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    Turner Classic Movies looks to the future with help from Paul Thomas Anderson, Scorsese, Spielberg

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1124 Views
    This combination of photos shows filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson (l) and Martin Scorsese, who along with Steven Spielberg are stepping up to help curate programming for Turner Classic Movies. (AP Photo)

    By Lindsey Bahr

    --

    Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson are stepping up to help curate programming for Turner Classic Movies, amid a tumultuous week of layoffs and leadership changes that had fans worried about the future of the channel.

    Last week Warner Bros. Discovery laid off some top TCM people including General Manager Pola Changnon and programming head Charles Tabesh, prompting public outcries from the film community who tweeted with the hashtag #SaveTCM and wrote passionate op-eds about its cultural value.

    By Wednesday, under the leadership of WBD CEO David Zaslav, the company had stabilized plans for TCM's future, enlisting Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy to oversee TCM, bringing on Spielberg, Scorsese and Anderson as official curators and reversing course on Tabesh's layoff.

    "TCM is a cultural treasure, and we are honored to help steer the future direction of this beloved brand with the partnership of three of the most iconic filmmakers of our time, Steven, Marty, and Paul," De Luca and Abdy said in a statement.

    The strategy, all noted, was led by Zaslav. And Spielberg, Scorsese and Anderson are already working on ideas with De Luca and Abdy.

    "We are thrilled that longtime programmer Charlie Tabesh will be staying with TCM and gratified to know that the team is focused on preserving TCM's mission of celebrating our rich movie history while at the same time ensuring that future generations of filmmakers and film lovers have TCM as a valuable resource," the filmmakers said in a statement.

    TCM's on-air hosts, like Ben Mankiewicz, Dave Karger and Alicia Malone are expected to stay on too and plans are still in motion for the annual film festival in Los Angeles to continue as well.

    Mankiewicz earlier this year spoke to The AP about the channel's passionate fanbase, from civilians to celebrities like Tom Hanks, who mentioned TCM frequently in his recent memoir. Scorsese also famously keeps it on in his editing suite.

    "There's no channel like us where people's identification is with the channel," Mankiewicz said. "When you look at people's social media pages, they'll be like 'lawyer, mother, wife, TCM fan.' No one says that about Showtime. No one says 'I'll watch anything on ABC.' It's an absurd thing to say but they say it about us."

    A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery said the company "is fully committed to safeguarding, supporting, and investing in (TCM) for the future" and said that the content investment has grown by over 30% this year but that TCM is not immune to "the very real pressure on the entire linear ecosystem." The changes and cuts, the spokesperson said, mean a more sustainable operation behind the screen and protect the channel's mission of bringing more titles to the air and "preserving and protecting the culture of cinema."

    Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer

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    Tags:Martin ScorsesePaul Thomas AndersonSteven SpielbergTurner Classic Movies



    BBC asks U.S. court to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit

    Monday, March 16, 2026
    The logo outside the BBC Headquarters in London, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

    The BBC filed a motion Monday asking a U.S. court to dismiss President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against it, warning that the case could have a "chilling effect" on robust reporting on public figures and events.

    The suit was filed in a Florida court, but the British national broadcaster argued that the court did not have jurisdiction, nor could Trump show that the BBC intended to misrepresent him.

    Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way a BBC documentary edited a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021. The claim seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and a further $5 billion for unfair trade practices.

    Last month a judge at the federal court for the Southern District of Florida provisionally set a trial date for February 2027.

    The BBC argued that the case should be thrown out because the documentary was never aired in Florida or the U.S.

    "We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the president's claim," the corporation said in a statement.

    In a 34-page document, the BBC also argued that Trump failed to "plausibly allege facts showing that defendants knowingly intended to create a false impression."

    Trump's case "falls well short of the high bar of actual malice," it said.

    The document further claimed that "the chilling effect is clear" when Trump is "among the most powerful and high-profile individuals in the world, on whose activities the BBC reports every day."

    "Early dismissal is favoured given the powerful interest in ensuring that free speech is not unduly burdened by the necessity of defending against expensive yet groundless litigation, which would constrict the breathing space needed to ensure robust reporting on public figures and... Read More

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