Rare Stanley Kubrick Interview Headed to TCM’s ‘Plot Thickens’ Podcast as Bonus Episode

Exclusive: Host Ben Mankiewicz will share the 1972 "A Clockwork Orange"-era interview with Newsday film critic Joseph Gelmis on January 7, 2027.

We’re always talking about Stanley Kubrick around these parts. But lately, the “Shining” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” director is even more present in the cinephile conversation thanks to Criterion’s just-released, staggering box set covering Kubrick’s entire filmography. (Including the much-debated, rare international cut of “The Shining.”)

But also currently airing on podcast platforms is a new season of TCM host Ben Mankiewicz‘s “The Plot Thickens,” an entire slate of episodes dedicated solely to the master filmmaker, who died in 1999 just before “Eyes Wide Shut” was released. IndieWire has some new exclusive news about the podcast: Two bonus episodes will be added to the already 11-episode run.

Turner Classic Movies has shared that it will release Stanley Kubrick’s rare, complete 1972 interview with Newsday film critic Joseph Gelmis as a bonus episode of “The Plot Thickens.” Available January 7, 2027, the episode presents the full conversation. So far, it’s only been excerpted across the season.

This “Clockwork Orange”-era interview “captures the famously private Kubrick in an expansive conversation with Gelmis, discussing his approach to directing actors and his beginnings as an independent filmmaker alongside personal interests, including football and his beloved pets,” per TCM.

In the episode, Kubrick also opines about a perennial cinephile topic: how home viewing might reshape moviegoing, even while advocating for the theatrical experience. While discussing “A Clockwork Orange,” Kubrick also recounts wearing a copper bracelet he believed relieved shoulder pain from playing ping-pong.

“Kubrick had a reputation for being private, but here you get to spend nearly three hours listening to him talk about his work and his everyday life,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “There’s pleasure in letting the conversation unfold; hearing what he takes seriously, what exasperates him, and what amuses him. What film lover isn’t curious about how Stanley Kubrick sees the world?”

Created in partnership with Criterion, the new “The Plot Thickens” season, “Stanley,” explores Kubrick’s life and career through archival audio and interviews with those who knew him and worked with him, with new episodes every Thursday.

TCM will also release a recording of its sold-out Kubrick panel presented in partnership with American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre as an additional bonus episode on January 14, 2027. Moderated by Mankiewicz, the discussion features filmmaker Jason Reitman, dialect coach Elizabeth Himelstein, and former L.A. Times critic Kenneth Turan. The panel was held before a screening of “Dr. Strangelove.”

Both bonus episodes will be available on all major podcast apps and platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Listen to our ”Screen Talk” podcast episode with Ben Mankiewicz, where he, along with co-hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio, ranks Kubrick’s top five films, here.