TCMFF Survival Guide Part 3 – Preserving Your Sanity

This will be my eighth year attending the TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), held April 13 to 16, 2022. In addition, I have been going to Comic-Con and other fan conventions for decades, so I know what it’s like to spend four or five days in a strange city living out of a hotel room and running around from the time you get up in the morning until the time you collapse in your room late at night. 

This is the seventh version of this guide I've done. I've tried to refine things over the years and have decided to split this post up into three parts:

Part 1 covers the nuts and bolts of how TCMFF works. 

Part 2 covers making the most of your experience.

Part 3 (this part) covers preserving your sanity in the craziness of TCMFF

What This Guide Will Not Cover

COVID-19 info will not be addressed in this guide. At the time of this writing, the information on the TCMFF website was as follows:

There are currently no plans to implement mandatory COVID-19 related health and safety protocols at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival. However, the health and safety of Festival attendees remains our number one priority and the Festival will continue to monitor the pandemic situation. Attendees will be subject to all applicable federal, state, and local safety precautions in place at the time of the event. In addition, TCM may, at its sole discretion, implement additional mandatory safety precautions to be determined.

In other words, look for the TCMFF website in case it changes:
https://filmfestival.tcm.com/

NOTE: I just thought of this. It probably wouldn't hurt to bring a mask and a COVID test with you, so if you feel sick, you can quickly figure out what's going on.

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Food

Sadly, like Brett, you're probably not going to get to eat your Big Kahuna burger

This section covers trying to get some sustenance during TCMFF. I know you’re going to be running around trying not to miss anything, but seriously, try to eat something besides movie theater popcorn and Red Vines over the four days.

There are a ton of restaurants in the immediate area, both fast food and regular sit-down restaurants, but bear in mind that the transition times between screenings can be relatively short, so don’t count on being able to have enough time to get a regular meal between screenings. If you’re a coffee drinker like me, you might want to pick up something like a sandwich or a bagel and a piece of fruit with your latte in the morning. You can put in your bag and eat on the go later. 

I am very happy to say that there is a CVS Pharmacy, a Subway, and a Target very close to TCMFF, located a block west of the TCL Chinese IMAX/Hollywood Roosevelt on the north side of the Hollywood Blvd. The Target appears to be a full-size Target on two levels, and like most Targets these days, it has groceries. Obviously, not as good as a regular grocery store, but good enough for most things. Also, Target might come in handy if you need something like a USB charger or if your earbuds go belly up. Both Target and CVS open at 8 am. If you got there, right at 8 am and could manage to get in and out in 15 minutes, you could probably make it to almost any 9 am screening a half hour early. Sadly, the Subway doesn't open until 9 am, but there is a Subway smartphone app. You might be able to set up your order ahead of time and hit send right when a film ends and get down there and back in a very short window. For things like snacks, the CVS Pharmacy might be faster, though by Sunday, it usually looks a bit like Cindy Lou Who's house after the Grinch had visited, nothing but hooks and wires. To be honest, I'm half expecting the Target to look that way by Sunday as well. Hours of operation:

• Target, 8 am to 10 pm, 7 days
• CVS Pharmacy, 8 am to 10 pm, 7 days; pharmacy hours, 9 am to 8 pm, Mon–Fri and 10 am to 5 pm, Sat/Sun
• Subway, 9 am to 11 pm, Mon–Sat and 9 am to 10 Sunday

If you have special dietary needs, and you need a real grocery store, your best bets are the following:

Ralphs (7257 Sunset Blvd). Full service grocery store, should have a deli and salad bar and open 5 am to 1 am, 7 days. About 8 blocks away, but not in the direction of any of the other TCMFF venues, dammit.

Ralphs (1233 N La Brea Ave). Full service grocery store, should have a deli and salad bar and open 5 am to 1 am, 7 days. Again about 8 blocks away, but on the map it looks marginally further than the Ralphs on Sunset. Also, it too is not in the general direction of any of the other TCMFF venues. Possibly, this might be worth the extra walk as it takes you past Jim Henson Co. (historic former home of Charlie Chaplin Studios). See photo below.

Trader Joe's (1600 Vine St). About 12 blocks away (and not in the direction of any other TCMFF venues) and open 8 am to 9 pm, 7 days, however, it is only about 2 blocks from the Hollywood Vine Metro station.

This door is just steps from the street

1416 La Brea Ave (east side of street)

Restaurants

I toyed with the idea of doing a restaurant guide, but I've only eaten at a handful of them, since I'm only up there once a year. Still, there are a couple landmark restaurants that deserve mention:

• Musso and Frank Grill – Hollywood's oldest restaurant. Kind of pricey, but the food and service is excellent, and lunch prices are fairly reasonable.
• Micelli's (1646 N Las Palmas Ave) – Opened in 1949, moderately priced and very good Italian food. 

If you only got one real meal the whole four days at TCMFF, you couldn't go wrong with Musso and Frank or Micelli's. The problem is it's very difficult to find time for a restaurant with the roughly one-hour time window between blocks of films. Still, there's nothing that says, that you have to go to a movie in every block. Actually, last year, my wife and I ended up taking a break most days (skipping one block) and getting one good meal at the expense of a screening. It was kind of worth it. Also, sometimes a short 70-minute film or a presentation at Club TCM can give you enough time to get a real meal. 

To be perfectly honest, there are a ton of restaurants in the area. If you do a Google Maps search on Restaurants near Hollywood and Highland, you'll see a lot of good options, most of which have 4 star or better user ratings. Last year, I took some time in the weeks leading to TCMFF, to digitally scout out the area, that way, I had an idea of where things were and what types of food were available. We did very well food-wise last year.

Other food tips: 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yeah, I know I sound like your mother, but if you skip breakfast, you’re already off to a bad start. Me, I’ve never been real big on the breakfast bars, but if you like them, and they work for you, pick up a box and take some with you. In fact, bring a couple extra. You might find yourself in line with someone who’s totally famished. A 75-cent breakfast bar could earn you a friend for life. Me, I need my coffee in the morning. Fortunately, most coffee places has something that passes for breakfast, so I usually get breakfast at the same time. Plus, if they have sandwiches, I might pick one up and put it in my bag for later.

Hungry late? A good bet is In-N-Out Burger, a Southern California burger chain, 7009 Sunset Blvd, corner of Sunset and North Orange Dr., three blocks south of the Hollywood Roosevelt. They have a really simple menu, but have a secret menu that is probably the worst kept secret ever. My favorite is protein style burger, no bun wrapped in big leaves of lettuce so you can eat like a normal burger, great if you’re doing the low-carb thing. They are open until 10:30 am to 1 am, Sunday to Thursday and to 1:30 am, Friday and Saturday.

Water – You should try to do some of that too. I usually get a six pack of bottled water for the room and put one in my bag each the morning. Then at least, I get some water during the day.

Drink

We all like to think we can hold our liquor like Nick and Nora Charles, but realistically no one can. I know you’re on vacation and want to have a good time, but keep in mind, you’re probably going to want to be up early the next morning for whatever screening. If you do overdo, take some aspirin and force yourself to drink some water before you collapse in bed. It won’t prevent the inevitable hangover, but it might take the edge off a little bit. 

I'm sure if you asked, the good folks at TCM would say don't bring your own alcohol to TCMFF, but they do usually have a flask for sale in the TCM Boutique shop, so I'm going to call that mixed signals and act accordingly. Just don't abuse it.

FYI, drinks in the Hollywood Roosevelt are crazy expensive (figure on $20 a drink and you won't be far off). In the past, they have had complementary beer and wine in Club TCM in the evenings. Not sure about this year. If it happens, score. Of course, the problem for me is that Club TCM closes at midnight, and most of the time I don't make it back from the last screening before it closes. 

There are other bars in the area. Unfortunately, I can't speak for many of them. I have been in Boardner's, and it was a cool kind of whole-in-the-wall place with reasonably priced drinks. Located at 1652 North Cherokee Ave just south of Hollywood Blvd, Boardner's has been open since 1942. Black Dahlia murder victim, Elizabeth Short, was rumored to have had her last drink there. Lawrence Tierney used to start fights in the joint, though to be fair he started fights in a lot of places. Patrons over the years have included Robert Mitchum, Tommy Dorsey, Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields, Lucille Ball, Charles Bukowski, and Donald Sutherland. According to the menu, you can get CBD shot with any drink for $5, gotta love California.

Weather

I can guarantee you that it will not snow. Beyond that, all bets are off. Personally, I like to check the 10-day forecast for Los Angeles about a week out. That should give you a ballpark idea of what to plan for. Then check the forecast again, a couple of days before you leave and make any necessary adjustments. I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life, and we have weather pretty comparable to LA/Hollywood. Generally speaking, weather in Southern California is pretty mild in the Spring. It might get a little chilly in the evenings, but most of the time a light jacket or sweater is good enough. Having said all of that, what you mostly need to worry about is one of the following rather obnoxious extremes:

• Extreme heat – While not common in April, temperatures in the 90s do happen in the Spring, and bear in mind that you might be standing in line in the sun during the hottest part of the day. I honestly don’t remember standing in the sun very often over the years. I do know that at the Chinese IMAX, the line might run out of the mall and into an area with no shade, and they run the lines at the Legion Theater in the parking lot, so similar there. Even if we get mild weather, sunscreen is highly recommended and maybe even a hat or possibly an umbrella. If you don’t have room to pack a hat, consider buying a cheap one when you get here and just toss it at the end of the trip. 
• Rain – The song says, it never rains in Southern California, but people always forget that the end of the verse is, it pours, man, it pours. Very very true, both literally and figuratively. Hollywood doesn’t get a lot of rain, but there are times, when it comes down in buckets. Because we don’t get a lot of rain out here, we tend to hopelessly ill-prepared for it. Streets flood. Hotel lobbies flood. I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but it could. That’s where your forecast will help. If you’re coming from a different part of the country, you’re probably already way better prepared than we are here. Even if the forecast doesn’t call for rain, if you have an umbrella that packs easy, bring it. You're not going to be able find one easy walking distance from the Festival, especially if it's raining.
• Wind – I wouldn't have thought this would be an issue, but in 2019, the wind on the Monday before TCMFF was a strong as I've seen in Southern California. It was blowing branches off of palm trees onto Hollywood Blvd. It wouldn't have surprised me if a twister showed up and carried the Legion Theater off to Oz. 

Clothing

This section covers what to wear. By and large, Southern California is pretty casual. You often see people in nice restaurants looking like they just stepped off the beach. If you’re attending the opening night Red Carpet screening, a suit for men and cocktail dress for women is recommended, although a tux or formal gown wouldn’t be out of place either. 

For the rest of the Festival, some people dress up and some people dress down. Me, I do a little of both, shorts and a t-shirt during the day and something dressy at night, provided I can find the time to change. I even managed to procure a white dinner jacket several years ago. I'm dieting now and hoping I can get in it by the time TCMFF rolls around. If so, I plan to wear it Thursday night, even though I'm not going to the Red Carpet, or at the closing night party.

You don't see a lot of cosplay (people in costumes) at TCMFF, but it does happen. Last year, I saw a couple women in Georgia Peach baseball uniforms for a screening of A League of Their Own, and a fair number of people were doing 80s garb for the poolside screening of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. People would dig it. A woman wore a very good version of Scarlet O'Hara's curtain dress to the closing night party in 2019. It was awesome.

All things considered, with the exception of the Legion Theater, most everything is pretty centrally located, but you will do a fair amount of walking and standing. You may feel like you’re bouncing back and forth like a pinball at some point. If you have new shoes that kind of hurt your feet, and you think it will get better, it won’t. If you're dead set on wearing them, wear them as much as possible before you leave to see if it does get better. If not, leave them at home. If you really feel like you have to wear them, at the very least, consider changing into them late in the day. Remember what happened to Moira Shearer when she put on The Red Shoes. I'm not saying the wrong shoes are going to make you jump off a balcony in front of a train, but they might make you feel like you want to. If you have one pair of shoes that are really really comfortable, bring ‘em, even if they make you look like Edna May Oliver. 

The AC in the theaters can be pretty aggressive at times. If you get cold easily, a sweater that carries easy or even a roll-up fleece blanket that will fit into your bag is a good idea. Though this has nothing to do with clothes, the seats in theaters may not always be the greatest, so bringing a cushion might not be a bad idea either.

Gadgets

Think about the electronics you’re bringing. Are you going to be posting on Facebook to make the friends back home jealous? If so, how well does your battery do? If it barely makes it through the day sitting in your pocket, you might want to consider getting one of those portable batteries to recharge during the day. You can plug in at the start of a movie, and by the time it's done, you're up to something reasonable.

It might not be a bad idea to bring one anyway. Sometimes when you’re in a strange city, your phone will die just by virtue of having poor coverage and constantly trying to find a signal. It may even turn out that one of the theaters is a terrible dead zone. In years past, there were charging stations in the lobby of the TCL Chinese 6 and in Club TCM. I don't remember if they did that last year or not. Just know that the last thing you want is a dead phone. That's almost a guarantee that you'll run into Ben Mankiewicz when he's in a mood to pose with fans. 

Think about what devices you need. Did you promise your boss that you’d check e-mail? Really? Bad idea. Tell your boss to go lay an egg. Or not. Are you planning to blog during the Festival? Can you get by doing that on your phone or do you need a tablet or laptop? You're not going to have as much time as you think you will.

If you’re counting on the hotel having Wi-Fi, it might be worth finding out whether that’s in your room (and what they charge) or only in the lobby. Hotels have had a tough time with COVID, so they may be looking to make a little more than they might be otherwise. Look at your broadband usage and if you think it might be an issue, possibly see if you can get more from your provider for just the trip. We tend to burn through all of our data at TCMFF. That in itself was not a huge deal, but I find the constant barrage of text messages from Verizon telling me about it annoying.

You’ll definitely want to have a camera. Unless you have a very old phone, smartphone cameras are going to be good enough for most people. If the camera on yours is not, and you're due for an upgrade, now might be a good time. Keep in mind that many smartphones still do not do real well at a distance and/or in low light. Obviously, you’re not going to be taking pictures in a darkened theater, but you might want to get a shot of whoever is introducing the film and movie theater house lights tend to be less than optimum for photography. It might be kind of a trade off, sitting in the first couple of rows might be good for getting pictures of whoever is introducing the film, but be bad for watching the film.

If you're a camera-bug and can't imagine going on vacation without your camera, by all means, bring it. If you have a good point-and-shoot camera and you're on the fence about bringing it, go to a restaurant with poor lighting and see how well it does vs. your phone. Try out things like the zoom and take a picture of the bartender across the room. An optical zoom might make enough of a difference to be worth carrying a second device. If it's small, maybe bring it anyway and carry with you the first day. Make a point of taking pictures with both the camera and your phone. Then compare the results and see if a real camera is worth the trouble, though keep in mind that the screen on the back of the camera is probably not as high resolution as your phone. Zoom in on faces and see if you're getting better detail.

Make sure you take the time to free up space on your device's storage or look into cloud storage if you haven't already. The last thing you want is to find yourself standing next to Alicia Malone and realize you have to figure out which pictures from your cousin’s wedding you can live without. The mistake I made one year was to wait until late the night before we left to empty out my phone. I start moving the files and saw, About 45 minutes remaining.... Aw man, I need to go to bed.

Obviously, all these gadgets will need to be charged, so don’t forget to pack the appropriate chargers. You might be able to find a charger for your current iPhone or Android device, but Apple in particular is bad about changing the cables with every new device, so finding a charger for your 3-year old iPhone could be a problem.

Note on Selfies

Do you take a lot of selfies? Yes? Okay, move on. You'll be fine. If not, take some time to practice. Hardly, anybody hands their phone off to someone else to take a picture these days. You really need to know how to take selfies. If you're not comfortable doing it, it's going to show. Everyone else will be smiling and happy, because they just watched Teresa Wright throw Joseph Cotten off a train, and you'll look like you're trying to figure your taxes. One thing I noticed that I do is I look at the button and not at the lens, so everyone looks like they're looking right into the camera, and I'm looking just slightly to the side. It's weird. If you feel it would help, go on YouTube and search for Taking Better Selfies. Possibly, even search on your phone. There may be camera features that you were unaware of. Again, if there's a camera feature that sounds cool, you're probably better off figuring it out at home, not when you're on Hollywood Blvd.

Avoid Changing Routine

Think about how you live your life. If you absolutely can't by on less than 8 hours sleep, you probably shouldn't attempt watching both midnight movies and attending a screening in every block on the schedule. There just aren't that many hours in the day. If you are a big breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day person, don't skip breakfast during TCMFF. 

Me, I normally drink coffee during the day into the late afternoon. Then at TCMFF, I would have a cup in the morning and not have time for any the rest of the day and wonder why I was falling asleep on the late screenings. Now I make sure to stay properly caffeinated. The key here is staying properly caffeinated. Going back to your hotel, wired on a double latte, and staring at the ceiling until four in the morning is not a lot better than falling asleep at 5 or 6:00 because you didn't have enough. You can probably increase your caffeine intake by a little bit, but don't overdo it.

A friend told me that she normally drinks tea for caffeine, but didn't want to have to use the restroom all the time at TCMFF. Turns out Jelly Belly makes Extreme Sports Beans, caffeinated jelly beans. Brilliant. You can order them on Amazon, might be hit or miss at brick and mortar stores. Probably stores that sell nutritional supplements are your best bet.

About 25 Jelly Belly Size Beans, 100 Calories

and About Equivalent to Half an 8 oz. Cup of Coffee

I ordered them in 2019, but I would be wary of ordering the cheapest priced ones. I decided to save a few bucks by going to one of the "other" sellers. They either weren't exactly fresh or had been stored improperly and when I opened the packages, they were more of a jelly slab than individual beans.

Last year, the cafeteria at work started selling these little tiny candy bars, 80 calories and the caffeine equivalent of half a cup of coffee. You can order them on their web site or Amazon. They do have a store locator on the web site, but at least here in San Diego, they seem to be only available on college campuses, and the cafeteria in my building (or possibly, their web page isn't being updated on this).

Awake Caffeinated Chocolates, About Same Size
As a Fun-Size Candy Bar, 80 Calories, and 

About Equivalent to Half an 8 oz. Cup of Coffee

There may be certain things that you can't avoid. Say you normally go to bed at 9:00, and you know you're going to be staying up later. Try to compensate by forcing yourself to stay awake later in the week or so before the Festival. If you do need to make changes, try to not go overboard. It's really easy to swing too far the other direction.

Con Crud

COVID notwithstanding, people who go to a lot of events can attest that they can be a great place to get sick. You travel across the country, don't get much sleep, don't eat right, and spend lots of time in close quarters with hundreds if not thousands of strangers. It's like living in a Petri dish for several days. It's one thing if you get sick after you get home, but getting sick in the middle of TCMFF would suck, and not in a good way. I like to take Airborne, Emergen C, or something similar the morning I leave and each day while I’m there. Does it guarantee that you won’t get sick? No, but it doesn’t hurt.

Shameless Plug

Last year, I ordered some enamel pins and I have them for sale on my Etsy shop and should have them on me during TCMFF. I'm only about 10 or 15 away from breaking even:

 

You can order them at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1177079470/asta-dog-enamel-lapel-from-classic-film. Also, I should have them with me to sell in-person at TCMFF.

It dawned on me after I'd ordered them that maybe I didn't think this through very well. It's probably not the best idea to be selling something in little ziplok bags on Hollywood Blvd, but my darling wife assured me that I was white and could probably get away with it. 

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Thanks for reading. I hope this was helpful.

TCMFF Survival Guide Part 2 – Making the Most of Your Experience

This will be my eighth year attending the TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), held April 13 to 16, 2022. In addition, I have been going to Comic-Con and other fan conventions for decades, so I know what it’s like to spend four or five days in a strange city living out of a hotel room and running around from the time you get up in the morning until the time you collapse in your room late at night. 

This is the seventh version of this guide I've done. I've tried to refine things over the years and have decided to split this post up into three parts:

Part 1 covers the nuts and bolts of how TCMFF works. 

Part 2 (this part) covers making the most of your experience.

Part 3 covers preserving your sanity in the craziness of TCMFF

What This Guide Will Not Cover

COVID-19 info will not be addressed in this guide. At the time of this writing, the information on the TCMFF website was as follows:

There are currently no plans to implement mandatory COVID-19 related health and safety protocols at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival. However, the health and safety of Festival attendees remains our number one priority and the Festival will continue to monitor the pandemic situation. Attendees will be subject to all applicable federal, state, and local safety precautions in place at the time of the event. In addition, TCM may, at its sole discretion, implement additional mandatory safety precautions to be determined.

In other words, look for the TCMFF website in case it changes:
https://filmfestival.tcm.com/

NOTE: I just thought of this. It probably wouldn't hurt to bring a mask and a COVID test with you, so if you feel sick, you can quickly figure out what's going on.

######

Etiquette

This section covers TCMFF etiquette. The most important thing to do is silence your phone and other devices during screenings and do not take them out to post pictures, answer a text, or whatever. You might think it would be cool to take a picture of the screen on your favorite part of the movie.

Don't!!!

There are people sitting next to you and behind you, who it's their favorite part of the movie too. Don't ruin it. Just the light from your phone as you bring it up and try to find an app is insanely distracting in a dark theater. I usually put my phone in both Silent and Airplane modes during screenings. For me, most people who would be trying to contact me know I'm at TCMFF, so if I get a text, I tend to think it's an emergency and worry about it, not that I would be able to doing anything while I'm in Hollywood anyway. Be aware of other phone functions such as Alarms which may still make noises even in Silent or Airplane modes.

It's okay to tweet, post to Facebook, Instagram, whatever while you're waiting in line or sitting in the theater waiting for things to begin. Once somebody starts talking, finish up what you're doing and put your phone away. Taking pictures/video during the intro is fine, but turn off the flash. It's distracting, especially to the people talking, and won't help if you're farther than about 10 feet away.

Be considerate of those around you. It's generally considered rude to leave before the end of a screening, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If you have to duck out early, try to get to the event you are leaving from extra early and get seat on the aisle so you don't have to climb over people. If you know you need to leave at a certain time, wear a watch. A watch screen is way less distracting than your iPhone 14 Pro.

Be aware of the people behind you. If you want to stand a take a selfie, do it before the intro starts. The intro is part of the screening. You might think it's cool to take a selfie with the speakers in the background, but you're messing it up for the people behind you.

I shouldn't have to say this but:

• Don't talk during the movie.
• Don't take any pictures during a screening. 
• Don't check your phone for any reason during a screening. 

In an emergency, if you absolutely need to use your phone, go into the lobby. You're not going to be able to help anyone from a movie theater anyway.

Planning

If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of person, I wish you lots of luck. Me, I figure out the entire schedule ahead of time. Then I don't have to worry about it. I usually know any blocks I'm iffy about and will be able to switch gears without dwelling on it in the moment. If you wait until you get out of one movie to decide what you're going to see next, you may be too late by the time you get there.

Once you’ve figured out what you want to see, you should probably try to get to events a half hour ahead of the start time, possibly earlier. If it’s something you’d be crushed if you missed, shoot for an hour early, especially if it's in the smallest theater. This is the theater that is likely to have to turn people away at certain times. They hadn't announced the TCL Chinese 6 theater sizes when I wrote this (only that they were using three screens), so I wasn't sure which theater that would be.

How do you get to the screening a half hour or more ahead of time? You should be able to figure out the end times by looking at the schedule. Anytime you have a longer break between events is a good opportunity to get some food that doesn’t come in a bucket with fake butter and salt. Do keep in mind that the smallest theater is going fill up fast, a half hour ahead of time might not be enough. Try to get there earlier if possible. This also counts for Club TCM events. In Club TCM, there are booths on the side and rows of chairs on floor near the fairly low stage. Toward the back of the room is a bar for standing, but once the room gets full you're may not be able to see well standing in the back.

One last thing, if you’re planning to change clothes between the daytime and nighttime screenings, figure out which break you’re going to use to go back to the hotel and change.

Ovation Hollywood Mall

The TCL Chinese 6 and the TCL Chinese IMAX are located in the Ovation Hollywood mall. You'll be spending a lot of time there. The mall is sort of a tourist mall. Most malls are fairly easy to get around in. This mall, not so much. It was designed so that you can explore, with an eye toward wandering around and getting lost. This means that you may not always be able to tell what level you're on or how to get up or down one level, or most importantly if you're on the correct level for the TCL Chinese 6. If you have a spare hour before the festival starts, go over and find the TCL Chinese 6 and figure out how to get from there to the Chinese IMAX and how to get in and out of the mall itself. It should be easy. It’s not. Note any stairs and escalators you run across. The time you get lost is bound to be the time you have the least time to spare. If you see any interesting fast food, see if they have a To Go menu. It might be the only hot meal you get some day. Note that there may be construction going on at the Ovation Hollywood mall, and this might affect some of this info. Fortunately, things like stairways and escalators are very expensive. You don't just rip them out or move them willy nilly, but you never know. They might be resurfacing or changing the hand rails. Last year, the entrance/exit to the mall that would have been the most direct way to and from the mall and the Legion Theatre was closed for construction. Hopefully, that won't be a problem this year, but you never know.

If you cannot do stairs or escalators, I strongly suggest you go to the mall ahead of time and find the elevators. I've never taken them, but they have to have some.

Hollywood Blvd

Hollywood Blvd is a nightmare. Okay, let me clarify. Hollywood Blvd is a tourist trap, and that makes it a nightmare. The worst part of it is the stretch between N Orange Dr, where the Roosevelt is, and N Highland Ave. Yes, Hollywood Blvd does have its charm. Okay, charm is putting it a bit strong. The first time I was in Hollywood was in the early 1990s, and the bloom was gone off the rose even back then. I do get that there is some appeal to Hollywood Blvd like the history and the Sidewalk Stars, but during TCMFF, you're better off avoiding it as much as possible.

I avoid it simply because there's too many people in the way, people taking selfies, Party City Spiderman and others of his ilk trying to get you make a donation to take your picture with them, people trying to sell tours you don't have time for, panhandlers, you name it, all in your way when you're trying to get somewhere.  It's almost always better to find another way unless you're going to someplace right on Hollywood Blvd.

Right in the middle of that stretch of Hollywood Blvd is the El Capitan Theatre. The El Capitan is Disney's flagship theater. Last year, the El Capitan was used for one screening (The Jungle Book, 1967). I would be great if they did something like that again like that this year. Still, the El Capitan could be a problem. If there is a premiere or some event has nothing what-so-ever to do with TCMFF as has happened in years past, the sidewalk might be closed or they might have you cross the street when you don't want to, another reason to avoid Hollywood Blvd if you can. 

To be honest, west of Orange Dr and in particular east of Highland, Hollywood Blvd gets better and is worth exploring, just you won't have much time during the Festival. Me, I've never felt unsafe on Hollywood Blvd, but admittedly, my tolerance for that might be significantly higher than yours. I do keep my eyes open, and I suggest you do too. 

Getting Around at TCMFF

Probably the only good thing about not having the Egyptian Theater this year is that there is much less of a need to deal with Hollywood Blvd. That and most of the Festival is very close to together, with one one big exception, the Hollywood Legion Theater. If you look Google Maps, the distance from TCL Chinese IMAX to the Hollywood Legion Theater looks like it’s about 6 blocks, but if you look at the way the surrounding streets are laid out, it’s a long 6 blocks.

The following map that is mostly to scale. The size of the buildings in relation to the streets could be off by bit. The map makes it look simple. It isn't. The TCL Chinese IMAX is on the street level. The main level of the mall is up one level from street and the TCL Chinese 6 is up one level from the main level, I think. From different parts of the mall you may need go up more than one level to get to the same place. It's weird, but that's just the way it works. Note that the numbers in blue circles are entrances/exits to the mall. These are my numbers, just so the map would make sense. If you go up to someone in the mall and ask where entrance 5 is, they won't have a clue what you're talking about. There may be other entrances/exits, but I think I have all of them now. These are the ones I know about or could see from a Google Maps. I'm pretty sure there is an entrance to the mall from the Loews Hotel; if staying there, I would find that and figure out how to get to the TCL Chinese 6 and IMAX that way before everything starts. On the map, entrance 2 is a tunnel that goes from the mall to where Orchid ends. If you turn right after leaving the mall at entrance 2, you'll go past some entrances to parking garages and come out about where entrance 3 lets out.

Going to TCL Chinese 6

From the Roosevelt, if you cross N Orange Dr and Hollywood Blvd, you'll be standing in front of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. If you follow the sidewalk to the left of the wax museum (north on Orange Dr.), you'll come to a traffic circle where tour buses line up. Coming from Franklin Ave., take Orange Drive south to the same spot. Follow the traffic circle around to the back, and there's an entrance to the mall up some stairs (entrance 1 on the map). If you go in this way, where you come into mall, there will two sets of stairs going up on the left. One goes to the mall business office. The other goes to the same level as the TCL Chinese 6, about 30 feet from the door. Find this stairway. It will save you a lot time.

From Orchid Ave, there is a tunnel (entrance 2) that enters the mall right where Orchid Ave ends that will put you into the mall on the main level.

From the Loews Hotel, if staying at the Loews Hotel, there is an entrance to the mall directly from the hotel. I've never stayed there, so I don't know how it works. Thus, it's not on the map, but if you're staying there it's worth the trouble of finding.

From East of N Highland Ave (closer to Hollywood Blvd), go in through either Entrance 4 or 5. Entrance 6 will work as well, but it's longer, and you'll spend more time dodging people on Hollywood Blvd.

From East of N Highland Ave (closer to Franklin), simple, entrance 3. You should be able to see this entrance as you're coming south on Highland Ave.

Going to Chinese IMAX

The thing you need to think about with the Chinese IMAX is the way they run the lines. The Spotlight VIP line is in the Courtyard, and probably most of it, if not all, is contained there. The other passholder line starts in the courtyard, but only accommodates the first 40 or 50 people. After that, it restarts at the top of the escalator from the Chinese IMAX and winds through the mall and out entrance 1, down the traffic circle and back toward Madame Tussaud's. At least, that's the way they ran it previous years. Don't worry if it goes back that far. It's a huge theater. You'll probably still get in.

If have a Spotlight pass or if you're getting there an hour early, just go to the front of the theater on Hollywood Blvd, though if you're coming from Highland, you might still be better off going through the mall.

If you're coming from the Roosevelt/Orange Dr and you don't have a Spotlight pass and you're not getting there an hour early, come in through entrance 1. You'll probably hit the end of the line about the time you're coming into the mall.

If you're coming from Highland Ave, you're probably still better off coming through the mall (just to avoid Hollywood Blvd) and head toward the Chinese IMAX. You'll probably hit the line before you get there, and if you have a Spotlight pass, you can take the escalator down, show your badge, and get through that way.

Going to Hollywood Legion Theater

See map below. I didn't include most of the streets north of Franklin. They veer to the west and wouldn't help you anyway. It is a bit of a trek, and you are going up a bit of a hill on the way there. Google maps says it's 0.6 miles (Roosevelt Hotel to Legion Theater) compared to 0.3 miles (Roosevelt Hotel to Egyptian Theater, not being used this year). Google calls it a 14 minute walk. I do think you could shave a minute or two and maybe a tenth of a mile by taking Johnny Grant Way or cutting through the mall as indicated below. The TCMFF web site calls it a 15 to 20 minute walk. Last year, they did have a shuttle. No word on that yet for this year. Toward the end of the Festival last year, they announced the shuttle a lot, making me think it was probably underused. Possibly, this would affect whether they do the shuttle again this year.

Note: The intersection of Hollywood and Franklin is a very busy intersection. Most streets have three lanes of traffic going each direction. It didn't bother me, but I do keep my eyes open and make sure that the cars that look like they're stopping really are. If you're uncomfortable, crossing Franklin at Highland, you can do whatever you need to take Orchid Ave north and cross Franklin there. It is marginally longer. 

From Hollywood Roosevelt, you have three options:

• Go north up Orange across the Traffic Circle (really just a parking lot, you can walk straight across). The red line is Johnny Grant Way a service/access road/alley that connects Orange Dr to Orchid Ave. It doesn't have any sidewalks so you'd need to keep an eye out for traffic especially at night. Then take Orchid north, right on Franklin, then left on Highland.
• Go north up Orange to the Traffic Circle and into the mall at entrance 1 and out the mall at entrance 3. From there, you're almost on Highland and just go north to the theater.
• Go north up Orange across the Traffic Circle to Franklin, turn right on Franklin, then left at Highland. Definitely longer but you don't have to deal with the mall or an access road.

I would not go Hollywood Blvd to Highland, unless you're trying to pick up food or something on the way.

From the TCL Chinese 6 and IMAX, go through the mall and exit from entrance 3. Then north up Highland to the theater. Entrance 3 was closed off for construction last year. It should be open now.

From east of Highland, just go north on Highland to the theater. Franklin jogs at Highland about a block north. Where it starts again is the last crosswalk if you're on the wrong side of the street. Highland's a pretty busy street. I don't think I'd want to j-walk it.

A few Legion Theater tips that I might or might not follow, well, I'll follow the last one definitely:

• Someone suggested, because of the distance, just going to all of the screenings at that venue to avoid having to go back and forth. I can't see going that route unless the schedule was very very cooperative. I might let it sway me if I was on the fence about a block and was already going to be up there.
• There's not much in the way of food up that way, a Subway just north of where Franklin jogs on the east side of the street, and handful of restaurants, most of which are only open for dinner. Last year, there was a food truck (spicy chicken) semi-permanently parked near the sidewalk at the Holiday Inn Express, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore. At least, it's not shown on Google maps now. I'm bummed. It was really good. I did hear good things about the food at the Legion Theater itself, and I do vaguely, remember that the sandwiches at the snack bar looked good.
• Someone suggested that if going to the Legion theater at night, walk in packs. Me, I'd be more worried about just crossing Franklin at night. Still, I think if you were heading there close to the time a screening was getting ready to start, there's bound to a dozen or more people heading there at the same time, so it's quite likely you would be in a pack already anyway.
• The Legion Theater has a great vintage bar in the basement. Be sure to check it out even if you don't drink.

Research

Take the time to read everything you can find on the website, http://filmfestival.tcm.com/. Search for blog posts like this one. A good source of info is Twitter, follow @tcm and search on the #TCMFF hashtag. There will be lots of good tips there. Also you might want to join the Going to TCM Classic Film Festival! Facebook group (link at the end of this post). I'm sure other social media sites have similar. Google the people being listed as guests and follow them on social media if you find them, you never know, you might be standing next to one of them at Starbucks, and it will give you something to talk about. If they are showing one of your all-time favorites, read the Wikipedia and IMDB pages about the film. You’re sure to pick up some interesting tidbits that most people don’t know. You can look smart to other people in line.

Smartphone App

Each year the festival does smartphone apps for iPhone and Android. If you have a smartphone, download it. They probably won't post it until about a week before the Festival. Just know that it will be posted, and get it when available. The smartphone apps will contain pretty much everything in the TCMFF guide book, plus things like updates of late additions/changes and the titles for the To Be Announced (TBA) slots on Sunday once they are known. More on that later. Even if you don't think you would use it, download it anyway. You might get shut out on a screening and need to figure out a plan B on the fly. That would be one time you realize you left your guide book at the hotel. Me, I don't use it a whole lot as I'm usually on Twitter during TCMFF and can get much of the same info there. Also, phone battery life can be an issue, so I would rather save my battery for taking pictures and social media, when most of the info on the app duplicates what's in the TCMFF guide book that I'm already carrying anyway. Plus, I'm old old and would rather read on paper than my phone. Then again, if you live on your phone, you'll rely more on the app.

TCMFF Guide Book

Each year, TCM publishes a guide book listing all of the films and other events, guest bios, and other valuable info. Everything you need to know about the festival will be in there. In the past, it has been printed in a small format, but I wouldn't call it pocket size, well, not unless you have very large pockets. Now, I know what you're thinking. If everything is in the guide book, why do you need the app? Well, S*** Happens. Guests might get sick and have to cancel at the last minute. Maybe there's a new book coming out, and they don't know whether or not copies will be available for a signing at the time they go to press. And again the TBA screenings, I swear, I will get to that in this post. 

You can pick up your guide book when you arrive and get your pass/badge. Per the web site, passes will be available for Will Call pick up at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel beginning Wednesday, April 20th. 2023 festival passes will not be shipped. I'm sure this is due to COVID. Currently, there is no plan for testing/vaccine verification, but if a new variant arises, that may change. No hours for pass pickup were posted when I wrote this. We'll find out later, via e-mail/web site. 

You should be able to get a guide book at the Information Desk (ground floor) in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Information Desk hours from 2022 were I think: Thursday, 10 am-8 pm; Friday/Saturday, 8 am-8 pm; and Sunday, 8 am-6 pm. Presumably, they will be comparable this year. If you lose or forget your guide book at the hotel, the Information Desk should be able to get you a new one.

Travel

By now, you probably have already made arrangements for travel, so it's probably too late to change it, but for future reference, I would recommend coming in on Wednesday (or earlier) before the festival and leaving Monday (or later). There are lot of people who build vacations around TCMFF. You will make friends, and the extra time will allow you to hang out with your old movie cronies before things get crazy. 

Earlier I said, read everything you can. Well, I know how you can get busy and time can get away from you, especially when preparing for a trip/vacation. Most people are going to have a good 5 or 6 hours travel time getting to TCMFF. Make some printouts or save copies to your tablet or whatever to read in the airport and on the plane.

Are you the type who likes to buy souvenirs? If so, are they going to fit in your suitcase? You might want to consider bringing a Priority Mail Flat-Rate box. If you’re worried about items getting lost or damaged in the mail, you can always mail home your dirty clothes. 

Post offices:

1615 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (hours, 9 am to 6 pm, Mon to Fri; 9 am to  3 pm, Sat; closed Sun), about 6 blocks east of Highland and half a block south of Hollywood Blvd. 

1425 N Cherokee Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (hours, 9 am to 5 pm, Mon to Fri; 8:30 am to  3:30 pm, Sat; closed Sun), about three blocks east of Highland Ave. and a block south of Sunset.

Other shipping options: 

Mail and More on Hollywood, 7095 Hollywood Blvd. (hours, 10 am to 5 pm, Mon to Fri; 10 am to  3 pm, Sat; closed Sun), much closer, about two blocks west of the Roosevelt. It is a private shipping place, so you may pay more. Then again, it's much closer to the Festival than either of the Post Offices.

FedEx Office Print & Ship Center, 1755 N Highland Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028 (hours, 9 am to 5 pm, Mon to Fri; closed Sat/Sun), about a block north of Hollywood and Highland. You'll probably pass it multiple times on the way to and from the Legion Theater during the Festival.

It might even be worth calling your hotel and see if they can mail for you.

Pick Up the Phone

We get very used to using the internet to look up just about everything, but face it, web pages don't always give you the info you need to know:

• Say your hotel's web page says free internet, but you want to make sure it's in the room, not just in the lobby, call them.
• You're traveling partner has food allergies, and you want make sure the restaurant you're planning to go to the night you arrive can accommodate, call them.
• You know you're taking an extra bag, but the shuttle service from the airport's doesn't say anything about extra-baggage, call them.

If you are unsure about something and don't like surprises, pick up the phone and try to talk to a real person. Yes, sometimes, it's hard to find a phone number, and a lot of places send right to voicemail, but businesses like restaurants, hotels, etc. still have phones and expect the people working there to answer them.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Me, I only do Facebook and Twitter, so I can only speak to those with any authority. On Facebook, I suggest joining the Going to TCM Classic Film Festival! group. It's a great place to meet people, make plans, and ask questions (link below). TCM has a very active presence on Twitter. Even if you have never been on Twitter, it might be worth the trouble of creating an account just for TCMFF. Make sure that you follow @tcm and monitor the #TCMFF hashtag. There is also a #TCMParty hashtag that a lot of people use to talk about classic movies and live-tweet to whatever is playing on the network. The immediacy of Twitter make it a good platform for interacting with others in close to real-time. I'm sure if you are on Instagram, Tumblr, or other social media, you can find similar by searching for TCMFF. If you do meet people on social media and click with them and think it might be fun to have lunch or something, make plans early. People's schedules fill up quick. Hmm, note to self: There probably needs to be a TCMFFr app, so you can swipe right for film festival hookups. I've been making this joke for years, but I swear one of these years I'm going to do it. 

Choose You Own Path

Different people enjoy TCMFF in different ways. Some people like to discover new films or see special presentations that you can only find see at the Festival. Some people want to see as many Film Noir or Pre-Code screenings as possible. Others want to relish in old favorites they have seen a hundred times before. In the past, I have attended with my daughter, and I tended to pick films that I know she would like or should see. She's working full-time and won't be attending again this year. She's all grown up. I'm verklempt. You may run into others who have a different approach to TCMFF than you. Don't feel bad or think you need to reevaluate. There is no one right approach except for the one that works for you. 

Be Flexible

Despite all of your planning, leave yourself a little wiggle room. Each year, they leave four or five TBA slots open on Sunday to repeat films that turned people away earlier in the Festival. The TBAs will be announced fairly late on Saturday. This could be your chance to see something that you had to skip or got locked out on earlier. On the TBAs, bear in mind that certain things probably will not be repeated. A silent film with a live orchestra may not be repeated just because the musicians would have to be available on short notice. Also, I don't see them repeating a film that overflowed the 900-seat Chinese IMAX. Showing it again in a 200-seat theater probably wouldn't make enough difference to be worth the trouble.

in 2018, we were about 20 people back from getting into a rare screwball comedy, but it didn't look like we going to make it into the theater. The TCM Festival staff announced that another screening of a French-language film noir still had plenty of seats. We switched gears and that turned out to be one of our favorite films that year. It’s perfectly okay to switch things around. You might be late getting to a screening and get shut out. Check the schedule, you might be able to get into something else. Maybe, you figured that you’d be too tired for any of the midnight movies, but you get out of that last screening and feel really pumped and want to keep going. Go for it.

Maybe, there is a block that you’re not particular enthused about. This is the perfect chance to get a real meal or even sneak back to the hotel for a nap. Last year, my wife and I weren't psyched on anything in the late Friday evening block and decided to get a late Italian dinner at Micelli's. We ended up running into Ruth Mundsack from the Facebook group along with a three people from Chicago (Ruth knows everybody). We joined them for dinner. We had just come from a screening of The Letter that Alicia Malone had introduced and interviewed a woman who had been Bette Davis' personal assistant toward the end of her life and written a book about it. Alicia Malone was good, but the interview was terrible. This woman didn't want to talk about Bette Davis. She wanted to talk about her own life as it pertained to Bette Davis. No matter what Alicia did to try to get her back on track, this woman was having none of it. It turns out Alicia was having dinner at Micelli's as well. She had seen Ruth in the audience and came up to our table to ask if she had done anything wrong or could have done anything different. We were all supportive. She did fine. No, that woman wanted to talk about herself and not Bette Davis. The end result was my wife and I had a great meal, good company, and got to get a picture with Alicia Malone, all because we took a break.

Just remember, you’re there to have fun. It’s almost assured that you’re going to be running around a lot, but there is nothing that says you have to. It’s okay to take a breather.

Try Something New

To a certain degree, this is going to vary from person to person to person. Maybe, you've never been to one of the midnight or poolside screenings, try to find a way to make that happen. Maybe, you've never seen a silent film with live accompaniment. Maybe, you're the type of person who puts a premium on seeing films you've never seen before over old standards that you've seen a bunch of times. Know that seeing something like Casablanca in the TCL Chinese IMAX in a packed theater with an audience who knows the film by heart is a way better experience than seeing it on the big screen at the multiplex at a Fathom Events screening with 30 people.

My second year at TCMFF, they did a special presentation on the history of Technicolor. I thought it sounded really cool, but I decided on something else instead. Afterwards, everybody was raving about how cool the Technicolor thing was. The next year I decided to not make the same mistake twice and went to the Vitaphone presentation. Vitaphone was the first technology to make talking motion pictures viable on a large scale, and the presentation was awesome.

Just try to step outside of your comfort zone at some point during the Festival. Maybe, it works out. Maybe, it doesn't work out so well. Just know that it's actually kind of hard to make a bad decision at TCMFF.

Try to See Something Besides Inside of a Theater

Even if you only have a couple of hours to spare, take advantage. Maybe you can squeeze in one of the tours. If you keep going east on Hollywood Blvd, things start to get less cheesy and you'll find things like vintage clothing stores and cool bars and restaurants. Also it seems like more of the sidewalk stars that direction are Golden Age Hollywood people. Me, I want to try to have a meal at Musso and Frank's again and maybe a trip to Amoeba Records. Amoeba Records has moved to a smaller location (6200 Hollywood Blvd), but trust me, it's still a very good record store and quite likely has a better selection than similar places where you live. They also have a great selection of DVDs. It is close to a Trader Joe's (1600 Vine St) if you need supplies and a minor classic film landmark (Chateau Alto Nido Apartments, 1851 Ivar Ave, William Holden's apartment in Sunset Blvd), all very close to Hollywood Vine Metro station if you want to save the 1 mile walk.

About 4 blocks east of Highland on Hollywood Blvd. is Larry Edmunds Bookstore, great bookstore, specializing in movies and theater, and they will ship if you don't want to make your suitcase heavy with a bunch of books. They also often have book signings to coincide with TCMFF. Keep an eye out for announcements as we get closer.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is now open and well worth the trip. Last year, I posted a note on the Going to the TCM Film Festival Facebook group, and ended up sharing an Uber and starting with breakfast with Sharleen, Sharon, and Shelley at Dupar's Restaurant and Bakery, about a 10 block walk from the museum. Also, the Museum does have a cafe, and I heard good things about it from just about everyone who went there.

This year, I am doing the walking tour of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This one has been on my TCMFF bucket list for some time.

If there is somewhere you want to go, it might be worth it to call and see that they are still there, or that their hours haven't changed, especially post-COVID.  Several years ago, I did a series of posts on my favorite TCMFF Sidetrips, and half of them are no longer there. See links at the bottom of this post for the ones that are still relevant.

Talk to People

You probably wouldn’t know but I’m kind of an introvert. Oh, I’m fine talking to people if I feel have a reason to or if I think I have something in common with them, but in some social situations, I clam up or spend the whole time talking to the people I already know. Know that pretty much anybody wearing a TCMFF badge is someone you have something in common with, probably way more than most of your friends back home. This is your tribe. Revel in it. By Saturday, almost anyone you talk to has seen at least one of the same movies you have over the course of the Festival. At any given time, there are about five or six things going on at once. If you’re standing in line, everyone else in that line has just passed up four or five other things that under normal circumstances they would love to see. If that’s not something in common, I don’t know what is. If you’re shy, try the following conversation starters:

• What have you seen so far? A lot of the time it’s things you saw too or something you really wanted to see, but had to skip for something you wanted to see more. If it’s one of those rare titles, you can find out whether it was worth it. This may help you decide on those TBAs on Sunday.
• What’s your favorite thing so far? You might get some great stories: Eddie Muller was very funny. Or I was standing in line for coffee with Ben Mankiewicz. 
• And don’t forget the standard ones: Where are you from? How was your trip?

Festival Boutique

No word at this time, but I'm sure there's going to be a place to buy Festival t-shirts etc. In years past, they have taken over part of a shop in the mall. Last year, there was a stand in the courtyard of the Chinese Theater. I'm sure there will be similar this year. Check the website for details as the become available.

Swag

I like to think of TCMFF as Comic-Con for classic film fans. At Comic-Con, you can't walk 20 feet without having someone give you swag. For those not in the know, swag is cool free stuff, or sometimes just free stuff. There is not a lot of swag at TCMFF, but it does exist. TCM does hold events for things like the TCM Wine Club. Will there be swag there? I honestly don't know, but there might be. Of course, maybe you'll have to join the Wine Club to get it, but if you were planning to anyway, it might be cooler than what you would get otherwise.

Most years, Beth Accomando and Miquel Rodriguez of Film Geeks San Diego, do some sort of swag and/or cookies for the midnight movies, but you have to go to the midnight movies to get them. My favorite were the Sean Connery, banana hammock gingerbread cookies for Zardoz back in 2017:

Roughly 98% of the swag at TCMFF is buttons. Before TCMFF about four years ago, I made rather flippant remark on Facebook about buttons. I said, if you didn't get any buttons, it's because you didn't try. Of course, several people responded, I didn't get any buttons. How do you get buttons? Well, here you go.

A lot of people make buttons to give out at TCMFF. Maybe they are promoting their classic film blog or podcast. Maybe they're doing it because they like Burt Lancaster or think Mary Wickes is the greatest. Anyway, if you want buttons, find someone who has some buttons, tell them you like them, and ask where they got them. Maybe they ordered them online before the Festival. Maybe they got them the year before. Maybe they got them the day before from a guy wearing a Buster Keaton hat. Then again, maybe they got one from the woman over there in the green dress, and she still has some. You go up and ask her, and she gives you one. Yea!

You may need to ask five people, ten people, twenty people, thirty people. Maybe you will get some buttons. Maybe, you won't, but what if you don't. Is it bad that you talk to 20 or 30 people you wouldn't have talked to otherwise? If you see someone with a lot of buttons, ask them. Often the reason people have a lot of buttons is that they are giving them out and got them in return. They probably have some on them and would be happy to give you one.

Another way to get buttons is look on social media. A lot of the people who order buttons to give out at the Festival will post pictures of them on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever ahead of time. "Hi everybody, my Lana Turner buttons came in today." When you see things like this, like them. Post comments about how cool they. Follow or friend them. Send them a direct message. When it gets closer to the Festival, figure out which events they are going to and find them and ask for a button. See what I did there? I just recommended that you cyberstalk someone to get a Lana Turner button. Don't worry. In the realm of cyberstalking, this is about as benign as it gets.

Finally, if you really want buttons, go out and get some. Find an image you like, ignore the fact that you don't own the copyright. Yes, I know this is wrong, and illegal, but you're probably not going to get caught, though to be safe, I might steer clear of Disney. Then order some buttons. If you're not real tech savvy, find someone to help you. You probably have a nephew who can help. If that is too much trouble, just do one with text. Most button making sites will allow you to type in the text you want to put on the button. Say you like, Casablanca, do buttons that say, "Kiss me as if it were the last time."

The reason everyone does buttons is that they're cheap and easy to do. The first place I looked at just now was charging $46 for 100 buttons counting shipping. You might be able to do better if you look around. Figure on about 50 cents each for 100 buttons, which is plenty. If you get a button-making kit, you might be able to do better by printing them at work, though it seems to me that the cost of the button making kits has gone up dramatically since COVID. At this point it might be better to just order them. Probably allow for about 2 weeks for deliver for the best prices.

If you give out a hundred buttons, you're probably going to get some in return. Are you going to get 75? Maybe not. You might only get five, but likely you'll get quite a few. You're definitely going to get one, because you're going to keep one for yourself. And it's going to be one you like, because you picked out what to put on it. You got a button that you love, and it only cost you a 50 cents (or 50 dollars), depending how you look at it. Score (or not).

Anyway, nowhere is the old adage it's better to give than receive more true than with buttons and TCMFF. The point is not getting buttons. The point is giving them. Where else can you make people happy for 50 cents. If you give a homeless guy 50 cents, he's going to look at you like you just took a dump in his sleeping bag. If you like buttons, order some. You'll get one, and you'll make 99 other people happy. It's the best  50 bucks you'll ever spend in your life. By the way, if you do make some buttons, it's probably better not to put the TCM logo on it. TCM is in the business selling stuff with their logo on it. They probably wouldn't confiscate them or anything, but it is their pool we're playing in. We should respect that.

If you decide to do swag, now, would be the time to figure it out. You need to allow time to get them ordered and delivered. You wouldn't want to have them arrive the day after you leave for Hollywood. I am probably doing some sort of swag this year, but I'm not sure what. I did these last year to give out at The Sting.

In 2019, I did temporary tattoos. I gave one to an older woman that I'd interacted with on Facebook. She said, "I have a tattoo." She then showed me this very fine black line in the crook of her hand between her thumb and forefinger. She said that she did it herself with a needle and india ink. "When I was a kid, all of the good-looking bad boys in the neighborhood had these crucifix tattoos on their hands there," she explained. She and a girlfriend tried to give themselves tattoos to impress them, but it hurt too much so she only got the one line done.  When I sent her a message on Facebook to ask if I could share this story, she said I could and that the the bad boys were called Pachucos, a name for Mexican-American gang members in the 1950s. That's one of the most hardcore things I've heard in my life. This woman who looks like the perfect grandmother and posts Christian memes on Facebook was giving herself a home-made gang tattoo to impress the bad boys in the neighborhood in the 1950s. I wonder if her kids/grandkids know.

Several years ago, I did these. I got a really great smirk from Ben Mankiewicz when I handed him one.

If they ever show A Place in the Sun, I'll do them again. 

Swag You Really Don't Want

One last word of warning. As you wander Hollywood Blvd, people are going to try give you stuff. Don't take it. Once a young man came up to me and said, "Here, have a free CD." In a moment weakness and exhaustion, I accepted. He then proceeded to ask me for money for the free CD he had just given me. And then didn't want to take it back when I said no. Trust me, you don't need that kind of headache.

Shameless Plug

Last year, I broke down and ordered some enamel pins (to sell). They came out really nice, and if I sell 10 or 15 more, I'll actually break even. 

You can order them at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1177079470/asta-dog-enamel-lapel-from-classic-film.

Also, I will be selling them in-person at TCMFF, $10 cash. 

Related links

If you're on Facebook, consider joining the Going to TCM Classic Film Festival! Group. It's a good place to meet people and ask questions.

My TCMFF Sidetrip posts from several years ago:

• TCMFF Sidetrips – Musso & Frank Grill
• TCMFF Sidetrips – Bradbury Building, Angels Flight, and More