Talking Pictures

Latest Episodes:

Ron Howard Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard tells host Ben Mankiewicz that he feared being “branded” a supernatural comedy director following the success of “Splash” and “Cocoon.” After tapping guidance from his “Happy Days” boss, Garry Marshall, and insight from Frank Capra’s biography, Howard set forth to explore the medium of film in all its genres as a director. He tells Ben about being mesmerized by “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Graduate” and learning how to work with stars when acting in “The Shootist” with John Wayne directed by Don Siegel. Ron Howard’s Super 8 answers run the gamut from nods to “Project Hail Mary.” and “Eastern Promises,” to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Blazing Saddles.”

Films Mentioned:

Night Shift
Splash
Cocoon
Grand Theft Auto
It Happened One Night
Brian’s Song
Boys in the Band
The Wild Bunch
The Graduate
Bonnie and Clyde
White Heat
The Shootist
Charley Varrick
Skyward
Eden
The Paper
The Missing
Backdraft
Frontier Woman
The Journey
Around the World in 80 Days
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Project Hail Mary
Eastern Promises
Unforgiven
A Face in the Crowd
Gone with the Wind
Matilda
High Noon
Arrival
Something About Mary
Terms of Endearment
As Good as it Gets
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles

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Tony Goldwyn Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

Actor-Director Tony Goldwyn talks with host Ben Mankiewicz about breaking into Hollywood where his family roots run deep and the Goldwyn name looms large. Tony looks back on the ups and downs of his acting career from Ghost to One Battle After Another and explains that directing became a way to get some control in a largely unpredictable business. He also admits that he nearly passed on Scandal– a role that revitalized his career. In the Super 8, he shares his most memorable movie watching experience: being absolutely terrified by The Exorcist.

Films Mentioned:

Ghost
Ezra
One Battle After Another
Dodsworth
Saturday Night Fever
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Gaby: A True Story
Blood Simple
A Walk On The Moon
Someone Like You
Conviction
The Exorcist
The Godfather Part II
Howard’s End
The Maltese Falcon
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Madness of King George
When Harry Met Sally

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Hiro Murai Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Director/Producer Hiro Murai whose new show is Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay,” joins host Ben Mankiewicz. They discuss why he and Donald Glover collaborate so well and how their initial approach to making “Atlanta” was unsustainable. Murai and Ben debate the value of surrealism in art and Murai reveals that he once pitched himself to direct a Beyonce video but completely understands why he didn’t get the gig. His answers to the Super 8 span Japanese films like Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” and Takeshi Kitano’s “Sonatine” to the Albert Brooks comedy “Modern Romance” and Kubrick’s “The Shining.”

Films Mentioned:

Rosemary’s Baby
Eraserhead
Cool Runnings
The Shining
Terminator 2: Judgement Day AKA T2
Elevator To The Gallows
Boogie Nights
No Country For Old Men
Jurassic Park
Modern Romance
La Chimera
2001: A Space Odyssey
Ran
My Neighbor Totoro
Tampopo
The Sound of Music
Reds

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Sally Field Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

Oscar-winning actress Sally Field gets real with Ben Mankiewicz. Drawing on her memoir In Pieces, she discusses her fraught relationship with ex-boyfriend/Smokey and the Bandit co-star Burt Reynolds and his similarity to her abusive step-father. During The Flying Nun she was introduced to the Actors Studio where she transformed from a sitcom actress Hollywood had written off into someone who could fight for Norma Rae, fight Spielberg twice for Lincoln, and win both battles. In the Super 8 she praises the work of Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and reveals she rarely cries at movies.

Films Mentioned:

Remarkably Bright Creatures
Smokey and the Bandit
Sybil
Norma Rae
The Way West
Places in the Heart
Lincoln
Gone with the Wind
Them!
The Searchers
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Charade
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The Enchanted Cottage
A Letter to Three Wives
Hooper
Absence of Malice
Steel Magnolias
Forrest Gump
Hud

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Susan Sarandon Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon joins Ben Mankiewicz to share unvarnished stories of a life in films– from making Rocky Horror Picture Show, Bull Durham, Witches of Eastwick, and Pretty Baby to navigating the cynical world of showbiz. She argues that every film is political– either challenging the status quo or enforcing it– and reveals her input into the iconic ending of Thelma & Louise which turns 35 this year.

Films Mentioned:

The Nutty Professor
The Accompanist
Dead Man Walking
Joe
Atlantic City
Pretty Baby
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Witches of Eastwick
Bull Durham
Sirat
Afterlife
Grapes of Wrath
Lord of the Rings
Bambi
Waiting for Guffman
Best in Show
Thelma & Louise
Being There
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Front Page, 1974

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Rosie Perez May 28, 2026

Show notes

Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez sits down with host Ben Mankiewicz to discuss the films that shaped her career—Do the Right Thing and Fearless—as well as early favorites like Saturday Night Fever and Double Indemnity. She reflects on building a career in an industry that didn’t readily accept her for who she is, and speaks candidly about being raised in a strict Catholic home for girls. In the Super 8 segment, she tells Ben about an amazing boxing story she’d love to see on the big screen.

Films Mentioned

The Way We Were
Do The Right Thing
Fearless
Criminal Justice
The Bells of St. Mary's
The Little Princess (Shirley Temple version), 1939
Old Yeller
Rosemary's Baby
Saturday Night Fever
Double Indemnity
Cool Hand Luke
Some Like It Hot
Detour
Young Frankenstein
Stormy Weather

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Patton Oswalt May 21, 2026

Show notes

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt joins host Ben Mankiewicz for a live taping of Talking Pictures recorded at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on the eve of the 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival. An obsessive movie fan, Patton sees hundreds of films a year; he hates talkers in theaters but loves when going to a movie turns into a bonding experience with strangers. From his acting career, he tells stories of being suspended in a tree on the set of “Magnolia” and doing a sex scene with Charlize Theron in “Young Adult.” In the Super 8, Oswalt shares films you’ll want to remember and see the first chance you get.

Films Mentioned:

Young Adult
Ratatouille
The D.I.
Halloween
Magnolia
Hard Eight
Young Adult
Stalag 17
The Great Escape
Yojimbo
Bad News Bears, 1976
Casablanca
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
Return of the Living Dead
Three Kings
Gates of Heaven
Bachelor Party
Baby Driver
After Life
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Planet of The Apes
Wait Until Dark
Man With No Name
A Catered Affair
The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming
Sergeant York
The Taking of Pelham 123
Female Trouble
Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Twelve Chairs
Blazing Saddles
Ikiru
Kingpin
Quick Change
Pig

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Edgar Wright May 14, 2026

Show notes

Talking Pictures is back with ardent movie fan and beloved filmmaker Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and The Running Man). He talks with host Ben Mankiewicz about living in Quentin Tarantino’s guesthouse, action movie montages, and being mesmerized by Sidney Poitier at the TCM Classic Film Festival. To Ben’s surprise, Wright christens Ben’s home studio with a perfect classic film moniker.

Films mentioned:

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Shaun of the Dead
Baby Driver
The Running Man
Hot Fuzz
The World’s End
Star Wars: Episode IV:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Watership Down
The Lord of The Rings (1978 animated film)
Popeye
Evil Dead and Evil Dead II
El Mariachi
Reservoir Dogs
Bad Taste
Rumble In The Bronx
Something About Mary
Silence of the Lambs
In the Heat of the Night
Raising Arizona
Goodfellas
Pink Panther films
Hellraiser
The Wages of Fear
Sorcerer
Lawrence of Arabia
E.T.
Umberto D.
This Is Spinal Tap

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Coming Soon: Talking Pictures May 07, 2026

Show notes

Season three of Talking Pictures is back, with a brand new lineup of guests celebrating the movies they love, this time on video.

Host Ben Mankiewicz invites some of the most iconic figures in Hollywood for an intimate conversation at his home studio. Guests like Sally Field, Edgar Wright, and Susan Sarandon open up about the moments that made them, the movies that informed them, and share behind-the-scenes stories that haven’t been told. Of course, every episode ends with the Super 8, where they reveal the movies that make them laugh, cry, and that they can’t forget.

From TCM and HBO Max, this is Season 3 of Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz.

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Joachim Trier Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Oscar-nominated writer/director Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) talks with Host Ben Mankiewicz about how being raised in a filmmaking family shaped his worldview and his career. Ben and Joachim bond over E.T., Hitchcock's villains, and the enduring humor of Step Brothers. At the end you get a rare peek at a couple of Ben’s prized movie posters.

Films Mentioned:

Sentimental Value
The Passion of Joan of Arc (aka La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)
The Worst Person in the World
Oslo, August 31st
Tarzan the Ape Man
Mon Oncle
E.T.
The Hunt (aka The Chasers)
The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix
The Champ, 1979 and The Champ, 1931
F1
Annie Hall
Salò
Solaris
Notorious
Amarcord
Flashdance
Fame
Flight of the Eagle
The Emigrants
The New Land
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sting
Slap Shot
Step Brothers
One Battle After Another
Kes
Harry and Tonto
Where Eagles Dare

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