Key Films / 1936
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Dodsworth (William Wyler) / Wyler had a tendency to overthink his set-ups,
to work out every technical particular of a shot or sequence without
considering...
14 minutes ago
TCM 15th Anniversary Fan Programmers: An Interview With LasVegasLynn
Sunday, April 12, 2009
As part of TCM's 15th anniversary, the network has chosen 15 Fan Programmers to present some of their favorite films. Fan Programming starts this week. TCM has a terrific article here, and the programming list can be found here. If you've been watching TCM this April, you will have seen some of the programmers in commercials already.
Happily, I got to talk to LasVegasLynn of the terrific Classic Las Vegas website and blog. Lynn was chosen as one of the 15 Fan Programmers, making her the envy of tens of thousands of movie fans. She talks about her experience here, but also kindly consented to an interview for SBBN! Thanks, Lynn!
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Q: What did you do to prepare? What was the process you went through
in choosing just one film?
A: I'm still not sure how I got chosen to be a TCM Fan Programmer. I got the phone call in August from the TCM staff asking if I would be interested in coming to Atlanta to take part in their 15th Anniversary. I thought for sure they had the wrong person.
They were inviting 15 fans of the channel to be there. I've been a member of the TCM Message Boards for over five years now. Back in November 2007, they did a series of brand marketing interviews with fans in Los Angeles and in New York City. I had been involved with that as well.
Of the 15 fans chosen to be Fan Programmers, some of us came from the message boards, some from the brand marketing interviews, some were contestants in the 2007 Guest Programmer contest that the channel had sponsored (in fact, 14 year old Juan Castro, the youngest of the chosen 15, had submitted a video for that contest but had been too young to be considered at that time. So TCM wanted him to be a part of the Anniversary celebration to make up for that) and a couple of people like Lisa Mordente (daughter of Chita Rivera and Tony Mordente) were good friends of Robert O's.
After I got over the initial shock of being chosen, we were all asked to put together a list of ten films that meant something to us. Those lists would be given to the Programming Staff and they would go through the process of seeing which films were available.
It has never been more difficult to put together a list of ten films before. Each film on my list meant something to me. While "To Kill a Mockingbird" is my favorite film, I also knew that I was likely to cry trying to talk about it with Robert Osborne. Which brings up the biggest concern I had. The films on my list had to be films that I felt comfortable enough talking about on camera, in front of TCM's 75 million viewers and, most importantly, with Robert O. The last part of the equation was the toughest one for me. The last thing I wanted to do was to get tongue-tied.
My list of (potential) films turned out to be quite eclectic:
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Ocean's 11 (the original): It's the Las Vegas Strip the way we remember it being.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: For my dad.
The Searchers: Because John Wayne proves, again, what a good actor he was.
The Godfather: At it's heart, a story of family.
Chinatown: Because everyone thinks they know the story of how water came to Los Angeles.
The Iron Mask: Because no one enjoyed making movies more than Doug Fairbanks, Sr.
Cinema Paradiso: The ending montage is the best cinematic valentine ever.
L.A. Confidential: Because everyone thinks they know Los Angeles in the 1950s.
I'll be introducing and talking about "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" as well as the American West, John Ford and John Wayne. I'm a big John Ford fan and John Wayne is one of my favorite actors. I think he was a very good actor and I hope my points about that are part of the discussion on Wednesday night.
The entire interview took about a half-hour so I'm very curious to see what made the final cut so to speak.
Robert Osborne and Fan Programmers.Q: Behind the scenes: What sort of pre-filming prep did you do as far
as hair, make-up, lighting, and similar things go? (I'm really
curious about this, I've never officially been on television, just
ended up in the background of news and commercials on accident!)
A: The festivities began on Sunday evening with a cocktail party on the set at TCM Studios. TCM had arranged for two shuttle buses to take us all over to the studios. Each of us had been invited to bring a guest along on the trip making it about 30 people total.
Most of the TCM staff and Robert Osborne were there to greet us as we walked on the set. They had a lavish spread set out and the staff quickly began introducing themselves. That evening we met our segment producers. Each segment producer was responsible for three or four of us. I had talked with mine, a delightful young woman named Brittany, many times on the phone but this was our first opportunity to meet.
The party was terrific and Robert O made a point of talking to each of us that evening. He told us not to be nervous and if there were any problems during the interviews that we shouldn't worry as they could always do another take. It was a delightful evening. We met the VP of Programming, Charles Tabesh as well as the VP of Original Programming, Tom Brown and many of the other staffers. One thing is for sure, they all seem to love their jobs and they all love classic films.
Before we left for Atlanta, Brittany had encouraged us to bring a couple of wardrobe choices for the on-air interviews. She said there would be a stylist to help us with our make-up and hair. I'm incredibly hair-impaired (I missed that gene completely) so I was grateful when Robert O's own stylist took me under her wing and helped me with my hair. I was dressed in western attire (right down to my cowboy boots) and she ended up doing my hair in a french braid. It turned out really well because Joanne Dru has a similar style in the film.
The taping took about a half hour and it just seemed to fly by. Due to my preservation work in Las Vegas, I'm used to being on camera, but I was really surprised at how fast the interview went. Watching the morning interviews in the green room, time didn't go that fast.
The crew was great and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the Fan Programmer beginning tonight (if you post this for Monday) with Theresa Brown's introduction of "The Letter" starring Bette Davis.
Q: Bob Osborne: Is he the coolest person in the world or what?
A: Robert O is just the greatest. He made each one of us feel like we were special. He was gracious and kind to everyone, especially those who were initially nervous about being on camera.
One of my fondest memories is of him. They shot the interviews over two of the three days we were in Atlanta. That Monday evening after the staff had arranged for a special dinner for all of us at a local restaurant called Home. They had rented the restaurant out for the evening. Again, the TCM staff was there as well as Robert O. Before dinner, there was cocktails in the bar. I was sitting at the bar with one of the Fan Programmers, Kyle Kersten, that I knew from Los Angeles. We were talking with one of the TCM staff about the bad Richard Burton movie ("Doctor Faustus") playing on the channel.
Robert Osborne came up to us and joined our conversation. Kyle and I thought for sure that he was just mingling and wouldn't stay but a few minutes. We were wrong. Robert O talked with us until the announcement for dinner was made. We were very surprised at that.
In February here in Los Angeles, TCM sponsored a screening of "The Birds" at the Arclight Theaters in Hollywood. As part of the screening, Robert Osborne would be talking before the film with Tippi Hedren. The group of Fan Programmers (four of us) from Los Angeles were invited to attend. Luckily, we all sat together because before Robert O brought Ms. Hedren on stage he introduced us to the audience and explained a bit about the upcoming Anniversary that we were to be a part of. We weren't expecting that but again, he was just as cool and gracious in real life as he is on camera.
***
Thanks again, Lynn! We're all green with envy.
Don't forget: TCM's Fan Programming starts tomorrow, Monday April 13th, at 7:00 PM Central. It begins with my favorite Bette Davis movie "The Letter", so you know this whole week is going to be amazing.
Posted by Stacia at 9:16 PM 4 comments
Labels: events, interview, set your recorders, television
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4 comments:
I am in envious awe! I am also glad that Robert Osborne is as friendly as he seems on TV.
I think this is a great idea. Get some new faces and blood in there rather than hearing the same college professors and 'historians'... You, Jaime, and Ivan should've been chosen!
Thad, I can't speak for Ivan, but I can say with certainty that I have the face for radio and wouldn't make the most photogenic guest programmer. TCM seemed to have gotten a lovely bunch of guests, every one of them is at least cute, some downright handsome. (Can you call women handsome? Well, I just did.)
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