ChipHeartsMovies

That's one of the things you'll have to wait til May 1 (when the rules of this Challenge are announced) to find out. That's a great example of the way this game (slightly) changes depending on who hosts it. The FAQ's I posted earlier give you a general outline of the way the game generally works. Each game's moderator then tweaks the rules to make a slightly different experience each time. As for the folks you can choose among for Private Screenings/Guest Programmers/et. al. for this particular Challenge...I have a fun spin on this planned for you all. All I will say at this point is that in the upcoming Challenge you might be able to think of your favorite stars to participate, living OR dead...and your choices won't necessarily stop there. "I'll admit I may have seen better days, but I'm still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut." Margo Channing Message was edited by: ChipHeartsMovies, cuz PlainText still makes him make silly mistakes.

Hooray! You'll love it, 'Maven.

Of course you can step away, but don't think I won't try and lure you back in ... I can be very Willie Wonka as I try and coax you into this TCM Challenge. Or perhaps I am more like... Message was edited by: ChipHeartsMovies, who hates it when he uses redundant words in a single sentence.

So Kate1Fan, are you in? I bet we can guess who your Star of the Month will be... There are already other first-timers on board, I hope you're playing!

*FAQ's ABOUT THE TCM PROGRAMMING CHALLENGE* An Introduction for New Players *WHAT IS THE TCM PROGRAMMING CHALLENGE?* It's the best game imaginable for classic movie fans! The TCM Programming Challenge is a friendly competition to create the best possible fantasy week of programming for TCM. *WHO CAN PLAY?* Anyone who registers for the TCM Boards before the deadline for final entries. *WHAT ARE THE RULES?* The rules change slightly from game to game, but overall you select a real calendar week that occurs at some point in the next couple of years. And then the real fun begins --- YOU AND YOU ALONE decide what to show on TCM for a whole week. YOU program The Essentials, Sunday Silents, TCM Underground, and pick the Star of the Month. YOU decide who Robert O interviews for Private Screenings. You can even research the actual dates of your week and set up birthday tributes! The Challenge is a GREAT way to introduce your TCM pals to movies you love that they may not have heard of. Love screwball comedies with Carole Lombard? John Ford films? Movies about orphans? Can't live without a 24-hour tribute to Marjorie Main? AT LAST --- YOU make the call! *THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO IT THAN THAT!* Well, there is. You are allowed to program any movie from specific film libraries that simulate the choices available to the real TCM programmers (the exact libraries are announced with the contest). That means that a Paramount movie might not be available, so maybe you'd need to substitute a Warner Brothers or MGM title. You're also always able to program any movie that TCM has aired in the past. You are also allowed a set number of TCM Premieres, where you can use any movie at all. *IS THIS REALLY HARD?* No, it isn't hard at all, but it IS time-consuming. That's why you get approximately a month to set up your schedule. Play around with it all day on Sundays, or for a short while every day, and you'll be fine. For this Challenge, I added two days to the month to give you five full weekends. Most of the time you're researching classic movies that you care about, maybe learning about a movie a favorite star made that you didn't know about. This is the really fun part. Students, teachers, and "education professionals" --- I'm scheduling the game to be sure you have time after final exams to play, so don't let me down! *WHAT'S THE CATCH?* The aspect that some people find intimidating is putting the movies into a time slot (you know, if *Gone with the Wind* ends at 12:10, then *A Night at the Opera* starts at 12:15). If you like jigsaw puzzles, or crossword puzzles, or board games, you will have fun with this aspect too (I do!). Some people do find this part less than fun. *HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW LONG THE WIZARD OF OZ RUNS, OR WHICH STUDIO RELEASED DOUBLE INDEMNITY?* Both the TCM website database and IMDB give you every bit of info you will need on any movie for the purposes of the Challenge. Pick a forgotten Betty Hutton flick and you'll have this information in two seconds. This is the part of the Challenge that seems hardest to new players...and it's actually the EASIEST. You don't even have to leave the TCM website. And if you don't know how to access the TCM database or IMDB, I will give you the links! *WHO'S THE MODERATOR?* Generally, the winner of the previous Challenge moderates the next game. This time, the well-deserved winner patful had a personal schedule conflict and asked me to step in since I squeaked into second place in the last Challenge. This is my first time running this particular rodeo, so I may make some interesting changes...you'll find out when the rules are announced May 1. *I FINISHED MY FANTASY WEEK OF TCM PROGRAMMING! NOW WHAT?* You post it before the deadline in the thread set up for that. Most of us also write accompanying "programming notes" explaining why we picked the movies we chose. *WHO PICKS THE WINNER? WHAT UNTOLD RICHES WILL I WIN?* It's a fun vote among the participants. Occasionally there are small prizes provided, just for kicks. This time there will be prizes, but I won't tell you what til the game is over. You basically win bragging rights. Think of this as Game Night at TCM. *BUT SOMETIMES THERE IS A REALLY, REALLY GRAND PRIZE!* The real TCM Programming Department sometimes takes our play-ideas and uses them ON TCM FOR REAL! They even chime in on the Boards and offer us words of encouragement --- and then they tell us they're swiping our ideas, hehe. So even if you don't "win" the Challenge...you might just look at the TCM schedule a few months later and see that "you" programmed Monday afternoon after all! So who REALLY won? *LET THE GAMES BEGIN! (SOON)!* The Challenge will be posted on Friday May 1. You will have until May 31 to enter your schedule. Until then, this thread is the place to ask questions, speculate, and wonder what diabolical rule twists I have up my sleeve! Newcomers, please ask questions!

filmlover, Lonesome Polecat, patful, CineMaven, Fedya, lzcutter, and ILoveRayMilland have all signed on in less than 24 hours --- it already promises to be a great game, but they welcome more competition! Look for FAQ's about the Challenge later today. They'll help explain the ins and outs of the game for first-time players.

*NEWCOMERS WANTED* ! We're just over a week away from the next TCM Programming Challenge! My goal is to encourage new folks to play the game, while still challenging veteran players. That's why this thread is open now -- so new players can ask questions. You'll all get details on the actual Challenge rules when the game begins on May 1. In the coming days, I'll post tips on how to play the game. For instance, if you don't know how to tell if a movie has played on TCM in the past, I'll tell you just how easy it is to find out (it takes less than a minute). I didn't figure this out until the third time I played, and it certainly makes the game easier and more fun! I'm also asking all of you experienced Challenge players to post short tips and tricks --- and to encourage your TCM pals who haven't played before to give it a try. This is a thread for questions from newcomers to see how to navigate the game. Just like Monopoly, it's easy once you _know_ how to play. Instead of playing a game about building luxury hotels (ugh), you're pretending to entertain millions of folks with your own love of classic films. I'll post a list of FAQ shortly that will explain the game structure in an easy-to-follow format for newcomers. And then let the questions and the advice/tips begin! The TCM Programming Challenge is the reason I joined the TCM Boards. I lurked until I happened on the Challenge, and it looked like so much fun I signed up for the Boards just so I could play. I can't tell you how much fun I think the Challenge is. I hope you'll dip your toe in the water and play along! Check back for the FAQ! Coming soon...

Ladies and gentlemen, in tonight's Programming Challenge the role of Margo Channing, normally played by patful, will be performed by Eve Harrington, uh, actually ChipHeartsMovies. patful is stranded in the country with Celeste Holm and a mysteriously empty gas tank. Kidding, of course. It's nearly time for the next edition of the TCM Programming Challenge! For newcomers, the TCM Programming Challenge is a fantasy scheduling game we play on the TCM boards three or four times a year. Each Challenge is generally hosted by the previous winner, and those of you who played last time know that patful's spectacular winning schedule deserved the Sarah Siddons Award the other players bestowed on it. patful had a personal scheduling problem and asked me to step in, since I squeaked into runner-up status. I'm hoping patful will even be able to jump in at the last minute to play this round! We're about ten days away from the beginning of the new Challenge! In a little while today, I will post my goal for this go-round, and some more info on what's to come. If you've never played the game before, or if you're a frequent visitor to the TCM boards who has never joined the site, I especially hope you'll check back in. Look for another post later...

Great job Kyle!

Yay! The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser! I just saw a new stage musical based on this story by Elizabeth Swados -- I can't wait!

I never _disliked_ it, just not among my favorites. And I'm happy Anna chose it, because as I said I appreciated Jane Powell in it far more than I had in the past. And I loved her intro/outro!

Hehe, speak of the devil...

*Meet Me in St. Louis* --- which patful also loves in particular for Margaret O'Brien. I don't want to sidetrack this thread, so back to *Seven Brides for Seven Brothers* . This isn't among my favorite MGM musicals so I have only seen it a couple of times, but watching it now at least explained to me why we have a TCM poster named LonesomePolecat! So thanks Anna for selecting this one. I also am particularly enjoying Jane Powell in this movie more than I recalled!

MarianStarrett said: Is there any chance you'd be interested in being a FP, Chip? We could round up the whole quartet of NYC-area fans with you. Marian, whenever invited to appear on national television to discuss Judy Garland, I make it a firm policy to accept. LOL. It would certainly be fun and I would jump at the chance, but I am taking equal pleasure hearing from my pals. I don't know about you, but hearing the personal stories of each person --- watching old movies late at night or growing up with family, feeling a little out of place in some aspects of popular culture --- I genuinely feel that these guys are already telling my story. And I don't have the telegenic sparkle of MissGoddess and company, I assure you.

Time for another night of Fan Programmers! All of you so far have been really, really good. This idea of TCM's has far exceeded what I expected it to. Let's hope that they consider a monthly FP in the future!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have watched this movie. The cinematography is BEAUTIFUL. Thanks Lynn, back to the movie!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have watched this movie. The cinematography is BEAUTIFUL. Thanks Lynn, back to the movie!

The champagne corks are popping across the country right now, and I betcha they are at the Cutter household. They sure are here in New York! Only Mr. Cutter would be able to tell us if LZ wears a yellow ribbon tonight. And he don't kiss and tell. Who cares? We get to see a great movie, introduced by a great pal. Congratulations Ms. Cutter!

Patful, I'm not a Westerns kind of guy in general, or pretty much ever, but I have loved *She Wore a Yellow Ribbon* since I first saw it (when I was in sixth grade, in a story that probably only lzcutter would find interesting). Her threat of a quiz tomorrow is meaningless --- you would be glued to the movie within five minutes in ANY situation, but if Lynn is introducing it, with her deep knowledge of the West and John Wayne --- you're hooked! As you will very soon see.....

There was a nice piece in the *The New York Post* as well. Pretty much the same stuff, except that they noted that Robert O. lives in NYC (local interest) and commutes to Atlanta to film every intro fresh every time.

Okay, I was wrong, this thread is not beyond hope. And I'm happy to find some more Waters fans among us. I have some *Female Trouble* quotes I could share ... if TCM didn't have some troublesome rules about profanity.

I know I'm late to chime in on April's intro, but I scheduled a dinner date to allow me to see the intro and then dash out. You were terrific, Miss G. Looked lovely (of course), but more important you impart a lovely understanding of this film. I grew up in Georgia, where *GWTW* is second only to The Bible. Your intro was so nice I made sure I made it home in time to hear your outro live. I'd say more, but Emmy Slattery just turned up at the gates of Tara, and I gotta see this.

Uh-oh, this thread has no hope at this point.

My dear pal CineMaven invited me to her viewing party tonight as she kicked off Fan Programmer Week, and I thought I'd share my fun there as we watched CM's debut. She had 15 or so friends over, she provided the hooch and we all brought snacks (I brought cake). She was VERY specific that we arrive between 7:00-7:15 (her moment aired at 8 PM on the East Coast), and other than one person everyone was there on time. I had previously only met one person at the party, Lynn, who was also CineMaven's guest in Atlanta for the TCM taping. I could tell that this gang was genuinely made up of CM's friends, but also that for the most part they weren't classic film fans...just CineMaven fans. They could not have been nicer as we chatted before the screening, but I was admittedly worried that they might lose interest in a b/w Bette Davis movie --- while supporting their friend, they might not really care for the movie. Well, CineMaven's masterful intro had everyone glued to the movie from Minute One. Partway through the movie I asked my friend/date (not a classic movie fan) if he was having fun, since we had barely spoken after the movie started, and he told me to talk to him after the movie --- he'd never seen it and didn't want to miss a minute. *The Letter* glues everyone to the screen. Afterward, we had a toast, cut the cake, and ate snacks. And while CineMaven had a couple of other surprises to show us, I leave that to her to share. Between the time it took to get home to Manhattan from Brooklyn and then write this, I barely have time to get ready for Filmlover's TLTE. But I watched Lani's intro at CM's party in Brooklyn, Lani's outro just now at home in Manhattan, and I am ready to watch Peter's TLTE choice from start to finish. His is actually the one I'm most excited about, I've never seen it! CineMaven did a fantastic job, and what a pleasure to see that TCM made her look as gorgeous as she is in real life. You other Fan Film Programmers -- be sure you share your Moment in the Sun with friends & family (and all of us little people out there in the dark). Sharing this very special night with my BFF CineMaven honestly meant more to me than if I had been the Fan Programmer myself. I'm so happy for my friends! CineMaven's pal Lynn took photos, so be sure she posts them! Yikes! Time for *These Lips, These Eyes* ! Gotta go!

The movie is finally getting a DVD release in the UK, so if you have a region-free player you could order it. Bootlegs are easily found, but many are noted for very poor quality, even by bootleg standards.