THE PLOT THICKENS to Return with Stanley Kubrick Season on TCM
Ben Mankiewicz hosts the season, produced with Criterion and featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg and Sofia Coppola.
Turner Classic Movies has announced a new season of its podcast THE PLOT THICKENS, titled Stanley, an 11-episode examination of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick produced in partnership with Criterion. The season is set to premiere with new episodes released weekly on major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Hosted by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz, the series traces Kubrick's path from a teenager in the Bronx to a filmmaker behind works including Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut.
The new season, titled 'Stanley,' premieres September 24 and features excerpts from a never-before-heard audio interview with Kubrick himself, giving listeners the rare opportunity to hear the filmmaker in his own words. New episodes will be released every Thursday.
The Plot Thickens 'Stanley' traces Kubrick's journey from a curious Bronx teenager, first inspired by a camera gifted to him by his father at age 13, to a filmmaker who redefined the art of filmmaking. Across his career, Kubrick pushed boundaries, challenged censorship, and pursued an uncompromising level of creative control that shaped landmark films including Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut.
Among the season's most extraordinary discoveries is a never-before-heard audio interview with Kubrick himself. Recorded in 1972 by Newsday film critic Joseph Gelmis during the release of A Clockwork Orange, the excerpted conversation gives listeners the rare opportunity to hear Kubrick's own voice as he discusses directing actors, independent filmmaking, football, and even his beloved pets, offering an intimate, firsthand portrait of one of cinema's most influential and famously private filmmakers.
'The Plot Thickens podcast has become one of the most ambitious and rewarding ways we explore the stories behind the people who shape filmmaking, and this season on Stanley Kubrick is a perfect example of that,' said Charlie Tabesh, SVP Programming and Content Strategy at TCM. 'The discovery of this previously unheard conversation with Kubrick is truly extraordinary, and alongside new interviews and other archival recordings, it helps create the most complete portrait of the filmmaker possible. As a network dedicated to preserving and celebrating film history, TCM is the ideal home to share a recording like this, pairing Kubrick's own voice with thoughtful storytelling and the insights of those who knew and studied his work.'
In conjunction with the new season of The Plot Thickens, TCM will also present Completely Kubrick, a four-night September programming event celebrating the entirety of Kubrick's feature filmography. The event will showcase every feature directed by Kubrick—from early works including Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss, and The Killing to enduring classics such as Paths of Glory, Spartacus, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut. The programming event will also include Kubrick's early short films Day of the Fight and Flying Padre.
As part of its broader mission around film restoration and preservation, Criterion has focused on sharing Kubrick's films and stories for almost four decades. Later this year, it will be releasing Criterion's Complete Kubrick box set.
'Criterion has been celebrating the work of Stanley Kubrick for more than 35 years,' said Peter Becker, President of The Criterion Collection. 'From our early Laserdisc releases of The Killing and Paths of Glory to the newly announced Complete Kubrick special edition box set coming this October. We're delighted to be continuing the tradition by partnering with our friends at TCM on this epic journey through Kubrick's life and work.'
With its signature storytelling and deep research drawing on more than 200 newly uncovered and previously unheard archival interviews, The Plot Thickens 'Stanley' brings listeners behind the scenes of Kubrick's creative process, capturing the obsessive precision, artistic ambition, and unforgettable imagery that cemented his legacy as one of the most influential filmmakers in history.
Completely Kubrick Programming Schedule (final dates and times subject to change)
SEPTEMBER 3
8:00PM – KILLER'S KISS (1955)
9:15PM – DAY OF THE FIGHT (1951)
9:45PM – THE KILLING (1956)
11:15PM – FLYING PADRE (1951)
11:30PM – PATHS OF GLORY (1957)
1:15AM – FEAR AND DESIRE (1952)
SEPTEMBER 10
8:00PM – SPARTACUS (1960)
11:30PM – LOLITA (1962)
2:15AM – DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
SEPTEMBER 17
8:00PM – 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
10:30PM – A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
1:00AM – BARRY LYNDON (1975)
SEPTEMBER 24
8:00PM – THE SHINING (1980)
10:45PM – FULL METAL JACKET (1987)
1:00AM – EYES WIDE SHUT (1999)
The season includes excerpts from a 1972 audio interview with Kubrick, recorded by Newsday film critic Joseph Gelmis around the release of A Clockwork Orange, along with new interviews conducted by Mankiewicz with figures including Katharina Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Sofia Coppola, Matthew Modine, Josh Safdie, George Miller, Phil Rosenthal, Michael Bauman, Lee Unkrich and James Harris, as well as critics and authors Claire Dederer and Jon Ronson. TCM is also set to present Completely Kubrick, a four-night programming event spanning the director's feature filmography and early short films.
