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Christopher Plummer to narrate History of Hollywood for TCM

By April MacIntyre Apr 16, 2010, 7:17 GMT

Canadian actor Christopher Plummer and British actress Helen Mirren arrive on the red carpet for the 82nd Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, USA, 07 March 2010. The Academy Awards honor excellence in cinema. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

Esteemed actor Christopher Plummer will narrate TCM’s seven-part series "Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood."

The new documentary debuts on TCM in November 2010

Emmy winner Christopher Plummer will narrate Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) seven-part original production - a comprehensive true story behind the making of the American movie industry.

Christopher Plummer scored a career triumph last year in his Oscar-nominated performance as Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station" with Helen Mirren.  He also provided voices for the hit animated films Up and 9 and starred with the late Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. 

A Canadian from Montreal, Plummer made his professional debut on stage and radio in both French and English.  Since his New York debut in 1954, Plummer has starred in many prestigious Broadway productions, including his Tony-winning performances in Cyrano (1973) and Barrymore (1997).  In 2004, he scored his sixth Tony nomination for his performance in the title role of King Lear at Lincoln Center.  He garnered a seventh nomination in 2007 for his work in Inherit the Wind.

“It is an honor for us to welcome Christopher Plummer to TCM’s largest and most important original production to date,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TCM, TNT and TBS.  “His distinctive and elegant voice will be the perfect guide through the extraordinary history of American film.”

Premise:

The true story of the American film industry has as many ups and downs, twists and turns as the latest big-budget thriller, not to mention a cast of characters worthy of a shelf full of Oscars®.  This documentary will tell this tale over the course of seven one-hour documentaries, each focusing on a different era of American movie history. 

Spanning from the invention of the first moving pictures to the revolutionary, cutting-edge films of the 1960s, this production will feature rarely seen photographs and film footage, clips from memorable American movies and interviews with distinguished historians and major Hollywood figures.

At its heart, the documentary series will be a personal history of Hollywood, detailing the personalities, inter-personal relationships, collaborations and conflicts that created an industry and an art form.  The series will also serve as a history of America, looking at how moviemakers responded to such major events as the Great Depression, World War II and the Civil Rights movement.

"Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood" is being directed, written and produced by four-time Emmy nominee Jon Wilkman.

As a special sneak preview, TCM will screen a rough cut at the TCM Classic Film Festival next week in Hollywood. 

The screening, set for Friday, April 23, at 1:15 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre, will include a panel discussion with Michael Wright, Bill Haber, Jon Wilkman as well as Tom Brown, vice president of original productions for TCM.

Plummer recently completed shooting for the drama "Beginners" with Ewan McGregor, and the comic book adaptation "Priest" with Paul Bettany, both of which are set for release next year.

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.