Most film festivals seek to showcase best of the up-and-coming. Not Turner Classic Movies. The TCM Classic Film Festival is back with more than 70 screenings, as well as special introductions, guest appearances, panel discussions and other events revolving around the all-time classics of cinema.
The four-day festival kicks off tonight with TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne conducting a roundtable discussion and runs through Sunday in Hollywood. Peter O’Toole, Kirk Douglas, Warren Beatty, Leslie Caron, George Chakiris, Roger Corman, Mariel Hemingway, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Mathers, Hayley Mills, Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Richard Roundtree, Barbara Rush, Alec Baldwin, Illeana Douglas, Chris Isaak, Rose McGowan, Mary Ann Mobley, Ron Perlman, Nancy & Tina Sinatra and Robert Townsend are just a few of the notables slated to appear.
Music and the Movies is this year’s central theme with several screenings and events celebrating composers, songwriters and the unique role music plays in the art of filmmaking. 
As part of the Music and the Movies programming, the festival will honor songwriters George and Ira Gershwin with several screenings, including the opening night gala presentation of the 60th anniversary world premiere restoration of An American in Paris (1951), with star Leslie Caron helping introduce the film. TCM also celebrates composer Bernard Herrmann and singing cowboy Roy Rogers. In collaboration with D23, The Official Disney Fan Club, the festival takes a look at the musical legacy of Walt Disney, including his Silly Symphonies and Laugh-O-Gram shorts.
Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas will be a special guest at the festival. The three-time Oscar nominee and honorary Academy Award® winner will join TCM host Robert Osborne for an interview on stage, leading into a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s epic film Spartacus (1960), which Douglas also produced. The evening’s festivities will include clips from Douglas’ biographical one-man show, Before I Forget (2009).
Throughout the festival, fans will have the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of films celebrating key anniversaries, many of which have been painstakingly restored. The roster of anniversary presentations includes Reds (1981), Pennies from Heaven(1981), Network (1976), Taxi Driver (1976), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Shaft (1971), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), West Side Story (1961), The Parent Trap (1961), A Place in the Sun (1951), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Royal Wedding (1951), Citizen Kane(1941) and Dodsworth (1936), to name a few.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony, will once again serve as the official hotel for the festival. The hotel will also feature Club TCM, the central gathering spot for the festival. At Club TCM, passholders can mingle with the festival’s special guests, enjoy fascinating presentations and panel discussions, browse through a variety of exhibits, or simply relax and meet new friends. Located in the Blossom Room, Club TCM will be open throughout the festival. Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Caron, Marni Nixon, Marge Champion, Debbie Allen, Peter Guber, Brett Ratner and graphic artist Michael Schwab are among the guests slated to appear.
A collection of never-before-seen Jack Pashkovsky photos of Hollywood stars in candid settings will offer a remarkable glimpse of their lives beyond the tight control of the studio publicity departments.
Fifteen rare, authentic movie posters from classic musicals will be on display. The posters have been chosen from the collection of award-winning poster designer and art director Mike Kaplan. And a special exhibit will showcase the hand and footprints of Sid Grauman, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks on the three original sidewalk slabs from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, presented in public for the first time in nearly two decades. The blocks represent the birth of a Hollywood tradition that will be carried on by Peter O’Toole when he adds his prints to the Grauman courtyard.
Club TCM will also be the site of several celebrations, including a welcome party on opening night, a dance party featuring band Delco Nightingale and a closing night party with Prohibition and Depression-era songs performed by the retro band DOOZY. 
Screenings and events will be held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Multiplex and the Egyptian Theatre. The latest venue added to the TCM Classic Film Festival is the historic Music Box Theatre, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2011.
Information and a complete festival schedule are available at http://www.tcm.com/festival/index.html#/home/index.
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The official Twitter of the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival: @tcmfilmfest
