Emmy® Winner Alec Baldwin Back Again to Co-Host TCM Showcase THE ESSENTIALS With Robert Osborne

ATLANTA, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-time Emmy® winner and recent Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) will return for his third season as co-host of THE ESSENTIALS on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).  In his first two seasons opposite TCM host Robert Osborne, Baldwin displayed a deep admiration for and knowledge of classic films.  Baldwin and Osborne have selected 30 "must see" films for the 2011 season of the weekly showcase.

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Airing each Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET), the 11th season will kick off March 5 with the memorable prison film Cool Hand Luke (1967), which earned star Paul Newman a Best Actor Oscar® nomination and co-star George Kennedy the award for Best Supporting Actor.  The film is one of 14 selected by both Osborne and Baldwin for the 2011 season.  Other films chosen jointly by the co-hosts are Hannah and Her Sisters (1986 – March 19), Mildred Pierce (1945 – March 26), Ball of Fire (1941 – April 16), Gunga Din (1939 – April 23), Bicycle Thieves (aka The Bicycle Thief) (1948 – May 7), Stage Door (1937 – Aug. 6), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962 – Aug. 13), A Place in the Sun (1951 – Aug. 20), A Letter to Three Wives (1949 – Aug. 27), Sunset Blvd. (1950 – Sept. 3) and The Bank Dick (1940 – Nov. 12).

The showcase's April 30 presentation of An American in Paris (1951) will coincide with the 2011 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival, which will launch April 28 with a gala screening of a carefully restored and remastered version of the Best Picture Oscar winner.  And on Christmas Eve, Baldwin and Osborne will host a special presentation of the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

In addition to their joint selections, Baldwin and Osborne individually chose several films for THE ESSENTIALS.  Baldwin's personal selections include The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962 – April 2), Splendor in the Grass (1961 – April 9), East of Eden (1955 – May 21), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944 – May 28), The Caine Mutiny (1954 – June 11), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 – July 23), City Lights (1931 – July 2), Fail-Safe (1964 – July 9) and The Misfits (1961 – July 16).

Osborne's individual choices for 2011 include Love Me Tonight (1932 – March 12), Cat People (1942 – May 14), Dodsworth (1936 – June 4), Bringing Up Baby (1938 – June 18), Out of the Past (1947 – June 25) and Best Picture Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 – July 30).

"I'm proud to be able to sit down with Robert Osborne again as we present some of the greatest films ever made," Baldwin said.  "It is a true joy for me each year to be able to share my love of movies with the TCM community of fans."

"Alec and I have had a great time the past two years choosing and discussing great films," Osborne said.  "This year, we have put together an amazing schedule, and we are very excited to present it to movie lovers."

The following is the complete schedule of the films Baldwin and Osborne will present for the 11th season of THE ESSENTIALS.  With the exception of Kiss of the Spider Woman on July 23, all presentations begin at 8 p.m. (ET).  (Schedule subject to change.)

Prior to co-hosting THE ESSENTIALS, Baldwin appeared on TCM as part of the network's Guest Programmer series.  In 2008, he hosted the TCM special Role Model: Gene Wilder, in which he interviewed the comic actor.

Baldwin is one of Hollywood's most charismatic and prolific actors.  He currently stars with Tina Fey in the hit comedy series 30 Rock, which recently earned him his second Emmy and his fifth consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award.  He has also earned three Golden Globes® and a Television Critics Association Award for his performance on the show.

Baldwin's many film credits include The Departed; The Cooler; The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross and It's Complicated.  He recently completed production on the film AmeriQua and is at work on Men in Black III.  On stage, Baldwin won acclaim and a Tony® nomination for his work opposite Jessica Lange in A Streetcar Named Desire, which also garnered him an Emmy nomination for the television adaptation.  Baldwin's production company, El Dorado Pictures, co-produced TNT's Emmy-nominated miniseries Nuremberg and the feature film State and Main.  He also wrote the book A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey through Fatherhood and Divorce.

Past hosts of THE ESSENTIALS included filmmakers Rob Reiner, Peter Bogdanovich and Sydney Pollack.  Robert Osborne took over hosting duties in 2006, paired with film critic and author Molly Haskell.  He was joined by actress and bestselling author Carrie Fisher in 2007 and actress Rose McGowan in 2008.

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world.  Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests.  As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars.  TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com.  TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

SOURCE Turner Classic Movies