After starring in the 1935 film “Captain Blood,” actor Errol Flynn became the big screen’s foremost swashbuckler. Seven years later, two underage girls accused the golden age movie star of statutory rape. In “When You’re A Star,” the sixth episode of Variety and iHeart Podcasts’ true crime podcast “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly, Variety’s senior entertainment and media writer, look back at Flynn’s 1943 rape trial.

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Known for “Chinatown,” “Rosemary's Baby” and “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski is one of the most acclaimed directors in cinematic history. He is also a convicted child rapist who has faced several sexual assault allegations over the course of his career.

In “Disgraced Genius,” the fifth episode of Variety and iHeart Podcasts’ true crime podcast “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly, Variety’s senior entertainment and media writer, examine Polanski’s downfall after decades of Hollywood reverence.

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don Simpson reigned over Hollywood after joining forces with his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer in the 1980s. Around town, the studio executive-turned-producer’s addiction to sex workers and drugs was no secret — and for decades, he wielded his power in the industry to continue his nefarious and erratic ways.

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.