In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of hit films that hit at the box office, but also that each met a challenge or two. The idea of a Hollywood take on TV show The Equalizer had been knocking around since the mid-2000s, and for a while it looked as if Russell Crowe was going to take on the lead role. But then the idea of Denzel Washington starring was mooted - leading to eight months of intensive script work to try and win him over. It was in 1992 that the rights were picked up to remake 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around The Corner. But it'd take the advent of widespread email use to work out a modern way forward for the story. That, and the touch of the late Nora Ephron. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew. Find our print magazines at store.filmstories.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices