sewhite2000

The viewing public has also changed. I think it largely dates back to the creation of the summer blockbuster. If you go back at look at Variety charts from the '60s and '70s, moviegoers used to go to more sophisticated films routinely. Network and Rocky could both be big moneymakers (and both get Best Picture nominations!). Or One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Jaws. But starting around the turn of the decade into the 80s, people stopped going to see more sophisticated fare in such large numbers (in general - there are some exceptions).

I was referring to Nipkow's post directly above the one you just quoted in which he does indeed attack "hoy-foy liberal icons" and then go read about six thousand other posts from him over the years in which he has blamed liberals for everything that bad that's ever happened in the history of the world before you make the blanket statement that no one is attacking liberals on this board, which is completely inaccurate, believe me!

I admit the Me Too reference was a bit of an awkward fit. I was just trying to tie it all in to something contemporary!

This list skews toward a lot more modern films than people here have been generally talking about, but since it was so on-topic, I thought I would share: https://film.avclub.com/heel-turns-23-movie-stars-cast-against-type-as-villain-1828144134

Parts of this movie are pretty ridiculous, but I saw The Last Castle in the theater and then completely forgot about it until rewatching it about a year ago on Netflix or somewhere with my parents, and it's pretty entertaining. James Gandolfini trying to do something to distinguish himself from Tony Soprano and a very early career appearance from Mark Ruffalo in a pivotal role. Robin Wright is in only one scene as Redford's daughter. She apparently agreed to play this small role just so she could work with Redford. It's probably the best scene in the movie.

Could you ever post anything about anything without attacking liberals?

After I read your first post, I almost immediately replied without reading any other posts that this rumor has been around for a few years already. But I see you're already aware of that. I haven't seen Luther, which appears to be what he's best known for in his native UK, but boy, he was really great in The Wire. Just like that kid in Get Out, I didn't even know he was British!

I don't know where this theater is (actually, I do, since I read the article) where the staff is that vigilant! At the theater I go to most regularly, young couples bring babies with them all the time, babies who inevitably either begin laughing or screaming as soon as the movie starts. AND NO THEATER STAFF EVER MAKES THEM LEAVE, and NO PARENT EVER TAKES THEIR BABY OUTSIDE! Grrrr.

I'm not going to make much headway arguing against your impassioned red type. And you are certainly in the vast majority among the TCM viewers who are also on the message boards. I was actually quite surprised when I first got on these message boards how much everybody around here hates it. I'm uncertain what percentage of total TCM viewership we actually represent. I just know that about the only time TCM gets any national media coverage at all, ever, is every year during 31 Days month. I wouldn't be able to provide the source, but I'm sure I've read before TCM's viewership is higher that month than any other month of the year. Even though the head of TCM programming once said the network doesn't care about ratings, I assume the annual increased viewership is probably enough to keep it going. But just so you know everybody doesn't hate 31 Days, I'd like to state for the record that it was the whole reason I started watching TCM after I read an article that made me aware the format even existed. And I still get jazzed about it every year. I can't deny that it's lost a bit of its luster for me. Next February will be my 19th 31 Days, I think, so, you know, I've seen a lot of the same films over and over. But every year, I eagerly scan the listings to find what I haven't seen or what's premiering that year like I've just opened a Christmas present.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/gossiping-about-katharine-hepburn-and-humphrey-bogart.html

Oh my gosh, I've watched every ceremony from start to finish since 1977.

I'm suddenly remembering a many-years old story. I bought a buddy of mine several classic movies on VHS (yep, it was that long ago) for his birthday. One of them was Sunset Blvd. I didn't know he and his wife had actually seen the original stageshow with Glenn Close on a trip to New York. He had no idea it had been a movie. I later asked him what he thought of it, and he said, "Well, we really couldn't get past the idea of there not being musical numbers in it. We kept looking at each other while we were watching and saying here's where this song should start, and here's where that song should start. It was just really weird seeing it without the songs." As someone who's never seen the stageshow and who couldn't possibly imagine Sunset Blvd. WITH songs, I was a little depressed by his reaction!

I would probably be more inclined to watch if Gadot was playing Hedley Lamarr!

Of course, they remade Sunset Blvd. as a Broadway musical, and I think there's been some talk there might be a movie version of that musical.

Ohhhh, overwhelmed by pun. Must sit down for a minute ...

Enjoying all the above commentary. I say yes definitely more clips. One of the things that cemented my love of the movies as a child and early adolescent was seeing those clips of all the many nominees I hadn't seen in the theater. You know, at that age, I was pretty much only going to Star Wars and Superman: the Movie and not The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs. Kramer, but I could see those clips and get a real sense of what the movie was about and its style. It's distressing now that a show about movies shows so little from actual movies. The time allotted to production numbers vs. movie clips has got to be four to one? Five to one? I also miss the lifetime award recipients getting a chance to speak at the ceremony, which was also a highlight of my younger years. That was really my introduction to a lot of classic movie stars who were by the time I became aware of them were barely working any more or in some instances long retired. It seems criminal some of the stars listed above didn't get to speak. Pretty sure Sidney Poitier was also on that list. I don't mean to hate on some of the categories and the winners, but I often thought we could cut out Best Animated Short (which are never seen by anyone unless they're the one nominee every year that runs before a Pixar movie) or the two Best Sound awards (what the distinction between them any more is, I have no idea) so that we can give a legendary films star two minutes to speak. TCM runs pieces where they let the Academy president speak between features during 31 Days, which I don't mind so much, as their appearance might mean a few less Backlot or Wine Club spots that month. The new guy, whose name escapes me, actually seemed happy that the Governor's Ball awards weren't televised, saying this gave the proceedings a more relaxed, intimate feeling. I think it's a disservice to the fans. I would absolutely watch that ceremony if I could, at least part of it, depending on who was being honored in a given year. No, it probably wouldn't be a ratings bonanza, but I wish they would just stream it from their official website or something as a courtesy. Or it seems like something one of the Turner networks would show.

The time-consuming bits that have always drained my soul have been all the musical numbers (this is NOT the Grammys! We really don't need all five Best Song nominees to perform complete renditions of their songs. We don't have all five Best Actor nominees come out and re-create scenes from their movies) and the let's bring a bunch of celebrities over to the theater next door and surprise all the nobodies who care so little about the Oscars that they're not even watching the ceremony. Why do they deserve to be so honored? Watching ten minutes of them holding up their phones because they can't just live in the moment and have to record everything. Ugh. Why does the Academy think that's important? They eliminated speeches from lifetime honorees years ago - people who actually mattered to the film industry - so they could show Joe Schmo staring into his phone for 10 minutes upon meeting Lupita N'yongo because he is incapable of putting down his phone and looking into the camera.

Okay, everyone please keep punching me in the face! Sheesh! Had to be away from my computer for a couple of hours. I was excited when I saw I had two responses to my post and within seconds I have learned that both were to let me know I'm an idiot. Now, I'm less excited.

Sorry, I'm not always the most careful of readers!

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the very first Oscar ceremony did this very same thing, giving Outstanding Picture to the crowd-pleaser Wings, the Top Gun of its day, and Best Unique and Artistic Picture to the heavier Sunrise. After only one year, they did away with the "Unique and Artistic" award. Wings is generally considered in hindsight to be the "real" Best Picture winner that year, according to most media sources, although interestingly the award from that time on has generally been given to the picture that fits the "most artistic" description rather than the "most popular" one. Anyway, I'm very sure the Academy will make a big deal about this bifurcation being tied back to that very first ceremony and argue that it's not some move of desperation after all. I'm certainly interested if and how this change in the date will affect TCM programming. TCM execs are no doubt having emergency meetings right now! Possibly, nothing will change. The final few days of 31 Days have been for some years now airing after the ceremony anyway. It could be that now a LOT of days will air after the ceremony!

I'm not sure why him saying the exact same thing is new news. He already said this would be his last film as an actor more than a year ago. And every news agency in the world has apparently already forgotten that, because this story is everywhere. Oh, well.

There's a 1958 Western called The Proud Rebel with Alan Ladd and Olivia DeHavilland that I think was independently produced but Disney ended up distributing it through its Buena Vista imprint that TCM has aired several times in recent years, most recently in April of this year. TCM has aired The Absent-Minded Professor a number of times independent of any Disney-specific programming theme. The most recent was January, 2016.

Thought classic movie fans might find this interesting. Given all the recent hubub about Hedy, I assume the series will be very heavy on her being a computer genius. https://news.avclub.com/gal-gadot-wants-to-produce-star-in-a-hedy-lamarr-serie-1828146600

No one has mentioned Orson Welles doing Ernst & Julio Gallo commercials? When I was a child, there were exactly three things I knew Welles for: The Muppet Movie, wine commercials and Dark Tower commercials, which looked to me like the coolest game ever invented but somehow never got it. I didn't see Citizen Kane until I was a freshman in college and took a history of film class, in which we were required to attend weekly screenings, and it was the very first film shown that semester.

Interesting info! I appreciate the efforts of TCM to get the only film Hepburn and Tracy made at Fox on the network quite a few times in recent years. It's a funny little snapshot of a moment in time where we could still pretend a resourceful human who knows where to look could provide information more quickly and accurately than a super-computer. I love the idea of a whole business revolving around the idea that you could call and ask a trivial question to another human being. Makes me feel very nostalgic. But, of course, now there's Google.