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

Cord Jefferson

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.

TV & Film

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

Bonus Episode: Mario Cantone

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

Bill Hader

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

Patty Jenkins

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

Errol Morris

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

Cord Jefferson

Download our free app to listen on your phone