TCM Classic Film Festival - Read All About It

Today begins the TCM Classic Film Festival hosted at several Hollywood venues by Turner Classic Movies.  Though I've never been to the TCMCFF, I've always enjoyed a ringside seat through the wonderful descriptions of my fellow classic film bloggers.  Their adventures and their enthusiasm are a lot of fun to follow.  If you aren't able to take in the festival, then by all means, enjoy the recap posts of the four days of old movie lovers' heaven through classic film blogs such as these:

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

Essays from the Couch

Out of the Past

Once Upon a Screen

Outspoken and Freckled

Classic Move Hub

...to name a few.  But for on-the-spot action, follow their trail on Twitter - #TCMFF.

Thank you to these bloggers and others who share their experiences on social media about the TCM Film Festival for those of us who don't get to go, and for sharing their love of classic films all year long.

Robert Osborne - Requiescat in Pace

When I recorded a movie on Turner Classic Movies, I often tried to get Robert Osborne's intro on the recording.  I will miss that very much.

Classic film fans mourn the passing of our Robert Osborne this week.  It is, for us, the end of an era.

We know something about the ending of eras.  To love classic films is to be acutely aware of the passage of time.  Fractures in the timeline are part of the study of classic films as much as they are in life.  Acknowledging them involves a degree of mourning, to be sure, but they always are accompanied by the sweet, blessed balm of pleasant memory and lessons learned.  So it will be with Mr. Osborne.

We'll always have Paris.

His appeal as a host to me and millions of old movie fans of all ages -- he is as dear to the millennials as he is to senior citizens -- is likely that rare mixture of wisdom, geniality, gentleness, and the respect he gives us as movie buffs.  Such gentlemanliness engenders our respect for him.  Also, for those of us who began our fandom long before the days of the Internet, who know what it was like to research a favorite film or actor from Who's Who volumes in the local town library -- we appreciate what effort it must have taken for him to compile his first book in 1965, Academy Awards Illustrated. Maybe we even used that book, if we were lucky enough that our library had a copy, for our own exploration of info on old movies.

Mr. Osborne is gone.  But that's almost like saying Humphrey Bogart is gone, or Clark Gable, or Barbara Stanwyck.  Are they really? If TCM gives us regular visits with our friends on the silver screen, then how are they gone?  We will still enjoy Mr. Osborne's influence in our lives, and enjoy the memory of his visits with us.

TCM is to hold a tribute weekend next week showing some of Mr. Osborne's many interviews.  I hope that they will make this a regular feature on the channel, perhaps at least once a week.  It will be delightful to visit with him again, in between our reunions with Hattie McDaniel, Bette Davis, and Paul Henried.

Several wonderful classic film bloggers have paid tribute to Robert Osborne this week.  Here are a few of them:

A Shroud of Thoughts by Terence Towles Canote.

Comet Over Hollywood by Jessica Pickens

Journeys in Classic Film by Kristen Lopez

End of an Era - Classic Film Fan Series - Final Episode

There are many issues under discussion today among classic film fans: the discovery of lost films, the expense of restoration, and most especially: what constitutes a classic film?

This last issue is, oddly, the most contentious.  It is often divided among age groups (though not always) that a classic is a movie made during the period of the studio system, i.e., from the early days of the twentieth century through the 1960s.  I have maintained that a classic film is one made before 1965.  I am not in favor of turning the word “classic” to mean something good, or beloved, or timeless (some of the best classic films are “dated” and this makes them valuable for study) but rather as it pertains to film, should only be a label to categorize a movie by its era.  Is a Three Stooges short better than The Godfathermovies?  Of course not. 

If someone enjoys Rocky (1976) better than they enjoy Golden Boy (1939), does that make Rocky the classic film instead of Golden Boy?  No.  Rockyis an Oscar-winning film from the 1970s.  It carries its own prestige.  But it is not a classic film.

I’m sure many classic film fans will read the above sentence and their heads are even now exploding in anger.  Sorry, but the point isn’t that your opinion is as good as mine, or that mine is as good as yours.  The point is to get beyond opinion and draft some sort of objective criteria so we may catalogue, describe, and share our information on classic films with future generations without muddying the waters about what we mean.  History has, for the most part, clear demarcation on eras:  the Jazz Age, The Restoration.  Art has clear demarcation on eras based on prominent style:  Impressionism, Dada, Modern Art.  Do we call an impressionistic painting Modern Art because it was painted in the 1960s?  No.  It’s an impressionistic painting produced in the 1960s.

This is the twelfth and final post in our year-long monthly series on the current state of the classic film fan.  We began this series musing on the unlikely campaign of Donald Trump. Our last post in November brought us to the stark and devastating realization that fascism is alive and well in America.  That’s quite a journey, one I had not expected to take.  Our movies, old and new, whether they address social issues or present fantasy, are a clear barometer of our pop culture, which makes them so important for study.

The label “classic” should be the least of our problems in our mission to promote these films, but if we can’t agree on even that, we won’t agree on which films to be worth saving.  We won’t be able to save them all.   

But to be honest, I must confess that my own definition of “classic” as films made before 1965 is only partly an objective assessment; in part, it is also a reflection of my age.  I was born in the early 1960s, and so when growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, the movies made in these decades were not classic; they were new.  In my middle-aged woman’s eye, they will always be in that vague category of “new”.  (With the same prejudice a younger fan will consider a 1970s movie as “old” because it was made before they were born.  The criteria is personal, and not objective.

When The Sound of Music (1965) was first shown on television in 1976, it was a monumental prime time event—but not because it was a “classic”, but because it was a modern blockbuster.  That will seem ludicrous to younger fans, I know.  When I was growing up in the Baby Boomer’s joyous embrace of “Nostalgia”, the old movies we resurrected were just old (and some not very old at that).  Nobody called them classic films.  Classicwas a label that came much later, like Film Noir.  Nobody called it Film Noir when I was growing up.  We were not a cadre of geeks—pop culture was still in the backwash of the Golden Age of film, which was still the gold standard of entertainment.

These movies were shown on every channel (even if there were only four channels) at any hour of the day.  The stars and character actors and bit players of those old movies were, for the most part, not retired and they were still working on television.  They were still part of popular culture.

The deaths of Judy Garland and Bing Crosby rocked mainstream society—not just old movie buffs.  Conversely, we had not yet entered the age of deep mourning for the loss of anyone connected with classic films as we are today, when it seems that each year we cling to the fewer and fewer left, and it is we, not they, that do not go gentle into that good night.  Today our classic film fandom is one part celebration of discovery, and one part mourning the “in memoriam” reel.

Baby Boomers were spenders and collectors, and most of the books, posters, kitsch, VHS and DVD classic film releases were meant for their consumption.  Younger generations will take over, and their exploration of classic films, their expression of their fandom will take different forms.

But there will be less of them. 

We’ve discussed in previous posts in this series that Turner Classic Movies is, with few exceptions, the main source of classic film viewing in this country.  Current discourse on whether TCM is diluting its brand by showing modern films to the detriment of classic film programming (while recommending wine from the TCM Wine Club) will be a moot point if younger generations do not even subscribe to cable television, as seems to be the case.

Many younger people get most of their entertainment online, and most of what is offered them through streaming and download services are modern films.  Their choice of viewing becomes narrower as they veer towards only current movies and TV shows.  They will be exposed to little that does not already interest them.  TCM’s venture into streaming cannot yet replace the range of its network offerings.

The Warner Archives release of films to the home market is very welcome, and we may continue to wonder if Universal will ever get on board, but even these may have a limited future commercial exposure.  Future generations will not have developed an interest in them enough to make it financially worthwhile to producers of DVDs and Blu-ray, or streaming, in a world where future generations have not been exposed to classic films on a scale grand to begin with -- enough to once again make these movies a force in pop culture and consumerism.

It has been noted that the collectibles market is currently depressed because the Boomers, who were tremendous consumers and are now at a point of downsizing in their lives, are not finding buyers for their “stuff.”  Younger generations are not interested.

We classic films buffs naturally attempt to share our love of these movies with younger friends and members of our families.  That will have a huge influence in their lives, and is a great gift to them.  But this is not the same as being exposed to classic films not as a special event or peculiar hobby, but as mainstream entertainment—something not just their parents are talking about, but their friends as well.

I had suggested in an earlier post in this series to teach classic films in school.  Another way to broaden the exposure of these movies to younger viewers might lie with the Internet, where they turn anyway for their entertainment.  We’ve seen how TCM and others are streaming and making available films for download, but these are still paid services.  There may still be another and more effective way to get new classic film fans.

YouTube, Internet Archive, and other free Internet channels.

Paramount has already set up a channel currently showing 91 of its classic films for free viewing.  The beauty of YouTube is not only is it free, but the operation is such that the viewer is immediately exposed to a number of other similar choices.  We’ve all spent hours on YouTube, not intending to, just because we were looking for something particular and got sucked in to watching several other videos.  The search engine is also effective.  YouTube has the power to expose us to old movies and old TV shows we had not known existed.  It is a smorgasbord of video pop culture history.

The video quality on YouTube obviously does not lend the best viewing experience—it’s not like sitting in a restored Art Deco theater watching a shimmering nitrate film—but it’s something free and easy to obtain, to spread the experience of enjoyment and knowledge of old movies, and is a channel that younger generations already know about and use frequently.  Classic film buffs—and the corporations which have a library they’d like to monetize—would be well advised to create new fans by building up in them a taste for their product.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) would be forgotten today had it not been shown yearly on broadcast television for a couple of generations.  Its popularity spawned VHS and DVD releases, toys, games, books, clothing—a variety of merchandise that came in the wake of its popularity, which came in the wake of its familiarity.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) would be forgotten today had it not been shown yearly on broadcast TV, and became so popular that not only is it firmly established in pop culture, but the copyright, which had lapsed, was scooped up again, making it once again a valuable product.

We see the same scenario with A ChristmasStory (1983), which is not a classic film, but has become a beloved Christmas tradition, and again, firmly part of pop culture, with annual showings on the cable network TBS, which runs a 24-hour marathon every Christmas.  Because of this we can shout out lines from the movie.  Houses on the street where it was filmed have been turned into tourist attractions.  You can buy the iconic lamp, for heaven’s sake.

The popularity came with familiarity: an audience was not found, or mined, or marketed to—it was created from scratch.

The Boomers grew up watching movies on free broadcast television, became classic film fans in an era of a nostalgia craze fueling it.  However, the movies they watched were fading prints cut up for commercials.  The art houses showing them on the big screen were few and far between.  The only media by which favorite films could be owned and shown at home whenever they wanted was with 16mm film, a screen, and a projector.  Despite these challenges, an army of old movie buffs kept alive their interest enough for the media conglomerates to have a built-in consumer base when the technology developed to produce films on VHS and DVD for a new, huge home market.

To say that classic film fans have it easy today by comparison is not entirely true.  Yes, they have a better quality video experience, a large assortment of movies available for the home market, but their challenge is twofold:  having the money to purchase product that is continually being improved, restored and re-released (how many copies of our favorite films can we own?); and second, just being exposed to these films on a scale that enables them to digest them as part of their American heritage.

This last notion is, I think, something on which we need to focus more attention.  I am concerned not only on the astounding idea that a nation so passionately devoted to defeating fascism should recently embrace it—fascists used to be the bad guys, on that we could at one time all agree—but if a younger viewer cannot absorb a movie in the context of its era, then all the message, the art, the power, or even the technical beauty of a classic film will not penetrate their sensibilities.  They will consider classic films to be remote, incomprehensible, and merely weird relics of a primitive age.

In practical terms, there is a real disconnect for younger viewers in what they see in classic films—for instance, the racism, the sexism (as if these things have ceased to exist in their modern world), among so much else that they are unable to accept in a film when they looking for images that affirm their own experience.  It becomes not just a matter of taste—“my classic is not your classic”—but actually being intellectually or emotionally unable to critique the art form.  Finding little they can relate to in it, it becomes as lost to them as if they had never discovered it.

Take, for example, this review of a new release this year for the first time on DVD of A Woman’s Vengeance (1948), a movie we covered in this previous post.  The young reviewer is, as with many Internet writing gigs, reviewing the product, which is the new DVD.  She is not really writing an essay on the movie, though she attempts to discuss the plot as part of her product review.  She sounds as if she were reviewing a new gadget or cleaning product.  She displays an ignorance of the film, the era, the actors and classic films in general as an art form.  As a result, her tone is flippant, dismissive, lapsing into vulgarity in the modern attempt at communication that tries hard to be clever, and her judgment on the product is based on whether she feels is it a worthwhile purchase.  This is the most shallow and sophomoric “film criticism” that can be produced (not counting IMDb reviews, which are frequently baffling in their obtuse triteness and often rife with errors), yet it is now the prevailing style on Internet product sites.  Future classic film fans, however many they may be, will be getting the bulk of their information from such product surveys (assuming classic film blogs are not still floating around on the Internet and the algorithms are kind to us to generate at least some traffic).

There are a lot of movies still hidden in studio vaults, university archives, and a basement or two.  Will future generations seek them out, donate to have them restored?  Will they see any worth in even pursing this?  If Lon Chaney’s London After Midnight (1927) is ever found, will future generations care?

Are we, the current classic film fans—from Boomers to Millennials—the last audience? 

There is, as those who have attended the TCM Classic Film Festival and other such events know a joyous and exciting social aspect among gatherings of classic film fans.  My hope is that many more of these festivals will pop up around the country, or just in the form of small regional clubs, so that it may be easier for fans to connect in person with others who love old movies.  This breaks barriers between generations and demonstrates the genuine camaraderie and inclusiveness that exists among classic film fans—even if we can’t agree on what a classic is.  How much the corporations cater to our interests, based on their ability to profit from it, will largely depend on our numbers and our demonstrated passion.  It will also depend on their ingenuity to create a market for their product.

One hundred years from now, someone just discovering Buster Keaton, Myrna Loy, or Humphrey Bogart will be captivated.  We know that.

But how many like-minded fans will there be left to share the joy?

This ends our year-long series on the state of the classic film fan.  I wish I could end it on a more hopeful note, but hope is a fleeting thing these days.  This will be my last post this year.  I have a new book to get out, and so I need some time.  I’ll see you back here on Thursday, January 19^th for a new year of blogging.  I hope to accentuate the positive next year and find some hopeful and inspirational moments in classic film to discuss.  We’re going to need them.

Until then, may I wish all of you who celebrate a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, and very happy and hopeful New Year.  Thank you for the pleasure of your company.

 ***********************

Previous posts in this series are below:

Part 1 of the year-long series on the current state of the classic film buff is here: A Classic Film Manifesto. 

Part 2 is here: Cliff Aliperti’s new book on Helen Twelvetrees.

Part 3 is here: An interview with Kay Noske of Movie Star Makeover.

Part 4 is here: Evolution of the Classic Film Fan.

Part 5 is here: Gathering of the Clan at Classic Film Festivals.

Part 6 is here: John Greco’s new book of film criticism: Lessons in the Dark.

Part 7 is here: Tiffany Vazquez, new TCM host.

Part 8 is here:  Planet of the Apes at the Cineplex.

Part 9 is here:  Aurora & Classic Movies and More Interview.

Part 10 is here: A Canadian's Perspective: A Visit from Paddy Nolan-Hall.

Part 11 is here: Naïve Idealism.

*********************

The audio book for Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is now for sale on Audible.com, and on Amazon and iTunes.

Also in paperback and eBook from Amazon.

Aurora & Classic Movies and More Interview

Time for Part Nine in our monthly series on the current state of the classic film fan.  

Today, we visit with Aurora Bugallo, whose blog Once Upon a Screen is a delightful gallery of info and photos on our favorite classic films and TV.  A prolific contributor to social media (who takes my favorite photos -- of the top of her head below some famous tourist attractions or at some event -- I really think she should put out a coffee table book on these hysterical pics), and whose latest venture is a dynamic and entertaining series of podcasts on YouTube called Classic Movies and More, which she hosts with Annmarie Gatti and Robert Medaska.  

Here’s our discussion on classic movies…and more:

JTL:  How did you, Annmarie Gatti, and Robert Medaska come to know each other, and then come together to plan this venture and to facilitate it?

AB:  Well, let’s see…I first “met” Annmarie on Twitter.  She was one of the first people I connected with on the platform.  After I visited her site I was blown away by its scope and we had plenty to discuss there so it was a seamless connection. She’s also always been incredibly supportive of my blog.  When we met in person at the 2013 Turner Classic Movie Film Festival it was as though we knew each other.  Among the things we’d discussed almost since we met is the possibility of collaborating in some way on a classic movie-related project, but we couldn’t quite put our finger on what. 

Rob and I met at a faculty meeting about three years ago.  We both teach at the same university and the program director couldn’t wait to introduce us knowing we had classic movies in common.  Soon after we met Rob stated mentioning the possibility of collaborating on something classic movie related.  About a year later I thought it would be a great idea to introduce Annmarie and Rob knowing they had similar interests.  I knew I could only benefit from being around the two of them.  As a filmmaker Rob has impressive technical knowledge and Annmarie is a master of all things social media.  It really took no time for the three of us to decide on the YouTube show idea.

JTL:  In one article on my series this year of the current state of the classic film fan, I mention how technology has allowed us to move beyond the movie theater, the home viewing, and extend our classic film viewing onto the Internet. Here, we not only watch movies, but we connect with other fans. In a do-it-yourself world of self-publishing of music and of books, it seems a natural that classic film fans would want to also move to a do-it-yourself realm of programming. From my post in April:

There are also some intriguing home-grown programming—such as Dana Hersey, who hosted The Movie Loft on Boston-area TV-38 in the 1980s is launching an Internet classic movie streaming channel. Other hosts of online podcasts demonstrate that being a classic film fan is continually evolving according to the technology that allows us to appreciate old movies.  No longer content to be “programmed to”, the classic film fan is now taking the reins and doing the programming. 

Do you see CLASSIC MOVIES AND MORE as a part of this trend? And what do you hope to accomplish with the project?

AB:  I absolutely do.  That trend is the primary reason why Rob insisted on this type of show.  I’m a big fan of classic movie podcasts and subscribe to several that I enjoy immensely, but – mostly thanks to Rob – we wanted something a little different where we can offer the sights as well as the sounds of people and places that mean something to our classic film community.

As far as what we would like to accomplish – as we mention in the pilot episode of “Classic Movies and More” we have lofty goals.  We’d like to go everywhere and talk to everybody.  We base everything that we’ve laid out so far on our own interests as fans and the show being “by fans, for fans” is central to why we decided to do it.  We want to talk to the fans that play a role in keeping the movies and stars alive.  We want to promote authors (like you) and others who put in extraordinary time and effort to ensure the people whose work we admire stay relevant.  Aside from allowing the three of us a new way to express how much we love these movies we want to have a forum for all fans to do so as well.  Of course that includes historians, projectionists, accompanists, theater owners, bloggers and what have you because at the core of most of their work is a fan. 

JTL:  It's terrific that you've covered the small but significant stories that I think are not given much play elsewhere - the Biograph episode, the Bob Furmanek interview.  I especially enjoyed the three-part series with Meredith Ponedel on her father and aunt, Dottie Ponedel, who had such an impact on the industry and such warm connections with so many stars as a makeup artist. (From a technical aspect, I also would like to mention that I thought the camera, the editing, and the patter of the interview was extremely well done.)  I would love to see some of your episodes broadcast on TCM to achieve a wider audience.  How do you investigate these story ideas, or how do they come to you?

Also, in the pilot episode, the possibility of future podcasts on visiting classic film-related museums was mentioned. I'd love to see that.

AB:  I’m so glad to know you enjoyed those episodes.  Meredith Ponedel was a happy accident who came to our attention thanks to Kelly Kitchens who runs the “Going to TCMFF” Facebook page.  Meredith was excited to talk to us and we were riveted by her stories. Naturally we thought other fans would be as well.  I agree that Annmarie did a fantastic job with that interview.  As for Bob Furmanek – he’s a tireless advocate for classics particularly true in his efforts to save 3-D films.  Bob and I have become friends and I love what he’s doing.  I’m hoping we can promote any and all projects he has on the horizon.  Finally, the Biograph segment came about because Professor Ultan who’s the Bronx Borough Historian also happens to teach at the same university that I do.  He’ll be featured in another piece soon where we visit Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.  All I can say about him is that if I lived five lifetimes I wouldn’t know what he knows so it’s thrilling to be in his presence.

We’ve been lucky so far with the people we’ve been exposed to through the classic film connections we’ve made.  I expect that these connections can only get deeper and larger in scope.  We come up with ideas in a variety of ways, but consult on an overall plan that focuses on what we can do locally first and branch out from there.  We have so much film history in our own backyard so to speak that there’s no rush to travel the world - although eventually we want to.  We’ll soon be incorporating Skype interviews/discussions as part of the programming, which will certainly increase the number of people we can talk to and topics we cover.  Rather than covering “newsy” topics we prefer (perhaps) more obscure things that are not necessarily found in other places and museums are definitely in the cards.  That said, we loved doing the pre-TCMFF review and a pre-Capitolfest commentary was also released prior to that festival, which enables us to stay topical in some ways.  As for our content ever appearing on TCM – well, we’d love that!!  Who knows?

JTL:  The Holy Cross Cemetery episode was poignant, not only for its tribute to the stars, but to see that tribute expressed by classic film fans and bloggers Laura Grieve and Kellee Pratt.  Classic film fans themselves taking respectful ownership of the chronicling of classic films is a huge aspect of the advent of blogs.  Watching favorite films is our main activity as old movie fans, but it is a passive participation.  Blogging -- and producing your CLASSIC MOVIES AND MORE series  -- is an active, and proactive response to the love of old movies. Do you see fans as becoming more proactive in their love of old movies -- supporting restoration, etc.?  What is your mission in producing this series?

AB:  It’s difficult to gauge fandom in general, but as far as our community of classic film fans goes there’s no doubt that we are active participants when it comes to lauding the movies, people and eras we dedicate time to.  Of course being proactive has been facilitated by social media and I’m constantly taken aback by how passionate fans are or how much time they dedicate to what may be a small part of their lives.  Our connecting en masse across mediums definitely tends to make us even more prone to reaching out and taking part in classic movie related activities, donate to restoration projects and many other ways of spreading the word well beyond simply watching a film.  In the same fashion those who have projects related to film restoration, special screenings, new book releases and so forth can reach out to a targeted audience immediately and often.  That was my long-winded way of saying yes, by virtue of the connections I think fans are definitely taking a proactive approach to fandom in a variety of ways. 

We have a few specific goals for ‘Classic Movies and More,’ but in reality the world of classic movies is our oyster.  As I mentioned, the “for fans, by fans” is important to us, but beyond that spreading the word about something we care about deeply is our primary focus.  The people we want to talk to are legion and the places we want to visit are numerous.  I feel like we’re kids in a candy store thanks to the many passionate, knowledgeable people we know about thanks to the active roles they now take across social media.

If you don’t mind, I’ll circle back to the idea of connections with regard to the Holy Cross Cemetery episode we did.  What makes that special for us and certainly has a lot to do with our decision to do this show is the fact that we were there together and were able to express our appreciation for these people who we never met, but who have nonetheless touched our lives in significant ways.  Knowing others share these feelings makes it all that much more rewarding.

JTL:  You and Annmarie did a preview of the TCM festival this year. Will you cover other classic film festivals in future episodes?

AB:  The pre-TCM festival was hilarious because we couldn’t decide on anything, which is what most TCMFF attendees go through.  It was loads of fun to do as well.  The answer is yes we will do as much festival coverage as possible, which may come slowly given current time restrictions with regard to traveling to different parts of the country. We also did a pre-Capitolfest commentary and hopefully many more are coming in the future.

JTL:  What are some challenges of producing a video series like this?

AB:  Oh, challenges!  I don’t want to speak for either Annmarie or Rob so these are challenges as I see them.  The first would be technology.  Rob runs circles around Annmarie and me on the technology front so it hasn’t been easy to ensure that I hold up my end in that regard.  I’m working on it and will get better, but it’s a slow process.  The other challenge is finding the time to spend together.  We are all juggling many things including full-time jobs, other projects and Rob has two young sons so putting other things aside to concentrate on ‘Classic Movies and More’ is not always easy.  This endeavor is fairly new and I think we’re still finding our footing in some ways, but the major plus is that we all want the same things and are equally excited about the possibilities.

JTL:  Will you have more interviews with fans in future? Or, have you approached others, like Meredith Ponedel, who are connected with the film industry, or TCM?

AB:  We will absolutely do more fan interviews in the future and have a few almost ready for release.  The fan interviews are what I’m most excited about.  We have a long list of people we want to reach out to and will be doing so as soon as we figure out the logistics and timing.  These include bloggers, podcasters, authors and several others with classic movie connections on many levels.  We have not reached out to TCM, but needless to say we’d enjoy interviewing a number of people at the network.

JTL:  What do you have planned for future episodes?

AB:  There’s a variety of topics coming up.  Rob and “little” Rob just started a monthly Svengoolie review series, we have several interviews with fans/bloggers already “in the can” (aren’t you impressed with my movie lingo?), an interview with accompanist Gary Lucas, another classics related historical tour with Lloyd Ultan and several other things that I think will be fun for people to see.  You’ll also like additional footage we taped with Meredith Ponedel, which will be released as supplemental material in the coming weeks.

JTL:  If I could take a step back from your series for a moment, I mentioned Tiffany Vazquez, the new TCM host in a recent blog post, and I'd love to know your opinion on the following excerpt:

It has been noted that she is the first woman to be hired as a regular TCM host, and her Puerto Rican heritage has been commented on as setting her apart as representing a new demographic. But before we skew this into some Madison Avenue pie chart of something up-market, we should remember that  the classic film fan “demographic” has little to do with age, gender, race, or ethnicity, and is remarkably diverse.

AB:  I agree with you as far as how I think things should be.  I’m not sure it’s how things are. 

In my opinion the vast majority of classic movie fans – using the widely accepted definition of “classic” meaning “old” in this instance - are not twenty-something years old.  And I don’t think they will ever be in numbers that make a huge difference.  We have several extremely dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable younger fans in our community who live for classics in every sense of the word.  I marvel at their passion for classic movies, which by the way is most consistently for early talkies and pre-codes, but those fans are exceptions.  The vast majority of classic movie fans are, shall we say, not twenty-something.  They’re the ones who make up the core TCM audience who have been with the network since it went on the air.  They are made up of a varied ethnicity, but their average age is a tad above twenty-something.  I’ll add this because it’s been discussed throughout social media – many have noticed that TCM is skewing toward a younger audience, and while I may not necessarily like it I understand it.  TCM is a for-profit network and commercial-free programming has to cost a pretty penny so ensuring longevity should be a goal.  That said there is always the danger of watering down a brand that has become the network everyone believes is the primary arbiter for classic movies.

About Tiffany – There’s no doubt your Madison Avenue pie-chart had something to do with TCM’s decision to hire her as should be the case.  I am both a woman and a Latina so the fact that Tiffany is both of those thrills me.  I imagine that her age also played a factor in her becoming a TCM host.  That said I like to think that Tiffany also being a classic movie fan had a lot to do with it.  Yes, she is not a film historian or author like Robert Osborne was when he became TCM host and her last name is not Mankiewicz, which Ben himself has stated played some role is his becoming a host.  But, as I assume is the case with many others, I didn’t fall in love with Robert Osborne because he was a film historian and I couldn’t care less what Ben’s last name is.  I have been happy to welcome them both into my home for over two decades because they speak to me like fellow classic movie fans.  I’ve met Tiffany and I know she has that in spades.  If she’s able to convey that love of movies to an audience who is passionate and loyal I think she’ll have a long, successful career on the network. 

JTL:  There are many aspects of classic films which are difficult for younger people to swallow because they are so obviously out of tune with today's concepts of race and gender.  Even for those of us who are more familiar with the eras in which the classic films were made, we still cringe at many scenes, even if we are able to process them in context.  Your thoughts?

AB:  There’s no doubt that classic movie fans make a decision to ignore the offensive material inherent in those movies in order to appreciate them.  We accept that they are products of their time and therefore put aside what we would normally have issue with.  I think it’s a requisite to watch them, in fact, so anyone – younger or older – who is not familiar with what to expect to a certain degree would have a difficult time with what was being served.  And, for that matter, understanding how the rest of us could enjoy entries that so blatantly insult women and minorities. 

JTL:  With respect to the above passage, who is your audience?  Younger fans more in tune to looking for info in the Internet? Diehard fans who can't get the stories you present anywhere else? What has your response been to the series so far?

AB:  I’d like to think our audience is the classic movie fan of any age.  Or hopefully will be.  Fans of classic movies or anything retro, for that matter, are more predisposed to search for classic material on the internet because we have limited outlets that offer it.  I don’t think that practice is limited to younger audiences in our community. Or at least that’s true in regards to major social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

We hope to be able to offer those fans an outlet to promote their blogs, tell their classic movie stories and so forth in a way other outlets don’t do.  In that way we’ll be a connection to classics not offered anywhere else.  If we are successful in presenting topics and people with professional connections to classic movies that offer unique insight or we take people to a place where others have not been then I think people will tune in.  Original content is important and we’ll try our best to provide it. 

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My sincere thanks to Aurora for taking the time to participate in this interview, and for her always thoughtful and intelligent perspective on classic film.  Please visit her blog, and also Classic Movies and More on YouTube, you’ll love them both.

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Past posts in this series here:

Part 1 of the year-long series on the current state of the classic film buff is here: A Classic Film Manifesto. 

Part 2 is here: Cliff Aliperti’s new book on Helen Twelvetrees.

Part 3 is here: An interview with Kay Noske of Movie Star Makeover.

Part 4 is here: Evolution of the Classic Film Fan.

Part 5 is here: Gathering of the Clan at Classic Film Festivals.

Part 6 is here: John Greco’s new book of film criticism: Lessons in the Dark.

Part 7 is here: Tiffany Vazquez, new TCM host.

Part 8 is here:  Planet of the Apes at the Cineplex.

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