Polly Platt on the phone at her office at Paramount Pictures, 1984 | Photo by Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.
Polly’s third marriage falls apart, and she enters more than one destructive affair. During these tumultuous times, Polly establishes a new collaboration with a male writer-director, James L. Brooks, and together the two turn another Larry McMurtry novel into a classic film: Terms of Endearment. Once again, while working on this film about a combative mother-daughter relationship, Polly finds that art and life are intertwined. Polly’s own story starts showing up in other people’s movies, including Irreconcilable Differences -- starring Ryan O’Neal as a version of Bogdanovich.
Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson in Terms of Endearment, 1983 | Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images
SHOW NOTES:
Sources specific to this episode:
This season is based in large part on Polly Platt's unpublished memoir, It Was Worth It, excerpted with the permission of Sashy Bodganovich.
This episode includes excerpts from interviews with: Antonia Bogdanovich, Sashy Bogdanovich, Penney Finkelman Cox, Rachel Abramowitz, and Lisa Maria Radano.
Polly Platt and her daughters Antonia and Sashy Bogdanovich on their way to the Academy Awards | Photo Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich
Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
Tender Warmth - James William Charles Yan
Asian Relax - Neuromancer
She Was A Dancer - Indigo Days
Prelude A L'apres -Claude Debussy
Trompette - Neuromancer
Share My Fears - Sage Oursier
Rise of the Velcro - Gabriel Lewis
Impenetrable - Taylor Crane
There’s a Special Place for Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Rite of Passage - Kevin MaLeod
Laserdisc - Chris Zabriskie
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.
Featuring special guests: Maggie Siff as the voice of Polly Platt.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media, transcription and additional research: Brendan Whalen.
Transcription and additional research: Kristen Sales and Wiley Wiggins.
Edited by: Brendan Byrnes.
Produced by: Tomeka Weatherspoon.
Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.
Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.
Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.