hlywdkjk

"If TCM started posting profiles of their employees on this website - - would everyone be interested in reading them?" - KPR Well, at the site with that now notorious magazine article, there are headshots for each of the TCM Department heads profiled in the article. The thumbnails of the photos do link to larger versions. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/the_moviegoer/Content?oid=416029 And in the recent past, the website has included an article by Robert Osborne each month listing his "Must -See" films on that month's schedule. Sadly, his recommendations for March haven't been posted yet. Also, would I be wrong to think that some of the posters at the TCMBlog Movie Morlocks are actually TCM staffers? I have assumed that some of the writers at that site work for TCM. Kyle In Hollywood

"I read the entire article about the changes at Turner Classic Movies, and I agree with Kyle. TCM is not planning on making any wholesale changes to their cable channel." - fxreyman Thanks. I appreciate learning that someone understood what I wrote. But now I have to ask, What was the point of pasting my other post into your most recent message? I am not sure how what I wrote was relevant to your post. I hope you know it wasn't directed at you or anything you wrote. Kyle In Hollywood Message was edited by: hlywdkjk

"Wait a few years and our grandkids will be watching a movie on TCM from the early 2000's with Brett as the Subject Matter." - richteas Sadly, it will probably be a Will Farrell vehicle - and one to demonstrate his "acting" bona fides to boot. Ugh! Kyle (registering the title "Pride Of The Packers") In Hollywood

"I welcome sincere fans of classic (vintage) film, not petulant children." - otterhere I didn't know there was a "velvet rope" policy here - let alone you were the one in charge of it. Nor did I know it entitled you to harangue new members. (And you do it with such enthusiasm!) As the Windy City Poster noted, if there has been one trait constant on these boards during the past three months, it is the near-weekly appearance of conspiratorial and paranoid threads lamenting supposed changes to TCM and predicting its demise - even in the face of being presented with facts refuting those "interpretations". In fact it is probably the one constant of these Message Boards during the past five years. Talk about a set of posters being "petulant".... Kyle In Hollywood

Friday March 7^th^

If it is the Cliff Notes version you want, how about this - Nothing in the article "slammed" older viewers or "long-time" viewers. Nothing in the article referenced "changes" to the programming on TCM. TCM is a different breed of television channel and won't be asked to compete with "youth-dependent" channels like TNT (or AMC). There is no "conscious effort" to attract young viewers. (Which is different from attracting "new" viewers.) Revenue generation through TCM will take place through mechanisms to exploit the TCM "Brand".- primarily through this website. Turner Entertainment's sister network CourtTV just went through a complete overhaul and a re-branding (TruTV). That will not be the fate of TCM. Kyle In Hollywood

What can I clarify or explain for you so that it makes more sense. Kyle In Hollywood

"Seems the "new management," as they're called in the article, are making conscious changes in TCM programming to lure younger viewers, and rather unapologetically, saying (paraphrase), "Sorry if the old geezers don't like it, we'll get complaints from them, but we have to increase revenues!!!" - otterhere You're "paraphrasing" leaves much to be desired and shows your biases. From the article - "There are some people who watch the network constantly and some get grumpy about watching some of the newer , and think we're becoming more like AMC," says. More Tabesh - "There's no goal of introducing more contemporary movies this year," Tabesh says, "but the goal is to showcase the history of the Academy Awards. ... Some people definitely freak out when they see a movie from the '90s. We're still living with this ... from when AMC shifted their format. Everyone is still on edge from that. [Viewers are still] scarred by that and feel that any movie that we play from the '80s and '90s, it's, 'Oh my God, they're going the way of AMC, and they're going to add commercials,' which is not at all true." (emphisis mine) And this from Turner Entertainment President Steve Koonin - ""If you said to me, 'Make this into a multibillion-dollar business to compete with TNT,' that's impossible," says Steve Koonin, who, as Turner Entertainment Group's president, assumed control over TCM last spring. "That's not [TCM's] role. (emphisis mine) I didn't read anything that discounted the opinions of long-time viewers ("geezers" or not.) and even the "head" of TCM says that TCM could never succeed as channel similar to TNT or AMC (which is dependent on younger viewers) - save for succeeding in destroying it. TCM's role as the primary (sole?) media outlet acting as the "archivists" of Film History is unique and valuable. What the "new management" is searching for is a way to commoditize that position so that the channel can continue in that role without going the "commercial interruption" route.. In TCM, they have something of value and the question is how to translate that value into a source of revenue for the channel. Most obviously that means "banner ads" on the website (but not in the Forums - yet.) hawking the new "Forbidden Hollywood" boxset and other promotions involving the sale of merchandise through the website. Purchasing DVDs through the website might be an effective way to ensure TCM remains commercial-free. It may also mean there will be additional "underwriting" of special programming events on TCM - like the relationship developed with Hermes and the "Short Film Festival" two years ago. Or Starbucks and the "TCM Special Edition" DVD of White Christmas sold there in 2006. For the time being, I think the website will be the primary method of "new revenue generation" for the channel. That is why "TCM.com" has been mentioned consistently in the station's promos and even during the intros and outros during the "31 Days..." event last month. (It probably explains the influx of new members here too.) This website created by TCM is also one unique and valuable piece of internet real estate. The television channel and this website are the lynchpins of the "TCM Brand". The challenge now is to expand on that brand identity in ways that will draw additional revenue while maintaining the quality - and viewer loyalty - associated with all things TCM. (TCM "Happy Meals" anyone?) I think it is safe to say that TCM will NOT be undergoing the kind of "re-branding" that Turner Entertainment recently undertook with CourtTV - which is now called TruTV. That change seems to be an effort to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It appears that the powers that be in Atlanta already know that they have a silk purse in TCM. How to generate revenue to "fill" that purse is the long term goal. Kyle In Hollywood

Hello All - Regarding the young "newbie" sitting next to Robert Osborne beginning this week - Rose McGowan did get the Essentials position after impressing everyone - including many viewers - with her evening as a Guest Programmer last November. That night she hosted four of her favorite films for presentation on TCM. Her selections were - Night Of The Hunter Out Of The Past A Place In The Sun and That Touch Of Mink She spoke authoritatively on each of those films. It was surprising how well-informed and literate she was. I certainly didn't expect it. But then I didn't expect a young Hollywood actress would have even selected the films she did. To be a fan of Robert Mitchum, George Stevens and the cinematography of The Night Of The Hunter certainly demonstrated to me that she knows her stuff. If one is interested, all of her intros/outros for that evening are still available for viewing online in the TCM Media Room. Search the Media Room using the phrase "Movie Intro" or Movie Intro/Outro" and then scroll through the 100 or so "hits". The TCM Media Room is found here - http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/ From TCM's Press Release announcing Rose McGowan's selection as the New Co-Host of "The Essentials" ( http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=191626 ) “During our many shoots with Guest Programmers this year, we encountered a lot of celebrities who impressed us with their knowledge and love of classic film,” said Tom Brown, vice president of original programming for TCM. “But Rose really stood out, because she was so passionate and insightful. We thought it would be great for her to share her passion with the audience by co-hosting THE ESSENTIALS in 2008.” "McGowan’s first film as co-host of THE ESSENTIALS will be Billy Wilder’s serious-yet-comic classic The Apartment, which earned the Oscar? for Best Picture of 1960. McGowan notes that Wilder is “the master of humorous loneliness.” Other featured films will include Rebecca (“a great, atmospheric gothic-horror-romance,” McGowan said); Paths of Glory (“not a war film, but a horror film about a man’s ego”); Modern Times (“Chaplin is great at intertwining social commentary with physicality”); A Face in the Crowd (which stars Andy Griffith and is “a great example of why actors shouldn’t be typecast”); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (“a masculine film with great, subversive feminism”); and Woman of the Year (“proves you can be a feminist and still be a man”). I think those snippets of commentary demonstrate what a treat viewers have in store this year with this young woman (who happens to be attractive) sharing the Essentials set with Robert Osborne.. One can read more about the 2008/2009 Essentials here - http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=190944 or here - http://www.tcm.com/2008/essentials/home/ I also found this video link that "previews" the discussion by Robert Osborne and Rose McGowan on this Saturday's presentation of The Apartment http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index?cid=194994 Finally, I willing to bet that Rose McGowan won't be making any same shameful admissions like Molly Haskell did two years ago when she Co-Hosted. Haskell confessed she had never seen Gunga Din even though she was discussing it. (Or was it Treasure Of The Sierra Madre?) I'm sure Ms. McGowan has seen all of the films in this year's line-up - or TCM is going to make sure she has seen them all. Kyle In Hollywood

Thursday March 6^th^

Wednesday March 5^th^

*Great .. I can imagine all the shouting that will commence now* I think the text sizing may be the first enhancement to be "retired". We'll see... Kyle In Hollywood

h4. I concur. Many Thanks. (cool!) Now I have to decipher how the rest of these new "tools" work. Kyle In Hollywood

Tuesday March 4^th^

Thanks 'marcco44'! I guess the poster is pretty special. It even made it into the Thou Shalt Not documentary last night. Kyle In Hollywood

"Thanks so much for the beautiful posters and especially for the nod to Pete Smith. Nice to see he was appreciated. Have any for Robert Benchley? Lately your thread's are the only ones worth taking a look at." - mr6666 That's quite the compliment. I was really excited to post the Pete Smith poster - though it was a last minute addition to the "31 Days..." series. Sadly, I don't have any posters for Robert Benchley shorts. Forgiven? - kjk "I love movie poster which sometimes are much more interesting than the actual film (this is specially true in horror or sci-fi films)" - joefilmone That describes a lot of the images I have - save for the horror & sci-fi part. The best horror images I have went up in the first days of this thread.. I'll have to look to see what others might still be around. - kjk "Kyle: Thank you for the poster for THE DIVORCEE which features the lovely Norma Shearer. I'm really looking forward to watching THE DIVORCEE and A FREE SOUL, again. I have seen both of these titles at least three times but they are my favorite of the pre-codes, and I can never see enough of Norma Shearer. Thanks again!" - whistlingypsy You're most welcome. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it. - kjk

"BTW, does anyone on the board have TCM On Demand." - MovieGal53 I am one of the lucky ones and there are a good number of members here that also have the TCM On Demnd service. Right now, there are about 18 offerings "On Demand" through my cable operator (Time Warner Cable) - all but one a feature film. (There is one film short available.) Most of the current titles are Oscar winners offered to complement the recently completed "31 Days Of Oscar" event. It has been handy to have some of these films available "On Demand" so I could forgo recording them during their presentation on TCM itself. I will probably be watching The Long Voyage Home from the "On Demand" menu later tonight. Two or three new titles are added each week and are available for four (or maybe five) weeks before being rotated out for a new set of titles. Often TCM's Original Documentaries are also made available through the On Demand service. I hope your cable system gets with the program and makes TCM "On Demand" part of your cable package. (You'll likely have to subscribe to a digital package to have access the service.) It obviously won't replace TCM's 300+ offerings every month but it great to have these choices available,just the same. Kyle In Hollywood

Hello David Simmons - Your (very interesting) article was hashed over by a few of us. It was one of the most extensive pieces on TCM that I have ever seen - and probably the only one since the corporate restructuring. Because of that, I was quite happy you sought out and spoke with Tom Karsch. I'd love to know what he had to say "off the record". (but I know those comments won't see the light of day in here.) You mentioned in your article that you were "told" in these Forums (I believe) that programming ideas are sometimes lifted from these discussion boards. It left us wondering if you participated in these Forums last Fall/Winter while researching the article. Did you? Or, by "told", did you mean that you read it in here? (And it is true. Some programming events for TCM have come out of posts and threads in here.) And how much grief did you get over the "Ricky Ricardo" gaffe? Hope you continue to hang out around here. Kyle In Hollywood

Monday March 3rd

"I want some Twizzlers & Raisinets." Sorry. All that's left are JuJubes and Good and Plenty. Kyle In Hollywood

"It was entertaining, I gotta say. That bit about the cut-n-pasted flame was worth the whole show." mickeeteeze - Whadya say we hit the FreeRepublic Forums. Bet we could find some good reading over there. There has to be some fun threads like - "Barack Obama is a Muslim" "Hillary Clinton is a lesbian" or even a wild "The New York Philharmonic is an Unpatriotic and Commie Tool Organization for playing in North Korea." Kyle In Hollywood

AvaG92260 - From what I have read, you aren't guilty of offending anyone. Granted, the topic of your post has been hashed and re-hashed many times. A stroll back through a few pages of threads in this particular Forum will reveal the most recent ones. It all boils over and then peters out into a temporary detente. I think this time there was little anyone had to say on the subject anymore - so it veered off into more fertile territory for "argueing for arguement's sake". But you're not responsible for that. Kyle In Hollywood

I don't think TCM negotiates with --terrorists-- troublemakers.

"That "expose" on the copied pasted "flame" was riveting television!" - mickeeteeze No kidding. Never thought I'd get proof that the TCM Message Boards are the target of "Freepers". Very illuminating. Kyle In Hollywood

A newly registerd member who YELLS everyone here are "trolls" might have something to do with it. Certainly not a way to make yourself welcome. Kyle In Hollywood