“This is the definitive Hollywood movie studio,” TCM host Ben Mankiewicz says while hanging out on the Warner Bros. Discovery backlot. “MGM had the glitz, this place had the grit, and we always say, ‘Grit over glitz.’”
Mankiewicz, as well as fellow on-air personalities Eddie Muller, Alicia Malone and Dave Karger, are present on the lot to film promo material for the newly announced TCM Classic Film Tour that will show fans various Old Hollywood spots on the Warner backlot.
It’s a moment of renewal for the classic film-centric network, coming close to one year after Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav stoked the ire of film fans by laying off several key members of the Turner Classic Movies team and cutting the network’s already meager budget.