For Once, Age Before Beauty In Hollywood

April 21st, 2010 by Ami

The red carpet is laid, cameras are flashing, and ambulances are standing by to handle the weak-hearted. As the limos start rolling in, thousands of white - and silvered-haired fans (and some bold ones), who’ve been standing in line for days aided by walkers, wheelchairs and caretakers, scream ecstatically to the point that false teeth fly everywhere…

OK, OK, OK, it’s the first…

And while I don’t really expect the exact picture described above, I’m sure that retirement home residents in the area of The Egyptian Theatre, The Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel are pretty excited and overwhelmed by waves of nostalgia and memories.

The people at TCM have organized a rather original event – the first film festival to honor classic Hollywood titles. Original and classic don’t quite go together, but it is rare to have a festival dedicated solely to classics, dating back to the 20s with Safety Last, Metropolis and others, and with “new” titles dating back to the late 60s.

It could have been a rather moldy event, but it seems to be vitalized by several incentives. Check out the all-star cast that will attend the screenings and share stories and anecdotes with the audiences: Jean-Paul Belmondo (grannies, put on your best nightgowns and go save front row seats) will attend the 50th anniversary screening of the new wave classic Breathless; Mel Brooks will get a star at Hollywood Boulevard and discuss The Producers; Eli Wallach will present The Good The Bad and The Ugly (where’s Clint? probably too young to attend…); Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau will share their memories of working with Alfred Hitchcock on North by Northwest, and a rare public appearance by the actress Luise Rainer, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday (!), introducing her 1937 film, The Good Earth, which earned her the second of two consecutive Oscars.

Interesting events will include a screening of a newly restored copy of A Star Is Born; The North American premiere of the full length, restored Metropolis; a nostalgic panel The Greatest Movies Ever Sold: Classic Movie Marketing Campaigns; the panel A Remake to Remember: Hollywood’s Love Affair with Updating Movie Classics, with John Carpenter and Charles Shyer; The Hustons: A Hollywood Dynasty celebration, which will screen a trio of films in the presence of Anjelica and Danny Huston, and a special poolside screening at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: Esther Williams and Betty Garrett (almost 90 and still acting!) will present a screening of Neptune’s Daughter, with a pre-show performance by the synchronized swimming troupe, the Aqualilies – campy, I know, but still fun.

Additional rare screenings of old, restored or 70mm movies will take place all over (check all screenings and events here).

Among the rest of the guests: Peter Bogdanovich, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Curtis, Stanley Donen, Illeana Douglas, Curtis Hanson, Buck Henry, Darryl Hickman, Norman Lloyd, Leonard Maltin, Nancy Olson, Richard Rush, Douglas Trumbull & Jon Voight.

Now, if we would have reduced the years of the accumulated ages of the guests mentioned in this post, from the current year, we would have gotten back in time to approximately year one! (not the movie, god forbid)

Aging jokes aside, this could really turn out to be a nice, nostalgic event – and a tour de force for these acclaimed industry veterans. So enjoy, and remember: Age before beauty!

Here’s a taste of what’s coming: