TCM Launches Podcast The Plot Thickens in April
Director Peter Bogdanovich Shares His Story in First Season Premiering April 28
Trailer for First Season Now Available
This April, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) presents The Plot Thickens, a new podcast about the movies and the people who make them. The first season is a seven-episode documentary about the life and work of Oscar®-nominated director, writer, and actor Peter Bogdanovich titled “I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich.” TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz will guide listeners through the remarkable story of the ultimate cinephile, who at 32, became Hollywood’s hottest director. But Bogdanovich soon discovered the fragility of such success after three box-office flops and a horrible tragedy that plunged him into grief and financial struggles. Through it all, Bogdanovich’s love of movies sustained him. The Plot Thickens, produced in partnership with WarnerMedia Podcast Network,includes archival interviews Bogdanovich did with Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and Orson Welles while he was learning his craft, as well as rare archival audio from the TCM vault. It also features exclusive interviews with producer Frank Marshall, actor Cybill Shepherd, and director Roger Corman about how Bogdanovich made his films and survived life’s ups and downs.
The first two episodes of “I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich” will be released on April 28, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.
“Peter Bogdanovich is a living link to Hollywood’s golden age — the perfect conduit from the past to this modern era of movies,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “Season one tells the entirety of Peter’s story. And it is a gripping story — told mostly by Peter himself, drawn from 15 hours of interviews together. It combines the best elements from one of the greatest eras of American movies — Peter’s era, 1967-1976. It is an intense drama replete with passion, art, love, lust, success, heartbreak, betrayal, raucous comedy, painful tragedy, and ultimately, a version of redemption, all of it set against the backdrop of the magic of making movies.”
In honor of the podcast’s release, Peter Bogdanovich will join Ben Mankiewicz on TCM throughout April to introduce a handful of his films, which will include:
- Saturday, April 4 – He discusses two of his earliest films, Targets (1968) and The Last Picture Show (1971), which earned him his two Oscar nominations for best director and best adapted screenplay
- Saturday, April 11 – He quickly followed his first films with the hits What’s Up, Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973)
- Saturday, April 25 – A string of flops tarnished his reputation, even as his skills as a writer and director grew sharper. One of those films was Nickelodeon (1976), followed by his comeback film Saint Jack (1979), a TCM premiere
The first trailer for The Plot Thickens can be downloaded on Apple Podcasts and The Plot Thickens’ website. For more information, never-before-seen images, additional research materials, and a timeline of Bogdanovich’s life and career, please visit tcm.com/ThePlotThickens.