Turner Classic Movies 13th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival returns as an in-person event this year, and they are bringing the most loveable alien in the galaxy with them.
The festival opens on Thursday, April 21st with a 40th anniversary screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and as an added bonus for film buffs, director Steven Spielberg, actors Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert Macnaughton, and Drew Barrymore, and producer Kathleen Kennedy will be attendance at the screening.
TCM host Ben Mankiewicz recalls seeing E.T. as a teenager when he was 15 years old and says that “…what was true then remains so today; the film continues to speak to both children and adults. And it’s fair to say that this is the most influential family film since The Wizard of Oz. When Steven Spielberg started work on E.T., he didn’t imagine he was making a movie with mass appeal. We don’t get to say this often, but boy was Spielberg wrong.”
Pola Changnon, general manager of TCM, concurs, calling E.T. “…the perfect example of a modern classic movie that combines both innovative direction and heartfelt performances. This film is beloved by millions around the world and we’re honored to have it open our festival.”
You can peruse the entire film line-up at the festival’s official website, which will also include special live events such as Lily Tomlin’s hand and footprint ceremony in the courtyard of the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre Imax® in Hollywood and the awarding of the third Robert Osborne Award to film critic Leonard Maltin.
The 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival takes place in Tinseltown from April 21 to the 24.
Before you go, be sure to check out Conskipper’s recent interview with Eddie Muller, as well as number of TCM book reviews.
