LOS ANGELES, Calif. ā The folks at Turner Classic Movies had just decided theyād have to cancel their annual classic film festival when their general manager had an idea: What if they could do something else in recognition of the lost weekend?
āIt felt greedy to say, āWell why donāt we do this whole other thing?āā said Pola Changnon, the networkās general manager.
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Charles Tabash, the head of programming, told her heād think about it. And less than 48 hours later, he came back with something even more ambitious: Three and a half days of films, special guest appearances and star-studded segments from past festivals to air in the comfort of viewers' own homes. And with that, the TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition was born.
āI got emotional when we made the announcement to cancel. The festival means something to us,ā said TCM host Ben Mankiewicz of the March 12 decision. āWe all just sensed that we had to do something.ā
Starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on April 16 with George Cukorās āA Star Is Bornā and going into to the wee hours of April 20 with a 3:30 a.m. airing of Blake Edwardsā āVictor/Victoria,ā the Special Home Edition is for the devotees who trek out to Hollywood every year for the festival as well as those who havenāt yet gotten to sip martinis at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel before watching a favorite film noir at the TCL Chinese Theater. And it couldnāt come sooner for these homebound times.
The home festival has something for everyone. Care to catch up with, or re-watch a few of the most revered films of all time? Theyāve got āCasablanca,ā āLawrence of Arabia,ā and āNorth by Northwestā all scheduled. Or how about long form interviews with film legends from past festivals? They have those too with Luise Rainer, Eva Marie Saint, Faye Dunaway and Peter OāToole, to name a few.
āIt represents not only the breadth of what we might have done on a festival weekend but is also a great scrapbook of moments from the 10 years weāve done this,ā Changnon said.
You can also pay tribute to a recently departed legend like Max Von Sydow: Ingmar Bergmanās āThe Seventh Sealā airs on April 17.
Mankiewicz remembers being particularly intimidated to interview Von Sydow at the 2013 festival.
āI was scared. Flat out scared,ā he said. āBut he was so great. He was so funny and charming and lovely and Iām glad that people are going to get to have a slice of him.ā
They were even able to get Peter Bogdanovich out to tape a few segments. Bogdanovich will regale viewers the night of April 18 with his tales of Orson Welles as the co-host of a screening of Wellesā second feature, āThe Magnificent Ambersons,ā from 1942.
āPeter talking about Orson Welles is worth the price of admission,ā Mankiewicz said.
And since they already had him in studio, they had him do one for āCasablancaā too.
For those looking for family fare, Mankiewicz said his nearly 7-year-old daughter loves āSinginā in the Rain,ā which will air at 6 p.m. on April 19.
āMusicals are a great, great opportunity to bring people together,ā he said.
And for couples wondering what might make a good date night film, Mankiewicz suggests Jules Dassinās 1950 noir āNight and the Cityā (April 18, 11:45 p.m.) with Gene Tierney, or āRed-Headed Woman,ā a pre-code film starring Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance herself that airs at 2 pm on April 19.
Another pre-code gem is āBaby Faceā with Barbara Stanwyck, playing early April 20.
āOne of her conquests is a 25-year-old John Wayne,ā he said.
Or if a documentary is more your speed, thereās always āGrey Gardens" or āHarold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story,ā about a storyboard artist and one of the great movie researchers of all time, featuring interviews with Francis Ford Coppola and Mel Brooks.
Everyone was disappointed to have to cancel the festival, but there was no reason the show couldnāt go on in a slightly different way, especially with so much of the world at home. And the staff has been working hard to pull together this at home festival in time for airing. Mankiewicz said he was even up until 2:45 a.m. preparing scripts for the next day and he was nothing but grateful for the work.
āWeāre not doctors, weāre not nurses, weāre not scientists,ā Mankiewicz said. āBut for many of our fans thereās a comfort we provide and itās not nothing. All we can do is take the thing that we do seriously. And Iām happy to do something that matters to people even in some small way.ā
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Online: http://filmfestival.tcm.com/special-home-edition/ Highlights of the schedule: http://apne.ws/plvK58f
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr