Talking Pictures

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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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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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 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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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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