Turner Classic Movies and its TCM Classic Film Festival have have staunch supporters, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson. They've helped keep both alive during recent budget cuts from their parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. I am a fan as well, and I am thrilled to preview the 17th annual festival, which takes place April 30 through May 3 in Hollywood, with this year’s theme, "The World Comes to Hollywood."
Charles Tabesh, senior vice president of programming and content strategy and a UC San Diego alum, explained that the theme "is definitely meant to celebrate the immigrants who helped create Hollywood — celebrating and exploring the ways in which people came from all over the world to create this industry that we all love. It's really astounding, actually, when you just start to look at all of the original moguls, all of the filmmakers, all of the composers, all of the iconic actors and actresses that have come from everywhere in the world, and that's led to where we are now. I think it's pretty incredible."
And TCM is pretty incredible, too. It is not a nonprofit organization, yet in many ways it behaves like one.
"It is absolutely interesting," Tabesh said. "If you're going to be in the corporate world, I think it's good to be in the one section that's a really small little piece of the overall business, so that they kind of know that you're doing good stuff but for the most part want to leave you alone to do your good stuff. So yes, we are definitely not a nonprofit, but at the same time, we have a mandate and a mission that goes beyond just dollars and cents."
Part of that mission is to bring classic, silent and seemingly lost films back to life on the big screen. This year, the festival will showcase "Letty Lynton," a 1932 Joan Crawford pre-Code film that has not been seen since 1936 because of rights issues. But legal rights have been secured, and the film has been restored.
"We're really excited about it, and I think it's famous because the dress that Joan Crawford wears became a phenomenon in the country," Tabesh added.
I may have to line up at 8 a.m. That's one of the joys and challenges of the festival — multiple venues, back-to-back screenings and lots of hard choices to make. And although Tabesh seems like a very nice and kind man, I sense a hint of sadism in his programming.
Tabesh laughed and replied, "When we started, it wasn't the intent to be cruel. But now I think we kind of enjoy it. But it is a challenge because you want people to be able to go from movie to movie, so you want to schedule them that way. And there are format issues so certain films can only play in certain theaters. Nitrate and 70mm can only play at the Egyptian. So there are a lot of considerations — the lengths of the films, when talent can be there, all sorts of things that dictate when and where a film can play. So it is very complicated. Bill Pence, who founded the Telluride Film Festival, once said, 'Leave them wanting more.' At the end of the day, it's better that they want more but hopefully no matter what your choice is, you're going to have a great time and you're going to feel good about the choice you made because we really try to make each individual screening its own special, special experience."
And each screening is special. Just a few of this year's highlights include: Oscar winners Ben Burtt and Craig Barron taking a deep dive into the special effects of "The Towering Inferno"; filmmaker Edgar Wright presenting cult favorite "Vanishing Point" at midnight; filmmaker Charles Burnett unveiling the restoration of his 1983 film "My Brother's Wedding"; the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra accompanying the silent film "Lady Windermere's Fan"; and accompanist Ben Model performing live for "The Patsy."
The TCM Classic Film Festival is one of my favorites because it allows you to enjoy films on the big screen with an audience of like-minded movie lovers. Plus, it provides an opportunity to make new discoveries.
