Joker (2019) and Cat's Eye (1985) | Two lower budget films, only one grossed a billion

Film Stories with Simon Brew

Simon Brew

Film History, Tv & Film

4.9 • 813 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jared Leto was the reigning Joker. Todd Phillips couldn't get the films he wanted to do off the ground. The DC range of movies was having a whole range of challenges for Warner Bros. And constant changes at the studio were leading to regular challenges of direction. In the midst of this, a relatively slim production, Joker, would have notable ramifications. Similarly slim, Cat's Eye marks the first credited screenplay for a man called Stephen King. But this too had challenges, when the original financing plan fell apart. And then, another film - Firestarter - had a bit of a knock-on effect... Stories of both are told in this episode. Please like/subscribe/leave nice reviews. Thank you! Find more at www.filmstories.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is Simon Brew. I'm the founder of Film Stories magazine and a very warm welcome to the Film Stories podcast.
0:11.7	Come with me.
0:17.9	And I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
0:21.2	And movies.
0:22.3	Movies that had stories.
0:24.0	That the story just sucks a man.
0:26.5	This is just the beginning.
0:29.0	We would be honored if you would join us.
0:35.9	Hello and a very warm welcome to Film Stories with Simon Brew.
0:40.1	I am Simon Brew.
0:41.2	It's absolutely everything you need to know about me.
0:44.1	The aim of the podcast, though, is given away by the title.
0:46.6	I'm here to talk up the stories of films.
0:48.5	And I tend to talk about development stories, production stories, release stories, marketing stories.
0:52.8	All the ingredients really that go
0:54.3	towards making the films that we know and sometimes love, just that the films that we know
0:59.1	and sometimes love. The films I tend to cover on this podcast, lean more towards the mainstream
1:03.8	than anything else. They're films I'm interested in or invested in to some degree. I try not
1:08.2	to do snark. I try not to punch down. This podcast is a celebration of
1:12.4	cinema and a real appreciation that somehow, somehow, films managed to get made. Film Stories
1:19.6	is also a very, very proud part of the Film Stories. Podcast Network, a network of over 40 shows
1:25.2	across film, TV, gaming. Just go on our website, filmstories.com.uk.
	...

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