bunny cartoon ‘Rabbit Hood’ (1949); rare theatrical screenings of the Joan Crawford drama ‘A Woman’s Face’ (1940) and the gangster drama ‘No Orchids’ for Miss Blandish’ (1948); the classic Harold Lloyd comedies ‘An Eastern Westerner’ (1920) and ‘Safety Last’ (1923); and screenings of such crowd pleasers as ‘Top Hat’ (1935), ‘Laura’ (1944), ‘Some Like It Hot’ (1959), ‘Pillow Talk’ (1959) and ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (1977).
I love this: Author Donald Bogle will introduce and discuss ‘Removed from Circulation,’ a collection of cartoons removed from circulation because of negative racial stereotypes. Also, ‘Fragments,’ a compilation of footage from lost films will be shown, as well. Wish I could be there!
Here’s something to get you revved up…
Images: ‘A Star is Born,’ ‘Casablanca,’ Warner Bros. Pictures
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