The TCM Classic Film Festival will be held from April 30-May 3 in Hollywood. (photo courtesy of Turner Classic Movies)
For its 17th outing, the TCM Classic Film Festival is transforming Hollywood Boulevard into a movie lover’s haven – or at least, even more so than it is the other 361 days of the year. From April 30-May 3, TCM will showcase 81 films with the theme “The World Comes to Hollywood,” with a special focus on internationally born industry professionals who made their mark in America.
An especially heavy lineup of major stars have RSVP-ed for the 2026 fest, including Jane Fonda – who will introduce “Barefoot in the Park” co-starring her late friend Robert Redford – Sharon Stone, Carol Burnett, Cameron Crowe, Laura Dern, Barbara Hershey, Ken Jennings, Tony Shalhoub, Lorna Luft, Andrew Rannells, Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Weller, Paul Williams, Mario Cantone, Adam Shankman, Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close, who will receive her hand and footprints in the TCL Chinese Theatre forecourt on Friday, May 1.
“Over [the channel’s] 32-year history, we’ve earned the respect and trust [of] talent because we love movies as much as they do and we like to celebrate their contributions to film history,” TCM senior vice president of programming and content strategy Charles Tabesh said. “When we launched the film festival in 2010 we brought that same approach – always showing films with context and reverence, in the best venues and with the best prints available. We share a passion with them and they see that.”
Several rarities will be included in the schedule, including the 1932 Joan Crawford movie “Letty Lynton,” which has not been seen in 90 years due to a copyright dispute.
“Credit really goes to [library historian] George Feltenstein at Warner Brothers. He’s been working for years to clear the rights to ‘Letty Lynton’ and this year, with help from the legal department, he was finally able to make it happen. And we need to thank Daphne Dentz, the head of creative services at WB, who worked with her team to create the beautiful, newly restored master that we’ll be premiering.”
Several timely films related to journalism will also be showcased, two of which are celebrating their 50th anniversary, “Network” and “All the President’s Men,” which Tabesh said is his daughter’s favorite movie.
“I hope to be able to watch some of it with her. And I’m so excited that John Dean will be there to talk about Watergate, that time period and political corruption more broadly,” Tabesh said. Dean served as counsel to the president of the United States from July 1970-April 1973.
Tabesh said that the event couldn’t happen anywhere except Hollywood.
“When movie fans come from around the country, or from other places in the world, they want to feel connected to [Hollywood] history. No other place would be the same,” Tabesh said.
For festival passes and information, visit festival.tcm.com. The TCM Classic Film Festival will be held at several venues near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, with its home base at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, located at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
