Director Peter Bogdanovich’s Own Plot Thickens on TCM’s Podcast

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Apparently the late Robert Evans isn’t the only kid who stays in the picture business, as storied director Peter Bogdanovich, 80, gives him a run for the money on TCM’s “The Plot Thickens” podcast bowing on April 28. Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, grandson of Herman J. Mankiewicz AKA writer of CITIZEN KANE, they share not only Welles as a common denominator, but the unconditional love of cinema. Structured serial episodes entitled “I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich” will run weekly after an initial double release.

“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.”

It will be interesting to listen to the gloss on some of the more controversial (i.e.; The Stratton sisters) aspects of the Serbian-American director’s nosebleed ride to the zenith, then nadir and back up, in Hollywood over the decades. Read on…

It’s Only A Paper Life, Right?

Here’s What TCM Has to Say About Bogdanovich’s Life’s Work Podcast

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. In honor of the podcast’s release, 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. 

[Editor’s Note: Antonia Bogdanovich, one of Peter’s daughters, is an established filmmaker and producer in her own right, also having helped secure funding for her father’s films. Antonia’s short story “Vanilla Shake” on Nikki Finke’s Hollywood Dementia speaks volumes about his legacy.]

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