Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson have signed a deal to stay on as consultants to Turner Classic Movies through the end of this year.
In June 2023, they’d joined up for a year. But Spielberg told me at last week’s 30th anniversary cocktail party at the Four Seasons that he’s very excited. “It wouldn’t have happened unless David Zaslav got excited. And that’s because of Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy at Warner Bros.”
Last year Zaslav — new to the company — was transferring TCM to his Discovery side of the company. There were some upsetting headlines. But then the super directing trio intervened. DeLuca and Abdy took TCM over to Warner Bros. Now there’s a revival for the revivals.
Not only did Spielberg come to the party, so did a masked Paul Thomas Anderson. Plenty of guests came over from the annual AFI luncheon, also at the hotel, including Brian Cox, Margot Robbie, Quinta Brunson, Charles Melton, Rian Johnson, and eminent legendary producer George Stevens, Jr . One of them was veteran actress and acting teacher Diane Baker, who was a staple on TV in the 60s and played the mother of Brooke Smith in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
There was even a surprise appearance by four decade “General Hospital” star Kin Shriner. (Everyone wanted to meet him.)
There were plenty of announcements about TCM coming up including a rare appearance coming up by filmmaker, writer, director Elaine May. (See below.) There’s also a new franchise, called “Two for One,” with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double-feature of their choice each Saturday night. Special guests will include Scorsese, Spielberg, and Anderson, as well as Spike Lee, Patty Jenkins, Olivia Wilde, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more.
TCM will continue to celebrate a different star every month, including Marlon Brando and Lauren Bacall on what would be their 100th birthdays, as well as Eva Marie Saint, on her 100th birthday. Other stars featured throughout the year include Debbie Reynolds, Bela Lugosi, Ruth Roman and Gregory Peck. In addition, TCM will spotlight special Fox stars including Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone Power and Victor Mature.
And circle January 26th. The whole night on TCM is turned over to legendary filmmaker Elaine May. They’re going to show four of her movies in a row with wrap around interviews conducted by her famed producer and long time friend Julian Schlossberg. Elaine, 92 years old, a recent Tony Award winner, never does interviews!
The movies will be, in order, a documentary about Mike Nichols and Elaine May, then “A New Leaf,” “Mikey and Nicky,” and “Ishtar.” That should run til 4am, and they’ve left out my favorite movie, “The Heartbreak Kid.”
PS All the TCM hosts were present too — not only Ben Mankiewicz and Dave Karger, but I got to meet Film Noir expert Eddie Muller! A highlight of the weekend!
additional reporting by Leah Sydney
