Get ready for your new summer obsession! We're sharing a special preview of Cleopatra, the new season of Ben Mankiewicz's other podcast, The Plot Thickens. (Yes, he has two.) Cleopatra was the most tumultuous production in Hollywood history, a disaster of epic proportions written and directed by Ben's Oscar-winning uncle, Joseph L. Mankiewicz. With Mankiewicz calling the shots and with the luminous Elizabeth Taylor in the title role, Cleopatra should have been a smash. Instead, it was a shoot plagued by medical emergencies, climate disasters, nervous breakdowns, and egos as big as pyramids... not to mention Taylor's scandalous affair with co-star Richard Burton. Enjoy the first episode of Cleopatra right now, then look up The Plot Thickens for more episodes, wherever you get podcast
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Bonus Episode: Eli Roth
In this bonus episode of Talking Pictures recorded live at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, host Ben Mankiewicz chats with director and actor Eli Roth. They discuss Roth’s close relationship with David Lynch and his role as The Bear Jew in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds.” Known for his horror films, we discover that scary movies made a young Eli Roth projectile vomit! The Super 8 reveals Roth’s broad film knowledge and his family admiration for Mel Brooks movies.
Films Mentioned:
Cabin Fever
Hostel
Hostel 2
The Green Inferno
Thanksgiving
Inglourious Basterds
Death Proof
Pulp Fiction
True Romance
The Idol*
Ben-Hur
Eraserhead*
Superman: The Movie (1978)*
The French Connection
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Conversation
Knock Knock
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Night Moves
Scarecrow
Quiz Show
The Paper
The Music of Chance
Dr. Strangelove
Rabbits
The Scary of Sixty-First
Jimmy and Stiggs
It Follows*
The Ring
Clown
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Alien
Private Parts
House of 1000 Corpses
Saw
Nosferatu (2024)
All Hallows' Eve
Terrifier
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Scream VI
Sleepaway Camp
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Outland
Dracula (1979)
Kingdom of the Spiders
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Evil Dead
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Devil's Rejects
American Werewolf in London
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
The Wizard of Oz*
Wild at Heart
Joe (1070)
The Breakfast Club
Re-Animator
Porky's
Zapped
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
My Chauffeur
2001: A Space Odyssey*
Blue Velvet*
Pink Flamingos
Hamburger: The Motion Picture
One-Eyed Jacks
House of Wax (1953)
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
Young Frankenstein
The Producers (1967)
Blazing Saddles
High Anxiety
American Psycho
The Sixth Sense
Friends with Benefits
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
America's Sweethearts
The Exorcist
The Shining
Suspiria (1977)
*Available on Max as of 5/7 (Availability of titles subject to change)
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Paul Scheer
One of the godfathers of movie podcasts, Paul Scheer launched How Did This Get Made? fifteen years ago. His love of movies started as a kid on Long Island working at a Blockbuster Video. Through his talent for improv comedy, he ended up writing, directing and performing in some of the funniest shows ever put on TV. Paul details his rollercoaster career, his extremely awkward celebrity encounters, and how movies were often an escape from his difficult childhood. In the Super 8, Paul tells Ben how he once lined up at 6:00 AM... just to watch a trailer.
Films Mentioned :
Ordinary People
The Milagro Beanfield War
Dollars
Heaven Can Wait
Shampoo
The Elephant Man
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Meet Joe Black
The Cable Guy*
Galaxy Quest
Twilight
Psycho 4: A New Beginning
Ghost
Phantasm
Flowers in the Attic
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
Happy Gilmore
Back to the Future
Groundhog Day
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Grosse Pointe Blank
Midnight Run
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
*Available on Max as of 2/04 (Availability of titles subject to change)
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Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon landed her first movie role when she was sixteen, and then twenty years later, she won an Emmy... for playing a teenage boy. Her thirteen seasons as Bobby Hill on King of the Hill made her a world-famous voice actor, but she's equally renowned for creating and starring in Better Things. Pam is also a director – her first feature, Babes, came out last year – and she sits down with Ben Mankiewicz to discuss her deep love of movies, which includes everything from musicals to the films of John Cassavetes.
Films Mentioned:
Grease 2
Babes
Biosphere
Creep
The Animatrix
Anora
Deadwood*
Porky's
Love Streams
Fame
Bugsy Malone
The Wiz
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Shining
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Guns of Navarone
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Mamma Mia!*
My Old Ass
Schindler's List
The Notebook
Terms of Endearment
Coming Home
The Birdcage*
Merrie Melodies - Rabbit Hood
*Available on Max as of 1/28 (Availability of titles subject to change)
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Charles Barkley
NBA legend Charles Barkley became addicted to movies as a rookie, when he'd sneak into theaters to escape the limelight for a couple of hours. By the time he changed careers from baller to broadcaster, he was a bonafide film buff, with strong opinions on all kinds of movies. In this hilarious episode, Sir Charles talks to Ben Mankiewicz about the similarities between a film crew and a basketball team, the secret to hosting Saturday Night Live, and the courtroom classic that never fails to make him laugh.
Films Mentioned:
Space Jam
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
A Quiet Place
All the Way*
The Beekeeper
Jaws
Arsenic and Old Lace
It Happened One Night
Gladiator
Any Given Sunday
Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard
My Cousin Vinny
A Bronx Tale
Pulp Fiction
Malcolm X
The Karate Kid
Stripes
Taps
Taxi Driver
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Ten Commandments
Ben-Hur
In the Heat of the Night
Brian's Song
Field of Dreams
The Sixth Sense
Dirty Harry
Rawhide
*Available on Max as of 01/21 (Availability of titles subject to change)
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From Turner Classic Movies and Max, Talking Pictures is a podcast about movies, memories, and all the life that happens in between. Join host Ben Mankiewicz as he sits down with some of Hollywood’s most influential actors and filmmakers to discuss the movies that inspired them, touched them, and made them laugh. They swap stories, jokes, surprising moments, and endless movie recommendations then watch some of those very same films on the streaming service Max.