On the third day and the first full day of the festival, I headed over to the TCL Chinese IMAX (aka Grauman's) to wait in line for the Charlton Heston Stamp Dedication Ceremony.
The ceremony was spectacular. It was co-hosted by TCM and USPS and Ben Mankiewicz was the master of ceremonies. Charlton Heston's widow and son, Fraser Heston, were both there. I'll be doing a post on this soon.
One of the wonderful things about the TCM Classic Film Festival is all the new friends you make while waiting in line. I met Max in line for the Stamp Ceremony. We had a blast chatting about old movies and sat together through the ceremony.
Up next was The World of Henry Orient (1964). I knew nothing about this movie and didn't do any research beforehand. I love to watch movies with no previous information because it's a completely different viewing experience than if you had seen the film before or knew some details about it.
Actresses Merrie Spaeth and Paula Prentiss were at the screening. A post on this to come!
After that I headed to the TCL Chinese IMAX to attend a screening of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) with Margaret O'Brien in attendance. It was so lovely to see her and hear her talk about her experiences with the movie and about fellow actor Mickey Rooney who recently passed away. A post on this to come too!
I then headed to Club TCM to attend an interview with Leonard Maltin and Quincy Jones. It started a bit late and thus wasn't a full hour but it was still very interesting. The best moment was when Quincy Jones fist bumped Leonard Maltin. Classic!
I headed to the bathroom of the Roosevelt Hotel and guess who I saw?! Margaret O'Brien! I was so close to her but didn't have a chance to say hi or get my picture taken with her. I love her funky style. She had really cool jewelry, a nose stud and a really beautiful outfit complete with black and gold high heels. She was rocking some serious style.
I then waited in line at the TCL Chinese IMAX for the screening of Blazing Saddles (1974) with Mel Brooks in attendance. I think this was by far the most popular of all the screenings. My husband couldn't get in because they had limited standby seats. It was a packed house!
Mel Brooks was interviewed by Robert Osborne before the screening. Unfortunately, I got sick and had to leave about 40 minutes into the film. I was sad to leave and upset that I basically took someone's seat who could have stayed there the whole time. I tried to stay the whole time but I have been sick most of the festival and it was at it's worst point during that screening.
Below I have some pictures of the lovely Club TCM in between events. They had a Home Movies by Hollywood (photography from the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library) exhibit as well as a TCM at 20: Inspired By the Classics art exhibit which includes pieces by: Tony Bennett, Manolo Blahnik, Charles Busch, Jules Feiffer, Joel Grey, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Kim Novak, Todd Oldham, Jane Seymour and Burt Young. They also had a Gone With the Wind 75th anniversary exhibit and some movie memorabilia including Judy Garland's outfit from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Oh no, you were sick? Hope you're feeling much better now darling xx Despite that, though, it looks like you and everyone else had a blast at this year's festival :) Thank you SO much for posting your recaps - I know it's a lot of work xx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for wonderful pictures. So sorry to hear you were unwell.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures. I heard the idea of issuing a Charlton Heston stamp was controversil due to his gun support. I also think the drwaing of his face could have been better in the stamp, but... ah, it's hard to depict his perfection in a drawing!
ReplyDeleteAnd Margaret surely has style!
Kisses!