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Turns out that this week has been full of twists and turns for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Charles Tabesh, a veteran executive with a 25-year experience at TCM, was previously announced to be departing the network as part of severe budget cuts. Recent developments, however, indicate that Tabesh will remain in his current role and continue to report to Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, two of Warner Bros.'s top film executives.
Tabesh will be joined by two of the industry's greatest, Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese, to help curate the best of movies.
Reports indicate that veteran director Steven Speilberg will also be involved in this endeavor. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy were slated to take over the reins of the entire operation, as reported by Variety earlier.
In a joint statement issued by Scorsese, Speilberg, and PTA, they said:
"We have already begun working on ideas with Mike and Pam, both true film enthusiasts who share a passion and reverence for classic cinema that is the hallmark of the TCM community,...This unique arrangement, initiated by David Zaslav, reflects his commitment to honoring the TCM legacy while also involving us on curation and programming.
It continued:
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."
"TCM is a cultural treasure, and we are honored to help steer the future direction of this beloved brand"- De Luca and Abdy on Turner Classic Movies
The developments at Turner Classic Movies over the recent weeks have been of great interest to serious film buffs. After the news of Tabesh's departure hit the internet, there was widespread outrage from the cinephile community. Tabesh has led programming and content strategy at Turner Classic Movies since 2005.
However, this welcome twist to the tale means that things will likely end on a good note for all the parties involved. De Luca and Abdy, who will take this project forward, also emphasized the importance of this new development in a statement.
"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...David Zaslav led the charge, driven by our shared love of storytelling, to bring us together for a project about which we are so passionate. "
"Over the last year, we have meaningfully increased our content investment in TCM, and intend to further enhance TCM’s on-air programming and engagement with fans," they said.
Given the presence of such brilliant minds leading the way, the transition to the new structure is expected to be smooth and seamless. De Luca and Abdy, along with the three experienced directors, will oversee TCM. However, the distribution, engineering, and technological side of the network will still be managed by WB Discovery's U.S. Networks division.
The company has also reported that Turner Classic Movies' budget has been significantly increased in 2023.
