TCMFF 2017 – Where to Find Me (And My Wife!)

Ah, it’s spring. The trees are turning green, the flowers are in bloom, and I’m eagerly hunched in front of a computer, making furious notes.

Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year– we’re only about two weeks out from the start of the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, held every year in Hollywood, California. I’ve gone the previous two years, and this time I’m having the pleasure of bringing my wife along. She’s not a huge classic film fan, but she’s excited to see what I’ve been raving about (and spending all her

Unfortunately, I did not get media credentials this year for TCMFF, which, honestly, stinks. However, if you look over at my newly launched Patreon page, I will be doing live festival coverage exclusively there! Check it out, and maybe toss a few dollars my way if you feel so obliged. I will post a much-truncated version of coverage here later on as well.

Here is the full schedule. Here’s a list of the pre-Codes showing, with my reviews linked to the title:

• Cock of the Air
• The Front Page (note: the version being shown is different than the one I reviewed!)
• Monkey Business
• One Hour with You
• Rafter Romance
• Red-Headed Woman
• Street Scene
• Twentieth Century

In what is certainly a most pleasant surprise, a majority of these have escaped the confines of the tiny but much loved Multiplex Theater 4 and are instead being screened at the Egyptian Theater. The Egyptian is three times the size, meaning more seating and a better experience– even if some of the coziness is lost.

There are some excellent posts out there for first timers– I recommend Chris Sturnhann’s post that covers the seating availability and most of the essentials of attending while retaining your sanity. (To a degree.) I will have one up at my Patreon soon, too, but it may be a bit… silly.

I usually run down the schedule and mention my picks, but it never quite works out that way; the need for food intervenes for some reason. Here’s our plan so far:

Thursday, April 6

6:15 – Dawson City: Frozen in Time – Surprisingly, this was my wife’s pick. I’m always down for films about preservation, though.

9:30 – The Man Who Knew Too Much – I think this one is going to be crazy crowded, so I’m already wondering if I should skip the earlier show, watch the red carpet and then scoot down to the line for this. Hmmm…

Friday, April 7

9:00 – Beyond the Mouse – I’m going to write up Rafter Romance for the site soon, and this presentation, with Ub Iwerks’ granddaughter, director/producer Leslie Iwerks, should be a treat.

11:30 – One Hour with You – I mean, I have a poster for this one on my wall. Two feet away from me. Right now. … hi, poster!

3:00 – Conversation with Peter Bogdonovich – I’ve done these for the last two years, and I enjoy the interviews immensely. Bogdonavich has been around for sure,

4:30 – So This is Paris – A silent Lubitsch film, on the big screen, with live accompaniment.

7:00 – Red-Headed Woman – Not a surprise.

9:45 – Those Redheads from Seattle – Wife: “Are we seeing any other movies in 3D at the festival?” Me: “Uh, this is the only one in 3D that’s showing.” Wife: “Then we’re seeing this!”

12:00 – Zardoz – My wife said she wasn’t doing this because ‘this is that weird movie’ but she can’t narrow down which one it is and I’m not letting her off the hook until she can.

Saturday, April 8

10:00 – This is Cinerama – Weirdly, I’ve seen this one before, but just on DVD. I haven’t visited the ArcLight, either, so it sounds like a good excuse for it.

12:30 – The Art of Subtitling – I’ve always been fascinated in the cultural nuances that have to be conveyed in subtitles, though I wonder if that’ll be covered. My hope is that at least half the preservation is railing against people who use white subtitles on black and white movies– you can barely read them!

2:45 – The Jerk – My wife needs to see at least one movie in Graumann’s Chinese Theater, and this one may be the best pick.

6:30 – Theodora Goes Wild – Running down to the Egyptian for this one may be miserable, but this is one of my favorite screwball comedies, and I’d hate to miss it.

9:30 – Top Secret! – I haven’t seen this film in 15 years and the only one in this slot I haven’t seen- The Incident– would probably freak my wife out. Plus, it gets me in the right place for the midnight film…

12:00 – Kentucky Fried Movie- I actually watch this fairly often (which is like once every two years for me), but it’ll be great to see it with an audience.

Sunday, April 9

9:00 – Cock of the Air – Kim and I were marveling at the placement of this, as it’ll probably be the one that would usually most likely get a TBA on Sunday. I’ve heard mixed things, but you gotta love that title. My wife pondered skipping both this and the next one to finally see Bonnie & Clyde at the Chinese, and I say the best of luck to her.

11:15 – Lured – I think I have to watch at least one noir or my cinephile badge gets taken away. I’m always in with Karloff, anyway.

2:00 – Postcards from the Edge – Another movie I haven’t seen in a decade and a half. I might skip this and go to the Republic preservationist presentation, too, if I can make that many ‘p’ sounds in a sentence without sounding preposterous.

4:45 – What’s Up, Doc? – One of my favorite movies, and I think the intro will be splendid, as well.

8:00 – Speedy – This one is up in the air, because, come on, who hasn’t seen Speedy with the Alloy Orchestra? I kid, but I might ditch it for one of the TBAs or just to spend some extra time at the farewell party– unfortunately, we’re heading out Sunday night this year, so I want to get in as many goodbyes as I can.

This year, because I’m actually living stateside again, I’ll be tweeting much more frequently over at good ol’ @PreCodeDotCom, so please follow along. And if you see me–

(I look like this)

— feel free to say hi! It should be a lot of fun!