Talking Pictures

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