Elvis Lives!

That was a potential title for a TV show featuring Elvis Mitchell, the NPR host and former New York Times movie critic (and - in the interest of full disclosure - friend to Your Mayor, which is how I knew that little factoid). The title of Elvis' new show on Turner Classic Movies, "Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence," isn't as catchy but it does encapsulate what the show is about - filmmakers and actors discuss the films and performances that inspired them.

"Under the Influence" has the feel of a retro talk show - say, perhaps, Dick Cavett's - it's more concerned with substance than style or energy. Monday's debut show is, sadly, of a timely nature, as Elvis conducted one of the last interviews the late director/producer/surprisingly-good-actor Sydney Pollack gave. Pollack tells an amusing "Tootsie" anecdote about Dustin Hoffman's efforts to woo him to play his agent in the film that Pollack also directed - but, if you read between the lines, it kind of sounds like Hoffman didn't respect him all that much.

Which is borne out next week, when Mitchell interviews Bill Murray, who tells a couple of funny "Tootsie" stories confirming the conflagrations that occurred on that set between Pollack and Hoffman. They'd argue over whether the sun was out, Murray jokes, but what's truly revelatory about his exchange with Elvis is how thoughtful and insightful he can be about the art of film acting.

You've likely never seen Murray so reflective. Part of this is due to the fact that Murray and Mitchell are pals, so the ordinarily reticent interviewee Murray opens up in ways he usually doesn't, but part of it is due to the fact that when Elvis interviews people, he doesn't lob them too many softballs but intuitively asks them questions they can really chew on.

In the July 14 episode, Murray discusses how actors shift the emphasis to their colleagues and how, after seeing a Clint Eastwood movie and watching how masterfully Eastwood brought out his co-stars, he approached Clint about doing a movie together (he wanted to play the sidekick who got killed and instigated Clint's killing spree, which, of course, never happened).

He also discusses a number of movies that have moved him, and how they humble him every time he walks on the set of a film. Even making bad movies is hard work, he tells Elvis, which is why he has such a hard time with hackery and why his reputation for being "difficult" should be seen in a different light once you watch this.

- "Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence:" Mondays at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (PCT), Turner Classic Movies. On Monday at 5:30 p.m., TCM will present Pollack's film "Tootsie;" at 8 p.m., it will air "An American in Paris," one of the films Pollack discusses on the show. On July 14, TCM will broadcast two of the classics Bill Murray champions, "A Night at the Opera" at 5:30 p.m. and "North by Northwest" at 8 p.m.