lzcutter

Rich, Any pearls of wisdom on last night's airing of *They Came to Rob Las Vegas* ? Great old footage of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas but other than that????? Desert scenes shot in Spain????? Would love to hear your take on it!

> Eva Marie Saint is in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY? I know that this is one of TCM's perennials, but to run it on All-Saint day seems to be stretching it since she isn't in it. Clore, Guess that's why it's still a work in progress schedule!

> However that being said I think Edward Herrmann was the best screen FDR and Jane Alexander the best Elenore in the HBO "ELENORE AND FRANKLIN" The Early Years and The White House Years. stjohn, I think those movies were actually done as tv movie of the weeks and shown on ABC back in the mid-1970s. I agree, they were excellent.

Musikone quoted: > movieman1957 wrote: > But the information that you can't copy store bought DVDs is false. > But is it legal? It is my understanding that the law allows a person to > make an archival copy of any physical media they purchase and to > retain and use it while they own the original. (snipped for length) Musikone, It actually wasn't Movieman1957 that wrote that post you quoted. You should be directing your reply to the actual author, jr33928.

> I feel awful saying this but is Mrs.Paul Newman still with us She is indeed. Joanne Woodward is 82 and still going strong.

> The urge by all programmers (radio, TV, cable) to suck up to the "young demos" has mostly been proven to be a false economy. TCM doesn't need to "suck up to the young demos". According to their general manager at the Film Festival, 66% of their audience is between the ages of 18-49. TCM has done a great job of expanding their viewer basis from the "over 55 crowd" that was the bulk of their audience when they debuted to a wider audience of film buffs of all ages. And more than any other channel, they have stayed true to their original mission statement.

> You would think that with each of these stars having been STOM, TCM would have chosen to give the days to other actors. I guess that's hoping for too much. Slayton, You never know. The whole schedule isn't available yet and there may be some surprises still t come.

> there's a clip that looks like a woman in a white dress walking down a staircase and she fluffs her hair. If it's the clip I'm thinking of it's Kathleen Turner from *Body Heat*.

> Is there some kind of constitutional law that forbids TCM and other stations from showing movies on tape if they were so inclined? Are you saying that there is no such a thing as a combo server or a server that can copy a film from tape to digital? No constitutional law but the bottom line is the two formats require vastly different wiring, different equipment, etc. Digital files are delivered via high-speed fiber lines, tape is delivered via a tape machine to an analog feed. Two completely different formats that require different equipment, different wiring, different upload equipment, etc. When channels went to digital, they had to rewire their facilities to be able to broadcast digital feeds. Converting to digital costs $$$. The studios deliver their films to TCM (and any other channel) as digital films because they, too, have moved away from analog tape. They aren't going back to analog. They will move forward but they won't be going back to format that is basically considered dead.

> It's analogue and digital here being discussed, that's out of my field. Clore, Analog and digital aren't compatible and can't be played on the same systems. My husband is a video engineer and is on his fourth digital build-out of yet another facility for the studio he works for. Channels began moving to digital servers back in the mid-2000s in anticipation of the legislation requiring networks to move from analog to digital that was winding itself through various committees. > now it's likely the distributors who are expected to carry the additional cost and burden of converting to a digital format. Precisely! It's the burden of the rights holders to convert from the old tape format to digital and it's not cheap. These days technology changes faster than ever before. For over twenty five years, analog tape was the format of choice for broadcast and the studios could amortize the cost of making video masters over time, especially given the size of their libraries. Now, however, high-def is the new format. And converting to high-def is not cheap. It usually requires restoration of the films to ensure the best looking picture quality because that's what consumers want and expect in these days of flat screen tvs. It's one reason the studios have MOD divisions. They can do basic conversions to digital for less money than converting to high def but they research plenty the titles to ensure success with MOD. And Warner Archive may not be the only one that has a year long moratorium on new released titles being broadcast on TCM, they're just the one we know does that thank to a post a few months back by one of the TCM staffers. We can only wonder what the new format will be ten years from now and the costs involved in converting to that new format.

> And I am not sure 'lzcutter' even compiled the list and expects "full credit" Chief, Thanks for the shout-out. I don't expect full credit. I think our long-gone buddy, Path, put together the first list for one of the Challenges back in the early days. I've been maintaining it for more years than I can remember as have some other posters. Awhile back a poster at Nitrateville contacted me to fill in some of the holes that were in the original list. Thanks to him, I was able to fill in those blanks. I think filmlover put together the first SUTS list a few years back and I've been maintaining that list as well since then. It's kind of team effort around here! Edited by: lzcutter for a missing sentence

Plus she was at this year's film festival introducing *Singin' in the Rain* one evening and *How the West Was Won* the next morning. Last year, she signed autographs and introduced *The Unsinkable Molly Brown*. I think Debbie feels the TCM love.

> In May , TCM is showing Dog Day Afternoon with Al Pacino and that guy who played Fredo in the Godfather movies. That guy is the late, great John Cazale. There's a terrific HBO documentary about him, *I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale*. The uncut version of *Once Upon a Time in America* has long been available. And TCM can't show *The Godfather* or *The Godfather II* until the exclusive AMC rental contract runs out in 2020 (providing they don't renew it again).

Star, Is this the church you are referring to:

> I was making the point that we are all paying a lot of money to see TCM. I'm paying $67 a month. As has been pointed out numerous times in various posts, that $67 a month is not your payment for TCM. It is what you pay for your entire cable/satellite package including all the other channels you watch. Of that $67 per month, less than $.30 cents of it goes to TCM each month.

I caught most of *She Wore a Yellow Ribbon* again this morning: I won't rehash my numerous writings on the film but one thing I noticed at the very end when Nathan and Tyree return to the fort after Tyree has gone in search of Brittles to give him the telegram that appoints Nathan to Lt. Col, Head of Scouts, was that as Nathan leaves the dance to go give his "report", Flint and Olivia join the dancing while Ross Pennell stands with his back to the partygoers and stands watch as if waiting til Nathan returns. The movie makes a point of wanting us to believe that Tyree is the spiritual heir and Flint Cohill is the natural successor to Nathan Brittles and Ross Pennell just can't measure up. But the shot of Pennell with his back turned, in a traditional, understated manner so typical of Ford that it goes almost unnoticed, indicates that Pennell will measure up and will grow to be a man that can fill Brittle's boots and be the leader he was. He, perhaps even more than Tyree and Flint Cohill, seems to understand at that moment the loneliness (despite his Army family and his friendship with Quincannon) and necessary sacrifice that is at the heart of Nathan's character. With the juxtaposition, we see Flint and Olivia and Mac and Abby dancing indicating that Flint will become more like Mac, the traditional Army guy to whom wife and family matters, while Brittles, Tyree and Pennell signal the men who make the necessary sacrifices, including a happy personal life, to move the country forward. I do have to admit, after the end, I thought, "oh good, I get to hear what Ben M has to say" and only then did I realize I wasn't watching the channel I thought I was but was watching Retroplex instead. :oops:

The bad news is that AMC has the long-term (recently renewed) rental/lease rights to *Godfather* and *Godfather II*. This would preclude TCM from showing either film. The *Godfather Saga* was put together for NBC about 35 years ago and I believe that AMC may have that one tied up as well.

filmlover, Thanks for Barry Morse (not Robert Morse). I knew something wasn't right about Robert Morse but I couldn't put my finger on it. Being mid-century modern will do that to a girl. I'm standing by Jon Hamm regardless. I think he would be a great addition especially if he is a classic film fan. Other programs I would love to see: A History of Technicolor including film clips Harry Carey, Jr talking about his father and *Shepard of the Hills*

One thing to keep in mind in all this discussion is that TCM has the unenviable task of programming for all of us and not just the denizens of this message board but *ALL* its viewers. Do we all, at some point, wish TCM would program more for each of us? No doubt we do. But one thing to keep in mind is that TCM has a much larger audience than just we few here (and compared to TCM's vast audience, we are a small percentage of that audience), no matter how vocal some may be. Despite our raised voices, our sometimes narrow viewpoints about which films should or shouldn't be aired and arbitrary cut-off dates for what films should be shown, at the end of the day TCM takes into consideration all its viewers and not just this small band of posters here at TCM City. I'm sure there are some here who think they can do a better job than those who actually work at TCM. But, when push comes to shove, the job that the staff at TCM is doing is striking a chord (in a good way) with the majority of their audience. You can see it in the various articles about the channel in traditional print and digital sites, you can hear it in the voices of people who watch the channel, you can see it on the faces of people who attend the Film Festivals and talk to the staffers throughout the festival and you could see and hear it last spring during the *Employee Picks* month when they sat down with Robert O to talk about their jobs and the films that mattered most to each of them. From that month alone, we could see they realize the enormity of the job they have been tasked with, keeping the classic film flame alive for all their viewers and they do that job with more aplomb and more understanding than most and more than some here care to consider. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Hey Barb, Don't mean to change the subject- I like Gary plenty and I think in various movies you can see how much Bette loved him, it's written all over her face- but it is Ann-Magrock's birthday today:

> TCM has to appeal to the youts (My Cousin Vinny, okay not a classic) of today, It's actually somewhat a myth that the only people who watch TCM are over 55. There are people from all age groups posting here at TCM City, even teens and young adults. So it's only logical that they would watch the channel as well. The general manager of the channel, Jeff Gregor, told the audience at the *Meet the Staff* panel during the latest Film Festival that 66% of their audience is in the 18-49 demographic. The TCM Film Festival is a great microcosm of the TCM audience, people of all ages and all colors coming together to celebrate film and their favorite channel. TCM is not just the bastion of AARP members.

> Let's define classic, shall we? You've been here long enough over the years to know that everyone has a definition of what is classic and that not everyone will agree on subject. Films are very personal to people. The reasons they love or hate films is very personal. What you consider garbage many consider classic. Does that make them wrong and you right? From your posts, you certainly seem to think that your opinion should override everyone else. Who decides what films are classic and which are not? As has been pointed out here, many of the classic studio era films that TCM shows are not classics. Does that mean they shouldn't be shown? Should TCM only subscribe to the AFI's top 100 classic films of all time? Should they only show films from the studio era that fit some narrow definition of classic films? Thankfully, whether we like or not, TCM does not subscribe to such a narrow view point. To TCM, all films are important. They can be bonafide classics like *Gone With the Wind* and *Casablanca* or low budget noirs, b films, cult films, z grade serials, beach party films, poverty row fillers, silents, foreign films and even modern films from the 1960s forward. I much prefer TCM's approach to showing a variety of films vs an insular only show films I deem classic type of thinking. But, that's just me and your mileage may vary.

> As long as I can still see MOSTLY pre-50's B&W movies, I'll be happy. And yes, there are good movies made after that, or course, but they are not what I like to watch and they certainly are not what TCM was created to present. As Kyle has pointed out, when TCM debuted back in 1994 their mission statement was: bringing you classic motion pictures from the 1920s to the 1980s. In 2009 when they celebrated their 15th anniversary on the air, they amended that mission statement to include movies from the 1990s. From the very beginning the channel was not devoted to only showing studio-era films. As early schedules (found through researching the archives here or through the Internet Archive) show, post-1960s films (including films from the 1970s and the 1980s) were part of the schedule. Sometimes it's easy to confuse what posters want the channel to be with what the channel actually is. This subject has been debated on these message boards from the day these boards were created back in 2002 (and was probably debated in the prior forum but the archives only go back to 2002) and will probably be debated for another ten or twenty years from now. One thing's for sure, no matter what, there will always be disagreement about it.

Filmlover, I do like your Broadway to Hollywood idea. I'd throw in *The Music Man* (film projected at the Egyptian perhaps with Shirley Jones-third time could be the charm) and *How to Succeed in Business* especially if they could get Barry Morse and/or Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm to talk about the film. It's the *Mad Men* mid-century modern lover in me. I would also love to hear Jon Hamm introduce a Bill Holden film. I like to think he is a big Holden fan, especially since there is a lot of Holden in Hamm's characterization of Don Draper. I also love cinecrazy's idea of the Academy having an 85th birthday celebration (with lots of Club TCM presentations) at the Festival next year as well!

King, I don't know it for a fact but I think the majority of actual film projection took place at the Egyptian. This year's schedule actually made note of which were digitally projected and which were film projected. That's one reason MrC and I opted for *Young Frankenstein* that Friday night, it was a 35mm print. I don't think either of us had seen it projected as film since back in the day. The black and white photography was just beautiful. We loved it! I loved the digital restoration of Wings right down to the gold tint used in the aviation action scenes. 20,000 Leagues and Snow White looked terrific as well. The film purist in me prefers old-fashioned film projection ( *How the West Was Won* was another great film experience) but I get the feeling that Grauman's (the main theater at least) has retired their film projectors.