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| Yours truly at Robert Mitchum's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |
On my first trip to Hollywood I took an obscene number of photos of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The novelty has since worn off. However, I always make a point to stop by Robert Mitchum's star and to pose for a photo. A few years ago Mitchum's grandson Bentley Mitchum sent me the details of where to find the star and each year I've made a pilgrimage to it. Mitchum has no grave or memorial so this is my way of paying my respects to my favorite actor.
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| Set up for A Conversation with Norman Lloyd |
A few blocks away was the Montalban Theatre where TCM was filming two long format interviews for television. I attended the first one which was A Conversation with Norman Lloyd. Ben Mankiewicz conducted the interview. Of all the special events taking place at TCMFF, this one was the one I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. I got emotional listening to the wonderful Norman Lloyd discuss his career, his beloved wife, his friendships, the Great Depression and working with top directors. More on this interview to come.
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| Ben Mankiewicz & Norman Lloyd - TCMFF 2015 |
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| Characters 101 - Club TCM - TCMFF 2015 |
I wasn’t feeling too well but I was
determined to attend more events. I headed over to Club TCM for the
Character Actors 101 presentation hosted by Bruce Goldstein. This was
terrific fun and it made me realize how much I love character actors and
how little I know about them. We got to see lots of clips and learned
why character actors were such a part of the Hollywood system in the
1930s and 1940s. Goldstein ran a reel for the audience and we had to
place names with faces. It was a lot tougher than I thought!
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| Author Scott Eyman - TCMFF 2015 |
TCM partnered with Larry Edmunds, the famous cinema bookshop on
Hollywood Boulevard, and hosted three book signings in the Roosevelt
hotel lobby. I went to Scott Eyman’s signing and purchased two copies of
Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford; one for myself and
one for my friend Frank. It was great to meet Eyman and chat with him
for a bit. He was wearing a Robert Osborne fan club pin!
Matt from Warner Archive always stops by TCMFF with some goodies. He brought a box of Warner Archive DVDs and some shirts to giveaway to attendees.
At this point I was really sick. The thought of standing in line for 2 hours just to get into the screening of The Apartment (1960) made me want to faint. I made an executive decision to go back to my hotel room to rest. This was a smart move on my part because it gave me time to recuperate. It did mean I had to miss The Apartment and The Loved One introduced by Robert Morse but I did end up having much more energy for the following day.
I skipped the first Sunday time slot to have breakfast with Rob of Dear Old Hollywood and his adorable daughter! She’s a budding classic film fan and Rob tells me she loves the Wizard of Oz (1939).
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| Bonham’s Appraisals |
The first event I caught was Bonham’s Appraisals in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel. TCM’s Sean Cameron was the MC.
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| Illeana Douglas, Millie Perkins and Diane Baker - TCMFF 2015 |
I only caught two films on Sunday. I’m okay with this because my goal for this trip was to attend more special events. I attended a screening of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) at the Chinese Multiplex. Illeana Douglas interviewed actresses Millie Perkins and Diane Baker beforehand. I really didn’t want to miss this film because it’s one of the few movies from my childhood that I hold near and dear to my heart.
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| Shirley MacLaine & Leonard Maltin - TCMFF 2015 |
I had missed Shirley MacLaine speak at the screening of The Apartment and my heart just couldn’t take a viewing of The Children’s Hour. I really wanted to hear Shirley MacLaine speak about her career so A Conversation with Shirley Maclaine at Club TCM was a must. When I was walking from the Chinese Multiplex to the Roosevelt Hotel, I walked passed Shirley MacLaine herself as she was signing autographs for a group of fans!
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| Larry Edmunds |
No cinephile can visit Hollywood without a trip to the famous Larry Edmunds cinema bookshop.
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| Sophia Loren & Ben Mankiewicz - TCMFF 2015 |
The grand finale of the TCM Classic Film Festival always ends with a film at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and this year it was Marriage Italian Style (1964). A very nervous Ben Mankiewicz interviewed the still stunning Sophia Loren before the screening. It was perfect event to cap off another fantastic festival.
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| Sophia Loren & Ben Mankiewicz - TCMFF 2015 |
It was sad to say goodbye to friends at the closing night party but left with the hope that I will be seeing everyone again in 2016
I’ll be writing dedicated posts on some of the events I attended and movies I saw at this year’s festival. Stay tuned!
