A new season of Karina Longworth's incredible Hollywood history podcast "You Must Remember This" dropped Tuesday, and this one may prove to be the most groundbreaking season yet. If you're not already familiar with "You Must Remember This," it's a spellbinding oral history throughout the first century of Hollywood's hallowed halls, researched, written and narrated (in her signature style) by the film critic and author.
She's done seasons on Charles Manson in Hollywood, movie stars and World War II, Howard Hughes and his many loves (which she also spun off into a book, "Seduction"). Now she seeks to inscribe a new piece of Hollywood history with a season dedicated to Polly Platt, who came to prominence collaborating with her ex-husband, Peter Bogdanovich, on "The Last Picture Show," and was later seen as the spurned wife when Bogdanovich left her for "Picture Show" star Cybill Shepherd (whom she suggested he cast). Platt later became a successful producer in her own right. Longworth, with a manuscript of Platt's unfinished memoir furnished by her daughters, will spend the season exploring Platt's imprint on the films she made with Bogdanovich, which far exceeded the production design credits she received. She'll also dive into Platt's subsequent career in Hollywood, as well as the systemic barriers that prevented her from becoming the kind of deified director like her male contemporaries.
Longworth herself provided us a few streaming movie suggestions to watch along with the podcast (or you check out the weekly watch-along hosted by Los Angeles-based film foundation Vidiots, with an Instagram Live discussion every Tuesday night through June 28.
A good starting point is "The Last Picture Show" ($2.99 on Amazon and Vudu, $3.99 on iTunes, Google Play, YouTube), the 1971 star-studded, Oscar-winning black-and-white drama of high schoolers in Texas, on which Platt was credited as a production designer, though the podcast suggests she had a far greater role in shepherding this story to the screen. Next, check out "What's Up, Doc?" Bogdonavich's 1972 comedy caper stars Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, and Platt also received a production design credit ($1.99 on Amazon Prime, Vudu, Google Play, $3.99 on iTunes). Then, onto "Broadcast News" ($3.99 on Amazon Prime, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube), the 1987 TV news-based romantic dramedy, which she produced for director James L. Brooks.
This podcast will be required listening for movie fans, giving a whole new meaning to summer movie season.