TCM 2011 Festival Update

TCM has announced pricing and some of the plans for its 2011 Festival, to be held in Hollywood April 28-May 1, 2011.

Opening night will feature a 60th anniversary tribute to AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951). A restored print will be screened and it will be followed by a "star-studded after party."

Other highlights:

...A 70th anniversary screening of CITIZEN KANE (1941), which is also part of a tribute to Bernard Herrmann.

...A centennial tribute to Roy Rogers.

...The premiere of a restored copy of the British WWII film WENT THE DAY WELL? (1942).

...A Buster Keaton film accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra.

Unfortunately, the pricing for the four-day festival is as expensive as last year, ranging from $200 (if purchased by mid-December) or $300 for three days of daytime screenings only, to a high end of $1200 -- per person. The average price for all four days of events is $400 or $500, depending on the date of purchase -- and that doesn't include the AMERICAN IN PARIS screening. If you want to attend that movie, you need to spend $500 or $600!

No single-day passes are available, and as was the case last year, single-event tickets can only be purchased at the last minute, subject to availability.

Given the pricing, it's very unlikely I'll be attending any of the events, as much as I would like to be there. It's disappointing, but I'm at least fortunate that, as a Southern Californian, I have been able to attend exciting film events throughout my lifetime, up to and including this week's very special screening of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956).

One of the most thrilling film events I've ever attended was, in fact, a screening of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS at the Tiffany Theater in Hollywood in the late '70s or early '80s, viewed in the presence of director Vincente Minnelli. What a joy to express our appreciation by giving Minnelli and the film an ovation as the ballet concluded! Many MGM greats were there that evening; my program was autographed by Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Donald O'Connor, Virginia O'Brien, and more.

So...I'll settle for reading about the fun things going on at the TCM Festival and continue to look for much more affordable movie events which we can fit into our family's schedule over the next year...and I'll also console myself with the thought that a three-day pass to Disney's D23 Expo next summer is a relatively small $85!