Roku Blog Feed: “Interview with Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies” plus 1 more

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Interview with Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies Posted: 01 Feb 2019 11:11 AM PST As TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar kicks off, we had the chance to interview film critic and host of Turner Classic Movies, Ben Mankiewicz. He dished a bit on how he became a film fanatic, his favorite (and least favorite) things about award season, and what 31 Days of Oscar is all about. TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar runs from 2/1 until 3/3. So if you haven’t already, add Watch TCM and start streaming some award winning films! How and when did you become a film fanatic, and how did you turn it into a career? I grew up in Washington, DC, where my dad, Frank Mankiewicz, was a significant figure in Democratic politics. He was Latin American Director of the Peace Corps under JFK, then press secretary to RFK, and later ran George McGovern's campaign with Gary Hart. He left political activism to become President of National Public Radio. All this is to say I grew up far more interested in politics than movies. I knew my family's movie history – my grandfather, Herman Mankiewicz, wrote the screenplay to Citizen Kane, and his brother Joe's long list of credits includes writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve, earning him four Oscars in two years – but I thought (and still think) my dad was the smartest and most successful Mankiewicz of them all. Two events stand out to me on the path to expanding my relationship with movies. First, my mother insisted I watch North by Northwest with her on television. My memory tells me she said I'd love it "even though it's in black and white." And I remember watching it with her. And I remember thinking "OK, this black and white movie  is pretty exciting." Except North by Northwest is a color film – and we watched it on our color TV. So much for trusting memory. In college at Tufts, I took a film course – Tufts didn't have a film program. I took it pass/fail and completely anticipated coasting. But then I didn't want to coast. I was fully invested in the class in a way I'd seldom experienced. I wrote a final paper on the Warner Brothers picture The Santa Fe Trail, which egregiously toys with the history of John Brown's messianic mission to end slavery before the Civil War. Anyway, I got an A+ (the only A+ of my life), which, of course, was completely wasted in a pass/fail course. It's been 30 years and I'm still ticked off. What's your favorite part about being the host of TCM? The best part of being the host of TCM is getting to experience first hand how much the channel means to people. We're woven into the fabric of our fans' lives in a way no other channel is. I watch games on ESPN, but I feel no emotional connection to the network. I'm a Better Call Saul junkie, but no one has ever said, "boy, I sure love AMC." The words "I'm a Showtime fan" have never been uttered by a human being, though Billions, Homeland, and Ray Donovan are part of my Sunday night routine. But TCM carries an emotional weight – it matters to people, connecting them to their parents, their grandparents, their childhood, to memories – right or wrong – of a simpler time. And being a face of the channel, I'm on the lovely end of daily expressions of gratitude from people to whom TCM plays a rich role in their lives. What is TCM's 31 Days of Oscar all about? 31 Days of Oscar is one of our two signature programming events each year (Summer Under the Stars is the other). From February 1st through March 3rd, every movie we present is either on Oscar nominee or winner. Our programming department picks a theme every year – this year's is particularly clever. In prime time, we're presenting double features of Oscar winning or nominated movies connected in some meaningful way – by actor or director, genre or Oscar category, or by a single plot point. We've paired up movies featuring on screen divorces, movies with butlers, movies set on the grittiest streets of New York, movies featuring effective therapy sessions. Clearly, the programming team had a blast this year. What is your favorite part about award season and what are your biggest storylines to watch going to this year's Academy Awards? Awards season finally gives Hollywood a chance to shine the spotlight on Hollywood. Yeah. Anyway, I both enjoy and abhor awards season. Everyone is talking – mostly thoughtfully – about movies, so there's the joy. The downside is the campaigning, the marketing of a movie to get a nomination and an award. And because we're humans, we're obsessed with winning, somehow turning those who don't win an Oscar or a Globe or a SAG into losers, which drives me crazy. And that doesn't even take into account the movies and performances that aren't nominated. I hate that Eighth Grade was shut out by the Academy – that Emily Blunt wasn't nominated for A Quiet Place, that If Beale Street Could Talk doesn't have a Best Picture nomination. So I'm torn on awards season. But I always watch. You can only watch one movie on repeat for the rest of your life. What movie are you picking and why? What a terrible question. I'm tempted to pick Transformers 3, the loudest movie ever made (perhaps it was Transformers 2), because whatever single movie I pick I'll eventually grow to hate after watching it over and over. So I'll just choose a movie I already hate. Pick one of each: Favorite Actor, Actress, and Director of all time. I love character actors – who doesn't – so I instantly think of Lee J. Cobb, Harry Dean Stanton, Jonathan Banks, Richard Farnsworth, Charles Bickford…guys like that. But if you want a leading man, I'll take Bogart. There's a sadness, a desperation in his best performances that elevates him in my eyes. For a female actor, no one is better than Geraldine Paige in The Trip to Bountiful. But I'm drawn to Diana Sands. She turned in great performances, then died far too young, before Hollywood finally started – albeit slowly – allowing black actors to tackle nuanced roles. For a director, how do you choose? I'll take Don Siegel, because he made some great films, and he's seldom included in a list of the best directors. Though it's tough not to take Billy Wilder…but look, I didn't. Add Watch TCM to your Roku device and start watching the 31 Days of Oscar today! The post Interview with Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies appeared first on The Official Roku Blog.

New on The Roku Channel: February 2019 | Watch free movies online and on Roku devices Posted: 01 Feb 2019 10:03 AM PST Here are the new free movies you can watch online now on The Roku Channel or on your Roku device. February’s list is full of Hollywood hits – Draft Day, Sleepless in Seattle, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet,  and more! Click here to add The Roku Channel to your Roku device and start streaming! Draft Day (2014) – At the NFL Draft, General Manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams. Watch now. Emma (1996) – While matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th Century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love. Watch now. Empire Of The Sun (1987) – A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II. Watch now. Guess Who (2005) – A young woman, Theresa, brings her boyfriend, Simon, home to meet her parents and surprise them with the news of their engagement. Another surprise: Simon is white. Watch now. In Her Shoes (2005) – Strait-laced Rose breaks off relations with her party girl sister, Maggie, over an indiscretion involving Rose’s boyfriend. The chilly atmosphere is broken with the arrival of Ella, the grandmother neither sister knew existed. Watch now. Into The Blue (2005) – A group of divers find themselves in deep trouble with a drug lord after they come upon the illicit cargo of a sunken airplane. Watch now. Music And Lyrics (2007) – A washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he’s never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a flair for words. Watch now. My Week With Marilyn (2011) – Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). Watch now. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) – High school student Nick O’Leary, member of the Queercore band The Jerk Offs, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg when she asks him to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Watch now. Paddington (2014) – A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven. Watch now. School Ties (1992) – Set in the 1950s, a star-quarterback is given an opportunity to attend an elite preparatory school but must conceal the fact that he is Jewish. Watch now. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – A recently widowed man’s son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner. Watch now. Space Cowboys (2000) – When a retired engineer is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space. Watch now. The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (2009) – A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting. Watch now. The Score (2001) – An aging thief hopes to retire and live off his ill-gotten wealth when a young kid convinces him into doing one last heist. Watch now. The Walk (2015) – In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Watch now. What Lies Beneath (2000) – The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost – or that she is losing her mind. Watch now. When Harry Met Sally (1989) – Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship. Watch now. William Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet (1996) – Shakespeare’s famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. Watch now. Lookin for more to watch? Here’s what’s new on Netflix in February. The post New on The Roku Channel: February 2019 | Watch free movies online and on Roku devices appeared first on The Official Roku Blog.

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