This will be my ninth time attending the TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), held April 18 to 21, 2024 in Hollywood (not counting the At Home editions TCM did during the lock down). 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 eighth version of this guide, and it's split 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 trying to preserve your sanity in the craziness of TCMFF.
I think we're far enough past the pandemic to not have to worry about COVID-19, but it is still around. I got it for the third time about a week and a half ago, like the other times, mild case, mostly a pain isolating. Last year, there weren't any COVID-related protocols, but rest assured that if the situation changes, TCM will take whatever steps are necessary to keep those attending safe.
Last year, I tested positive for COVID on Sunday morning and had to miss the entire day. Near as I can tell, none the of the people I interacted with at the Festival got it. The one possible exception is a woman from Chicago I had dinner with on Saturday night. Like me, she tested positive on Sunday morning, but none of the other people we had dinner with the night before got it. I'm guessing we just both got it at about the same time, but not from one another. Still, I plan on getting a booster vaccine before April and will probably wear a mask in screenings, maybe in lines too. That's where you're exposed to the most people in the closest proximity. Also, I'll probably bring a test kit, just so if I'm feeling off, I don't have to run out and find a 24-hour drugstore like last year.
With that out of the way, let's move on.
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Food
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, that particular CVS 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. There is also a Walgreens drug store on Hollywood Blvd, just west of Highland Ave. Hours of operation:
- Target, 8 am to 10 pm, 7 days
- CVS Pharmacy, 8 am to 10 pm, 7 days; pharmacy hours, 10 am to 1:30 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm, Mon–Sat and 10 am to 1:30 and 2 pm to 5 pm, Sun
- Subway, 9 am to 11 pm, Mon–Sat and 9 am to 10 pm, Sun
- Walgreens, 9 am to midnight, 7 days, couldn't find pharmacy hours on their web site
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 (going the same direction you'd go to get to the Egyptian Theatre) and open 9 am to 9 pm, 7 days, however, it is only about 2 blocks from the Hollywood Vine Metro station.
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 few landmarks that deserve mention:
- Musso and Frank Grill – Hollywood's oldest restaurant. Kind of pricey, but the food and service is excellent. Open 5 pm to 11 pm, Tue-Sat, 4 pm to 10 pm, Sun. Closed Mondays. If you want to go to Musso and Frank, you should probably make reservations soon. Everybody tries to go to Musso and Frank during TCMFF, so getting in without a reservation might be a problem.
- Micelli's (1646 N Las Palmas Ave) – Opened in 1949, moderately priced and very good Italian food. Open 11:30 am to 9:30 pm, 7 days
- Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – Not a restaurant, but they do have a number of dining options. If you've been to TCMFF before, you've probably eaten in the Roosevelt's burger restaurant, 25 Degrees. Pricey, but if you're destined to pay $20 for a burger, you could do worse, and their Guinness Milkshake is awesome. In addition to 25 Degrees, you can get casual dining food at the Tropicana Bar poolside and Rosy Café behind the pool (don't think it was there last year). Also at the Roosevelt, Shirley Brasserie is looks to be a very good and very expensive sit-down restaurant.
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, one year when my wife was attending (she doesn't go every year), we 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. Each year, I take some time in the weeks leading to TCMFF, to digitally scout out the area, that way, I have an idea of where things are and what types of food are available. It helps. Bear in mind that running a restaurant is a very tough business, especially in a place with rents as high as Hollywood. That little place that you found last year may or may not still be there. You might want to check first.
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 have something that passes for breakfast, so I usually get breakfast at the same time. Plus, if they have sandwiches or salad, 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 Dudley Moore in Arthur, 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 several times, and it is a cool kind of whole-in-the-wall place with reasonably priced drinks by Hollywood standards anyway. Located at 1652 North Cherokee Ave just south of Hollywood Blvd (about a block and a half east of the Egyptian Theater, Boardner's has been open since 1942. Lawrence Tierney used to start fights in the joint, though to be fair, he started fights in a lot of places. Black Dahlia murder victim, Elizabeth Short, is rumored to have had her last drink there. Then again in Hollywood, there's a city ordinance that if your bar was open in 1947, you get to claim she had her last drink there. Patrons over the years have included Robert Mitchum, Tommy Dorsey, Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields, Lucille Ball, Charles Bukowski, and Donald Sutherland. Boardner's does serve food and I had a pretty good burger there last year. They open at 5 pm with a Happy Hour, Mon-Sat, 5 to 8 pm and Sunday all night. 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 when TCMFF was last at the Egyptian Theater, seems to me that part of the line was in the shade and part of it was in the sun. 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. In August of last year, they were predicting a hurricane in Southern California. It was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it got here. LA took the brunt of it, and they had massive flooding and mudslides. 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 probably 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's a rare occurrence in the spring, but it does happen.
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. If you only plan to dress up once or twice, opening night or the closing night party is your best bet.
You don't see a lot of cosplay (people in costumes) at TCMFF, but it does happen. Lately, the poolside screenings have been skewed toward titles that encourage dress-up, Hawaiian shirts for Blue Hawaii. I would look for that again this year. If you want to dress up as a cowboy for The Searchers or a convict for The Shawshank Redemption, people would dig it. Just remember, even if the do show The Jazz Singer, blackface is NOT okay. In 2019, A woman wore a very good version of Scarlet O'Hara's curtain dress to the closing night party. It was awesome.
All things considered, with the exception of the possible exception of the Egyptian Theatre, 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 a battery 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.
Last year, I tried to post a video of the Russ Tamblyn interview before Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Bad idea, all it did was drain my battery trying unsuccessfully to upload. By the time, I go out of the late afternoon screening, my phone was down to 2% battery.
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 had a tough time with COVID, so many hotels are looking to charge/overcharge for anything they can. 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. I tend to burn through all of my 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. Think about how important those pictures are. 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. Sometimes, if the theater isn't crowded you can change seats after the intro, but if it's full, you're not going to be able to.
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 started 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 finding a charger for your 3-year old iPhone could be a problem.
Note on Selfies
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.
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. Your mileage may vary.
A couple years ago, 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, and they seem to be a little easier to find than they used to be.
As a Fun-Size Candy Bar, 80 Calories, and
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 couldn't hurt.
As mentioned before, last year, I got COVID last year and had to miss all of Sunday. It sucked. I'm probably going to wearing a mask in the screenings and in line this year.
Shameless Plug
A couple years ago, I broke down and ordered some enamel pins (to sell). They came out really nice, but I still haven't broken even on them.
I will be selling them in-person at TCMFF, $10 cash.
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