800 Nominees, 20 Best Pictures, 22 Best Actors, 20 Best Actresses,

The Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable television network is throwing television's most elaborate Oscar^® bash to coincide with the 70^th Annual Academy Awards, as the network once again turns over its entire March schedule to 31 Days of Oscar^®. Running 24 hours a day throughout March, 1998's 31 Days of Oscar^® will present nothing but Academy Award^®-winning and -nominated movies, more than 300 in all, and 65 short-subject films-all uninterrupted and commercial-free, as always, on TCM. More than 150 of these films are new to 31 Days of Oscar^® since last year's festival. The total of 810 nominees includes:

20 Best Picture Winners, including GONE WITH THE WIND (1939, March 7, 8 p.m.), winner of eight Academy Awards^®, including Best Director for Victor Fleming, Best Actress for Vivien Leigh and Best Supporting Actress for Hattie McDaniel (the first African-American performer to win an Oscar^®); ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), winner of eight Oscars^® (tying the record then held by GONE WITH THE WIND and FROM HERE TO ETERNITY), including Best Director for Elia Kazan, Best Actor for Marlon Brando and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint; WEST SIDE STORY (1961, March 6, 10 p.m.), winner of 10 Oscars,^® including Best Director for Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (the only time in Academy history the award has been shared by co-directors); and ANNIE HALL (1977, March 8, 11 p.m.), directed and co-written by Woody Allen [Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay], starring Allen and Diane Keaton (Best Actress).

22 Best Actor Winners, including James Stewart in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940, March 22, 12 a.m.); Gary Cooper in both of his Oscar^®-winning performances, in SERGEANT YORK (1941, March 20, 12 a.m.) and HIGH NOON (1952, March 21, 8 p.m.); William Holden in STALAG 17 (1953, March 21, 10 p.m.); David Niven, who departed from light comedy to deliver a superb dramatic performance in SEPARATE TABLES (1958, March 21, 12:30 a.m.); Maximilian Schell in JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961, March 21 at 2:30 a.m.); and Henry Fonda in his career-capping performance in ON GOLDEN POND (1981, March 22, 8 p.m.), which also won Oscars^® for Best Actress (Katharine Hepburn) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ernest Thompson).

20 Best Actress Winners, including Joan Crawford's career-saving performance in MILDRED PIERCE (1945, March 14, 12:30 a.m.); Vivien Leigh's incomparable portrait of a fading Southern belle in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951, March 14, 8 p.m.), which also won Oscars^® for Karl Malden (Best Supporting Actor) and Kim Hunter (Best Supporting Actress); Susan Hayward's gutsy portrayal of a condemned prison inmate in I WANT TO LIVE! (1958, March 15, 8 p.m.); Elizabeth Taylor in BUTTERFIELD 8 (1960, March 15, 2:45 a.m.); Anne Bancroft as Helen Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan, in THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962, March 15, 10:30 p.m.), which also brought a Best Supporting Actress award to Patty Duke as young Helen; and Sissy Spacek in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980, March 15, 12:30 a.m.).

17 Best Director Winners, including John Huston for THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948, March 29, 8 p.m.), starring Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston (Best Supporting Actor); George Stevens for A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951, March 29, 10:30 p.m.), winner of six Oscars^®, starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor; William Wyler for the epic BEN-HUR (1959, March 28, 12 a.m.), the all-time Oscar^® champion with 11 awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Charlton Heston); and David Lean for the stirring wartime adventure THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957, March 28, 8 p.m.), with Best Actor Oscar^®-winner Alec Guinness as a stiff-upper-lipped British commander.

39 Best Writing Winners, including A STAR IS BORN (1937, March 26, 2 a.m.), written by William A. Wellman and Robert Carson, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March; CITIZEN KANE (1941, March 25, 8 p.m.), Orson Welles' masterpiece, co-written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, which also won Oscars^® for Cinematography (Gregg Toland) and Music Score (Bernard Herrmann); WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942, March 25, 10:30 p.m.), written by Ring Lardner, Jr. and Michael Kanin, starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy; and THE HOSPITAL (1971, March 25, 4:15 a.m.), written by Paddy Chayefsky, starring George C. Scott.

24 Best Cinematography Winners, including THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952, March 16, 10:15 p.m.), with sparkling black and white cinematography by Robert Surtees, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner; THE DEFIANT ONES (1958, March 16, 12:30 a.m.), shot in black and white by Sam Leavitt, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier; DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965, March 17, 10:20 p.m.), shot in sweeping color by Freddie Young, directed by David Lean, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie; and THE KILLING FIELDS (1984, March 17, 1:45 a.m.), shot in color by Chris Menges and directed by Roland Joffe.

Warner Bros. Academy Award^® Winners, part of TCM's celebration of that studio's 75th anniversary, beginning March 30 and continuing through April 5. Films shown as part of 31 Days of Oscar^® include DANGEROUS (1935, March 31, 1 a.m.), which brought Bette Davis her first of two Best Actress Oscars^®; THE GREAT LIE (1941), another Davis vehicle that won her co-star, Mary Astor, an Oscar^® as Best Supporting Actress; the legendary CASABLANCA (1942, March 30, 8 p.m.), winner of three Oscars,^® including those for Best Picture and Best Director (Michael Curtiz), with star performances by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman; and YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942, March 31, 10:30 p.m.), which brought James Cagney a Best Actor Oscar^® for playing patriotic song-and-dance man George M. Cohan.

The Third Annual Osbos (March 10), with TCM host Robert Osborne, one of the world's leading authorities on the history of the Academy Awards^®, honoring films, performers and songwriters he feels should have won Oscars^®, but didn't. (See enclosed release.)

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 20 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. that presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '80s, commercial-free and without interruption. Visit the TCM website at (http://TCM.turner.com).