lzcutter

I wrote this in the other *Saving Mr, Banks* thread and thought it might be good to do so here: Who knew Walt Disney could be so polarizing? He had a genius for marketing and telling a story but like all the rest of us, he was a flawed individual with his prejudices. To some of his employees, he didn't allow you to advance to a higher level. To others, he gave them the opportunity to rise to the top. To some of his women employees, he didn't believe they could be creative. But to others like Mary Blair and Harriet Burns, the believed in their abilities and gave them opportunities to shine. To some of his employees, he pinched pennies when it came to salaries and raises while affording himself and Roy nice incomes. To others, he gave generous bonuses and raises. To those who went on strike against him, they betrayed his idea that working for him was a family affair. To the strikers, they wanted a better living wage. To Disney, they were acting like spoiled children or worse, Communists. Was he prejudiced. He was a man of his times and prejudice was much more apparent and ingrained in society than it is today. Whatever you believe about Disney comes down to how you personally feel about him. Doesn't make anyone right or anyone wrong about him because,depending on which side of him you see, you can see someone different than someone who doesn't see that same side. And that just makes him human, just like all the rest of us.

Who knew Walt Disney could be so polarizing? He had a genius for marketing and telling a story but like all the rest of us, he was a flawed individual with his prejudices. To some of his employees, he didn't allow you to advance to a higher level. To others, he gave them the opportunity to rise to the top. To some of his women employees, he didn't believe they could be creative. But to others like Mary Blair and Harriet Burns, the believed in their abilities and gave them opportunities to shine. To some of his employees, he pinched pennies when it came to salaries and raises while affording himself and Roy nice incomes. To others, he gave generous bonuses and raises. To those who went on strike against him, they betrayed his idea that working for him was a family affair. To the strikers, they wanted a better living wage. To Disney, they were acting like spoiled children or worse, Communists. Was he prejudiced. He was a man of his times and prejudice was much more apparent and ingrained in society than it is today. Whatever you believe about Disney comes down to how you personally feel about him. Doesn't make anyone right or anyone wrong about him because,depending on which side of him you see, you can see someone different than someone who doesn't see that same side. And that just makes him human, just like all the rest of us.

You are more than welcome! If you have any other questions, please let us know. I live in the City of Angels so if you have any questions about how to get around or anythiing please feel free to ask. Like some here, I've been to previous festivals. I've met some wonderful people each year and am looking forward to meeting you and your wife. I was a bit confused about when you are flying out is it the Saturday of the Festival or will you be able to stay through Sunday?

>So what are the basics? The weather that time of year can be unpredictable. Two years ago when the Festival was held that long weekend, it rained a great deal. But, we are in the midst of a drought (the lowest rainfall was recorded for LA in 2013), so rain may not be the horizon this year. If not, it should be spring like weather, not too hot or too cold. It may even be swimsuit weather. We hit a balmy 80 degrees on Christmas Day last month, so if you have room in the suitcases, it might be worth bringing them along. Definitely bring a light jacket or sweater, no matter what. The air conditioning in the theaters and restaurants is sometimes cooler than the outside air temp. I'd bring the umbrellas, just in case. It sounds like you may have Spotlight passes, which will come in handy as they are the first people admitted to the theaters. But, for some films, you may want to line up early to be able to get a good seat. Extra pair of shoes and extra socks help. Dressing for the Opening Night Film at Grauman's can be formal or casual. Some festival goers take the opportunity to dress to the nines as there is the walk on the Red Carpet prior to the film screening. TCM will have bleachers set up and fans will be there to cheer you on as you walk the red carpet. If you decide to go casual, that's okay, too! >Does the festival take up all of the 4 days or should plans be made to see other things. The Festival usually kicks off on Thursday afternoon with an event in Club TCM (in the Blossom Room at the Roosevelt) called *Meet the Staff*. This is an opportunity for TCM staff to talk about their jobs and what it is coming up on TCM. It is also a chance to ask questions. In fact, there is a great deal of Q & A as part of the panel! There is usually an Opening Night Party held in Club TCM that roughly starts about 4:00-4:30. Those going to the Opening Night Film at Grauman's start heading over about 5:15. If you are not going to Grauman's, there is usually a poolside screening (usually a musical) that will be held poolside at the Roosevelt. Filmgoers typically start staking out lounge chairs and such early in the evening. There are also heating lamps strategically placed around the seating area. The screening usually starts about sundown. There will likely be additional screenings at the three smaller theaters in the Chinese complex (next to Grauman's) and at the Egyptian (about a half mile from the Roosevelt). Screenings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will likely begin sometime between 8:00 -9:00 am and run until about midnight. On Friday and Saturday night, there may be a post-midnight screening or possibly two. Club TCM is usually open from noon to midnight each day. That is where the panel discussions will be held. These will be concurrent with the film screenings making decision making even tougher. On Sunday night, the screenings usually end between 9:00 and 10:00 pm and everyone converges on the Roosevelt for the Closing Night Party. The party takes place in the lobby, in Club TCM and poolside and lasts until midnight. At Club TCM they usually have complimentary water bottles and sell soda and alcohol but there is no food (except at the Opening and Closing night parties). There are chairs and a few booths for sitting and resting. On Sunday, there will be a handful of encore screenings of films that sold out or were very popular. Those titles are usually announced on the flat screens located in the Roosevelt lobby sometime Saturday evening. There is a coffee shop just inside the Hollywood Blvd entrance to the Roosevelt. A Baja Fresh (mexican food) is right across the street and In-n-Out Burgers is about a half block down Orange Street from the Roosevelt. There is a Starbuck's on the way to Grauman's and a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf across the street from the Roosevelt. Sit down restaurants include the Pig and Whistle next to the Egyptian, Miceli's Italian Restaurant across Las Palmas from the Egyptian, Musso and Frank's (oldest restaurant in Hollywood) and a number of restaurants in the Hollywood and Highland mall next to Grauman's. There may be a screening or two at the El Capitan (across the street from Hollywood and Highland) and/or at the Cinerama Dome (down on Sunset Blvd, just east of Cahuenga) outside the Festival zone. Those screenings will likely take place during the day. In the lobby of the Roosevelt, there will be a TCM store where you can buy Festival and TCM branded items. And there will be a stage set up where, beginning that Wednesday, Robert O and Ben M will be interviewing (and the crew taping) celebrities and fans of the channel. That happens throughout the Festival. Each movie will have an introduction by TCM staff, someone connected to the film or a film historian. Many films will have someone from the film there to talk about the making of the film. The Festival film programmers will not make it easy to decide what to see. That is usually the toughest part about the festival, making the tough decisions between which film, which panel discussion, etc. The most important thing to remember is to have fun. Don't be afraid to talk to people in line or whoever you are sitting next to in a theater. Fans travel from all over the world to come to the Festival and that is one of the best things, getting to meet them. We all talk the same language, the language of film and TCM, and how often does that happen! Also, stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water and be sure to eat at least once a day something more than the usual popcorn and Junior Mints diet. If you are arriving to the Festival a day or two early, here is a link to a thread about some of the historic sites worth checking out: http://forums.tcm.com/thread.jspa?threadID=152178&start=60&tstart=60 Looking forward to meeting you!

> the week of TCM contest winners as guest programmers, Remy, I think that the winner of the Ultimate Fan Contest will be a guest programmer in April but I think the bulk of the Fan Programmers for the 20th Anniversary weren't runners up in that contest. I think they were chosen from a variety of places such as TCM's Social Media such as their Facebook community, the message boards, Cruise participants, and Film Festival participants.

>Is this April SOTM going to be a trend? No, they've done this in April the last few years because that is the month that the TCM Film Festival is held each year. They usually tailor the schedule to spotlight the days of the Festival and do wrap arounds, promos and interviews from the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel. This year there is the added 20th Anniversary celebration. So, this isn't a trend for SOTMs in other months but it has become a trend for April SOTMs.

SueX2, The Robert O *Private Screening* will get an encore broadcast on April 14th, the 20th anniversary of the day TCM debuted. It will be on at 9:00 PST/Midnight EST following the broadcast of *Gone With the Wind*. The films that evening are the same titles that the channel debuted with back in 1994. Robert O's interview was just terrific and it's great to see TCM rebroadcasting as part of their anniversary celebration.

It's their 20th anniversary in April and as part of that, it looks like they will encore Robert O's "Private Screening" interview . Also, *20 Classic Moments* which I'm guessing is 20 classic TCM moments. And it looks like the evening schedule on April 14th (the actual anniversary date) are the same films that kicked off the channel in 1994. Also, the week before the anniversary, the 5th TCM Film Festival takes place beginning Thursday, April 10th-13th so there will be lots of Film Festival interviews and reports.

From the looks of the April schedule on April 14th this year, TCM will run the same films that they debuted with on April 14th, 1994 along with an encore performance of the Robert O's *Private Screening*. http://www.tcm.com/schedule/monthly.html?tz=est&sdate=2014-4-01

I thought this would be a good time to bring this thread back. We are less than 100 days away from TCM's 20th anniversary. What tributes/documentaries/promos, etc would like to see from their first 20 years? It looks like on April 14th, they do have a documentary called *20 Classic Moments*. I wonder what, besides Mickey Rooney almost belting Robert O in Rooney's *Private Screening*, might be included? Would still love to see some interstitials or a documentary with the staff talking about their jobs as well as would love to see a montage (or three) of the old promos as an interstitial. What ideas would you like to see?

Don't forget, it's a 90 minute interview!

*The Man Who Would Be King* with Michael Caine talking to Robert O or Ben M about the making of the film.

>A finite amount? There were so many movies made in the '30s that TCM could show a different one in each time slot for the next 30 years without running out. While there were many, many films produced during the studio era TCM does not have access to all of them. TCM does not own those films, the studios do and TCM is dependent upon the studios to make those films available in a digital format so that they can lease them. The studios vaults are filled with films that have yet to be transferred to digital. Given the sheer size of some of the film libraries, it could be many, many years before they are. The cost of doing so, especially if it includes preservation and restoration work, is not cheap. The return on the investment when released to DVD or Blu is not always enough to cover the costs that went into the transfer. Like all businesses, studios' film libraries have yearly budgets for this work and if they have an advocate who understands the importance of doing the work, that certainly helps. Warners and to a lesser degree Fox and Sony understand that. Doesn't mean that they are able to get more yearly budget money, but they understand and they work with TCM to try and get certain titles transferred so that the films can be leased to TCM. So, there are a number of reasons why TCM often can't lease titles that posters here are anxious to see. This article explains it better than I can: http://willmckinley.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/10-things-i-learned-at-the-tcm-classic-film-festival/

>If TCM is trying to attract a different and younger demographic by showing post year 2000 films, then I hope they know what they are doing. But they aren't. That's the usual go to position by posters here theorizing why a film from the 2000s is on the schedule. But TCM has publicly stated that they aren't chasing a younger demographic, that their demographics actually include people of all ages, including young people: "We're not trying to reach a broad audience. We?re not trying to maximize the demo. We?re not trying to get the 18-34, whatever it is. There?s none of that that?s considered at all." -Charles Tabesh, Sr VP of Programming. The next day, Jeff Gregor (TCM General Manager) followed up on this, telling attendees that TCM had done ?some demographic work? recently and discovered some things about audience composition. "I don't want to say it was a surprise," he said. "But two-thirds of our audience is 18-54." You can see those young faces at the Festivals, at the Cruises and at TCM events around the country. You see those young faces in the promos on the channels and in the Fan Retrospectives. You see those young faces in the Fan Programmers picked for the 15th anniversary and you will likely see some in the Fan Programmers picked for the 20th anniversary. And you see some of those young people here at TCM City. The reason the films from the 2000s are on the schedule is because they fit into the channel's long-standing programming philosophy. TCM celebrates films from all decades with the bulk of the programming being a steady focus on the studio era films. When they first debuted twenty years ago, they included films from the 1980s in their programming philosophy. . When they celebrated their 10th anniversary, the included films from the 1990s in their programming philosophy and as they turn the 20th anniversary corner, it's not a leap of logic for them to include films from the 2000s in that programming philosophy. But, the bulk of the programming remains, as it always has, on the studio era films. This article should be a sticky: http://willmckinley.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/10-things-i-learned-at-the-tcm-classic-film-festival/

>The 70's has often been referred to as "hollywood's 2nd golden age". >I count the 70's as being extremely classic db, I totally agree with you. It was a wonderful few years of film making. I saw many of the films on their original theatrical releases. The films often dealt with adult themes ( *An Unmarried Woman*, *Coming Home* ), dealt with important subject matters of the time ( *All the President's Men*, *Apocalypse Now*, *The French Connection*, etc). Some were nostalgic ( *The Sting*, *The Way We Were*, *American Grafitti* ) and filmmakers didn't shy away from politics or dark themes ( *The Parallax View*, *Night Moves*, *Chinatown*, *The Godfather* and *Godfather II*, etc). I know that some posters don't care for many of the films from back then but I think a number of films from back then (some 40+ years old now) are classics and I enjoy them. And many of them, due to their age, don't appear on the premium channels or other movie channels very often.

>1960s through 2000s = 102 films Though you may not care for many of the films produced in the 1960s, the studio era was still in operation through most of the 1960s so those films shouldn't be counted in your "modern" film total, unless you break out the number of films being shown that were produced between 1968 and 1969 and count only them in your "modern" film total. The old Production Code wasn't replaced by the new MPAA ratings system until 1968. 1968 also saw the majority of studio ownership out of the hands of the studio era moguls and under new ownership. The number of films from the 1970s through the 2010s is 34 and the total number of all films being shown in January is 403 including 15 silent films and shorts being shown on Sunday nights this month.

>This is important to note as to how and why I came across this picture, because frankly, it's ridiculous. I have no idea when the 28 Days of Oscar was and have no recollection of watching it. The thing that threw us long time viewers of TCM is that there is not an event theme called "28 Days of Oscar*. There is one called *The 31 Days of Oscar*. But the three day discrepancy raised a few red flags. Since there is no event theme by the name on bug in the upper right hand corner and once Kid identified the movie, we tried to determine when it aired on TCM thinking that might be helpful. The biggest help was Kid identifying the movie. I think whoever theorized that someone either grabbed the screencap from recording or DVD and added the "28 Days of Oscar" is probably correct. As February usually only has 28 days (except for leap years), it is not unusual for viewers unfamiliar with TCM programming (like the Tumblr user who posted the picture) to think that the Oscar celebration only lasts the month of February and not realize that it extends for three days into March. Either way, we were just trying to be helpful. It's not always easy to determine gender based on an online message board moniker so please don't take offense that some of us misidentified you. All we really wanted to do was try to be of help and give you as much info as we could find. Welcome to the boards, by the way.

It aired on June 20th, 2002 as part of birthday tribute to TCM and again in 2003 on that date. (according to google). According to a thread over at the Silver Screen Oasis, the film aired on May 13th, 2008. The film played on Aug. 7th, 2010 as part of Errol's SUTS day and the trailer was added to TCM's Media Room on April 15, 2011. (according to google) And according to Google, it also aired on January 19, 2012 as part of an all day tribute to cinematographer Jack Cardiff. And it looks like it ran TCM Philippines on June 2, 2013 and TCM Canada on Nov. 29th, 2013. But I can't find anything via the Google for it airing during one of the Oscar celebrations. The Academy moved the Oscars celebration to February in 2004 (in non-Olympic years).

>With regards to the History Channel, do you know if their ratings and associated commercial revenue has gone down with their change in programming? That is really what matters to the owners of the station. When Disney bought the A&E channel a few years ago they acquired the History Channel in the deal (the History Channel was owned by A&E back then). Both were niche channels that had respectable ratings but due to the niche programming the demographics for both channels back then were more post-55 years old or older viewers than any other. But, once Disney became the owner, they reviewed both channels and decided that the ratings could be better and one way to improve not only the ratings but also get more of the desired demographics was to offer a more varied variety of programming that would appeal to younger viewers. Thus, both channels underwent substantial changes to their programming and the niche programming that had made the channels attractive to Disney in the first place was replaced with the programming that has led to what both channels are airing today which bares little or no relationship to its original programming. It's one of those things that has happened to a number of networks over the last ten years as they have been bought by larger media companies. And one of the reasons we have to be thankful that TCM (and Time Warner) don't subscribe to that thinking when it comes to programming.

Just a reminder that TCM is airing this *Private Screening* interview on Monday, Jan. 6th at 5:00/8:00 PST/EST and 8:30/11:30 PST/EST along with some of Robert O's favorite films. Set those recording devices!

It's weird that it's got the "28 Days of Oscar" in the upper right corner. I think it's always been called the "31 Days of Oscar" because back before the Academy moved the ceremony up, TCM celebrated the Oscars originally in March (the ceremony was traditionally held the last Monday of March or sometimes early April) and March has 31 days. That's why now that the Academy celebrates in February, TCM does as well and because February is a short month, the extra days spill over into the first week of March. I wonder if it's from one of the overseas broadcasts of TCM?

>I wonder why 1939 was such a great year? It's our desire to look back and place importance in hindsight that makes 1939 *the* year in film that so many people talk about and celebrate and judge other years against. Why? It all has to do with timing. Lately, there have been a couple of books about game changing years. 1939 is not one of those years. Instead, it stands frozen in time as that last great year before not only America changed forever but the world as well. The movies that were released in 1939 stand as a testament to a time frozen forever before the brutality of WWII, the Cold War and everything that came after. In 1939, a stubborn Southern belle swore to God that she would never go hungry again, a hayseed senator brought down his powerful mentor, a stagecoach filled with a disparate group of travelers made an arduous trip to Lordsburg, three men in her Majesty's Royal regiment learned that friendship mattered most, a teacher affectionately known as Mr. Chips learned to love and a young girl named Dorothy learned there was no place like home. But 1939 signified more than just a great year for film. It is the role 1939 plays in history that makes it important. In 1939, the storm clouds of war were rapidly gathering. Most of Europe had fallen to Hitler but England and France were still holding out. The United States was still taking a wait and see approach despite the Roosevelt Administrations Lend/Lease program with Great Britiian. But war had not traveled to America and we held out hope that, despite the nightly reports on the radio, we could sit this one out. We were still coming out of the Depression. Despite celebrating the future of progress at the World's Fair that year in New York, we looked to things that brought us comfort, the movies. The movies of that year were not of a country in transition but of a country hanging on to illusions of an era that was passing into history faster than most realized. History was changing too fast on the world stage for the movies to keep up with and the films of 1939 remind us of that. It was a safe year when the world had yet to blow apart and America's role on the world stage changed forever. Within the year, France would fall, Britain would stand alone against Germany and be bombarded mercilessly. In Asia, Japan would attack everyone that stood in its way towards dominating the Far East. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed America forever. We entered the war against not only Japan but Germany. We began the move from a agrarian society to an urban one as car factories and more were re-tooled for war. Once America entered the war, everything changed for us. Men, old and young, enlisted and went overseas to serve. Women were allowed into factories that made war materials and war machines. For many, filling in for young men overseas fighting for freedom, it was the first time they had been able to provide for their families. Women were trained to fly and many who had learned to fly from barnstormers landing in nearby fields signed up to fly planes cross country and overseas for male aviators to use in the fight. Hollywood soon jumped on the patriotic, propaganda bandwagon and started filling their theaters with movies that supported the war effort. There was no time think, only to do, supply the pipeline that kept morale up and kept the war coverage in the best light. But underneath all that, America was changing. Quickly. Too quickly for the movies or magazines of the day to keep up. Everything focused on the war effort. The movies, radio, the magazines like the Saturday Evening Post and Liberty. Suddenly we were storming at the beaches of Normandy, the war had turned in our favor in the Pacific and things are looking up. Finally came V-Day and, in an effort to stop the Japanese, VJ-Day. Celebrations were held around the world. America was the Superpower in the world. Pretty heady for a country less than ten years earlier had been known as the "breadbasket". But by 1945, the studios were no longer in the same place they were in 1939 nor were we as a society. The Atomic Age was born above the white sands of New Mexico and on the ground in Japan. A Cold War with Russia quickly followed when they tore away our confidence by detonating an atomic bomb. Americans wanted something different from their movies than propaganda and good times. They wanted the movies to reflect their lives. They wanted movies that reflected adult themes. It was the beginning of the death knell for the Production Code. Film Noir was on the rise. The Justice Department and the Supreme Court handed the studios a major body blow, the Paramount Decree, which forced the studios to divest themselves of their movie theaters. It would also change the way Hollywood movies were produced, distributed, and exhibited. The studios would no longer have their own theaters in which to show their product. It was a major blow to the way business was done. Added to that, GIs returning from Europe and the Pacific wanted to start families. Levittown announced the birth of the suburbs. Initially, homes, schools and churches were more important to a community in the suburbs than movies. Going to the movies meant going into the city and suburban families often didn't want to make the trek. Then movie theaters came to the suburbs spelling a death knell for the larger movie palaces in the cities. Television, hawked at the 1939 World's Fair, arrived finally in family homes and provided another death knell to the business as usual of making movies. Over the next thirty years, America and society would change faster than ever before. From the Cold War to the Space Race to JFK's assassination to the counter-culture to Watergate and beyond, everything moved quicker than it ever had before. And the movies tried to keep up, not always successfully. Before it was over, we became a people that doesn't trust our government, doesn't trust the media, doesn't trust each other. But 1939 still stands as the year before any of that happened. With so much change happening so quickly, we tend to find comfort in simpler times and so critics, historians and movie buffs began to look back on that year and give it more significance than it had when it was unfolding. Thanks to that, even movies that had failed at the box office when they were released in 1939 got a fresh look and many were declared classics that hadn't been described that way on their initial releases. And so, 1939 became a touchstone of a year not only for historians but film buffs, too.

Passes go on sale usually in the fall prior to the Festival (usually in November). The best thing to do is to sign up on the Festival site for email alerts. That way you will get information about the Festival as soon as everyone else. Passes began selling out quickly once they went on sale this year so it might help to be prepared next fall to buy your Essential passes as soon as they go on sale to avoid any disappointment.

They usually go on sale in the fall prior to the festival. Be sure to sign up for email alerts so that you get Festival news delivered to your email box. Passes began selling out very quickly for the 2014 festival as soon as they went in sale in November. So, you should be prepared to buy your Essentials passes when they go on sale.

>lzcutter, does TCM have the rights to BLUE DENIM? It hasn't been on the channel in awhile (maybe even a couple of years) so I would imagine they would have to talk to Fox and see if it was available for rent and then see if they could work out a price. They might also see if they could rent the film as part of a package of rented Fox films.