TVSquad

While the Republicans are gathering in St. Paul for their national convention to confirm the candidacy of Senator John McCain as presiden,t and Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, Turner Classic Movies is presenting a night of alternative politics.

The cable channel going to present five movies about politics, and if you want to see how the world of running for public office has changed in the 20th century, these films are a fantastic reflection of the times.

On Wednesday, September 3, starting at 8 PM ET, the night begins with The Last Hurrah, and includes The Candidate (10:15 PM), The Best Man (12:15 AM), Nashville (2 AM) and The Dark Horse (1932).

Like I said, these pictures are all really interesting choices. The Candidate, released in 1972, for instance, is not so different from today's campaign pitting Senator Barack Obama versus Senator John McCain.

It's a young candidate espousing change, up against an experienced, wizened establishment candidate. Robert Redford plays Bill McKay, the up and comer, while Don Porter is the popular, long-time incumbent senator. Check out these photos, because Porter even looks like McCain!

ESPN Films is co-producing a film for theatrical release about legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. The film will center around their struggle to break down racial barriers in the late 40s. The project, which is yet untitled, will be produced by Robert Redford, Tracy Falco, Karen Baldwin and Andrew Cohen. Redford will star in the role of Rickey. No word on who will play Robinson.

ESPN Senior VP, Ron Semiao, says "ESPN Films is honored to be collaborating with such accomplished storytellers and filmmakers for such an important sports and American story." Semiao was at the Beverly Hilton yesterday along with Branch Rickey III to discuss the project. Semiao added that doing this theatrical film was a natural extension for the company which tries to serve sports fans "however they consume sports content."

Recently, I wrote about why I respect, admire, and -- yes -- love Turner Classic Movies. Well, today they've done something else to reinforce my feelings. On June 2, TCM will air a salute to director Sydney Pollack, showing four of his films. The Oscar-winning director, who was also an actor and producer, passed away on Monday following a short bout with cancer. It was only a few months ago that the word spread in Hollywood that he was seriously ill. Film critic Joseph Morgenstern wrote a salute to him on February 2 in the Wall Street Journal, honoring the man before his death.

Sadly, the cancer that fell Sydney Pollack was one that didn't respond to treatment.

On Monday, TCM will show Sydney Pollack's directorial debut in features, 1965's The Slender Thread starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft. In the same year, he won an Emmy for directing The Game, part of the Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater anthology series. On TV, he'd also done Ben Casey and The Fugitive episodes, learning his craft.

As an avid TV fan, I love it when somebody makes a movie all about the television industry. Since I'm not a movie critic, the cinema is pure entertainment for me. Unfortunately, too often the movies make the mistake of romanticizing the world of television like they do everything else. Here is my personal list of those that got it right.

My Favorite Year
From what I understand, not only is the setting for this film taken straight from Your Show of Shows but the characters are dead on representations of Sid Caesar and others who made the show happen. The movie contains what is probably Peter O'Toole's best comedic performance and an amazing supporting cast featuring Bill Macy, Lanie Kazan, and Joe Bologna.

Last week, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson reportedly made a surprise visit back to American Idol to offer words of encouragement to this year's batch of young hopefuls.

Visiting on elimination day, Jennifer said, "I still get nervous on Wednesdays, because I was always in the bottom three." Jennifer told the semifinalists, "Remember, it's OK if you get eliminated!"

Jennifer has certainly proved that you don't have to win American Idol in order to find success. As a follow-up to her Oscar-winning Dreamgirls role, Jennifer is hoping to get a part in Robert Redford's upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic.

[via Starpulse News blog]

The Sundance Channel will launch season two of Iconoclasts on the 26th with the help of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and surfing legend Laird Hamilton. According to Executive Producer Robert Redford, "Iconoclasts explores the intersection where two great talents meet - and where creativity comes alive." That's a pretty way to say they point a camera at a pair of people we wouldn't normally get to see together and watch what happens. It can go either way, but when it works, it makes for a very interesting show.

The rest of the slate for season two has some other intriguing pairings, including Mikhail Baryshnikov & Alice Waters, Quentin Tarentino & Fiona Apple, Isabella Rosselini & Dean Kamen, Paul Simon & Lorne Michaels, and Dave Chapelle & Maya Angelou. I'm really looking forward to the Tarentino & Apple episode. Two interesting careers, and they both have just enough of the crazy in them that it could be fantastic television. The website has bios for everyone and promises video is "coming soon."