TCM Film Festival: Oscar winner Cher returns to introduce 'Funny Girl'

Superstar and Oscar winning actress Cher joined Turner Classic Movies (TCM) host Robert Osborne as a surprise guest at the opening night gala to kick off the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. The singer and actress,who won an Academy Award for “Moonstruck,”joined Osborne onstage at the TCL Chinese Theatre for a short conversation about her lover of classic film, her favorite era of films and those that have inspired her prior to the world premiere screening of a brand new 45th anniversary restoration of the musicalFunny Girl (1968).

 A passionate fan of classic movies, Cher became a member of the TCM family when she was a guest programmer on the network in 2012 and then launched the network’s new Friday Night Spotlight this month. Each month, this showcase features a different celebrity or expert host taking viewers through a collection of films on a specific topic. For her topic – A Woman’s World: The Defining Era of Women in Film – Cher handpicked 17 films that illustrate the evolving roles of women from the late 1930s to the early ’50s.

The 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival, which continues through Sunday, April 28, features more than a hundred screenings of classic movies, along with appearances by legendary stars, live interviews, extensive panel discussions, special exhibits and more. The packed lineup for this year’s festival includes tributes to Jane Fonda, Max von Sydow, Ann Blyth and documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, along with an extensive interview with Eva Marie Saint to air on TCM next year. The festival also features appearances by such stars as Tippi Hedren, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Burt Reynolds,Jon Voight and Debra Winger; a celebration of Bugs Bunny’s 75th Birthday; and the premieres of such restored films as The Big Parade (1925), TheGeneral (1926), Giant(1956), The Great Escape (1963) and Badlands (1973), plus many more.

For the more on TCM Festival, visit: Website: http://filmfestival.tcm.com

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