France Nuyen and Mitzi Gaynor at the Screening of South Pacific (1958)

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On Thursday April 25th, 2013, I attended a special screening of South Pacific (1958) at the pool of the historial Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. It began right after the opening night party and I got to hang out with Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood and Kaci. There were drinks and hors d'oeuvres and we got plastic leis before the screening. There were some seats in front of the screen but we opted to sit on the comfy lounge chairs by the pool.

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The event started with Polynesian dancers who performed with leaves and with fire. It was a great way to set the mood.

Ben Mankiewicz  was the host.

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France Nuyen was the first to be interviewed and this was done separately from Mitzi Gaynor. This was a wise decision on the part of the event planners. Nuyen is very soft-spoken and calm and Gaynor is a firecracker and I could see how Nuyen might have been overshadowed in conversation.

France Nuyen was born in France and came to the United States wanting to pursue her modeling career. Nuyen was a stunning young woman and she still looks beautiful today at the age of 73. In fact, Ben Mankiewicz pointed out that she was one of the most beautiful women in the world. Even with stunning looks, there wasn't much demand for her 5'4" frame and dark complexion in the States. Nevertheless, she had some professional shots of her taken and those photographs got her a meeting with Rodgers, Hammerstein and director Joshua Logan. They were looking for someone to play Liat in the film adaptation of South Pacific. Nuyen stated that went to that meeting and walked out of it with a 7 year contract. She told us that the only thing she had to do for that audition was to take off her shoes and run around a desk.

The studio paid for three weeks of Berlitz English lessons for Nuyen and then sent her off to Hollywood. She was very new to the area and didn't realize that Hollywood was part of Los Angeles. She asked a cab driver to take her to Hollywood and ended up spending $19 which was a lot in 1957. Mankiewicz joked that it would be $1,000 today.

On the set, France Nuyen wanted to look high fashion with full make-up. However, Director Joshua Logan wanted none of that and they took her to the bathroom to wash her face. Nuyen started crying because she thought she would be ugly without her make-up and she says she was lucky that master camera man Leon Shamroy was there to make her look beautiful. Nuyen is seemed really humble. She went on to say that she thought Mitzi Gaynor did a wonderful job as Nellie and called her "marvelous" and is in awe every time she sees the film.

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Ben Mankiewicz introduced Mitzi Gaynor very sarcastically saying that Gaynor was dull and nobody wants to hear from her. But he supposes he should introduce her anyways. I really enjoyed Mankiewicz' humor during various interviews. It lightened the mood for sure.

The back and forth between Mankiewicz and Gaynor was hilarious mostly because you could tell that the fiery and energetic Gaynor was more than Mankiewicz could handle. Although I'll have to commend it for doing the best he could to keep the interview on track!

The first thing Mitzi Gaynor was insist that Mankiewicz show the audience his newborn child which he did so reluctantly.

Then Mankiewicz went through a list of all the actresses that were considered for the part of Nellie in South Pacific: Lana Turner, Jeanne Crain, Deborah Kerr, Jane Powell, Kim Novak, Janet Leigh, Dinah Shore, Rosemary Clooney, Virginia Mayo, June Allyson, Shirley Jones, Susan Hayward and Doris Day. But Gaynor beat them all. Gaynor added that Elizabeth Taylor was also considered. Mankiewicz said he had heard that Taylor was too nervous to perform in front of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Gaynor said that she didn't know about that but did know Taylor was very busy getting married and all that. (At this point Gaynor starts rocking in her chair suggestively which Mankiewicz points out to the audience members who might have missed it.)

Gaynor had a really good chance at the role because she could sing and dance well, she looked the part and was young enough at 24. Some of the other actresses considered were much older. Gaynor related that she really wanted to do Sayonara (1957) which was also being directed by Joshua Logan. She thought she could get away with playing an Asian character because of her naturally slanted eyes she got from her Hungarian ancestry. However, Marlon Brando, who was also in the film, demanded that the role go to someone of Asian descent. She notes that Ricardo Montalban got a role in the film. Gaynor then sarcastically pointed out that he's definitely Asian and proclaimed to the audience "That Bitch!". To that Ben Mankiewicz responded to the audience "And then Mitzi Gaynor called Ricardo Montalban a bitch" and there was a roar of laughter.

At this point during the interview, I thought to myself how wonderful it would be to hang out with Mitzi Gaynor. She is just so hilarious and isn't afraid of shocking people.

Mankiewicz asked Nuyen if Gaynor was like this on the set and Nuyen pointed out that she didn't speak English so how would she have known. Gaynor made fun of Nuyen's English, saying it's worse now than it was back then, but quickly followed it up by gushing about Nuyen. Oaynor went on to relate the story of when she first saw Nuyen. She said Nuyen was an exquisite girl, with long dark hair, beautiful skin and gorgeous eyelashes. Then she pointed out that Nuyen is still beautiful and that she hasn't changed at all except that her hair grew in blonde. (See what I mean about having Nuyen come out first being a good idea?).

Gaynor relayed the story about how she got the part  of Nellie. She had meeting with director Joshua Logan and her agent husband Jack Bean. They chatted for three hours and it was planned that she would meet Rodgers. Gaynor went onto inform a confused Mankiewicz that Rodgers' wife invented the Johnny Mop. She had left the meeting and went back to work with Frank Sinatra on the film The Joker is Wild (1957). She got a call that she was going to sing for Oscar Hammerstein on a Wednesday but Gaynor was busy trying to film an important scene in the movie with Frank Sinatra. Sinatra noticed her crying and arranged it that they would work around Gaynor's important scene so that she had the opportunity to audition for Hammerstein.

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Gaynor performed for Hammerstein who responded to her audition with a "thanks so much you've been a wonderful sport". Not the most encouraging response. Gaynor related Hammerstein's response to Director Joshua Logan. She went on to do the film Les Girls (1957) with Gene Kelly. Gaynor was tired and worn out from all the dancing. She received a call from her husband Jack who asked her if she would feel better spending August in Hawaii because she got the role in South Pacific!

Mankiewicz then asks Mitzi Gaynor about her handsome co-star Rossano Brazzi. Gaynor said she didn't speak very good Italian, restaurant Italian she calls it. She told Rossano Brazzi that he was the most beautiful man and the most wonderful actor in the whole world. Brazzi responded saying "Mitzi Gaynor-i, I know" and grabbed his crotch. Gaynor demonstrated this to the audience in the back and the front to make sure we all saw it. I cracked up laughing this was so funny!

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Mankiewicz asked Gaynor what her favorite musical number was in South Pacific. She said "I Think I'm In Love with a Wonderful Guy". Gaynor noted that it was a difficult film to do but Joshua Logan was wonderful and she had fun with that number. Nuyen chimed in saying that she had a lot more to do with the character of Liat in the film than on stage because of the advantage of filming on location and not being limited to a theater.

Mankiewicz asked Nuyen about her memorable love scene with John Kerr. Director Joshua Logan wanted to film that scene with Kerr with his shirt on then his shirt off later which would be a visual clue that they had just made love. A compromise  was made for the censors and Kerr would start the scene with his shirt off. Nuyen said that she was the luckiest girl in the world because she got to act with one of the most handsome men in Hollywood. She said that Kerr was glorious and that she misses him very much (John Kerr died a couple months before this interview. It would have been great to have him there alongside Nuyen and Gaynor!).

Mankiewicz points out that while it's a wonderful musical with lots of happy numbers, which the audience will see if Mitzi Gaynor ever shuts up (his words not mine!), that is also explores interracial relationships in a very serious way. Nuyen said that the filmmakers had to fight to be able to keep that plot line in. Gaynor mentioned that Oscar Hammerstein wouldn't have stood for that being changed. She also points out that the Bloody Mary character is selling her daughter like one would peddle dope. Nuyen steps in and says that Bloody Mary dreams of having a white son-in-law,guards her child until she finds the man for her, and that what she was really selling was matrimony. Two very interesting perspectives.

The event finished off with Mankiewicz making a joke about the Clairol commercial "I Want to Wash That Gray Right Out of My Hair", a spoof on the song from South Pacific and introduces the movie. 

This was my first time watching South Pacific (1958) and I enjoyed it. It became less than enjoyable when I started to get chills from the cold night time air and being poolside. We eventually moved inside where the film was showing on a small screen inside Club TCM. I'm forever grateful to TCM for doing that and for hosting such a wonderful event!

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TCM Classic Film Festival - Press Conference with Ben Mankiewicz

This is the second of my transcripts for the Press Conference that happened on Wednesday April 24th, 2013 at the TCM Classic Film Festival. I tried to be as thorough as possible but there is some paraphrasing along with some quoting. It's not word-for-word but as close as I can get to it. Note that various people asked questions at the press conference. Enjoy!

Question: TCM has worked with a lot of diversity this past year will there be more of that?

Mankiewicz:  After some fumbling, Mankiewicz proudly announces he's wearing his first pocket square ever. Ha! Mankiewicz has had the opportunity working for TCM for the past ten years to meet a lot of people. He notes that he's learned more from Lawrence Carter-Long, who participated in the Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film special, than anyone else he's ever met. Mankiewicz expects that we will see more diversity and that Carter-Long is a resource that TCM has depended on since that special aired and he's glad that the special made the impact that it did.

Question: How was the theme Cinematic Journeys chosen for the festival this year and what are your favorite films that fall into that category?

Mankiewicz: This is more of a question for Charles Tabesh. Mankiewicz thinks it's a logical choice and the travel theme opens so many movies to us. He mentions Guilt Trip (2012) with Barbra Streisand, a contemporary movie Mankiewicz thoroughly enjoyed. Which isn't at the festival but he points it out anyways. Mankiewicz was looking forward to The Great Escape (1963) and Airplane! (1980) (Mankiewicz jokes that the film looks to be filmed with a budget of $4.95). He thinks the fashion theme of last year and the journey theme for this year made for really great programming.

Question: Film Noir Foundation asks if Mankiewicz has any Film Noir favorites and any Film Noirs he'd like to see programmed in the future.

Mankiewicz:  Mankiewicz mentioned that there are a lot of noirs he'd like to see programmed at the festival. He points out that Eddie Muller has been a great resource for TCM and will be a Friday night guest programmer on the channel. That special has already been filmed and will be coming up soon with about 20-24 films featured. Mankiewicz mentions three John Dahl contemporary noirs that he'd like to see programmed. Now that he's thought of it, Mankiewicz is going to make that suggestion.

Question: TCM is moving more into the 1970s. How much are we going to see of more contemporary films that are influenced by the past?

Mankiewicz: TCM is very open-minded about what makes a classic movie and doesn't distinguish them by years removed. It's not as if in 2027 we can start showing stuff from 1999. The movies have to have some emotional connection to the audience. TCM has a lot of viewers under the age of 49 and they realized that most of them had not seen a lot of the films TCM is showing when they were released or any time close to when they were released. So how did these classic films become important to contemporary viewers? Usually through some connection with a more contemporary movie or from being shown the film by a parent, grandparent, etc. As we get better perspective on films, and that does come with time, then those titles become more available to TCM for programming ideas. You'll see newer movies on TCM but nothing will stop them from showing those classics that people have some to love. Mankiewicz uses an example that if a 30 something loves Preston Sturges now, what's to say another 30-something twenty years from now can't love Preston Sturges too? Mankiewicz says there are better films and filmmakers in the 1970s than the 1980s.

Question: Who determines who hosts which screening? Does Mankiewicz ever get a say and is he ever disappointed?

Mankiewicz: He jokes that he arm wrestles with Robert Osborne and Osborne always wins. Charles Tabesh and Genevieve McGillicuddy know Mankiewicz well and usually place him where he wants to be. (At one point Mankiewicz says he's regretted some and I'm sure now after the festival the Mitzi Gaynor interview might be one of them). There are disappointments and the biggest one for Mankiewicz at the festival is missing out on interviewing Max von Sydow for Three Days of the Condor (1975) because it's one of Mankiewicz's favorite films that he can quote almost line-by-line. Sometimes it's the way the schedule works. While it's a disappointment, he still gets to talk to Max von Sydow about The Seventh Seal (1957) and possibly learn something in the process.

Question: Twitter and Tumblr are all abuzz with Classic Film. #TCMParty on Twitter is mentioned. Has Mankiewicz noticed this kind of internet attention and buzz for TCM?

Mankiewicz: Mankiewicz has participated in #TCMParty on Twitter and thinks it's an incredibly rewarding thing. It's a clue into what makes the festival such a success. The shared experience of classic movies online is amplified when people get together at the festival and share that enthusiasm with each other face-to-face. And on top of that they get to see stars like Max von Sydow and Ann Blyth talk. This is all a reminder that TCM has the ability to touch people in a very special way. This is something that no other television channel can claim. Mankiewicz uses the example of ESPN. He's a big sports fan and watches ESPN but he doesn't care about the channel. People genuinely care about TCM. The folks at the channel feel an obligation towards their fans that they take very seriously and there is a special bond that exists between TCM and their viewers that is virtually unheard of. It doesn't exist anywhere else and it never will.

Comment: Someone noted that Ben Mankiewicz shaved off his goatee and now dresses a bit differently.  What's with the makeover?

Mankiewicz: Item #1 on Mankiewicz's contract with TCM, before money or anything else, stated "Artist must keep and maintain goatee. Failure to keep and maintain goatee will be considered breach of contract". (This is hilarious!) Years later, he eventually asked about it and they didn't believe that it was in the contract at all. In the beginning of his days at TCM, he had conversations about whether he could wear a prosthetic goatee. As far as his clothes and set design go, there was a change of management hence the makeover. Osborne and Mankiewicz are very particular about the way they dress and always want to look good on screen. Mankiewicz says his brother is a news correspondent and always makes the top 10 best dressed people on TV lists.

Question: Why are Pre-Code films so popular these days? Especially in the past few years.

Mankiewicz: At TCM, there has always been an interest in Pre-Code films. He didn't realize there was a recent boom. Mankiewicz says one of the reasons may be availability now that so many of these Pre-Code films are available on DVD. They are so shocking. Even though the Hays Code existed at that point, it was more of an enforcement issue until the Fatty Arbuckle trial (for which he was acquitted but in the end that didn't really matter). It's a matter of watching these films and seeing things you didn't expect to see. Everything is the same as it appears Post-Code (or Post-Enforcement of the Code) but they are so much more honest. This should tell us a little bit how films could have been without the code. He notes that some people romanticize the elements used to mean other things (like a horse rearing meaning people are having sex). While you wouldn't want to change anything about Hollywood history but it would have been interesting if things were different. It would have been interesting to go forward in the 1940s and 1950s with movies without any restrictions. Mankiewicz thinks it would have been better. (Interjection: if you read my transcript of Osborne's portion of the press conference you'll see that he disagrees with Mankiewicz on this point).

Question: Question about why Coming Home (1978) is not as available as Harold & Maude (1971)?

Mankiewicz: Mankiewicz is not sure but it might be a rights issue more so than a stigma. He notes that Jane Fonda and Jon Voigt are both at the festival and they were the stars of Coming Home.

Question: What does Mankiewicz think about movie fans staying home more, watching TCM and Netflix, participating in #TCMParty, etc. instead of going out to see more films in the theatres?

Mankiewicz: He thinks it's always better to watch movies in a theater with a lot of people.There are reasonable arguments to have that watching films at home, on your iPad, on a small screen, is not the way the director intended the film to be seen. Ultimately, it's best to watch them at the theater. To see how many people have developed friendships on #TCMParty, that's not to be dismissed. Mankiewicz jokes that the #TCMParty folks are shut-ins. He's had some emotional moments with #TCMParty even if he doesn't participate very much. Mankiewicz doesn't think people realized the power of those online connections. Progress is not a straight line, sometimes it jumps around but it's still progress. We are losing that theater experience but he doesn't foresee that everyone will be watching films exclusively on their phones. Fight for which size is important to you. Mankiewicz says he's seen a lot of great movies on his iPad mini. Not ideal, but he's had a chance to watch films he might not have otherwise and he's grateful for that. We don't quite realize how important those Twitter connections and those connections are not empty ones.

(Interjection: I don't attend #TCMParty myself but I think it's wonderful for the people who do participate. I do however connect with a lot of fans on Twitter so I'm happy to see Ben Mankiewicz acknowledge that online classic film community.)

Ben Mankiewicz interviews Walter Mirisch at the screening of The Great Escape (1963)

A 50th anniversary restoration of The Great Escape (1963) was premiered at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre (TCL Chinese) on Friday April 26th, 2013. Before the screening even started, I headed to the bathroom and saw a bunch of TCM staffers surrounding this older gentleman and heard one of them refer to him as "Walter". It was cool that I got to see Walter Mirisch before the event even started.

I'll do my best to transcribe the interview. It's not all word-for-word and I use a lot of paraphrasing.

Ben Mankiewicz hosted and noted that James Garner and Steve McQueen were the stars of the film but were not the stars Mirisch wanted. Walter Mirisch won an Oscar for In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Mankiewicz introduced him as one of the best film producers in Hollywood.

Mankiewicz - Holy crap you have produced a lot of great movies. (Ben actually did say that!) . Ben starts with the biggest hit Mirisch had before The Great Escape which was The Magnificent Seven (1960). How did The Magnificent Seven getting The Great Escape done? Did it have a big impact on casting?

Mirisch - John Sturges and Mirisch had met before The Magnificent Seven and became friendly and decided they wanted to work together. Mirisch always had in mind trying to find a property they could do together. The availability of The Seven Samurai seemed to present a good opportunity. Mirisch thought it would be perfect for Sturges. They watched The Seven Samurai in a projection room and spitballed how it would work as a Western.

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz sarcastically joked that none of us wished we'd been in that room. It sounds like a dull conversation. He then asks when Mirisch thought of Steve McQueen for that movie.

Mirisch - Steve McQueen was a star on the TV show Wanted: Dead or Alive prior to the film The Magnificent Seven. He was well received in that film but hadn't received star status yet even after the film released. After The Magnificent Seven, Mirisch and Sturges looked around for another project they could do together. The idea for The Great Escape came up. The story had been on the screen before possibly by the British. But no one could understand those accents so it didn't matter. There was a little resistance (possibly to it being previously released) but both Mirisch and Sturges eventually got very excited about doing the movie. The book written by Paul Brickhill. Brickill was a flyer in the British Airforce and a prisoner and the book is about his own experience. Unfortunately, the book is a factual one and not a novel. All the personal stories were made up for the movie and this presented a lot of writing difficulties.

Mankiewicz - Who was Mirisch looking at for those two principal characters played by James Garner and Steve McQueen?

Mirisch - A decision was made that they would tailor the film so that there were two principal characters to carry the story. A few years before, Sturges had made Gunfight at the O.K. Corrall (1957) with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. So when Sturges and Mirisch were working on developing the script, they had Douglas and Lancaster in mind for the two title roles. It got to the point where they realized that Douglas and Lancaster would cost a lot for the picture. They were having problems getting the budget for the picture approved.

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz mentioned that he read that the budget was $4 Million

Mirisch - Mirisch says it was somewhat more than that. Anyone who has ever made a movie has heard "you gotta cut the budget if you want to get this made". Back then, Mirisch suggested that two relatively inexpensive younger, up-and-coming actors, James Garner and Steve McQueen, might be possible for those two parts. They saved $2 million with that one decision.

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz says , "do you realize when you say that that you are a genius?" and notes that it would have been a very different movie with Douglas and Lancaster.

Mirisch - Mirisch had gotten to know McQueen while filming The Magnificent Seven, was very fond of him and thought he had an incredible on-screen personality. He also liked the idea of a younger actor for that part. Prior to The Great Escape, Mirisch had made the film The Children's Hour (1961) with James Garner. Mirisch notes he was more comfortable with the idea of making a film with Garner and McQueen than with Douglas and Lancaster.

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz mentions that McQueen wasn't a star yet when he made The Great Escape.

Mirisch - Mirisch says it's because he hadn't jumped over that fence with that motorcycle yet!

Mankiewicz - We all cherish McQueen because he had that fierce independence along with an enormous chip on his shoulder but was still filled with self-doubt that so many of us are plagued with. This all made him Steve McQueen the star but also made him a bit of a handful for the folks who worked with him.

Mirisch - McQueen had that quality, je ne sais quoi. I don't know what but he's got it and radiated it on screen.

Mankiewicz - McQueen left the set for sometime after some disagreements and some competition with James Garner. As a producer, how did you deal with a great but difficult star and still manage the picture?

Mirisch - McQueen always felt there were too many words. Mirisch came to trust that because he learned that McQueen was able to convey a great deal by his very expression. Mirisch was open to cutting down McQueen's dialogue and to allow him to convey things with his eyes. Sturges was also well aware of that and they both collaborated on that particular issue. McQueen had a good sense of story and when something bothered him, Mirisch took McQueen's thoughts into consideration as there might be something that was missing that could be worked on. There is a famous incident in which McQueen got upset and left the set for a while but that was overcome by re-writing. Mirisch showed McQueen the rewrites and McQueen said "I'll be back to work tomorrow."

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz interjects and tells the audience that those rewrites include the famous motorcycle sequences and the baseball scenes.

Mirisch - McQueen conveys more about the independence of spirit and courage just by throwing that baseball against that wall than some do with long speeches. Mirisch calls McQueen brilliant and says to the audience that you'll see it all again when you watch the film in case you don't remember.

Mankiewicz - Mankiewicz throws out a trivia bit that McQueen plays one of the Nazi officers chasing McQueen during the motorcycle chase while also playing his own character.

Mirisch - Mirisch interjects and says "you know, you are not supposed to tell all the secrets!"). He also notes that the restoration will be available on Blu-Ray on May 7th. This is funny because Mankiewicz had promised to bring it up and forgot. Ha!

TCM Classic Film Festival Day #3 Recap

Friday was the second official day of the TCM Classic Film Festival but my third day. As I had predicted, I didn't wake up early enough to go see Libeled Lady (1936). I wish I had more energy and a personal driver to take me everywhere I need to go.

I spent the day with my husband which was nice because we had been on different schedules for a couple of days. First stop was to the Chinese Multiplexes to see River of No Return (1954).

Leonard Maltin hosted the screening and introduced special guests producer Stanley Rubin and his wife Kathleen Hughes.

I plan to do a most in depth post later but I really enjoyed Maltin's talk with Rubin and Hughes. When the movie started, something happened. I started to cry and couldn't stop. It was a really emotional moment for me. I think this was for a few reasons. 

River of No Return (1954) is the second Robert Mitchum film I ever saw with Out of the Past (1947) being the first. And as most of you know, Robert Mitchum is my favorite actor. I have always been a fan of Marilyn Monroe too and have seen almost all of her films. Also, I've been to the river in the film. The movie was shot on the Athabasca River in Alberta, Canada and I have very happy memories visiting the river and the Rocky Mountain town Jasper which is situated alongside the river. River of No Return isn't a perfect film but it's one I have loved for as long as I have been a classic film fan. It has a special place in my heart and to see the producer of the film up on stage talking about the movie, sharing his stories and talking about Mitchum and Monroe was truly an honor.  Not only that, Rubin stayed to watch the film with us.

Then it hit me. This is truly amazing. Truly fucking amazing. And then the tears just flowed. Wow.

We left the Chinese Multiplexes and hoofed it over to the Avalon for a taping of Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival. This event will be televised on TCM so I won't be doing an in depth post but I did want to share a little about it.

 We got absolutely terrible seats because everyone got there super early and we had only gotten there 10-15 minutes before it started. We were in the nosebleed section and there was a lot of moving around to get the best view. 

This event was a taping of the one hour interview for TCM so it took about 2 hours with several stops for make up, clean up, retakes, etc. Tom Brown kicked it off with talking with the audience and getting laughter, titter and awws so they could record those sounds and use them later for editing. Then they brought out Robert Osborne and he fielded some questions from the audience which I thought was very nice of him! 

Out came Eva Marie Saint and at the age of 88 she still looks stunning. We couldn't photograph during the event but she did post for pictures afterwards (hence the photos above). Eva Marie Saint flirted with Robert Osborne calling him her second husband. Her real life husband of 61 years Director Jeffrey Hayden. She called out to him numerous times during the interview which I thought was so sweet. They seem like a very close couple and still very much in love. Eva Marie Saint credited that to the fact that they are Actress and Director and not both Actors or both in different businesses. Because they are both in show business they get the nature of the business. If they were both actors they would in competition with each other. She noted a few couples and used Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward as an example of an exception to that rule.

Eva Marie Saint spoke very fondly of Yves Montand her co-star in Grand Prix (1966) and also mentioned that her daughter had such a huge crush on him and corresponded with him by mail for years. She also spoke about working with Cary Grant, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Otto Preminger, Montgomery Clift and more. She was absolutely charming, you could tell that she felt very at ease with Robert Osborne which I think made a huge difference. She mentioned that she enjoyed her role in the contemporary movie Because of Winn-Dixie (2005). OMG. I work for that book's publisher! I hope that bit makes it on air.

Overall a good experience even though I got terrible blisters hoofing it there.

The last thing we did was attend the World Premiere Restoration/50th Anniversary screening of The Great Escape (1953). It was screened at the Grauman's Chinese theatre (which I refuse to call by it's new name). It was magical being in such an important and historic theatre.

My husband and I got seats close up. Carlos wasn't happy but I needed to be close to the guests! Before it started, I had gone to the bathroom and I SAW WALTER MIRISCH! It was definitely him because a TCM staffer referred to him as Walter. It was so cool to be that close to him. Also for some reason I keep running in to Ben Mankiewicz. It's happened like 5 or 6 times but I'm too shy to say hi.

An in-depth post on The Great Escape (1963) screening is to come. It was a fun experience. We ended up being too tired to attend the On The Waterfront screening right after and the line for that was long. I hope to have more energy on Saturday and Sunday!

Remember, follow me on Twitter or Instagram at @QuelleLove for live updates of all the TCM Classic Film Festival activities I do as they happen.

TCM Classic Film Festival Day #2 Recap

Thursday was the first full day of the TCM Classic Film Festival. For those of you at home, if you saw the intros last night on TCM for Bite the Bullett (1975) or The Great Race (1965), you may have spotted me in the background of the actor interviews conducted by Ben Mankiewicz. This is the intro with Marvin Kaplan and this is the one for Theodore Bikel. You might see me in the background of an interview in the intro for The Angry Hills (1959) on April 30th on TCM too!

The first event I attended on Thursday was the Meet TCM Panel. It was moderated by Scott McGee and included a panel of 6 TCM staffers who related a lot of very interesting information about what goes on behind-the-scenes at TCM. The first half of the event included questions from Scott McGee and then the audience was given the opportunity to ask questions. I think that second part was a mistake. A few people asked good questions. Others wanted to relate their life stories once they got the microphone.

I was a little late to the trivia game So You Think You Know the Movies? at Club TCM. The Club was packed and I had to sit in the way back. Which was okay for ONE REASON. Norman Lloyd walked right by us. OMG. I couldn't snap a picture fast enough unfortunately. If you look in the above picture, Norman Lloyd is the shorter gray haired gentleman in the dark suit. Aurora of Once Upon a Screen... is standing to his left. She got to shake his hand! The trivia game was pretty cool. They had a few surprised guests who were tied into trivia questions including Michael Badalucco, James Karen and Norman Lloyd. I think it was amazing to have the actors there. 

After the trivia game, some members of the media and bloggers attended a press conference hosted by Robert Osborne at Club TCM. He made the following announcement:

Bonhams to Present Auction of Rare Movie Memorabilia Curated by Turner Classic Movies

Bonhams is a fine arts auction and appraisal house. They plan to have the first auctions with TCM in Hollywood and New York in November of this year. Future locations include Hong Kong and London. Some of the proceeds of the sales will go to The Film Foundation. 

There were two pieces on display at Club TCM that will be part of the future Bonhams-TCM auctions. One of them was Humphrey Bogart's suit from The Big Sleep (1946) and the other was Michael Keaton's batsuit from Batman (1989).  Osborne had three people from Bonhams up on stage to discuss a little about the partnership and about movie memorabilia auctions. One of the dealers said that the suit came from a private Humphrey Bogart collector who wanted to focus more on other types of ephemera. It's a really cool suit! The dealer also said that there will be some smaller yet quality pieces with important movie connections up for auction in the $200-$500 range in addition to the other big pieces that go for the big bucks.

After the press conference, the Club TCM Opening Night Party started. Some of us headed to the pool and hung out for a bit. A lot of people were dressed to the nines! A couple hours later, the poolside special event for South Pacific (1958) started.

There were Polynesian dancers and lots of fire!

Ben Mankiewicz hosted the interview with actresses France Nuyen and Mitzi Gaynor. France Nuyen had a one-on-one interview with Mankiewicz before Gaynor came out which was very smart of them to do because Gaynor pretty much took over from there. More details to come in a future post but let's just say that Mitzi Gaynor referred to Ricardo Montalban as a bitch, she had so much energy she couldn't sit still in her chair and she got up and grabbed her crotch TWICE to demonstrate something that she had witnessed her co-star Rossano Brazzi do. I already thought Mitzi Gaynor was adorable but now I just want to hang out with her and have a couple drinks. She was so much fun and such a delight!

A full moon was out and we watched South Pacific (1958) under the stars. It got cold so...

we went inside and were really happy to see they were also screening the film inside Club TCM.

Overall a great night. Mitzi Gaynor was the highlight for sure. I really wish I had gotten a picture of her grabbing her crotch because that was the funniest thing I had ever seen.

Stay tuned for more details and future recaps.

TCM Classic Film Festival Day #1 Recap

The TCM Classic Film Festival doesn't officially start until Thursday but there was already plenty of interesting things happening on Wednesday. My day started with getting to meet several bloggers at the Club TCM lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel. It was great to meet Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, Jill of Sittin' on a Backyard Fence, Aurora of Once Upon a Screen..., and several others.

I got my Media Credentials and headed to a separate room for a Media Roundtable. I was expecting a roundtable but it ended up being more of a Press Conference. Robert Osborne, Ben Mankiewicz, Charles Tabesh and Genevieve McGillicuddy (paired) took to the platform and fielded questions from us. I didn't end up asking any questions myself but a lot of the questions I had in mind were asked by others. I plan to do a separate post with much more detail about the questions and answers. I thought the conference went really well. Ben Mankiewicz was charming, it was quite wonderful to see Robert Osborne and he had a lot of great insights to share and Charles Tabesh and Genevieve McGillicuddy did a great job fielding lots of interesting questions about the festival and TCM programming.  One thing I took away from this is the realization that TCM is unlike any other channel on TV. It has a devoted following, one that TCM treasures and they feel like they have a responsibility to deliver their programming in the best way possible.

Robert Osborne

Ben Mankiewicz

After the press conference, I had lunch with Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings and Jill of Sittin' on a Backyard Fence. I got to see the amazing Roosevelt Hotel pool:

This is where they are holding tomorrow's South Pacific (1958) screening with special guests Mitzi Gaynor and France Nuyen.

From noon until 3:30 pm, the Club TCM at the Roosevelt Hotel filmed a few interviews. If you watch TCM, you may see me in the background of interviews between Ben Mankiewicz and Theodore Bikel and Marvin Kaplan.

Jane Withers being interviewed by Robert Osborne.

Marvin Kaplan being interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz.

Ben Mankiewicz and Theodore Bikel!

The TCM Boutique was open and they have lots of cool swag and other goodies for sale. For now I think I'll stick TCM Classic Film Festival tote bag which is pretty awesome.

Overall, a very good day! Today and tomorrow are really my only days to socialize and mill about. The  following days will be very hectic for sure. Stay tuned for more details! You can always follow me on Twitter @QuelleLove for pictures and more details on the festival as they happen.