Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures

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.

From Bridesmaids to Spy to The Heat, Paul Feig has become Hollywood's go-to guy for raunchy, big-budget comedies about women. But his directing career only took off after his acting career crashed and burned. This week, Paul tells Ben Mankiewicz how getting fired from a beloved sitcom forced him out of his comfort zone and into a new role behind the camera. And during the Super 8, Paul reveals how his mother's taste in movies led to his love of double-breasted suits. Films Mentioned: Bridesmaids The Heat Spy A Simple Favor Animal House Life Sold Separately Honey, I Shrunk the Kids The Blues Brothers Thelma & Louise Animal Crackers What's Up, Doc? Jackpot! Ghostbusters The Purge It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Raiders of the Lost Ark An American Werewolf in London Polite Society Napoleon Dynamite Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope His Girl Friday Cabaret It's a Wonderful Life Poltergeist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Host Ben Mankiewicz begins the new year by talking to the nicest man in Hollywood, actor Henry Winkler. Winkler admits it was almost impossible to find work after his 10-year run as the Fonz on Happy Days. He reminisces about his friendships with Sylvester Stallone and Ron Howard and shares his struggles with dyslexia. And we get the inspiring story of how he got the second role of a lifetime on HBO’s Barry. Winkler is an enthusiastic movie watcher, so his Super 8 is full of gems.  Films Mentioned:  The Waterboy  Little Nicky  Barry*  The Lords of Flatbush  Rocky  Heroes  The One and Only  Night Shift  Scream*  Rebel Without a Cause*  City of God  The Alamo  Nobody  Casablanca*  Love Actually  Notting Hill  Four Weddings and a Funeral*  Les Compères  The Out-of-Towners *Available on Max as of 1/7 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Emmy-winner Jane Lynch is known for bringing her razor-sharp comic edge to movies like Best in Show and TV shows like Glee. But her biggest break came in a famous commercial for… Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes! She talks to host Ben Mankiewicz about breaking down a scene with Harrison Ford, the difference between masculine and feminine improv, and the film that made her sob all the way home from the theater. Films Mentioned: Best in Show The 40-Year Old Virgin Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Ninotchka Camille Anna Christie The Wizard of Oz* Gone with the Wind* Sophie's Choice The Devil Wears Prada* Hang 'Em High Three Days of the Condor Husbands and Wives Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Sting The Fugitive A Mighty Wind For Your Consideration Mascots Legally Blonde American Pie The White Lotus* Waiting for Guffman This Is Spinal Tap Private Benjamin Funny Girl The Bridge on the River Kwai The Big Sleep White Christmas Terms of Endearment *Available on Max as of 12/17 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, writer/director Jason Reitman (Saturday Night, Juno, Up in the Air) joins host Ben Mankiewicz to talk about growing up on a movie set, his brief stint writing for Saturday Night Live, and the joys of directing George Clooney. Reitman also reveals what his father, the late director Ivan Reitman, taught him about storytelling and making movies. During the Super 8, Jason surprises Ben with the movie props in his enviable collection.  Films Mentioned: Meatballs Stripes Ghostbusters Dave Thank You For Smoking Juno Inglourious Basterds Animal House Up in the Air* Saturday Night The Front Runner Ghostbusters: Afterlife The Fabelmans Westworld Jurassic Park* Twins E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Back to the Future Jaws The Godfather Election Dr. Strangelove Harold and Maude Shampoo Carnal Knowledge The Graduate Taxi Driver The Conversation Run Lola Run The Blair Witch Project Sexy Beast American Psycho Wet Hot American Summer Pulp Fiction Dazed and Confused Slacker* Bad News Bears Boyhood A Scanner Darkly Before Sunrise Before Sunset Field of Dreams Stand by Me Breaking Away Little Miss Sunshine 24 Hour Party People Casablanca* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Magnolia Boogie Nights Pee-wee's Big Adventure Singin' in the Rain* *Available on Max as of 12/10 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Carol Burnett’s life has always spun around the movies. She tells Ben Mankiewicz about her childhood spent in Hollywood movie theaters, the famous actor who helped her break into showbiz, and the movie parodies in her groundbreaking television variety show. In fact, at 91, Carol Burnett remembers more about movies than Ben! We cap it all off with a delightful Super 8 complete with seasonal gems. Plus, Carol and Ben discuss their Wordle stats…listen to find out who’s winning.                       Films Mentioned: The Carol Burnett Show  New Faces  The Pajama Game  Babes in Arms  All About Eve  Gone with the Wind*   The Fighting Guardsman  Inferno (1953)  Strangers on a Train  On Moonlight Bay*  Citizen Kane  The Dolly Sisters  The Godfather  It's a Wonderful Life  Capricorn One  Ragtime Cowboy Joe  Singin' in the Rain*   From Here to Eternity  Terms of Endearment  Some Like It Hot  Duel  *Available on Max as of 12/3 (Availability of titles subject to change)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The fearless Margot Robbie goes in-depth with Ben Mankiewicz about how her early days as an Australian soap star prepared her to go toe-to-toe with Leonardo DiCaprio. Now, after producing the blockbuster Barbie and working with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, is her next move behind the camera as a director? Plus, our exclusive Super 8 questionnaire, which she was very excited to answer.                Films Mentioned  Barbie *  I, Tonya *  Bombshell  The Wolf of Wall Street  Asteroid City  Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood  Titanic  The Legend of Tarzan*  Mary Queen of Scots  Terminal  Eye of the Devil  Babylon  Whiplash  La La Land  Wings  Singin' in the Rain*  Cabaret  True Romance  The Fifth Element  Bandits*   The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*  Pulp Fiction  Rambo  Bring It On  High Society  Babette's Feast*  The Blues Brothers  The Dirty Dozen  Withnail and I*   Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar  Seven Samurai*   Young Frankenstein  The Producers  Robin Hood: Men in Tights   *Available on Max as of 11/26 (Availability of titles subject to change)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Comedian, actor, and cabaret performer Bridget Everett and new fan Ben Mankiewicz chat about her Peabody Award-winning HBO show Somebody Somewhere as well as her outrageously fun cabaret act. Everett and Ben talk dogs, famous great uncles, and walk through the highs and lows of Everett’s endlessly promising career. Everett’s Super 8 questionnaire is a staff favorite, full of stories, inspiration, and a touching story about Turner Classic Movies.  Films Mentioned  Somebody Somewhere *  Bridget Everett: Gynecological Wonder  All About Eve  A Letter to Three Wives  Sex and the City*  The Sound of Music  The Wizard of Oz *  Mommie Dearest  Magic Mike XXL  Rudy  Let the Good Times Roll  Dancer in the Dark  Young Frankenstein   *Available on Max as of 11/19 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season two of Talking Pictures is here! Bill Murray doesn’t do a lot of podcasts, but he was game to talk movies with host Ben Mankiewicz. They dive into his comedies (Stripes, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day) and discuss the directors Murray works with repeatedly (Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch). Murray remembers growing up a “bad boy” in a house with eight siblings and how success impacted his mom. Finally, our Super 8 returns and you don’t want to miss the prop Bill Murray says he would steal for his personal collection.                                                                           Films Mentioned:  Meatballs  Ghostbusters   Stripes  Caddyshack  Groundhog Day  Broken Flowers  Lost in Translation  Rushmore  Red River  Frankenstein  Dracula  The Fugitive  Going My Way  Bells of Saint Mary's  Yankee Doodle Dandy  The Sound of Music  The Razor's Edge  Mad Dog and Glory  Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer  Olive Kitteridge *  Moonrise Kingdom  The Royal Tenenbaums  The Grand Budapest Hotel  Coffee and Cigarettes *  The Limits of Control  The Dead Don’t Die  Bottle Rocket  Asteroid City  Barry Lyndon  Gallipoli  Ninotchka  Old Yeller  The Man with Two Brains  Nothing but Trouble                                        *Available on Max as of 11/12 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Talking Pictures is back for its second season, filled with new guests and new stories about how movies shape us, change us – and make us laugh. This season, host Ben Mankiewicz sits down with some of the funniest stars in Hollywood, folks like Bill Murray, Margot Robbie, Carol Burnett, Henry Winkler and many more. Comedy legends open up about their toughest struggles, their wildest moments, and the twists of fate that made them famous. Each episode culminates with the Super 8, where they reveal their most cherished movie memories and film favorites. From TCM and MAX, this is Season 2 of Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We’re sharing a bonus episode of Ben Mankiewicz’s other podcast, The Plot Thickens. The new season of The Plot Thickens is all about John Ford, the most influential filmmaker of the last hundred years. In this episode, we’re exploring Ford’s early days, when he rose to fame by being one of the most reckless, independent directors in Hollywood. You can find The Plot Thickens wherever you get podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In a special bonus episode of Talking Pictures recorded live at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood, host Ben Mankiewicz interviews actor, comedian, and classic movie lover, Mario Cantone. They discuss Mario’s life before acting, his role in HBO’s “Sex and the City” and the Max series “And Just Like That…,” and Ben challenges Mario to the Super 8 movie questionnaire.  Films Mentioned: Sex and the City And Just Like That… Hello Dolly Blazing Saddles Lady Sings the Blues The Lady Gambles Slap Shot Chinatown Network Quiz Show All About Eve Guys and Dolls My Cousin Vinny The Thorn Birds New York, New York Looking For Mr. Goodbar Pollyanna Bambi West Side Story (1961) Cleopatra The Wizard of Oz A Star is Born (1954) The Godfather Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Director, actor, Saturday Night Live veteran, and cinephile Bill Hader joins host Ben Mankiewicz to talk about his heroes (Stanley Kubrick, Joel and Ethan Coen), about writing and directing his HBO show Barry, and if you’re hoping for a few of his expert impressions, you won’t be disappointed. Hader also ventures into his movie-watching past by answering our Super 8 questionnaire. Films Mentioned: Top Gun (1986) Superbad Trainwreck* Inside Out Barry* The Shining 2001: A Space Odyssey* Dr. Strangelove* A Clockwork Orange*  The Natural Oliver!  Planet of the Apes (1968) Paths of Glory Mars Attacks! Evil Dead Rashomon* Seven Samurai* Ikiru* It’s A Wonderful Life Bad News Bears Shawshank Redemption The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) Barton Fink A Serious Man* Inside Llewyn Davis Intolerable Cruelty  Hail, Caesar! Burn After Reading Trouble in Paradise The Apartment Five Graves to Cairo Double Indemnity One, Two, Three Sunset Boulevard  Kes To Kill A Mockingbird From Here to Eternity Von Ryan’s Express Dreams (1990) The Last Detail The Great Muppet Caper Midnight Run The Black Hole (1979) *Available on Max as of 3/19 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Host Ben Mankiewicz visits with director Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Monster) and her mother (!!) to talk superheroes, female serial killers, and gets her take on being a female director in Hollywood. Patty surprises Ben with stories about her friendship with singer Steve Perry and she talks about that rumored Star Wars script. Plus, an impressive Super 8 for your movie list. Films Mentioned: Wonder Woman* Wonder Woman 1984* Monster Midnight Cowboy The Devil's Advocate Superman (1978)* Reds What Have I Done To Deserve This? I Know Where I’m Going A Matter of Life and Death Moulin Rouge The Red Balloon* Charade Bridge Over the River Kwai The Best Years of Our Lives Doctor Zhivago *Available on Max as of 3/12 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Legendary documentarian and filmmaker Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War, The Pigeon Tunnel) and host Ben Mankiewicz have a charged conversation about interviewing, serial killers, grave robbing and, yes, movies. Morris gives the longest, most original (and most surprising!) answer to our Super 8 question about movie props. Plus, he reveals the movie that changed his life. Films Mentioned: The Fog of War  The Thin Blue Line American Dharma The Unknown Known Psycho The Pigeon Tunnel Gates of Heaven Vernon, Florida Conan the Barbarian Creature From The Black Lagoon This Island Earth Tarnished Angels Imitation of Life Les Enfants du Paradis Au Hasard Balthazar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Director Damien Chazelle ( La La Land, First Man) describes his childhood as a budding filmmaker inspired by Walt Disney, his path to getting his first film made (Whiplash), and how the pandemic impacted casting for his recent epic Babylon. Chazelle surprises – and delights – host Ben Mankiewicz as they discuss his parents’ favorite films and which movies always make him cry.   Films Mentioned: La La Land  Whiplash Jurassic Park Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Annie Hall Speed  Volcano Lethal Weapon Taken The Last Exorcism Part 2 10 Cloverfield Lane Ouija  Paranormal Activity* The Umbrellas of Cherbourg* West Side Story Singin’ in the Rain* The Sound of Music An American in Paris First Man Babylon Peter Pan Full Metal Jacket* Paths of Glory City Lights* Make Way For Tomorrow Black and Tan St. Louis Blues The Emperor Jones* Vertigo La Grande Vadrouille The Red Circle The 400 Blows* The 13th Warrior *Available on Max as of 2/27 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, About Schmidt) talks about the inspiration for his new film The Holdovers, what it’s like working with actors Paul Giamatti and George Clooney, and addresses the rumors of an Election sequel. He also shares the movie forever associated with one of his more awkward teenage dates. Plus, terrific answers to the Super 8! Films Mentioned: Election* Sideways About Schmidt Nebraska The Holdovers  Paper Moon* Citizen Ruth Seconds Something's Gotta Give The Descendants The Passion of Martin Inspector Gadget Citizen Kane* Downsizing Meet The Parents Jurassic Park 3 Pokemon Detective Pikachu Modern Times* Viridiana Seven Samurai* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Annie Hall Manhattan Taxi Driver A Special Day City Lights* Bicycle Thieves* Ikiru Red Beard* Dersu Uzala The Best Years of Our Lives The Unknown Known Cinema Paradiso Gone With the Wind* Doctor Zhivago Casablanca* The Garden of the Finzi Contini The Two of Us The Wolf of Wall Street Out of the Past The Friends of Eddie Coyle *Available on Max as of 2/20 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Host Ben Mankiewicz hangs out with his friend, 97-year-old legend Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein) in this often hilarious and sometimes poignant episode. Mel reminisces about Gene Wilder, David Lynch, his wife Anne Bancroft, and best friend Carl Reiner. He also recounts a tremendously funny dinner with Alfred Hitchcock. Mel Brooks has spent a lifetime watching and making movies so you don’t want to miss his answers to our Super 8 questionnaire.   Films Mentioned: Blazing Saddles* Young Frankenstein The Producers High Anxiety Psycho Vertigo The Elephant Man  Eraserhead* Frankenstein (1931)  Casablanca* Swing Time Top Hat Broadway Melody of 1940  Ninotchka The Gods Must Be Crazy  It Happened One Night  Spaceballs* Random Harvest  Alexander’s Ragtime Band  *Available on Max as of 2/13 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Writer director Cord Jefferson (American Fiction) and host Ben Mankiewicz talk life transitions, bravery, and family for this in-depth conversation. Jefferson charts his path from journalist to TV writer to first-time film director of 2023’s celebrated American Fiction. He shares the movies important to him and gives his take on the ending of Shawshank Redemption. FILMS MENTIONED: American Fiction Saltburn  Promising Young Woman  Sex, Lies, and Videotape Master of None The Good Place Succession* Watchmen* The People vs. Larry Flynt Do The Right Thing Jacob’s Ladder Clueless  Cruel Intentions Dangerous Liaisons Punch-Drunk Love Shawshank Redemption Paths of Glory The Killing Eyes Wide Shut Full Metal Jacket* Pulp Fiction* Young Frankenstein Blazing Saddles* Philadelphia *Available on Max as of 2/6 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Writer-director Emerald Fennell has made two of the most talked about movies in recent years: Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. Fennell tells host Ben Mankiewicz why she makes uncomfortable films, why she prefers directing over acting, and shares a formative experience watching Jurassic Park. She also challenges Ben on his knee-jerk aversion to costume dramas. You don’t want to miss that! FILMS MENTIONED: Barbie* Promising Young Woman  Saltburn Casablanca*
The Favourite Smokey and the Bandit  Star Wars The Death of Stalin  Dangerous Liaisons  Napoleon Jurassic Park Midnight Run Out of Sight Bridge of Spies Ben-Hur A Walk To Remember  Cape Fear (1991) Cape Fear (1962) Natural Born Killers* To Die For
Killing of a Sacred Deer  Beau is Afraid  Melancholia The Shining Mrs. Miniver Goodbye, Mr. Chips Random Harvest Brief Encounter*  *Available on Max as of 1/30 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This episode of Talking Pictures is special for host Ben Mankiewicz, whose favorite film of all time is Out of Sight, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ben sits down with Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Full Circle, Erin Brockovich) to talk ‘70s films, George Clooney, and how one maintains a 35-year career as a film director. Soderbergh also offers a little relationship advice and answers the Super 8, during which he reveals how many movies he watched in high school. Trust us, it’s a lot. FILMS MENTIONED:  Sex, Lies, and Videotape Ocean's Eleven Ocean’s Twelve  Ocean’s Thirteen Magic Mike Magic Mike’s Last Dance* Out of Sight Schizopolis* Gray’s Anatomy* The Last Detail Seconds The Parallax View Wanda* Carnal Knowledge The Landlord Being There Mad Max Witches of Eastwick Kafka King of the Hill The Underneath Erin Brockovich Michael Clayton Contagion Yankee Doodle Dandy Casablanca* Mildred Pierce* Four Daughters Angels with Dirty Faces The Knick* Jaws Planet of the Apes Three Days of the Condor EO Au Hasard Balthazar Hiroshima, Mon Amour Happy as Lazaro The Maltese Falcon Stormy Weather The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Behind the Candelabra* *Available on Max as of 1/23 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our first guest on Talking Pictures is writer director Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated, The Holiday). Recorded at her home, host Ben Mankiewicz talks with Meyers about casting Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, getting script advice from Sunset Boulevard director Billy Wilder, and they discuss what it’s like to become famous for her interiors. Spoiler: it’s frustrating! Nancy Meyers also answers our Super 8 questionnaire and reveals which film had her running from the theater in absolute terror. FILMS MENTIONED: Something’s Gotta Give It’s Complicated The Holiday Sunset Boulevard His Girl Friday Harry and Walter Go To New York Terms of Endearment About Schmidt Reds The Magnificent Seven The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* The Misfits The Graduate It’s a Wonderful Life North by Northwest Private Benjamin Baby Boom Double Indemnity Stalag 17 Ace in the Hole Some Like it Hot* Sabrina The Apartment Lost Weekend The Philadelphia Story Bringing Up Baby Trouble in Paradise The Intern* The Exorcist* Love in the Afternoon* Rear Window Day For Night A Man and a Woman  Paddington 2 The Worst Person in the World Modern Times* Planes, Trains and Automobiles The Great Escape *Available on Max as of 1/16 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From TCM and MAX, this is Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz.  We all remember the first movie to really scare us, or the movie a parent loved and watched repeatedly. We know which movies changed us, inspiring a move or a new career path. Mankiewicz, the Turner Classic Movies host, collects these moviegoing memories from Hollywood’s most interesting writers, actors, and directors in Talking Pictures. Listen in as movie-lovers swap stories, jokes, surprising moments, and endless movie recommendations; then watch some of those very same films on the streaming service MAX. For the cinephile or the casual movie lover, this is a conversation about all the life that happens because of watching movies.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices