LOS ANGELES 鈥� Turner Classic Movies has enlisted 鈥淩atatouille鈥� and 鈥淭he Iron Giant鈥� director Brad Bird to program the latest 20-episode season of 鈥淭he Essentials," the channel said Wednesday.
Bird鈥檚 selections run the gamut of classic film offerings. There are musicals like 鈥淪ingin鈥� in the Rain,鈥� 鈥淕uys and Dolls鈥� and 鈥淭he Music Man,鈥� Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger masterpieces 鈥淭he Red Shoes鈥� and 鈥淎 Matter of Life and Death,鈥� some Stanley Kubrick fare, including 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey,鈥� epics, comedies, westerns and a few film noirs too.
Bird will help TCM host Ben Mankiewicz introduce each film as well as offer commentary and reflections every Saturday starting on May 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
鈥淗is childlike enthusiasm for movies, animated and live action, is unparalleled and infectious,鈥� Mankiewicz said. 鈥淗e sees so many stories through the eyes of an animator, providing a rare perspective on movies we think we know well, like 鈥淐asablanca,鈥� 鈥淒r. Strangelove鈥� and 鈥淭he Searchers.鈥�
For Bird, the most difficult thing was winnowing down a final list of 20 films.
鈥淢y biggest challenge was figuring out which films to choose, because for each great film that I mentioned there were 10 I left out,鈥� Bird said.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
