Tennessee Williams on Stage & Screen in New York -Festival Begins December 9th
Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder - Coming in February
5 Chillers in the Universal Cult Horror Collection on DVD
Robert Redford in Downhill Racer on DVD
Ballast - Lance Hammer's Critically Acclaimed Drama
Z - Costa-Gavras's Oscar-winning Thriller on DVD

TCM Assembles Star-Studded 2008 Line-Up of Original Specials and Festivals

Among the upcoming 2008 projects for TCM are an October documentary featuring renowned animator Chuck Jones discussing memories from his storied childhood; and a new edition of PRIVATE SCREENINGS, featuring a conversation between Osborne and veteran movie producer Walter Mirisch.

The following are highlights of upcoming programming on TCM:

GUEST PROGRAMMERS

Each month on this movie showcase, TCM invites a celebrity to exchange star status for a role as a devoted fan of classic film by picking a few favorite movies and sharing with viewers what he or she has come to love about each one. Upcoming stars featured on the showcase include Oscar-nominated director John Singleton (September) and The Office co-star Rainn Wilson (October).

SUMMER UNDER THE STARS – August

TCM struts its stuff each August with the annual Summer Under the Stars festival, a month-long celebration during which each day is dedicated to one of Hollywood’s most enduring personalities. Assembled from the network’s library of more than 5,000 films, this one-of-a-kind festival is an opportunity for viewers to enjoy a varied selection from each star’s body of work, uncut and commercial free. This year’s stars include Charlie Chaplin, Anne Bancroft, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Tony Curtis, Gene Kelly, Spencer Tracy, Greta Garbo, Michael Caine, Ava Gardner, James Garner and Greer Garson.

PRIVATE SCREENINGS: WALTER MIRISCH – September

Walter Mirish, an Oscar-winning producer and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, will sit down with TCM host Robert Osborne for an intimate discussion about Mirisch’s more than 60 years in the film industry. Mirisch will talk about his storied career, which ranges from B pictures to such classics as The Magnificent Seven, West Side Story and In the Heat of the Night. He will also talk about The Mirisch Company, which for years was one of the most prolific and successful independent production companies in Hollywood.

CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD – October

This unique special is taken from interviews the legendary animator gave just before his death in 2002. John Canemaker, who earned an Oscar for his animated short “The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation,” conducted the interviews, which cover Jones’ rough childhood and abusive father and how those factors led to his work in cartoons. In addition, Canemaker is creating original animation to go along with the interview.