TCMFF Update!

Titles that will be screened at this year’s festival are in bold.

The big news is that yesterday, TCM announced the opening film for next month’s festival–Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) with director, George Lucas, in attendance. Only time will tell whether stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and/or Billy Dee Williams will be in attendance. The second Star Wars sequel is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The big question that came up on social media was whether the current version with CGI effects added would be screened or if audiences would be treated to the original 1980 theatrical release. Seeing that Lucas is the one who championed the special effects updates, I would presume that the current version will be screened. Regardless, it doesn’t really matter to me, as I don’t have a pass to attend this screening. I’m not a big Star Wars fan; but if I still had my Essential pass, I would have gone to the screening. My husband has an Essential pass, so we’ll see if he flies solo to Star Wars or follows me to whatever I see. One thing is for certain, this year’s festival theme is “Fantastic Worlds” and you can’t get more “fantastic” than the world of Star Wars.

The other big news that came out a couple weeks ago was that Michelle Pfeiffer was this year’s honoree at the hand and footprints ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Her ceremony will be followed up with a screening of The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) for which Pfeiffer received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. I wish that they were showing my personal favorite Pfeiffer film, Batman Returns (1992), but there’s still time. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

Last week, more titles were announced, bringing the total number of announced films to 45, about half-ish (maybe a little more than half) of the total number of films that will be screened at this year’s festival. This latest slate of announcements was very exciting to me, especially the two nitrate announcements–Daisy Kenyon (1947) and Mildred Pierce (1945), a Joan Crawford double feature. Count me in for Mildred Pierce, I LOVE this movie. Fingers crossed that Ann Blyth makes an appearance. This year will be my third festival, and I have yet to see a nitrate film. In 2023, the Egyptian was still closed, and that is the venue with the nitrate projector. Last year, the nitrate film I was interested in (Night Has a Thousand Eyes) was scheduled against my all-time #1 favorite film, The Long Long Trailer–which I’d always dreamt of seeing in the theater. I was not going to miss that for a chance to see an unknown to me film. I have since seen it, in the theater even, during Noir City Portland. It was a good film; but I’m glad I got to see my favorite movie in the theater.

Cinderella (1950) has been revealed as this year’s film that will be screened at Disney’s El Capitan Theatre with Mario Cantone and Leonard Maltin introducing. You can bet that my husband and I will be there. The El Capitan is an amazing theater. They also put on a spectacular preshow. I also love Cinderella, it’s my second favorite Disney movie after Beauty and the Beast (1991). Rita Moreno was announced as the guest at a screening of her 1976 film, The Ritz. I haven’t seen this film; but I’d love to see Moreno, so we’ll see where it lands on the schedule. The star of Babe (1995), James Cromwell, will be present to discuss the film. I remember when Babe came out in middle school. I don’t know if this is at the top of my list; but I’d see it if there’s nothing else jumping out at me in the schedule. James’ father is director John Cromwell who did The Enchanted Cottage (1945) also screening at TCMFF, so here’s hoping he is slated to introduce that as well. James Cromwell’s mother is Kay Johnson, star of the delightfully bizarre precode, Madam Satan (1930). It’d be amazing if TCMFF would screen that.

Other announcements included a tribute to David Lynch with screenings of Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990). Star Kyle MacLachlan is scheduled to introduce Blue Velvet. Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern star in Wild at Heart. I’ve never seen a David Lynch film, and frankly a lot of his films seem bizarre to me, but I’d go see Cage if he made an appearance. Recent Oscar-nominee Isabella Rossellini and daughter of Ingrid Bergman, also appears in Blue Velvet. It’d be neat if they could get her and have her introduce one of her mother’s films. Two science fiction films were announced: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and Fantastic Voyage (1966). Director, former SNL star, and TCM fan Bill Hader was announced as the guest for Preston Sturges’ The Lady Eve (1941) and Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings, was announced as the guest for the precode Moonlight and Pretzels (1933).

I have at least a half a dozen must see films on my list. I made a rather cheeky post on both Twitter and Bluesky, begging the powers that be at TCMFF to not schedule my must see films anywhere near each other on the schedule, and Senior VP of Programming at TCM, Charles Tabesh, LIKED my post. He has also “liked” my post begging the programmers to not schedule The Divorcee (1930) in the dreaded, tiny, theater 4 at the multiplex. Fingers crossed that he wasn’t just laughing and “liking” my posts to placate me.

At the moment, my “must see” films are: Mildred Pierce (1945), Cinderella (1950), The Freshman (1925), Jaws (1975), Spirited Away (2001), and The Talk of the Town (1942).