How Did It End? (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 10)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

Polly’s unfinished memoir ends abruptly in 1995. What were the remaining 16 years of her life like? Using interviews with those who knew her, we’ll explore how her career in Hollywood came to an end, and the tragic circumstances of her death. 

James L. Brooks, Danny Devito and and Polly Platt, c. 2000 | Photo courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

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This season is based in large part on Polly Platt's unpublished memoir, It Was Worth It, excerpted with the permission of Sashy Bodganovich.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: Sashy Bogdanovich, Phoef Sutton, Antonia Bogdanovich, David Moritz, Kelly Wade, Fred Roos, Amy Pascal, Rachel Abramowitz, Stacey Sher, Nancy Griffin, Nessa Hyams, Allison Anders, Jules Fisher, Barbara Boyle and Lisa Maria Radano.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Polly Platt at the Women in Film Crystal Awards, | Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

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:

Labyrinth - Sergey Cheremisinov

Starlight - Royalty Free Music World

Peaceful Piano - Neuromancer

Moonlight - Neuromancer

Danse Morialta - Kevin MacLeod

Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie

Polly Platt at the Art Director’s Guild oral history taping, c. 2000’s | Photo Courtesy of Antonia Bogdanovich

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.

Produced and Edited 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.

Bottle Rocket, I'll Do Anything and Polly Platt in '90s Hollywood (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 9)

Polly Platt, c. early 1990's | Photo y Mary Ellen Mark

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

Platt collaboration with Brooks hits choppy waters with I’ll Do Anything, which at one point was a musical with songs by Prince, but which became one of the most notoriously misbegotten productions of the 1990s. Polly recaptures her indie roots by shepherding the directorial debut of Wes Anderson.

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: Rachel Abramowitz, Lisa Maria Radano, Polly Finkelman Cox, Antonia Bogdanovich, Kelly Wade, Paula Herrold, Stacey Sher, Nancy Griffin and Barbara Boyle.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Owen Wilson with Wes Anderson on the set of Bottle Rocket, Produced by Polly Platt (1995)

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: 

No Place - DJ Masque
Rite of Passage - Kevin MacLeod
I Know a Guy - Kevin MacLeod
Wanna Be Free - King Sis
Gagool - Kevin MacLeod
Faster Does It - Kevin MacLeod
Sunset - Kai Engel
Quantum Jazz - Passing Fields
Tikopia - Kevin MacLeod
Readers Do You Read - Chris Zabriskie
What You’re Made Of - Gary Combs
Divider - Chris Zabriskie

Polly Platt in Hawaii, 1990's | Photo courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich.jpeg

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.

Women of the 80’s (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 8)

Polly Platt with George Miller, 1986 | Photo by Kerry Hayes, Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

In the mid-to-late 80s, Polly Platt worked on a number of films that defined and reflected that decade’s ideas about female power. With an Oscar nomination under her belt, Polly starts trying in earnest to direct. She ends her career as a production designer with The Witches of Eastwick, a star-studded special-effects extravaganza. Inspired by Polly, Brooks creates the character played by Holly Hunter in Broadcast News, infusing the film with Polly’s single-minded professional determination. Riding high on having guided Brooks through two consecutive, blockbuster Oscar nominees, Polly becomes a production executive at Brooks's Gracie Films, where she produces Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything…

Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher at an event for The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

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: Alison Anders, Antonia Bogdanovich, Nancy Griffin, Polly Finkelman Cox, Danny Devito, Rachel Abramowitz, Paula Herrold, Sashy Bogdanovich, Penney Finkelman Cox, Rachel Abramowitz, Lisa Maria Radano, David Moritz, Jerry Bruckheimer, Kelly Wade, Cameron Crowe and Barbara Boyle.  

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Holly Hunter in Broadcast News (1987)

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: 

Rescue Mission - Lupus Nocte
Divider - Chris Zabriskie
Laserdisc - Chris Zabriskie
Satellites - Ebb and Flod
Whispering of the Stars - Luella Gren
Mystic Star - Eneide
Celestial Dreams - Eneide
Out of the Skies, Under the Earth - Chris Zabriskie
Peaceful Piano - Neuromancer
Lullaby - Neuromancer
Keep Showing Up - John T. Graham
Danse Morialta - Kevin MacLeod

Polly Platt makes an appearance in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything (1989)

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.

Produced and edited 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.

Terms of Endearment (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 7)

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.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

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.

Pretty Baby and a Playmate Murder (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 6)

Brooke Sheilds and Susan Sarandon, Pretty Baby, 1978

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

In an attempt to save her family, Polly transitions to screenwriting and producing, basing the prostitution drama Pretty Baby, starring a pre-teen Brooke Shields, on her own daughter. Polly finds herself increasingly overcome by alcoholism, while dealing with Shields’s own alcoholic mother. Polly’s already-difficult relationship with her two daughters is made much more complicated by the murder of Peter’s girlfriend, Dorothy Stratten, and Bogdanovich’s subsequent emotional collapse.

Polly Platt, c. 1970's | Photo Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

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: Nessa Hyams, Antonia Bogdanovich  Frank Marshall and Rachel Abramovitz.  

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season.

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:

Land on the Golden Gate - Chris Zabriskie
Cylinder - Chris Zabriskie
Sentimental Blues - Eric Jules Georges Gemsa
After Work - Neuromancer
Simple Sample Blues - Philippe Jacques Michel Bas
Slow Hypnosis - Johan Kristoffer Hugosson
No Place - DJ Masque
Rite of Passage - Kevin MaLeod
Danse Morialta - Kevin MacLeod
Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie
Blue Feather - Kevin McLeod

Bogdanovich and Stratten, 1980, Time & Life Pictures/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

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

Produced and Edited 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.

A Star is Born (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 5)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

When Polly begins her own on-set affair, the double standard of what men can get away with in Hollywood versus what was expected for women would push her to a breaking point. With collaborating with her ex-husband no longer an option, Platt starts attempting to rebuild her career, designing classics such as A Star is Born and Bad News Bears, while also navigating predatory men in power in post-sexual revolution Hollywood.  

Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson in A Star is Born (1976)

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: Frank Marshall, Antonia Bogdanovich, Sashy Bogdanovich, Nessa Hyams, Rachel Abramovitz, and Nancy Griffin. 

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Polly Platt c. 1970’s | Photo Courtesy of Antonia 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: 

I Know A Guy - Kevin McLeod
Sunset - Kai Engel
There’s a Special Place For Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Sleeping Beauty - Dominic Ashworth, Derek Nash
Still Moment - Gemma Barkerwood, Sophie Barkerwood 
Rite of Passage - Kevin McLeod
Never Wake Up - David Schmidt
Trust In Fate - Julien Bonneau, Fransois Rousselot 
Suspicious Cat -Ilan Moshe Abou,Thierry Oliver Faure 
Michaela - Alfred Jack
Silver Bullet - Elliot Holmes
Divider - Chris Zabriskie
Easy Listening In Jazz - Neruomancer
Some People Call Me Sam - Gabriel Lucas
Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie
Devil In Disguise - Gabriel Parker
Walkin On Velvet - Kenny Salmon
Snowmen - Kai Engel
We Can Get By Baby - Matthew Sibley, Giacomo Trivelli 
After Work - Neuromancer

Walter Matthau and Bears in The Bad News Bears (1976)

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

Producer: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Editor:  Brendan Byrnes

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Orson Welles, What’s Up Doc, Paper Moon (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 4)

Polly Platt and Peter Bogdanovich on the set of Paper Moon | Photo courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

In the aftermath of Picture Show—and the collapse of her second marriage—Polly finds an unlikely ally, and a new job, in Orson Welles. Anxious to build on her career momentum (and become the first female film art director accepted into her union), Polly agrees to work on Peter’s next two films, What’s Up Doc and Paper Moon – two massive hits which make Peter one of the most famous directors of the decade. 

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: Frank Marshall, Sashy Bodganovich, Nessa Hyams, Toby Rafelson, and Nancy Griffin. 

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Polly Platt at the Pool with Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, and Garry in Carefree, AZ 1971 while shooting The Other Side of The Wind,

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:

Bittersweet Discourse (Piano Only) - Various Composers
Open Roads - Nick Ingman, Tony Kinsey
Tooth Fairy - Various Composers
I Knew A Guy - Kevin MacLeod
Divider - Chris Zabriskie
Protest Generation - Various Composers
There's a Special Place for Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Railroad's Whiskey - Jahzzar
After Work (Piano Elevator Music) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
On My Way Home (Easy Listening Music) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
Lullaby (Berceuse, Piano) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
Playing with Sunbeams (Instrumental) - Franck Fossey, Aurelie Constance Renee Guillier de Chalvron
Meanwhile - Various Composers

Polly Platt and Tatum O’Neill on the set of Paper Moon | Photo Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guest 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

Producer and editor: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Ryan O’Neal, Peter Bogdanovich and Barbra Steisand on the set of What’s Up, Doc?

Last Picture Show Love Triangle: Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman Part 3

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

At Polly’s urging, Peter decides to direct an adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel The Last Picture Show. Though credited only as the film’s “designer,” Polly is involved in every creative decision, including casting — and it’s with his pregnant-again wife’s enthusiasm that Bogdanovich casts 20-year-old model Cybill Shepherd as the film’s femme fatale. Though Polly believed she and Peter were “deliriously happy,” Bogdanovich and Shepherd fall in love on the set of the movie, and Polly has to make a decision: to save face and avoid personal humiliation by walking away from the production, or stay and fight for the creative baby that she feels ownership over. 

Polly Platt applying makeup blood to Timothy Bottoms on The Last Picture Show set | Photo Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

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: Jules Fisher, Frank Marshall, Toby Rafelson, Nancy Griffin and Peggy Steffans. 

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Cybill Shepherd with director Peter Bogdanovich on The Last Picture Show set

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: 

There’s A Special Place for Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Bella Roma - Nonemis
Mister Poke Man - Peter Rockwell, Asger Wilde, Moellehoej Larsen 
A Dog with An Umbrella - Paul-Marie Jacques Bernard Barbier
A Walk in the Woods - Paul-Marie Jacques Bernard Barbier
Feel My Swagger - The New Fools
Organic Drums - Frederic Charles Sicart
The Eternal Scene - Rand Aldo
Land on the Golden Gate - Chris Zabriskie
Troubled Thoughts - Daryl Griffith
Glimmer - Hutch Demouilpied, Mix Amylo
Curious and Weird - Jean-Michel Vallet, Claire Guillot, Patrick Jean Chartol
Gobelin of Forest - Jean-Michel Vallet, Claire Guillot, Patrick Jean Chartol
Calm Waters - James Warburton
Open Window - Etienne Roussel

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guests: Maggie Siff as the voice of Polly Platt, Bill Sage as Larry McMurtry and Meghann Lee as Cybill Shepherd.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media, transcription and additional research: Brendan Whalen.

Transcription and additional research: Kristen Sales and Wiley Wiggins

Producer: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Editor:  Brendan Byrnes

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Peter Bogdanovich and the Woman Behind the Auteur (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 2)

Peter Bogdanovich and Polly Platt c. 1968 | Photo by Bruce McBroom via mptvimages

Listen to this episode Apple Podcasts. 

After the death of her first husband and creative partner, Polly moves to New York, where she swiftly meets and falls in love with Peter Bogdanovich. Together Polly and Peter build a life around the obsessive consumption of Hollywood movies, with Polly acting as Peter’s Jill-of-all-trades support system as he first ingratiates himself with the previous two generations of Hollywood auteurs as a critic/historian, and then makes his way into making his own films. Together, Polly and Peter write and produce Targets, Bogdanovich’s first credited feature, and also collaborate on a documentary about the great director John Ford. By the time Polly gives birth to their first daughter, she believes she and Peter are an indivisible, equal creative partnership — regardless of how credit is distributed in Hollywood. 

Peter and Polly in England, c. 1965 | Photo courtesy of Antonia Bogdanovich

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: Jules Fisher, Sashy Bogdanovich, Barbara Boyle, Fred Roos, Frank Marshall, Peggy Steffans and Rachel Ambramowitz. 

 Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Boris Karloff and Peter Bogdanovich in Targets c. 1968

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: 

Trust In Fate - Julien Guillaume Yves Bonneau, François Rousselot
Play Smart - Franck Sarkissian
Hazy Nights - Various Composers
Without You Crooner - Franck Sarkissian
Strain Therapy - Massimo Catalano, Remigio Ducros
Silver Bullet - Elliot Holmes
Tooth Fairy - Various Composers
Sunset - Kai Engel
Suspicious Cat - Ilan Moshe Abou, Thierry Oliver Faure
Low Horizon - Kai Engel
Locked Minds - Walt Adams
Rite of Passage - Unknown Composer
Stripper - Geoffrey Peter Gascoyne
The Call of the Sea (Piano Only) - John Paul Labno
Nashville Girl - Various Composers
I Knew A Guy - Unknown Composer
Piano Sonata in C Minor
Ready to Love - Various Composers

Peter Bogdanovich and John Ford on the set of Bogdanovich's documentary Directed by John Ford

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guest 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

 Produced and edited 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.

Polly Platt Season Sources

 Sources for the full season:

It Was Worth It by Polly Platt

Polly Platt, Art Directors Guild Oral History, 2002

American Film Institute seminars featuring Polly Platt, quoted with permission from AFI

James L. Brooks papers, Margaret Herrick Library

Polly Platt clippings, Margaret Herrick Library

Polly Platt files, Art Directors Guild

INTERVIEWS:

Antonia Bogdanovich
Sashy Bogdanovich
Rachel Abramowitz
Alison Anders 
Don Block 
Barbara Boyle 
Jerry Bruckheimer 
Penny Finkelman Cox
Cameron Crowe 
Danny Devito 
Jules Fisher
Nancy Griffin 
Paula Herold 
Nessa Hyams 
Frank Marshall 
Larry McMurtry
David Moritz
Amy Pascal 
Lisa Maria Radano
Toby Rafelson
Fred Roos 
Stacey Sher
Peggy Steffans
Phoef Sutton
Kelly Wade 

BOOKS:

Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind

Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd

All My Friends are Going to Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry

The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry

Hollywood by Larry McMurtry

Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry

Robert Altman by Mitchell Zuckoff

A Paper Life by Tatum O’Neal

Hit and Run by Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters

Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? by Rachel Abramowitz

Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris

Can I Go Now? by Brian Kellow

My Lucky Stars by Shirley MacLaine

There Was a Little Girl by Brooke Shields

Barbra by Christopher Andersen

Lessons in Becoming Myself by Ellen Burstyn

In Pieces by Sally Field

Leading Lady by Stephen Galloway

My Lunches with Orson by Henry Jaglom

Watch Me by Anjelica Huston

Roger Corman by Beverly Gray

Best of Enemies by Gus Russo

The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History by John Ortved

The Moguls by Norman J. Zierold

The Simpsons: A Cultural History By Moritz Fink

ARTICLES:

“Remembering Polly Platt” The Hollywood Reporter, August 12, 2011

‘Lonesome Dove’ Legend Larry McMurtry on Fiction, Money, Womanizing, and Old Age by Michael Hoinski, Grantland, May 22, 2014

“Polly Platt, Film Producer and Designer, Dies at 72” Margalit Fox, New York Times, 7-31-2011

“Films Will be Dimmer Without Her” by Patrick Goldstein, LA Times, 7-30-11

Obituaries: Polly Platt. by Ryan Gilbey. The Guardian, 8-8-11

“Flashback for ‘60s filmmakers” by Lynette Rice, THR, 3-8-99

“Carsey-Werner signs up Platt” by Donna Parker, THR, 2-13-1995

“Platt pens McMurtry Pic, Hopes to Helm” — Variety, 2-26-96

“Crafts” by Holly Willis, THR, 12-7-93

“Polly’s progress” by Jean Cox, Women’s Wear Daily, 12-20-76

“Now Polly Platt Has a Script of Her Own” by John M. Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 1-15-78

SHE'S DONE EVERYTHING (except direct) BY RACHEL ABRAMOWITZ, Premiere magazine, November 1993

“Moving ‘Targets’” Variety, April 21, 2004

“Critic-Into-Film-maker int the French Style” by Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1967

“Target’ For Exploitation: Refreshing, Promising 1st” by John Mahoney, The Hollywood Reporter May 6, 1968

“Par Buys ‘Targets’, Bogdanovich Indie” July 26, 1968, Hollywood Reporter

“Par Gropes on Sniper Pic” By Lee Beaupre, Variety,  August 7, 1968

“One Does Not Want This Sniper To Miss” by Renata Adler, New York Times August 25, 1968

“Bogdanovich Debuts as a Director with Targets” by Kevin Thomas, LA Times, September 6, 1968

“Larry McMurtry Speaks His Mind, Again” by Andrea Valdez, October 13, 2013

“Susan Sarandon on Her Love Affair With David Bowie, Woody Allen’s Creepiness, and Psychedelics” by Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast, Jul. 24, 2014

“Will ‘Anything’ Go Over?” by Jeffrey Wells, 8-8-93

“Pretty Baby” by Joan Goodman, NYM, September 26, 1977

Adler’s ‘Roses’ Set For Fox Film; Author Now To Adapt ‘Random,’ September

11, 1985, Variety 

“On Its Own Terms” by Joe Leydon, April 7, 1996, LA Times“When Hollywood Was Really a Man's World” July 19, 1998, LA Times

“Jack Nicholson Skiing Aspen’s Slopes” March 27, 1977, Arizona Republic

“Women Directors in Hollywood” by Jan Haag

“Breaking Away from Reverence and Rape: The AFI Directing Workshop for Women, Feminism, and the Politics of the Accidental Archive”

“The Moving Image: The Journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists” Philis M. Barragán Goetz

Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall 2015), Published by University of Minnesota Press“How to Succeed: Fail, Lose, Die - Women in Hollywood” by Maureen Orth  

“Shirley MacLaine on a Different Age of Sexual Harassers in Hollywood” by David Marchese, NYTimes, Nov. 4, 2019

“Shirley Maclaine’s Aurora Shines Again” by Pual Willistein, The Morning Call, 12/22/1996

“Winging It”, L.A. Examiner 2/21/1983

“She’s Done Everything Except Direct” by Rachel Abramovitz, Premiere, November 1993

“It wasn’t sexism, then” (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 1)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

As an Oscar-nominated production designer, screenwriter, producer and executive who put her stamp on some of the greatest and most loved films of the 1970s and 80s – including Paper Moon, Bad News Bears, Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, The Witches of Eastwick and more—Polly Platt had a major impact on the careers of Barbra Streisand, Tatum O’Neal, Garry Marshall, Cameron Crowe and Wes Anderson. She also lived an epic Hollywood life off-screen; her personal life was the stuff of a Great American Novel, full of romances, heartbreak, alcoholism and the challenges of adapting to cataclysmic cultural change as an independent, professional woman – and single mom. And yet, despite all of this, if you know Polly Platt’s name today, it’s probably because, in 1970, her husband and creative collaborator Peter Bogdanovich had an affair with Cybill Shepherd while shooting the film that made both Bogdanovich and Shepherd major stars of their era, The Last Picture Show. But Platt was much more than a jilted wife: she was the secret, often invisible-to-the-public weapon behind some of the most loved American “auteur” films (many of them comedies, directed by men) of the last decades of the 20th century. 

Drawing on Platt’s unpublished memoir (which remained unfinished when she died in 2011), as well as ample interviews and archival research, The Invisible Woman will tell Polly Platt’s incredible story from her perspective, for the first time. A trailblazer in jobs rarely held by women in Hollywood to that point, Polly Platt’s story helps us understand the obstacles preventing gender equality behind the scenes in Hollywood — in the 1970s through the 1990s, and in the present day -- and allows us to contemplate what it was like to be a woman in Hollywood during a time when the feminist movement may have been remaking American society to some extent, but failed to make major inroads in the movie industry.

Today, we’ll begin with a look at how Polly Platt’s legacy was appraised when she died in 2011. Then we’ll go back in time to tell Polly’s story from the start, beginning with her Revolutionary Road-esque childhood in Europe and America as the neglected daughter of two alcoholics; to her years studying scenic design in environments in which women weren’t welcome; the secret pregnancy that halted her formal education, and the early marriage that took her West and cemented her desire to tell stories through design. Throughout, we’ll talk about how Platt’s experiences, as the product of an American military family of the 1950s—and the daughter of a mother who had been forced to abandon a career for motherhood––shaped her view of gender roles and relations, and her idea of what it meant to be the wife of an important man.

Polly Platt and her family, c. 1940's | Photo courtesy of Antonia Bogdanovich

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: Barbara Boyle, Rachel Abramowitz, Sashy Bogdanovich, Antonia Bogdanovich, Alison Anders, Penney Finkelman Cox and Jules Fisher.  

 Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season. 

Polly Platt and her family with a Nazi airplane | Photo courtesy of Antonia 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: 

Snowmen - Kai Engel
Play Smart - Franck Sarkissian
Out of the Skies, Under the Earth - Chris Zabriskie
Cylander Six - Chris Zabriskie
Triad March - Jack Shaindlin
After Work - Neuromancer
Will Be War Soon - T. Kosta
Ruins and Desolation - Bruno Pierre, Emmanuel Alexiu
Strain Therapy -  Massimo Catalano, Remigio Ducros
Sunset Finale - Jody Jenkins
Faster Does It - Kevin MacLeod
Memories of Vienna - Various Composers
Watch Me Now - David Thomas Connolly
Hazy Nights - Charlotte Glasson, Peter Ludlam, Hans Hummer
Land on the Golden Gate - Chris Zabriskie
A Dog with an Umbrella - Paul-Marie Jacques Bernard Barbier
The Call of the Sea - John Paul Labno
Tooth Fairy - Various Composers
Sunset - Kai Engel
Laser Disc - Chris Zabriskie
Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie
Pangs of Fear - Various Composers
Dark Tavern - Walt Adams
Peaceful Piano - Neuromancer
What You’re Made Of - Gary Combs

Young Polly | Photo courtesy of Antonia Bogdanovich

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guest 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

Producer: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Edited by Brendan Byrnes.

Technical Support: Brendan Byrnes and Jared O'Connell.

Executive Producers: Chris Bannon and Josephine Martorana.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

VIDIOTS FOUNDATION & YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS VIRTUAL FILM SCREENING SERIES

Karina Longworth, film historian, and creator and host of You Must Remember This podcast, and Vidiots Foundation, the iconic L.A. video store-turned-film non-profit, are teaming up for a VIRTUAL FILM SCREENING SERIES, running Tuesday, May 26 through Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Follow @karinalongworth and @vidiots on Instagram for more information. 

The virtual screening series will follow the new season of You Must Remember This -- Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman. YMRT listeners, Vidiots fans, and classic movie buffs are invited to watch a movie every week, handpicked by Karina and Maggie, that relate to the week's podcast episode. Every Tuesday during the series they’ll be on Instagram Live at 6:30 PST/9:30 EST to discuss the movie and that week's episode with fans, and special guests.

Films include:

May 26: One-Eyed Jacks
When Polly Platt was a kid, she sought escape from her troubled home life by going to see Westerns. At age 20, in the midst of paralyzing grief, she saw One-Eyed Jacks — directed by and starring Marlon Brando — and the experience made her take action to follow her dream of working in movies.  

June 9: Targets
Polly Platt got her first story and production design credits on her then-husband Peter Bogdanovich’s feature directorial debut, a bone-dry, bare-bones thriller about the real horror -- ie: mass shootings. Platt found the locations and designed the total look of the film around an aesthetic that, as she put it, "I thought would make a murderer out of me."

June 16: The Last Picture Show
While he and Polly were making this now-classic, Oscar-winning film, Peter Bogdanovich began an open affair with actress Cybill Shepherd. Humiliated though she was, Polly felt so much ownership over this movie that she refused to leave the production. 

June 23: What's Up Doc
Though their marriage was over, Polly Platt agreed to production design her now ex-husband’s next two movies, What’s Up Doc (1972) and Paper Moon (1973). What’s Up Doc would be an anomaly in Polly’s filmography as a production designer: a trailblazer in American realism, here Platt went all in on designing a live-action cartoon. 

June 30: A Star is Born (1976)
In production designing the Barbra Streisand-starring remake of one of Hollywood’s oldest myths, Polly got an up-close-and-personal glimpse into what it really looked like to be a powerful woman in Hollywood. She also got a chance to subtly work some of her own story into the design of the film. 

July 7:  Pretty Baby 
Platt began a major career transition with this controversial film, which she wrote and produced. Though set in a brothel in early 20th century New Orleans, Pretty Baby is infused with much of Polly’s own autobiography, and shows how deeply she was grappling with her feelings of abandonment—and worries that she was abandoning her own children. 

July 14: Terms of Endearment
A decade after her creative partnership with Bogdanovich ended, Platt began a new collaboration with an incredibly talented writer/director: James L. Brooks. This was the perfect job for Polly; many of those close to her believed that the novel that the movie was based on had been at least partially inspired by her.

July 21: The Witches of Eastwick 
Polly Platt’s last film as a production designer — a job she took after she had established herself as a writer/producer and announced her intention to direct –– also features the most production design of her career, as she matched her instinct for visual storytelling to the format of the 80s special effects blockbuster. 

July 28: Say Anything... 
During one of the last phases of her career, Polly became a mentor to a number of first-time directors, including Cameron Crowe, whose now-classic rom-com features Polly on-screen in a memorable cameo.

August 4: Bottle Rocket 
Polly shepherded Wes Anderson’s first feature through a long development process, believing strongly that he and the Wilson brothers were telling an independent, American story that would fall in the lineage of The Last Picture Show.

More about Karina and YMRT: Karina Longworth is a film critic, author, and journalist based in LA. Longworth writes, hosts and produces the podcast You Must Remember This, about the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. Since launching as a passion project in April 2014, YMRT has become a critically acclaimed top podcast. "Ms. Longworth has hit on a peculiar sweet spot, where Hipsterdom meets Turner Classic Movies!" —The New York Times; "This podcast will change the way you think about movies" —Esquire Magazine; "Deep research, delicious tidbits & eyebrow arched narration!" —Flavorwire. The newest YMRT series stars Polly Platt -- producer, writer and Oscar-nominated production designer -- who lived an epic Hollywood life. If you know Platt’s name today, it’s probably because in 1970 her husband and creative collaborator Peter Bogdanovich had an affair with Cybill Shepherd while shooting the film that launched their careers, The Last Picture Show. But Platt was much more than a jilted wife: she was the secret, often invisible-to-the-public weapon behind some of the best films of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Drawing on Platt’s unpublished memoir, as well as ample interviews and archival research, The Invisible Woman will tell Polly Platt’s incredible story from her perspective, for the first time. Learn more about the podcast at youmustrememberthispodcast.com.

About Vidiots: Vidiots, the iconic Los Angeles video store-turned-film non-profit, is relaunching as an expanded entertainment, social, and community space at the historic Eagle Theatre in Northeast L.A. Vidiots' new home will include a 250-seat state-of-the-art cinema for a full calendar of screenings, special events, and educational programs; beer, wine and food; a 40-seat flexible screening space, and Vidiots' over-50,000-title film and media collection. To learn more and support Vidiots' relaunch with a donation of any size, please visit vidiotsfoundation.org

Polly Platt Sneak Peek

We can hardly wait to share the untold story of Polly Platt, the secret weapon behind some of the most highly acclaimed films of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Debuting Tuesday, May 26, this season will feature interviews and intimate details about her trailblazing legacy and heartbreaking private life, including excerpts from her own unpublished memoirs dealing with her creative collaborations and relationship with her second husband, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. Each episode features special guest, actress Maggie Siff, as the voice of Polly Platt.

We’re so excited about this season that we’re releasing the first 20 minutes here, as an extended preview. Enjoy, and please subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts to hear all 10 full length episodes, beginning next week. 

You Must Remember This New Season Coming May 26 - Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman

Polly Platt -- producer, writer and Oscar-nominated production designer -- lived an epic Hollywood life. And yet, if you know Platt’s name today, it’s probably because in 1970 her husband and creative collaborator Peter Bogdanovich had an affair with Cybill Shepherd while shooting the film that launched their careers, The Last Picture Show. But Platt was much more than a jilted wife: she was the secret, often invisible-to-the-public weapon behind some of the best films of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Drawing on Platt’s unpublished memoir, as well as ample interviews and archival research, The Invisible Woman will tell Polly Platt’s incredible story from her perspective, for the first time. New episodes will begin releasing May 26.