Last year, Josh and I started running. Up to this point in our lives, we had never run more than a mile. We’re not terribly active people. I’ve never been to the gym in my life. The only physical activity we take part in is occasional hiking and backpacking. So you can see, our decision to start running was a drastic one.
On Sunday, Josh and I ran our first half-marathon. 13.1 miles.
Josh and I learned a great deal about life and filmmaking as we trained for our race. I’d like to share just a few points.
1) Set Goals. It is very important to have goals if you want to accomplish something (in our case, write and direct.) Once you have those goals set, take baby steps every day/week to reach those goals.
If you focus on the big picture, you will quickly become overwhelmed. (13.1 miles???) But if you focus on the day to day tasks at hand, you’ll eventually reach your goal and you won’t realize how.
When we set out to make Dangerous Calling, our first feature, it was a pretty daunting task. But we had a laundry list of things that had to be done and we just worked the plan, taking it little by little. And now, we have a feature under our belt that we’re tremendously proud of. Set a goal and take small do-able steps to achieve that goal.
2) Conquer Your Mind. Running is just a mind game. It’s all about pushing yourself past what you think you can do.
Every week, we’d run several short runs and then one long one on the weekend. What we discovered was that if we could run 4 miles, then 5 miles was doable. If we could run 5, then 6 was doable. Our bodies weren’t changing that drastically, just our minds – what we thought we could do.
Change your mind – decide that you are capable of more than you or anyone else thinks.
9 months ago, I thought running 13.1 miles was impossible. I was wrong. What are you attempting that looks impossible?
Every week we highlight one film airing on Turner Classic Movies. This is an especially good week. It’s been tough to choose just one. Check the schedule to see what’s playing. This week’s pick is the film that made John Wayne a star – John Ford’s Stagecoach.
Westerns were nothing new in 1939. Hollywood had been making them for years. Since the very beginning in fact. What made Stagecoach different was that it was one of the first to be treated as more than just a “B” picture. Filmed on location in Monument Valley (Ford’s favorite location), Stagecoach follows the story of several different people from different walks of life as they share a Stagecoach ride through indian country.
There is some great action in this film, but it’s the characters that really shine. John Wayne is amazing as the misunderstood outlaw Ringo Kid, but this is a true ensemble piece. Every actor shines in his or her respective roles. Definitely check this one out. And stick around all night for an evening of John Ford westerns.
Stagecoach (1939) – Tuesday, May 4 at 8:00pm EST
A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country.
Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine Dir: John Ford BW-96 mins, TV-G
This week, I’ve been posting a recap of last weekend’s TCM Classic Film Festival here in Hollywood, California. We’ve gone through Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Today, I’ll recap Sunday, the 4th and final day at the festival.
Josh took his wife Becca to see Damn Yankees! (1958) on Sunday morning while I watched my nephew. Leonard Maltin introduced the film. Afterwards, TCM on-air host, Ben Mankiewicz interviewed Tab Hunter, the star of the film. I can’t say anything about Damn Yankees! – I’ve never seen it. You can hear the audio:
Leonard Maltin introduces Damn Yankees!
Ben Mankiewiz and Tab Hunter discuss Damn Yankees!
That afternoon, I went over to Grauman’s Chinese and saw Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy (1983.) Jerry Lewis, Robert Deniro, and Sandra Bernhard star in this dark comedy. I really enjoyed the film, but I can see why it wasn’t as popular as some of Scorsese’s other films. I was chatting with a fellow festival attendee and he put it best: The King of Comedy didn’t do well in the box office because audiences were expecting more comedy and got more Sandra Bernhard. And boy, do you get to see a lot of her. Way more than I ever wanted to. 
Here is the synopsis from TCM.com:
A would-be comic kidnaps a talk-show host to win a guest shot on his show.
If you are a fan of Deniro and Scorsese or if you want to see Jerry Lewis in the best dramatic performance of his career, rent The King of Comedy. You can hear audio of Ben Mankiewicz introducing the film here:
Ben Mankiewicz introduces The King of Comedy.
The closing film of the festival was Fritz Lang’s, Metropolis (1927.) Josh and I arrived an hour and a half early to ensure we got a seat. And it was a good thing we did. Just about every festival attendee was trying to get in to Grauman’s Chinese to see the movie. The stand-by line stretched way down Hollywood Blvd. I’m positive none of those people got in. It was the place to be in Hollywood that night.
While waiting for the screening to start, we noticed Jeff Goldsmith from Creative Screenwriting Magazine and Podcast was standing a few rows in front of us. Josh reached out to him on Twitter (we are true introverts) and he told us to come say hi. So we did and he was incredibly nice. I LOVE his podcast. He conducts screenings and then records Q&As with the writer or writers of the films he shows. Check it out on iTunes.
Robert Osborne was there to introduce the film and he again received a standing ovation. People LOVE him. He made a special announcement – the festival will occur again this time next year in Hollywood. The crowd was ecstatic. Check out the audio here:
Robert Osborne introduces Metropolis.
Metropolis was accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra. They were great but it was a little deceiving. We assumed that meant a full orchestra but the Alloy Orchestra is a 3 piece techno-style band. At first I was disappointed but after the film started, I realized Metropolis shouldn’t have a sweeping John Williams-esque score anyway. The Alloy Orchestra did a great job. They must have been exhausted after playing for over 2 hours straight.
This was the North American premiere of the most complete cut of Metropolis. This version had new footage that was recently found in a 16mm version of the film in Argentina. There is still a few minutes of Metropolis still missing. Maybe one day, we’ll get to see every last frame of the movie. Until then, this cut is the best we have. If you get a chance, check it out. I’m sure it will be on DVD in the coming months.
That’s it for our experiences at the TCM Classic Film Festival. In all, I saw 11 films over 4 days. A great big THANK YOU goes out to TCM for allowing us to attend. We had a blast. Every element of the festival appeared to run smoothly and in order. I always felt like the staff and volunteers were well informed and in control. The number of filmmakers and actors at each of the screenings was astounding. I recommend everyone start saving for next year’s event. It is well worth it to any fan of classic cinema.
Also, check out Leonard Maltin’s very eloquent recap of the festival. It’s a treat. And don’t forget that you can enjoy classic movies every day of the year thanks to Turner Classic Movies. Tune in!
In case you missed the last few days, we’ve been recapping our time at the TCM Classic Film Festival. We’ve already gone over what happened on Thursday, Day 1 as well as Friday, Day 2.
Today, we’ll focus on Saturday, Day 3 at the festival.
We started the day in one of the smaller Mann’s Chinese theaters for a screening of Sunset Blvd (1950.) The film should have been shown in Grauman’s Chinese, but what can you do? Nancy Olson was on hand to introduce the film. She was every bit as lovely and engaging as she was in the film. Here story about her kiss with Holden was priceless. You can hear the audio here:
Nancy Olson introduces Sunset Blvd.
Sunset Blvd. got out later than we had hoped so we missed our chance to see The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) in Grauman’s Chinese. We opted to see a film we hadn’t seen before, Leave Her to Heaven (1946) starring Gene Tierney.
TCM.com gives this synopsis -
A beautiful neurotic will stop at nothing to hold onto her husband’s love.
One thing that struck us about Leave Her to Heaven was its similarities to our feature, Dangerous Calling. There was a lodge, a crazy lady, and even a lake drowning. But we promise, we had never seen Leave Her to Heaven before. You can find out more about our film over at www.DangerousCalling.com
Leave Her To Heaven is significant in that movies like this were generally shot in black and white with high contrast images. Leave Her to Heaven was shot in beautiful Technicolor and in wide open spaces. It took us both off guard. I didn’t expect it to get as dark tonally as it did.
Darryl Hickman, who played the brother of the man Gene Tierney married, was in attendance. I can’t tell you any more about his role without giving away much of the plot. You can hear Robert Osborne and Darryl Hickman discuss the film here:
Darryl Hickman and Robert Osborne discuss Leave Her to Heaven. (Spoiler alert!)
Next up was Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) over at Grauman’s Chinese. This was a special treat because Eva-Marie Saint and Martin Landau were on hand to introduce the film. We were both struck with how well NxNW plays with an audience. It’s quite a bit funnier than you realize when watching it at home on your tv.
Robert Osborne, Eva-Marie Saint, and Martin Landau discuss North by Northwest.
After that, we went over to the Egyptian to see a beautiful print of Singing in the Rain (1952.)
While waiting in line, there was a zombie flash mob on Hollywood Blvd. About 200 zombies walked down the street moaning groaning on the hunt for human flesh. The funny thing is, nobody thought anything of it. This IS Hollywood after all.
Stanley Donen, one of the directors, was on hand to introduce the film. At first it didn’t make sense that he would still be alive. I always assume Singing in the Rain is older than it is – but at the time is was made, it was a period film, set 30 years prior. You can listen to Mr. Donen and Mr. Osborne discuss one of my favorite films of all time here:
Stanley Donen and Robert Osborne discuss Singing in the Rain. (My apologies for the quality. You might have to ride the levels a bit.)
After the movie, we headed over to Club TCM to listen to a four piece jazz/swing band. You can see video here. Such a cool vibe. If the night life in Hollywood was like this, I’d be out at the clubs every night.
That was it for day 3. Check out our tweets from that day.
Jeremiah:
- Up early. Hitting Sunset Blvd (the movie) at the TCM film festival. #tcmff Love that movie. 8:12 AM Apr 24th
- Nancy Olson shared great anecdotes about Sunset Blvd. Loved the movie on the big screen. I always fall for Nancy when I see it. #tcmff 12:01 PM Apr 24th
- After seeing 6 classic films, I REALLY want to smoke a cigarette. And I hate smoking. Forget Buick. Get a tobacco company as sponsor #tcmff 12:03 PM Apr 24th
- Just saw Leave Her to Heaven. Gene Tierney in a thriller. Scary lady. Makes me afraid to ever get married. Haha. #tcmff 2:18 PM Apr 24th
- Martin Landau, Eva Marie Saint, and Robert Osborne just introduced North By Northwest. #tcmff 3:12 PM Apr 24th
- North by Northwest was amazing. Cool to see a Hitchcock film with a packed audience at the Chinese. #tcmff Eva and Martin were great. 6:31 PM Apr 24th
- In line for Singing in the Rain at the Egyptian. #tcmff Big crowd here. Clearly the movie to see this evening http://twitpic.com/1i7yek 6:36 PM Apr 24th
- Cant believe he’s still alive. RT @JoshDaws: Singing in the Rain. So stoked for this. The director is here to talk about it. #tcmff 6:54 PM Apr 24th
- Seeing Singing in the Rain on the big screen has to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a theater. Wow. Unforgettable. #tcmff 9:36 PM Apr 24th
- Hanging in Club TCM in the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Cool band playing. #tcmff Love this vibe. http://twitvid.com/US8SI 9:39 PM Apr 24th
Josh:
- Leave Her To Heaven had a lot of similarities to Dangerous Calling. I swear we had never seen it before. http://j.mp/cn7D2x #tcmff 2:41 PM Apr 24th
- You haven’t seen Hitchcock until you see his films on the big screen with a huge audience. Unbelievable experience. #tcmff 6:30 PM Apr 24th
- Looks like some sort of flash mob of zombies is walking down Hollywood Blvd. Weird place. 6:42 PM Apr 24th
- Singing in the Rain. So stoked for this. The director, Stanley Donnen is here to talk about it. #tcmff 6:49 PM Apr 24th
- Singin’ in the Rain on the big screen is pure cinematic joy. My face hurts from smiling. #tcmff 9:21 PM Apr 24th
Yesterday, I gave my wrap-up of Thursday, Day 1 at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Today, on to Friday, the first full day at the festival.
We started the day with a beautiful digital print of King Kong (1933) at Grauman’s Chinese theater. Leonard Maltin was on hand to introduce the film. He pointed out that we were about to see King Kong where it had originally premiered 77 years earlier. You can hear the full audio here:
Leonard Maltin introduces King Kong
The film, of course, was fantastic. What they were able to accomplish in 1933 without CG is phenomenal. Someone tell me, why do we use so much CG nowadays?
Josh and I lamented the Peter Jackson version of King Kong. It had such potential. I wonder why he thought it necessary to tell the story in almost 3 hours when Merian C. Cooper did the story just fine in only 90 minutes. There’s a great film in PJ’s footage, it just needs to be cut together. If you haven’t seen the original King Kong, rent it!
Next we went back to Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to hear A Conversation between Peter Bogdanovich and Leonard Maltin. This was the highlight of the event. As you may know if you follow this blog or my twitter account, I have recently developed an appreciation for Bogdanovich’s films – Paper Moon being my favorite – and it was fascinating to hear stories about the productions of his most popular films.
Peter Bogdanovich is one of our last living links between old and new Hollywood. He spent hours and hours interviewing all of the great filmmakers of the 30′s and 40′s. He wrote a book called Who the Devil Made It in which he printed his interviews with such greats as Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, and Fritz Lang. I went home and ordered the book that night and have begun reading it.
I recorded the audio but sadly, the PA system wasn’t great in the room so it is very echo-y. I won’t be posting it. But you can look up Peter Bogdanovich on youtube.com and see him tell stories of these great filmmakers and see him do impressions of each of them. He’s quite impressive.
Mr. Bogdanovich was asked about current Hollywood films. He said that it used to be that genre films such as horror, action, sci-fi, etc… were the “B” pictures and films about people were the “A” pictures. Most of the money in Hollywood was spent on those films. But in the late 70′s, with the advent of the Blockbuster (Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), there started to be a shift. The “B” pictures became the “A” pictures. Now all the money in Hollywood is spent on genre films and barely any money is spent on films about people. The indie world is just about the only place making films about people. I thought this a fascinating point.
As always, Josh and I advocate the thinking man’s genre film – such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Unfortunately, with movies like Transformers and Clash of the Titans, all the effort is spent on the spectacle and no effort is spent on the story. Tell me you can see a difference between Transformers and Jaws, right? I suppose the average movie goer can’t and that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in today with brainless summer blockbusters. (Of course, there are exceptions as in The Dark Knight. These are the films we should be supporting.)
One final comment Mr. Bogdanovich made was his frustration with film editing today. He said directors used to hide their presence by making their cuts invisible. Now they call attention to it as if yelling, “Look Ma, I’m directing.” So true.
Josh and I briefly met Leonard Maltin after the discussion. Josh asked him if we could be expecting any more Disney Treasures. He said no. Apparently the current administration at Disney has no interest in the classics. That is a terrible shame. But Mr. Maltin was grateful for the 9 years he was able to work on the Treasures. I’m grateful for them too.
After that, we saw The Producers (1968) back at the Grauman’s Chinese. It was introduced by Mel Brooks.
I had never seen The Producers so I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by just how funny it was. Gene Wilder stole the show for sure.
Check out some video of Mel Brooks during the discussion before the film over at TCM.com.
Then we went over to the Egyptian and saw Casablanca (1942.) We were excited to find that Peter Bogdanovich was introducing the film along with Paul Henreid’s daughter. Henreid played resistance leader Victor Laszlo. Hear the audio:
Peter Bogdanovich discusses Casablanca with Paul Henreid’s daughter.
Finally, we closed the night at a 9:30 screening of Top Hat (1935), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I had never seen the film before – the only scene I had seen was shown in The Green Mile – “Heaven, I’m in Heaven…” I believe the song is called Cheek to Cheek. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It’s definitely one of the best Fred and Ginger movies.
Robert Osborne, the on air host of TCM, was on hand to introduce the film. Every time we saw him, he was always swarmed by adoring fans. He was a rock star at this event. Every time he introduced a film, he received a standing ovation. Check out the audio here:
Robert Osborne introduces Top Hat
That’s it for Friday. See our Friday tweets below:
Jeremiah:
- Going to see King Kong (1933) at the Chinese Theater in a little over an hour. Holy crap. #tcmff
- At Grauman’s Chinese Theater to see King Kong. Check out my recent post about it. #tcmff http://bit.ly/dBKKZM 9:57 AM Apr 23rd
- Overheard at Chinese. “Oh you’re a screenwriter? My grandparents’ story would make a great movie!” Never say this to a screenwriter #tcmff 10:03 AM Apr 23rd
- Cool to see @leonardmaltin introduce King Kong at the Chinese Theater. Got some cool audio to share. Kong premiered at the Chinese! #tcmff 12:07 PM Apr 23rd
- About to see a discussion between Peter Bogdanovich and @leonardmaltin. Stoked. Recently discovered Bogdanovich’s brilliance. #tcmff 12:56 PM Apr 23rd
- The highlight of the festival so far was hearing Peter Bogdanovich discuss film. #tcmff 2:19 PM Apr 23rd
- Seeing The Producers at the Chinese Theater. #tcmff Mel Brooks is supposedly here. 4:25 PM Apr 23rd
- M Brooks giving anecdotes about The Producers. #tcmff Dustin Hoffman was originally cast for a role in the film. Did The Graduate instead 5:02 PM Apr 23rd
- Really enjoyed The Producers at Grauman’s Chinese. Gene Wilder makes the film. #tcmff #tcmfest 6:40 PM Apr 23rd
- At the Egyptian to see Casablanca. Check out my recent blog post on the history of the Egyptian. http://bit.ly/aX1mFz #tcmfest #tcmff 6:42 PM Apr 23rd
- Casablanca about to start. Bogdanovich is here!!! #tcmfest #tcmff 7:07 PM Apr 23rd
- Casablanca was incredible. A dream to see on the big screen. Seeing Top Hat now. Robert Osborne is introducing it. #tcmff #tcmfest 9:33 PM Apr 23rd
- Top Hat. Estaire and Rogers were fantastic. Loved it. That’s it for day 2. Watched 4 movies today. “Heaven… I’m in heaven…” #tcmff 11:20 PM Apr 23rd
Josh:
- About to see King Kong at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. So nice! #tcmff http://twitpic.com/1hsngw 9:55 AM Apr 23rd
- King Kong was fun. Next up: @leonardmaltin and Peter Bogdanovich discuss something. I assume his career, but who knows. #tcmff 12:58 PM Apr 23rd
- Peter B on how O. Wells convinced him 2 shoot Picture Show in B&W. “B&W is an actor’s best friend. Name 1 good performance in color.” #tcmff 1:07 PM Apr 23rd
- Peter B on today’s directors: “Everybody today wants you to notice the cuts. They’re showboating. Look, ma! I’m directing!” #tcmff 1:22 PM Apr 23rd
- Not sure if this is a scoop or not, but @leonardmaltin just told me that there will be no more Disney Treasures DVDs. Sad. #tcmff 2:39 PM Apr 23rd
- Bogdanavich on the industry today: Genre films used to be the B pictures. Today that’s all they spend money on. #tcmff 3:48 PM Apr 23rd
- Grauman’s Chinese to see The Producers with Mel Brooks Q&A. #tcmff 4:29 PM Apr 23rd
- Left The Producers a little early to get in line for Casablanca at the Egyptian. One of my top 5. Endlessly rewatchable. #tcmff 6:45 PM Apr 23rd
- Bogdanavich in the house! He’s going to talk about Casablanca. I’d show up to hear him talk about dirt! #tcmff 7:08 PM Apr 23rd
- Wow. Casablanca on the big screen was amazing. Such a brilliant film. #tcmff 9:29 PM Apr 23rd
- Just saw Top Hat. My favorite Astaire-Rogers film. I want to be Fred Astaire. That guy could dance like no other. #tcmff 11:22 PM Apr 23rd
As you may know, Josh and I attended the TCM Classic Film Festival this past weekend and I wanted to give a recap of the festival. We had an amazing time and I highly recommend all of you planning to attend next year.
Today, I’ll go over opening night.
We arrived at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to pick up our press credentials around 4:30. After that, we walked around the hotel. In the Blossom Room (which is the site of the first Academy Awards in 1929), there was a bar/lounge setup called Club TCM. The vibe was total classic Hollywood from the music to the decor. There was a projector showing scenes from classic films as well as posters and photographs hanging on all the walls.
Our press passes gave us access to everything except the opening night movie, A Star is Born (1954.) Apparently, that was a red carpet event with many stars in attendance. Grauman’s Chinese Theater was blocked off and had red carpet and a press area for photographs. We watched from across the street, feeling very much like outsiders. But since we didn’t have to pay for our $500 passes, we didn’t complain.
What we did get to see was Frank Capra’s action-adventure, Dirigible (1931.) I have read Mr. Capra’s autobiography, The Name Above the Title, and I remember him writing about the film but had never had the chance to see it. The film is incredibly impressive for it’s time. The action scenes were great. The special effects don’t hold up to today’s films but for 1931, they looked pretty great.
The acting in Dirigible was spotty at times. I think the transition from silent to talkie films was still going on. Some of the characters were very believable but one in particular was terrible – it reminded me of the overacting that was parodied in Singing in the Rain.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie very much. But if you aren’t familiar with Frank Capra’s work, I’d see one of his better known films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It Happened One Night, or It’s a Wonderful Life. Dirigible fits better with Capra’s Lost Horizon but doesn’t compare. Lost Horizon is a masterpiece.
Josh and I both agreed that Dirigible would make a great remake. I had no idea that the Navy had Dirigibles back in the 30′s.
Frank Capra’s grandson, Frank Capra III introduced the film and then had a Q & A afterwards. I have included the audio here:
Dirigible Intro with Frank Capra III
Dirigible Q&A with Frank Capra III
After that, we headed back over to the Hollywood Roosevelt to catch a few minutes of a poolside screening of Neptune’s Daughter starring Esther Williams. We only stayed for a few minutes soaking up the vibe. But we did get to see a famous scene from the movie – where they sing the song, “Baby, it’s cold outside.” It definitely makes me want to rent the movie.
After that, we got some free food in Club TCM and headed home to get a good night sleep for a full day of movies on Friday. I’ll discuss that tomorrow.
If you don’t follow us on Twitter, here is a recap of our tweets from Thursday night. Be sure to click the links for pictures and video of all that I discussed above.
Jeremiah:
- At TCM Film Fest. Chinese Theater. http://twitpic.com/1hmimp #tcmff 5:00 PM Apr 22nd
- I’m standing in the historic Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The site of the original Academy Awards in 1929. #tcmff Wow 5:56 PM Apr 22nd
- Sadly did not get in to A Star is Born at the Chinese. Only show we don’t have access to. Now about to see Dirigible by Frank Capra. #tcmff 6:10 PM Apr 22nd
- Dirigible was really good. Capra doing a special effects action picture. Fun. We met his grandson. #tcmff http://twitpic.com/1ho28c 8:47 PM Apr 22nd
- Poolside at the Roosevelt watching Neptune’s Daughter – an Esther Williams picture. Marilyn Monroe did an early photo shoot here. #tcmff 9:03 PM Apr 22nd
Josh:
- Robert Osborne at Club TCM. It’s like old Hollywood in here. #tcmff 5:00 PM Apr 22nd
- Club TCM in the Blossom Room at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Site of the first Oscar ceremonies. #tcmff http://twitvid.com/6MTVD 5:58 PM Apr 22nd
- In line to see early Frank Capra film Dirigible. His son and grandson will be in attendance. 6:10 PM Apr 22nd
- Poolside screening of an Esther Williams film at the Roosevelt. #tcmff http://twitpic.com/1ho5ev 9:00 PM Apr 22nd
Tonight is the beginning of the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California. Josh and I have press passes to attend the entire event. I am so excited.
This week I gave you a brief history of two of the venues being used for the festival – the Egyptian Theater and Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Today, let’s visit the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – the hub of the film festival.
Real estate investor Charles Toberman (responsible for both the Egyptian and the Chinese Theater) gathered a group of Hollywood players to invest in a series of real estate deals. Among those players were Jack Warner, L.B. Meyer, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Buster Keaton. One of their first ventures was the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel opened in August of 1927. It was named after Theodore Roosevelt. When it first opened, it had a roof garden with a fountain, flowers and awnings. There was a dance band in the evenings.
For a while, the Blossom Room ballroom served as a hot spot on Wednesday nights but it was never quite as popular as the Ambassador Hotel’s Coconut Grove.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had their first offices at the Roosevelt. And in May of 1929, they held the first Academy Awards, for the 1927-1928 movie season. Best Picture went to Wings. Errol Flynn served bootlegged gin out of a back room.
In 1935, the gift shop was remodeled into the Cinegrill, a popular night club at the time.
The rumor is that the ghosts of Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift haunt the hotel. Both stayed there for a period of time.
Shirley Temple took her first tap-dancing lesson at the Roosevelt from Bojangles.
Back in 2007, Josh and I were flown to LA by Ford to see a taping of the short-lived TV show, On the Lot. Ford put us up in the Hollywood Roosevelt. Read Josh’s account of that trip here and my account here. You’ll be interested to read about my thoughts on LA then compared to now.
Follow us on Twitter as we go to the TCM Film Festival beginning tonight. @joshdaws and @jeremiahdaws. We’ll be tweeting regularly about the films we’re seeing and the special guests we meet. You won’t want to miss out.
Josh and I are attending the TCM Classic Film Festival which begins Thursday, April 22nd, and goes through Sunday, April 25th. I can’t wait. I’m going through and giving a brief history of the three major venues. Yesterday, we looked at the Egyptian.
Today, let’s go visit Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
As a kid, I was introduced to this historic structure not by visiting Hollywood, California but by traveling down to Orlando, Florida. In 1989, Walt Disney World opened it’s third theme park, the Disney-MGM Studios.
The “wiener” of the park, or the central icon was Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Housed inside the theater is one of my favorite theme park rides of all time, The Great Movie Ride. See the video at the bottom of this page to get an idea of what the attraction is like.
Upon my first visit to Hollywood, I found that the Chinese Theater was much more touristy on the outside with random people dressed in costumes. My dreams of visiting classic Hollywood were dashed forever.
It wasn’t until I moved to LA last year that I actually went to see a movie there. There is only one screen so I had to wait till it was playing a film I wanted to see. Again, I had to wade through the costumed characters. But, once I entered the theater, I was instantly transported back in time. The Chinese Theater is truly the definition of a “movie palace.”
As with the Egyptian, Sid Grauman and Charles Toberman where behind the planning of the Chinese Theater. Initially intended to be a replica of a Chinese city, the plans were scaled way down. Construction began in 1925. Lon Chaney and several other Hollywood stars were present for the groundbreaking.
Cecil B. Demille’s film, The King of Kings, was the first film to play at the prestigious movie house. Tickets to the premiere were $22. Grauman staged a 3 hour prologue that caused many of the attendees to leave before the film was over. Demille was furious.
Grauman hit upon a great gimmick by taking handprints and footprints of stars in the cement in the forecourt of the theater. It gave the theater a sense of timelessness. Those cement squares are still there today.
As much as I hate having to wade through the costumed “performers” outside the theater, it isn’t anything new. In 1928 when Charlie Chaplin’s film, The Circus opened, Grauman hired a look-alike to perform in the forecourt and on stage. The major difference is that the people today aren’t affiliated with the theater (and could be twisted psycho-killers.) I once saw a “Joker” put a real knife to a girl’s neck – she just laughed. Stupid tourists.
Grauman sold his share to Fox Theaters in 1929 but remained as the theater’s managing director until his death in 1950. Boy, do I wish I could have met him.
Hollywood premieres are still held at the Chinese Theater. I hope to have a premiere there of my own film one day.
Remember to follow us on twitter as we hit the festival. We’re hoping to get some great audio and video of some of the special guests in attendance and maybe some interviews.
As Josh posted yesterday, we will be going to the TCM Film Festival in Hollywood. The festival begins Thursday night, April 22nd, and runs through Sunday, April 25.
The event will be held in three places – Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Egyptian Theater, and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
As a ramp up to the festival, I’ll be bringing you a brief history on each of these historic venues.
Today, let’s visit the Egyptian Theater.
In the early 1920′s, residents of Hollywood went to the movies in downtown Los Angeles. There were no movie palaces in Hollywood. The Egyptian was the first of it’s kind.
The Egyptian Theater was built by Charles Toberman (a real estate developer responsible for many other Hollywood landmarks) and Sid Grauman. Grauman had built other movie palaces in various other cities but none as prestigious as the Egyptian. The first design for the Egyptian wasn’t going to be Egyptian at all but Spanish. With the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, the country was obsessed with anything Egyptian so the design was changed.
The theater opened in October of 1922. The first film to play at The Egyptian was Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood.
The owner/manager, Sid Grauman was not merely a manager, he was a showman. He staged hundreds of stage shows (called prologues) that played before the movies that were shown in his theaters. The prologue for Robin Hood cost $250,000 and had 50 actors and dancers. Myrna Loy (The Thin Man, The Best Years of Our Lives) was discovered while performing in one of Grauman’s prologues.
Grauman was friends with many Hollywood stars, producers, directors, and studio chiefs. It was this connection that made it possible for him to operate his theaters without being a part of a theater chain. The studios happily let their films be played at his theaters.
In 1924, Grauman sold the Egyptian to Fox Studios. He remained on as manager until 1927. The theater was still called Grauman’s Egyptian Theater for years after that even though he had nothing to do with it.
I’ve seen one film at the Egyptian and I can honestly say, it is an exquisite movie palace. I’m looking forward to seeing more films there this weekend. With so much of old Hollywood gone, we are all very fortunate that the Egyptian has survived all these years.
Tomorrow, we’ll briefly look at the history of Grauman’s most famous theater, the Chinese Theater.
This week’s pick is one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite films. The Red Shoes is loosely based on a Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name. It’s about a ballet dancer who must choose between her passion for dance and the man she loves.
I caught this on TCM a few years ago and immediately fell in love with it. It’s shot in beautiful technicolor and has some truly amazing cinematography. British director, Michael Powell was a master at telling stories visually. There are some great shots and sequences in this film.
The story particularly resonates with me. It asks the question of whether or not we can ever really be great at anything AND have a life outside of that. Here’s some dialogue from the film that sums up what it’s all about:
LERMONTOV
Why do you want to dance?
VICKY
Why do you want to live?
LERMONTOV
Well, I don’t know exactly why, but... I must.
VICKY
That’s my answer too.
I choose to believe that you can follow your passion and have a strong family, but part of me wonders from time to time. It seems like so many successful people end up having horrible family lives. Is being great at something really worth missing out on or losing your family entirely? I don’t think so. I’m not willing to pay that price.
Thankfully there are at least a few examples of people who are great at what they do and have strong families. This past weekend I had the opportunity to hear John Lasseter and his wife speak about their family’s winery. They seem to have a really strong family and there’s no question that Lasseter is GREAT at what he does. That’s encouraging to me. That’s the kind of success I want.
The Red Shoes is a great film that will make you think about all of this. It stuck with me for several weeks after I saw it first.
Red Shoes, The (1948) – Thursday, April 22 at 8:00pm EST
A young ballerina is torn between her art and her romance with a young composer.
Cast: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann Dir: Michael Powell C-135 mins, TV-G
In other TCM news, Jeremiah and I will be attending the TCM Classic Film Fest later this week. We’ll be blogging all about it this week and next. Stay tuned. Let us know if you’ll be there.
