News From the Lake for March 19th, 2014

In this week’s News From the Lake: Another classic Hollywood icon is set for the biopic treatment, Club TCM’s schedule is announced along with a hand and footprint ceremony, and a mess of DVDs and Blu-rays to announce.

It was only a matter of time before Ryan Gosling’s name showed up in the slate of upcoming biopics.  I’m surprised he hasn’t been attached to thirty of these.  According to The Wrap, Warner Brothers has optioned Jeffrey Spivak’s book, Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley, as a starring vehicle for Gosling.  Gosling is set to produce the film with Marc Platt who collaborated with Gosling on Drive and is developing the adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked, as well as producing Disney’s upcoming musical, Into the Woods.  Berkeley is a perfect person to receive the biopic treatment as many fans knows his movies but not him personally; I am hesitant to endorse Gosling for the lead.  Based on photos of Berkeley, I’m wondering if Gosling is planning to downplay his looks – the two bear very little resemblance otherwise – and if his persona is already too much to overcome to play someone else.  There’s no mention of whether the biopic is going to be a “Greatest Hits” deal or focusing on a specific period of time, although it’s safe to say there will be musical numbers and amazing costumes!

Most fans are anticipating the final screenings and their respective schedule, but TCM’s gone ahead and given the dates and times of the events going on at Club TCM, the central gathering spot for attendees.  I’ll be giving my most anticipated screenings and events in a few weeks, but here’s a few events to watch out for: Thursday, April 10th at 5pm Robert Osborne, Kim Novak and Jane Seymour kick-off the opening of the exhibit, TCM at 20: Inspired By the Classics; April 11th sees several “Conversations With…” panels including Richard Dreyfuss, Quincy Jones, and William Friedkin; April 12th has “Conversations With” both Richard Sherman and Martin Scorsese’s editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, as well as a panel about Hollywood home movies; the final day of the festival only has 2 Club TCM events scheduled into a look into the life of Judy Garland.  It’s also been announced that Jerry Lewis, a guest at this year’s festival, will be participating in a hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Courtyard on Saturday.  You can find the full schedule, with times, at the TCM Classic Film Festival website.  And be sure to bookmark the site throughout the fest as I’ll be making my first appearance at the Festival as a member of the press, reporting on all the amazing goings-on for you!

New on DVD/Blu-ray

20th Century Fox: 18 movies are set for release over the next month or so from Fox Cinema Archives, their MOD off-shoot.  There’s a rather diverse list of classics including 1960s pulp and Biblical epics.  A few to watch out for include: Dante’s Inferno (1935) available March 18th, I’d Climb the Highest Mountain (1951) on March 25th, Bachelor Flat (1961) on April 1st, The Pleasure Seekers (1964) on April 8th, Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948) on April 15th, Star Dust (1940) on April 22nd, and Forever Amber (1947) on April 25th.  You can find the full list on the Fox website.

Warner Archive: This week’s new releases include the fourth set of Tim Holt Westerns with Wagon Train (1940), The Fargo Kid (1940), Cyclone on Horseback (1941), Riding the Wind (1942), Land of the Open Range (1942), Thundering Hoofs (1942), Overland Telegraph (1951), and Trail Guide (1952).  If you’re a fan of Tim Holt you best snatch up that collection.  A few Paramount titles are also back in print such as The Lonely Man (1957) and the adaptation of Joseph Andrews (1977).  Warner Archive has been prepping final plans for their fifth birthday and if you live in L.A. you might want to save the date for a few screenings the studio is planning.  For those in L.A., this Friday at the Cinefamily Warner is screening the Ozploitation movie, Razorback at midnight.  You can get tickets here.  And the Egyptian Theater is screening Nicholas Ray’s Born to Be Bad this Saturday at 7:30pm, as well as Southside 1-1000 and Roadblock on 29th at 7:30pm.  Tickets for the Egyptian events can be purchased here  and here.

Criterion Collection: Criterion’s prepared to leave me broke this summer with the announcement of two coveted DVD/Blu-rays in June.  Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows and the Beatles comedy A Hard Day’s Night are making their debuts on Blu-ray; the latter is also receiving a screening at the upcoming TCM Film Festival.  Bonus content for A Hard Day’s Night is awesome including audio commentary, a 1994 documentary, and a smattering of other docs and shorts.  All That Heaven Allows is set to have audio commentary, an essay film about Rock Hudson, and a 1979 BBC documentary on Douglas Sirk.  All That Heaven Allows hits shelves June 10th, while A Hard Day’s Night comes out June 24th.