The Plot Thickens beschrijft zichzelf als een ‘documentary podcast about the movies and the people who make them’. Door middel van onder meer interviews en verhalen behandelt Ben Mankiewicz elk seizoen een interessant aspect van de rijke Hollywoodgeschiedenis. Seizoen een, ‘I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich’, vertelt het verhaal van de legendarische regisseur, maar ook de schaduwkanten van Hollywood vol jaloezie en verraad. Seizoen twee, ‘The Devil’s Candy’, gaat over de rampzalige verfilming van het boek The Bonfire of the Vanities. In seizoen drie, ‘Lucy’ wordt aan de hand van meer dan veertig interviews en unieke audio-opnamen van Lucille Ball zelf, haar levensverhaal verteld. ‘Here Comes Pam’ is het vierde en tot nu toe laatste seizoen. Pam Grier vertelt haar levensverhaal aan Mankiewicz. Zij werd in 1973 de eerste vrouwelijke actieheld van Hollywood door de blaxploitation-film Coffy.
Our fifth season is Decoding John Ford, a seven-episode series about cinema’s most mysterious auteur. Using scores of never-before-heard archival interviews, host Ben Mankiewicz strips back John Ford’s self-spun mythology to reveal his brilliance behind the camera – alongside the often ugly, uncomfortable truths about his life and movies, asking whether we can ever truly separate art from the artist. Decoding John Ford starts June 6.
After being removed from a film and ruining his friendship with Henry Fonda, John Ford begins to openly challenge his previous work. He deconstructs the Western and, for the first time, makes films specifically about Indians and women. But his power in Hollywood dwindles, and he soon finds himself out of work, a living legend living off his savings. As Ford enters his 70s, his movies are rediscovered and he is showered with honors and accolades, even as he denies his own artistry every chance he gets. Though he does accept one major award… from none other than the President of the United States.
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