
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.
Latest episodes

Feb 4, 2025 • 1h
Paul Scheer
One of the godfathers of movie podcasts, Paul Scheer launched How Did This Get Made? fifteen years ago. His love of movies started as a kid on Long Island working at a Blockbuster Video. Through his talent for improv comedy, he ended up writing, directing and performing in some of the funniest shows ever put on TV. Paul details his rollercoaster career, his extremely awkward celebrity encounters, and how movies were often an escape from his difficult childhood. In the Super 8, Paul tells Ben how he once lined up at 6:00 AM... just to watch a trailer. Films Mentioned :
Ordinary People
The Milagro Beanfield War
Dollars
Heaven Can Wait
Shampoo
The Elephant Man
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Meet Joe Black
The Cable Guy*
Galaxy Quest
Twilight
Psycho 4: A New Beginning
Ghost
Phantasm
Flowers in the Attic
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
Happy Gilmore
Back to the Future
Groundhog Day
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Grosse Pointe Blank
Midnight Run
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
*Available on Max as of 2/04 (Availability of titles subject to change)
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Jan 28, 2025 • 59min
Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon landed her first movie role when she was sixteen, and then twenty years later, she won an Emmy... for playing a teenage boy. Her thirteen seasons as Bobby Hill on King of the Hill made her a world-famous voice actor, but she's equally renowned for creating and starring in Better Things. Pam is also a director – her first feature, Babes, came out last year – and she sits down with Ben Mankiewicz to discuss her deep love of movies, which includes everything from musicals to the films of John Cassavetes. Films Mentioned:
Grease 2
Babes
Biosphere
Creep
The Animatrix
Anora
Deadwood*
Porky's
Love Streams
Fame
Bugsy Malone
The Wiz
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Shining
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Guns of Navarone
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Mamma Mia!*
My Old Ass
Schindler's List
The Notebook
Terms of Endearment
Coming Home
The Birdcage*
Merrie Melodies - Rabbit Hood
*Available on Max as of 1/28 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 21, 2025 • 1h 3min
Charles Barkley
NBA legend Charles Barkley became addicted to movies as a rookie, when he'd sneak into theaters to escape the limelight for a couple of hours. By the time he changed careers from baller to broadcaster, he was a bonafide film buff, with strong opinions on all kinds of movies. In this hilarious episode, Sir Charles talks to Ben Mankiewicz about the similarities between a film crew and a basketball team, the secret to hosting Saturday Night Live, and the courtroom classic that never fails to make him laugh. Films Mentioned:
Space Jam
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
A Quiet Place
All the Way*
The Beekeeper
Jaws
Arsenic and Old Lace
It Happened One Night
Gladiator
Any Given Sunday
Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard
My Cousin Vinny
A Bronx Tale
Pulp Fiction
Malcolm X
The Karate Kid
Stripes
Taps
Taxi Driver
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Ten Commandments
Ben-Hur
In the Heat of the Night
Brian's Song
Field of Dreams
The Sixth Sense
Dirty Harry
Rawhide
*Available on Max as of 01/21 (Availability of titles subject to change) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 14, 2025 • 59min
Paul Feig
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
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Jan 7, 2025 • 1h 2min
Henry Winkler
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

Dec 17, 2024 • 56min
Jane Lynch
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

Dec 10, 2024 • 1h 4min
Jason Reitman
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

Dec 3, 2024 • 60min
Carol Burnett
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

Nov 26, 2024 • 1h 4min
Margot Robbie
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

Nov 19, 2024 • 58min
Bridget Everett
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
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