path40a Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Has anyone else received their February Now Playing Guide for 31 Days of Oscar "month"? I just did. I'd been having difficulty figuring out the themes this year and had noted (in another thread) that I couldn't find them on the "new & improved" website schedule. Well, the guide explains it. It's 360 Ways to Connect 31 Days, a variation of the 360 Degrees of Separation or the more popularized "Kevin Bacon" game. In other words, the very first film (Mogambo (1953), February 1st at 6 AM ET) features Eric Pohlmann & Ava Gardner. The second film (Show Boat (1951)) features Ava Gardner & Kathyrn Grayson. The third film (Thousands Cheer (1943)) features Kathryn Grayson & Donna Reed ... and so on. The very last film (Lust for Life (1956), March 3rd at 5 AM ET) features Kirk Douglas & Eric Pohlmann, to complete the loop. Very clever, it must have taken FOREVER to program the "month" ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansi4 Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Good detective work, Path. Congrats to TCM for the unique idea and especially with 360 movies of which I can't wait to delve into. Mongo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamTherapy Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Good grief!!! Are you serious??? I'll be damned! You're right -- that is what they did! Crazy. I'm dumbfounded that they could have orchestrated such a gimmick successfully, and that you could have discerned such a stunt! :0 You are quite the sleuth, path. B-) I've been busy marking mine up with what I need to record onto tape or disc, against my library list (my monthly labour of love), and I was wondering what was the connexion on each day. I thought they had failed to print the day's honouring target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path40a Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 While I'd love to take credit for figuring it out, I didn't (really). I did notice the bold gold type on the schedule pages and understood the connection from there, but there's also a two page (pgs. 4 & 5 of the Now Playing Guide) description of the gimmick (I read later) which confirmed what I'd presumed. Pretty cool and a huge effort, I'm sure. Thanks TCM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmovies04 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Ohhh wow. I just remembered that game, I love it! I haven't played it in so long. When I was in high school theatre we would play it on the spot. I think one time I had Katharine Hepburn and I was so proud of figuring it out but now I can't remember how I did it. (Good memories) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey65k Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I saw that connection thing in my Now PLaying too and I thought, "Geez, somebody has Waaay too much time on their hands!" It did make for an intersting schedule, though. We used to play the Kevin Bacon game, but instead of Kevin Bacon, we used a cartoon character and linked up other cartoon characters. Like, "Link up Velma from Scooby Doo with Elmer Fudd." Go on, try it. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path40a Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 BTW, Kevin Bacon isn't even in the top 1,000 "best connected" actors in the movie universe according to some students who have too much time on their hands at UVA: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/center_list.html Rod Steiger is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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