DREW BARRYMORE
Golden Globe® and Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Drew Barrymore will co-host the 12th season of Turner Classic Movies' signature showcase: The Essentials. Barrymore will take the chair opposite TCM host Robert Osborne each week to introduce a hand-picked classic film and offer commentary on its cultural relevance and what makes it a timeless, must-see movie. The Essentials airs on Saturday nights, with the new season premiering in March 2012.

In addition to being an award-winning actress and a huge fan of classic films, Barrymore hails from one of the greatest acting dynasties in Hollywood history. She is the granddaughter of legendary actor John Barrymore and Dolores Costello; the great-granddaughter of silent film actor Maurice Costello and actress Mae Costello; and the great-niece of Oscar®-winning actors Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore.

"We're thrilled Drew will be joining us throughout 2012 on The Essentials," said TCM host Robert Osborne. "As an accomplished actress, director, producer and part of a legendary Hollywood dynasty, Drew has terrific insights into the world of film. I think she's going to surprise people with her passion for great cinema and her abundant knowledge of film history. Drew is also wonderfully endearing and great fun to be around - quite a winning combination. I predict a great year ahead."

Barrymore said, "I'm a TCM nut. I watch Robert Osborne every day of my life. To get to talk about classic cinema with such a brilliant man, I am simply in heaven. This is just the most wonderful opportunity to discuss my greatest passion, which is movies."

The 12th season of TCM's The Essentials showcase is set to launch Saturday, March 3, 2012. The lineup of movies selected by Barrymore and Osborne will include such enduring classics as George Cukor's star-studded comedy Dinner at Eight (1933), which features Barrymore's grandfather, John, and great uncle, Lionel; George Stevens' comedic romance Alice Adams (1935), starring Katharine Hepburn and Fred MacMurray; William Wyler's atmospheric version of Wuthering Heights (1939), starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon; Howard Hawks' To Have and Have Not (1944), which paired future spouses Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall for the first time; Carol Reed's thrilling mystery The Third Man (1949), with Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles; Charles Vidor's film noir Gilda (1946), with Glenn Ford and the sensuous Rita Hayworth; and Billy Wilder's gender-bending farce Some Like It Hot (1959), with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe.

Barrymore has been a favorite of film audiences for almost three decades. She is also enjoying success behind the camera as a producer under her own Flower Films banner, which has produced such hits as He's Just Not That Into You, Never Been Kissed and 50 First Dates, as well as the actioners Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In addition to producing the Charlie's Angels features, Barrymore joined Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu to star in both films, which together grossed more than a half a billion dollars worldwide.

Barrymore earned a Golden Globe® and a Screen Actors Guild Award®, as well as an Emmy® nomination, for her stunning performance opposite Jessica Lange in HBO's Grey Gardens. She has also earned praise from both critics and audiences for her performances in a wide range of comedies, including Fever Pitch, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Riding in Cars with Boys, The Wedding Singer, Home Fries and Lucky You.

In 2009, Barrymore made her feature directorial debut with the roller derby film Whip It, with Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig and Juliette Lewis. She will also be back on the big screen in Universal's Big Miracle in February 2012.

Barrymore made her film debut at the age of 5 in Ken Russell's sci-fi thriller Altered States, but it was her performance as the precocious Gertie in Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial that catapulted the young actress to stardom. She went on to star in the thriller Firestarter and the comedy Irreconcilable Differences, for which she earned a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also earned a Golden Globe® nomination for the television movie Guncrazy.

Past hosts of The Essentials included filmmakers Rob Reiner, Peter Bogdanovich and Sydney Pollack. Robert Osborne took over hosting duties in 2006, paired with film critic and author Molly Haskell. He was joined by actress and bestselling author Carrie Fisher in 2007, actress Rose McGowan in 2008 and actor Alec Baldwin from 2009 to 2011.

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ROBERT OSBORNE
As prime time host and anchor of the Turner Classic Movies cable television network, Robert Osborne brings viewers out of their living rooms and into the world of classic Hollywood, providing insider information, facts and trivia on TCM movie presentations.

Osborne is also the new co-host for TCM's on-going franchise, The Essentials, and a columnist-critic for The Hollywood Reporter, the daily show business trade paper. He is known as the official biographer of Oscar®®, thanks to a series of books he's written on the subject of Hollywood's annual Academy Awards. His latest book, the updated 80 Years Of the Oscar®, was written at the special request of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has been called "the most comprehensive and definitive book ever done on the subject."

Osborne was born in Colfax, Washington (population: 2700) and graduated from the University of Washington's School of Journalism, appearing in local plays in his non-study hours. He soon went to Hollywood as an actor under contract to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. But Lucy encouraged him to pursue writing, which he considers among the best advice he's ever been given. She remained a friend and mentor to him until her death.

Osborne joined the staff of The Hollywood Reporter in 1977 and six years later began writing the paper's influential "Rambling Reporter" column, which covers all aspects of the movie and television business. He also attends the Cannes Film Festival to review films for the paper and is The Hollywood Reporter's chief Broadway critic, covering New York plays and first nights.

Osborne began as the on-air entertainment reporter for the nightly news on Los Angeles, KTTV in 1982. In 1987, he was signed by CBS to make daily appearances on the CBS Morning Program. From 1986-1993, he was also a regular host of The Movie Channel cable network.

From 1981-83, he served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). He is a frequent guest on Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America and other network shows; won a Golden Mike for excellence (for a TV special he wrote, produced and hosted titled Lana Turner Today); has twice been a CableAce nominee for his "Osborne Report" segments for The Movie Channel; and was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Host Moderator. Osborne is also the winner of the 1984 Press Award from the Publicists Guild of America.

In addition to his hosting duties for TCM, Osborne has also done several specials for the network, including hour-long interviews, including the last on-camera interview done by Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, June Allyson, Ann Miller, Mickey Rooney, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Tony Curtis.

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