Alicia Malone | |
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.jpg) Malone in 2021 | |
| Born | (1981-09-04)4 September 1981 (age 43)[1] Canberra, Australia |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Employer | Warner Bros. Discovery (2018–present) |
Alicia Maree Malone (born 4 September 1981) is an Australian–American author and television host forTurner Classic Movies (TCM).[2][3]
Born in Canberra, Malone became acinephile ofclassic Hollywood films at a young age. After graduating fromCanberra Girls Grammar School, she moved toSydney intending to work in television. In 2000, she was hired by theChannel Seven television station as a teleprompter operator, and later worked in numerous production roles. In 2006, Malone was hired byMovie Network Channels as a producer and editor. With the support of a close friend and colleague, she began hosting film-related programming, and served as ared carpet interviewer at Australian film premieres.
In 2010, Malone moved to Los Angeles to work in American television. She was hired by her native AustralianToday show as apress junket journalist, whereby she held media interviews with numerous celebrities. Meanwhile, she hosted several podcasts and wrote two non-fiction books, exploring the involvement ofwomen in film. In 2016, she was hired as a host for the now-defunct streaming serviceFilmStruck, which led to her hiring as a full-time host for Turner Classic Movies.
Malone was born inCanberra, Australia. When she was three years old, she watchedThe NeverEnding Story (1984) in a movie theater with her mother and sisters. During the film, the characterAtreyu tries to save his beloved horse Artax, which made her very emotional. She remembered, "I started crying and yelling ... I made so much noise my mum had to take me out of the theater."[4] She has credited the 1953 filmGentlemen Prefer Blondes as her introduction to classic cinema, becoming an avid admirer ofMarilyn Monroe.[5] To advance her knowledge into cinema, at a young age, she read editions ofLeonard Maltin's Movie Guide and watched films presented onBill Collins' Golden Years of Hollywood program onNetwork 10.[6]
While studying atCanberra Girls Grammar School, Malone started a film club, intending to convince her classmates to appreciate classic cinema.[7] After graduating, she chose not to attend a university but instead moved toSydney, intending to work in television. There, she applied and won a half scholarship to study television at a technical college.[8][9] Meanwhile, she worked at aVideo Ezy rental store, where she was hired on the spot, and advised unsuspecting customers which films they should rent.[10][11] After an acquaintance suggested her, Malone began working at theChannel Seven television station, which was broadcasting the Sydney2000 Summer Olympics at the time, as a teleprompter operator.[12]
Malone stayed at Channel Seven for six years, working a variety of production roles. Then, she applied for a job opening as a producer and editor for the premium television stationMovie Network Channels. While there, she reflected: "When I saw the fun tasks the TV hosts got to do on the channel—interviewing filmmakers, reviewing movies—I knew that's what I wanted to do. It was like my film club or video store experiences on a much larger level."[11] She stated her request to Renée Brack, a friend and colleague of hers, who agreed and allowed Malone to do live red carpet events.[11][13]
In 2010, Malone moved to Los Angeles and was permitted anO visa, allowing her to only work in television.[14] Her first work in the United States was doingpress junkets for the AustralianToday show.[15] During these events, she developed a habit for hugging the celebrities she had interviewed.[16] She recalled: "...you know, you're not supposed to touch these celebrities, they're kind of the untouchable — some of them you can't even shake hands with. So I thought a hug would be a great way to break the ice, to make it be like, we're both humans ... and then it became kind of a theme."[12] After several years of interviewing celebrities, Malone returned to broadcast television, appearing as a "film expert" on American television networks, includingCNN,MSNBC, andNBC'sToday.[17][18]
On 20 September 2015, Malone gave her firstTEDx Talk titled#GirlsInFilm atTEDxSanJuanIsland. In this talk, she discussed the under representation of females in the Hollywood film industry.[19][20] On 13 May 2017, she gave her second seminar at TEDxBend titledFemale Directors in Hollywood & Impact of Movies Made From 1 Perspective. There, she recounted the history of female film directors in Hollywood, and how more thanone type of story can be told.[21][22]
In October 2016, Malone launched and hosted the web seriesIndie Movie Guide forFandango.[23][24] As a correspondent, she reviewed independent films in limited release and covered numerous film festivals, including theCannes Film Festival,Sundance,Telluride, andSouth by Southwest (SXSW).[18][25] At the 2018 SXSW Conference, Malone moderated an all-female panel discussion titled "The Female Voices of Film Twitter," with film critics Monica Castillo, Jacqueline Coley,Amy Nicholson, and Jen Yamato.[26] At the 2019 SXSW Conference, she moderated another panel discussion inspired by her bookThe Female Gaze, discussing with three other female directors about their careers, subverting themale gaze, and whether female directors are telling authentic stories.[27] In 2019, she began hosting the video seriesReel Destinations forFocus Features, exploring the actual locations of their films.[28]
Following her first TEDx Talk, Malone reflected: "After starting to get pushback for supporting women online, I decided that I should do it even more. I saw that I had a platform that could have an effect on people, so I wanted to use it for more than just building social media follows."[25] One day, while reading the bookMovie-Made America byRobert Sklar, Malone came across the fact that there were more opportunities for women during the first few decades ofAmerican cinema than any other industry at the time. Interested, she thoroughly researched the topic and interviewed prominent figures about the historical involvement and under representation of females in the Hollywood film industry.[12] In 2017, Malone published her first bookBackwards and in Heels. She followed up with her second bookThe Female Gaze in response to readers who asked how can they support female filmmakers in the industry.[29]
In 2022, Malone published her third bookGirls on Film, detailing her personal history and career, and how her love for classic cinema has shaped her worldview.[30] Her fourth book titledTCM Imports: Timeless Favorites and Hidden Gems of World Cinema is scheduled to be released on 22 April 2025.[31]
One night, in 2010, after channel-surfing on cable television, Malone wrote down a particular goal in mind to become a host forTurner Classic Movies (TCM).[32] In 2014, she co-hosted the podcast seriesProfiles with Malone and Mantz, alongsideScott Mantz for Popcorn Talk Network. There,Keven Undergaro, co-founder ofPopcorn Talk, held a private seminar with Malone, where she mentioned her dream goal. Undergaro knew Darcy Hettrich, who worked as the head of talent for TCM. Nervous at the prospect, Malone spent a year sharpening her skills before submitting a showreel of herself discussing classic films. At the time, Turner Classic Movies was partnering withThe Criterion Collection onFilmStruck, a film streaming service.[33][34] In 2016, she was hired to host video introductions for FilmStruck.[4][29] She also hostedThe FilmStruck Podcast interviewing filmmakers whose films were featured on the service.[35] In November 2018, FilmStruck was shut down byWarnerMedia, under the ownership ofAT&T, to streamline business operations.[36]
In 2018, Malone was hired as a full-time host for Turner Classic Movies, making her first official appearance on 4 March.[32][37][38] She has stated that before filming her segments, she researches and writes her own introductions. Malone further added: "There are fact checkers and producers that review things but they're pretty good at not suppressing what we say."[32][39] As of 2024, she hosts the afternoon lineup on Sundays and the primetime lineup on Tuesdays.[18][40] In 2019, Malone was made the current host of theTCM Imports programming block on late Sunday nights.[41]
In the fall of 2020, Malone and her colleagueJacqueline Stewart co-hosted an original limited interview series titledWomen Make Film, inspired byMark Cousins'documentary of the same title. Malone toldEntertainment Weekly this was the first time she felt free to professionally discuss women in film to the degree she wanted: "Usually in my previous jobs I've been told, 'Shh, don't talk so much about women. You've got to broaden things out; otherwise, the men won't listen.' I love that at TCM I've been given free rein, and Jacqueline as well, to speak about any subject we like with these special guests."[42] During the summer of 2022, Malone hosted an original limited seriesFollow the Thread, interviewing fashion and costume designers about men and women's cinematic fashion trends from the 19th to the mid-late 20th century.[43]
Malone lives inMidcoastMaine,[44] having relocated there from Los Angeles during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9] There, she joined the board of directors for theStrand Theatre, a historic movie theatre inRockland.[45]
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