Club TCM to Offer Celebrities, Expert Panels, Exhibits, Music and More During 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival

Club TCM to Offer Celebrities, Expert Panels, Exhibits, Music and More During 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival

Exclusive Gathering Spot for Festival Passholders to Feature Appearances by Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Caron, Marni Nixon, Marge Champion, Debbie Allen, Peter Guber and Brett Ratner

Legendary stars, fascinating presentations, panel discussions, live music and special exhibits are just a few of the exciting experiences on tap for Club TCM, the central gathering spot for the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. Located in the Blossom Room at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the very first Academy Awards® ceremony, Club TCM will be open throughout the festival, giving passholders a place to relax, meet new friends and mingle with special guests. Among those scheduled to appear are Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Caron, Marni Nixon, Marge Champion, Debbie Allen, Peter Guber, Brett Ratner and graphic artist Michael Schwab, as well as TCM host Robert Osborne and weekend-daytime host Ben Mankiewicz.

Club TCM will be open exclusively to passholders from noon to midnight each day during the festival, which takes place April 28 – May 1. Rooney and Reynolds will each make appearances to chat with fans and sign DVDs, and Caron will be interviewed by film historian and professor Foster Hirsch before signing copies of her new autobiography, Thank Heaven: A Memoir.

Nixon, whose legendary soprano voice provided the singing for such stars as Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961) and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964), will join vocalists Jimmy Bryant (West Side Story) and India Adams (The Band Wagon) for a “Voice Doubles” panel, moderated by film critic Pete Hammond. Champion and Allen, along with director-choreographer Vincent Paterson (Viva Elvis!), will take part in a panel on dance in the movies, moderated by author and Academy of Dance on Film co-founder Larry Billman. And graphic artist Michael Schwab will sign posters with the exclusive artwork he created for the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival.

Several expert presenters will regale movie fans with in-depth looks at a variety of topics related to Hollywood history. Film historian and documentary filmmaker Kevin Brownlow, recent recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Award, will discuss his lifelong passion for silent cinema. Noted author and historian Donald Bogle will discuss the role of African-Americans during the studio era in a visual presentation based on his book Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood. Award-winning filmmakers Joan Kramer and David Heely will talk about the making of their acclaimed documentaries on the lives of Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn. And filmmaker Barry Avrich will chronicle the life and work of legendary Hollywood photographer Jack Pashkovsky.

Additional panel discussions include “TCM: Meet the People Behind the Network,” a chance for fans to meet the people who make the magic at TCM; “The Best Trailers Ever Made: The Art of Selling Movies,” moderated by renowned Hollywood marketing exec Terry Press; and “Can the Magic Continue? The Art of the Sequel,” featuring producer-studio exec Peter Guber and producer-director Brett Ratner, with moderator Pete Hammond.

Three exhibits will grace the Club TCM area. A collection of never-before-seen Jack Pashkovsky photos of Hollywood stars in candid settings will offer a remarkable glimpse of their lives beyond the tight control of the studio publicity departments. Fifteen rare, authentic movie posters from classic musicals will be on display. The posters have been chosen from the collection of award-winning poster designer and art director Mike Kaplan. And a special exhibit will showcase the hand and footprints of Sid Grauman, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks on the three original sidewalk slabs from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, presented in public for the first time in nearly two decades. The blocks represent the birth of a Hollywood tradition that will be carried on by Peter O’Toole when he adds his prints to the Grauman courtyard.

Club TCM will also be the site of several celebrations, including a welcome party on opening night, a dance party featuring band Delco Nightingale and a closing night party with Prohibition and Depression-era songs performed by the retro band DOOZY. A complete schedule of events is attached.

In addition to Club TCM, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be the site of the TCM Stage, located in the lobby of the hotel. TCM’s Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz will tape several segments from the TCM Stage as they chat with special guests and fans who have traveled from far and wide to attend the festival.

Also serving as a festival gathering spot will be the Time Warner 4G Lounge in the courtyard of the Egyptian Theatre. Open 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, the Time Warner 4G Lounge will be a great place to check email and post social-network updates. Passholders can also watch great films free on demand in the lounge as they wait to catch the next screening.

About the TCM Classic Film Festival

The multi-faceted TCM Classic Film Festival – which runs from April 28 – May 1, 2011, in Hollywood – will be packed with more than 70 screenings, as well as special introductions, guest appearances, panel discussions and more. Time Warner Cable joins as an official partner, and Vanity Fair once again joins TCM as a festival partner. The magazine will produce the exclusive, opening-night after-party that will follow the red-carpet gala screening of An American in Paris. Delta is the official airline partner for the festival.

TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne will serve as official host of the festival. Peter O’Toole, Kirk Douglas, Warren Beatty, Leslie Caron, Roger Corman, Mariel Hemingway, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Mathers, Hayley Mills, Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Richard Roundtree, Barbara Rush, Alec Baldwin, Illeana Douglas, Rose McGowan, Ron Perlman and Nancy and Tina Sinatra are just a few of the notables slated to appear during the festival. Throughout the festival, TCM will celebrate movie music, with multi-film tributes to George and Ira Gershwin, composer Bernard Herrmann and singing cowboy Roy Rogers. In collaboration with D23, The Official Disney Fan Club, the festival will also celebrate the musical legacy of Walt Disney, including his Silly Symphonies and Laugh-O-Gram shorts.

The extraordinary slate for the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival includes Reds (1981), Pennies from Heaven (1981), Manhattan (1979), Network (1976), Taxi Driver (1976), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Shaft (1971), Girl Happy (1965), Becket (1964), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), Goldfinger (1964), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), West Side Story (1961), The Parent Trap (1961), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Spartacus (1960), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), La Dolce Vita (1960), The Trouble with Harry (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), A Place in the Sun (1951), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Royal Wedding (1951), All About Eve (1950), The Third Man (1949), Gaslight (1944), Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Constant Nymph (1943), Went the Day Well? (1942), Citizen Kane (1941), Fantasia (1940), Dodsworth (1936), Hoop-La (1933), The Mummy (1932), The Cameraman (1928), The Merry Widow (1925) and many more. TCM is dedicated to showcasing the best possible projection, including digital, 35mm and 70mm prints. Many of the films presented during the TCM Classic Film Festival have been digitally restored and remastered.

Additional information, including a list of programming and events slated for the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival, is available here.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony, will once again serve as the official hotel for the festival, as well as home to Club TCM, a central gathering point for attendees. The Hollywood Roosevelt will also offer special rates for festival goers. Screenings and events will be held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Multiplex and the Egyptian Theatre. The latest venue added to the TCM Classic Film Festival is the historic Music Box Theatre, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2011.

About TCM

Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com. TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world