Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Steven Spielberg Extends TCM Consultancy Through End of 2024 with Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson– Plus Elaine May Rare Special Night Coming January 26th

Share

Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson have signed a deal to stay on as consultants to Turner Classic Movies through the end of this year.

In June 2023, they’d joined up for a year. But Spielberg told me at last week’s 30th anniversary cocktail party at the Four Seasons that he’s very excited. “It wouldn’t have happened unless David Zaslav got excited. And that’s because of Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy at Warner Bros.”

Last year Zaslav — new to the company — was transferring TCM to his Discovery side of the company. There were some upsetting headlines. But then the super directing trio intervened. DeLuca and Abdy took TCM over to Warner Bros. Now there’s a revival for the revivals.

Not only did Spielberg come to the party, so did a masked Paul Thomas Anderson. Plenty of guests came over from the annual AFI luncheon, also at the hotel, including Brian Cox, Margot Robbie, Quinta Brunson, Charles Melton, Rian Johnson, and eminent legendary producer George Stevens, Jr . One of them was veteran actress and acting teacher Diane Baker, who was a staple on TV in the 60s and played the mother of Brooke Smith in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

There was even a surprise appearance by four decade “General Hospital” star Kin Shriner. (Everyone wanted to meet him.)

There were plenty of announcements about TCM coming up including a rare appearance coming up by filmmaker, writer, director Elaine May. (See below.) There’s also a new franchise, called “Two for One,” with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double-feature of their choice each Saturday night. Special guests will include Scorsese, Spielberg, and Anderson, as well as Spike Lee, Patty Jenkins, Olivia Wilde, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more.

TCM will continue to celebrate a different star every month, including Marlon Brando and Lauren Bacall on what would be their 100th birthdays, as well as Eva Marie Saint, on her 100th birthday. Other stars featured throughout the year include Debbie Reynolds, Bela Lugosi, Ruth Roman and Gregory Peck. In addition, TCM will spotlight special Fox stars including Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone Power and Victor Mature.

And circle January 26th. The whole night on TCM is turned over to legendary filmmaker Elaine May. They’re going to show four of her movies in a row with wrap around interviews conducted by her famed producer and long time friend Julian Schlossberg. Elaine, 92 years old, a recent Tony Award winner, never does interviews!

The movies will be, in order, a documentary about Mike Nichols and Elaine May, then “A New Leaf,” “Mikey and Nicky,” and “Ishtar.” That should run til 4am, and they’ve left out my favorite movie, “The Heartbreak Kid.”

PS All the TCM hosts were present too — not only Ben Mankiewicz and Dave Karger, but I got to meet Film Noir expert Eddie Muller! A highlight of the weekend!

additional reporting by Leah Sydney

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

Read more

In Other News