TCM Film Festival 2012 Begins Tonight
Now in its third year, the TCM Classic Film Festival will run from April 12 – 15, 2012 in Hollywood. This year’s festival opens with a red carpet gala screening of 1972’s Cabaret — with Oscar winners Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey on hand to present the stunning musical for its 40th anniversary.
For the third year in a row Robert Osborne, film historian and TCM on-air host, will serve as official host of the festival.
This year’s festival includes films spanning several decades and genres — from early musicals to film noir, westerns and everything in between — span several decades, including:
- A Trip to the Moon (1902)
- Wings (1927)
- Dracula (1931)
- Duck Soup (1933)
- Grand Illusion (1937)
- The Women (1939)
- Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
- Casablanca (1942)
- Night and the City (1950)
- Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
- How the West Was Won (1962)
- Annie Hall (1977)
- Moonstruck (1987)
Special events throughout the festival include a discussion with Kim Novak,who will also be on hand for a screening of Vertigo, as well as for a footprint ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
Other special guests include Peggy Cummins star of Gun Crazy, Robert Towne who will discuss Chinatown, Mel Brooks presenting Young Frankenstein, Rick Baker, John Carpenter, Rhonda Fleming, Shirley Jones and many others.
Events at Club TCM this year will include TCM brand manager Shannon Clute and film scholar Richard Edwards discussing the literary origins and self-conscious visual style of noir with TCM senior writer/producer Scott McGee. The Czar of Noir himself Eddie Muller and actress Rose McGowan will select and debate the cast and crew of their dream movie — the perfect film noir. Film historian Donald Bogle presents a lively and perceptive presentation examining stereotypes of African Americans in cinema. The Academy Film Archive shares some unique gems from its collection with a screening of specially selected home movie footage from Hollywood’s golden age.
I am also told the good people behind The Warner Archive will be around handing out DVDs again this year. I’ve also been promised that they have some very unique classic film “collectibles” that are “Kind of like looking into the Arc, but classier.” I guess we’ll have to see on that.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony, will serve as the official hotel for the festival. Screenings and events will be held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Multiplex, the Egyptian Theatre, The Cinerama Dome and the Avalon Hollywood. Prints will be shown in 35mm, 70mm and select digital restorations.
For real-time coverage of the festival follow @oldfilmsflicker on Twitter (look for tweets with the hashtags #yamtcmff and #tcmff). Also look forward to a full round up of the festival’s events and some exclusive interviews early next week.
