The Plot Thickens Podcast
1) Bugs
A young film buff named Peter Bogdanovich grows up in New York, learning to obsess over the movies the way his father obsesses over art. With his sights set on acting, Peter lies his way into th...Show More
2) Ben Answers Your Cleopatra Questions
Ben Mankiewicz received hundreds of voicemails about Cleopatra, and now he's answering them! Well, as many of them as he can. In this special bonus episode, Ben weighs in on the six-hour cut of Cleopa...Show More
3) Ask Ben Your Cleopatra Questions!
We’re doing our first-ever Q&A bonus episode, and we want your questions! Call 404-885-0013 to leave a voicemail for Ben. You can ask about Cleopatra, Ben's great-uncle Joe Mankiewicz or the stars of ...Show More
4) Wildly Successful and Much Maligned
The fate of 20th Century Fox hangs in the balance as Cleopatra premieres. Critics and audiences weigh in, Elizabeth and Richard face momentous life decisions, and Joe sinks into a deep depression. Fo...Show More
5) Mankiewicz vs. Zanuck
Joe’s body reaches its breaking point, and he’s forced to film the last few scenes from a wheelchair. But when production wraps, Fox installs a new studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck, who undercuts Joe’s ...Show More
6) Le Scandale
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s love affair becomes a tabloid sensation. Richard drinks and Elizabeth cries, they fight and make up, all while trying to keep the affair from their spouses and t...Show More
7) The Girl is on Salary
Joe Mankiewicz decides to recast two leading men and hires Richard Burton and Rex Harrison – major talents who turn out to be major headaches. He also moves filming to a new country, where the budget ...Show More
8) Joe
While Elizabeth Taylor fights for her life in a London hospital, Joe Mankiewicz begins to grapple with the movie he’s inherited. The script is dreadful, the sets are grotesque, and none of the footage...Show More
9) London Slog
20th Century Fox pays Elizabeth Taylor a record-breaking salary to play Cleopatra, then tries to save money by filming the movie in England. That turns out to be a disastrous decision. The weather doe...Show More
10) Season 6 Trailer: Cleopatra
His studio was collapsing. His budget was skyrocketing. And his two stars were making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Those were just some of the headaches facing Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the direct...Show More