Day two of the TCMFF is done. So much was packed into that day that social media every-where may have been a lot lighter as the usual busy thumbs of the avid classic film fan were too absorbed in making it from one theater to the next. It’s a packed fest people. Make extra time for the lines. There’s always so much from which to choose at the the TCMFF. Do you spend your time seeing the films you know and love, or do you go for the experience of a watching something new? Or do you even go to a movie when there are some really engaging live events planned to give a classic film fan the most immersive experience possible?
Day two of the TCMFF started off for me in the court of the world famous Chinese Theatre. Every year the festival honors a noted individual of the film industry with a hand and foot print ceremony. For the past several years the fest has bestowed the honor upon an actor, but this year’s recipient of a cement manicure was the renown director, Francis Ford Coppola, a man I consider to be the greatest living American director (Scorsese comes in a close second, sorry). It was a bit amazing to me to think he had never before been asked to partake in the unique Hollywood tradition. Not only that, but there have been very few directors at all who have participated in the ceremony during its entire existence.
Due to Coppola’s impressive roaster of films, professional associations throughout his career and of course his own prestigious family there were quite a few notable names among the attendees. Although Francis’ daughter Sophia was unable to attend, his son Roman was, along with a variety of siblings (Talia Shire), nephews (Christopher) and grandkids (Gia Coppola). Among the audience I spotted director John Landis and wife Deborah Nadoolman Landis (one of the greatest TCM guest hosts ever), director Peter Bogdanovich and many others.
It was a brisk ceremony, with the father of The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Godfather trilogy being very modest and very short on words leaving the best moment to a lovely visual of the maestro being eased down into the soft cement. It was a thrill to see him raise his hands in pride to show off the cement clinging to his palms. It was a great moment I’ll remember for a very long time, and a thrill that started off my Day 2 of the 2016 TCMFF with the right tone and excitement to carry me through the day. And that was just the beginning!