TCM Classic Film Festival 2013: Interview with Ben Mankiewicz

Is there a particular genre that you love the most?

Because I came up as a journalist, I saw a lot of journalism pictures as a child.

Do you have one in particular that you love?

All The President’s Men. I get so massively moved by it. Also The Front Page, His Girl Friday.

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star in All The President’s Men.

Last year there was talk of a remake of The Thin Man with Johnny Depp. Do you think it’s better if they update it to make it contemporary, or if they tried to recreate the period?

Just off the top of my head, wouldn’t it be interesting if they recreated the era, but not that era. Like what if they set it in the 60s? Like, putting them at the beginning of the sexual revolution.

Do you ever read film history books when you are preparing to do your work?

Yes. When I’m preparing to do festival stuff, definitely. For almost everything, I’ll definitely at least have excerpts from film books. Festival prep is a tremendous amount of work.

Ben Mankiewicz interviewing Theodore Bikel.

Do you have a giant dossier?

I have in my car a ton of research. I go through it and I read and I watch the movie, and I think of things during the movies and I watch the extras and I take notes. I usually have fewer notes for films that I know well.

Now that you’ve been doing this for about a decade, do you ever think about writing a memoir?

No. I don’t. Maybe I will at some point. I don’t feel like anyone would care.

I think they would.

Ben Mankiewicz’s father Frank Mankiewicz interviewing Fidel Castro.

Maybe. My dad is 88 and he’s lead a remarkable life. He’s writing a memoir. I’ll think about it later.