Film Stories with Simon Brew

Two movies here where audiences went in expecting one thing, and might just have got another. 1991's The Fisher King though for a time was going to be a Disney movie, before the studio decided it was too dark. Directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron were mentioned, before Terry Gilliam - coming off the back of a commercial flop - decided to break all three of his conditions for taking on a film. Director Joe Carnahan meanwhile was coming off his big studio movie - The A-Team - when he decided he wanted to pivot to something smaller. He chose The Grey, a film he developed, and which would be sold off the back of imagery of Liam Neeson getting ready to punch a wolf. That, though, wasn't the full picture... Stories of both are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler, for an hour-long chat about his career. He was in town to talk about his latest film as producer, The Alto Knights. However, the stories take us right to the infancy of his producing career (including Elvis Presley!). Films covered in the chat include Rocky, Rocky IV, Raging Bull, Guilty By Suspicion, The Net, Goodfellas, Busting, Revolution... the list goes on and on. Quite the chat, this. The Alto Knights is now in cinemas. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/simonbrew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2025

It had taken five years for Stanley Kubrick to go from 1975's Barry Lyndon to 1980's The Shining. The gap to Full Metal Jacket would be longer, but it'd mark the first in a three picture deal that Kubrick signed with Warner Bros. A deal that would never be completed. Full Metal Jacket was, though, but the making of it was exhausting and exhaustive. And a disused gasworks was just part of the problem. Much-loved novelist Judy Blume was always reluctant to sell the film rights to her books. It took several decades - and a very special letter - before she'd do so. But the challenge of Are You There God, It's Me Margaret was just beginning. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

For Star Wars spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story, it wasn't supposed to be like this. Infamously, 90 days into photography, parent company Lucasfilm opted for a director change. Out when Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, and in came Ron Howard. And Howard had less than year to retool the movie, and shoot a whole lot of new footage. It remains one of the most infamous Film Stories of the 2010s. For the second half of the episode, Simon is joined by filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo, for a long chat about their career, their new film - The Electric State - and a strange film magazine of the 1970s... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

2016 was a turning point in the world of the X-Men movies. After the big success of 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past, 20th Century Fox spent big on X-Men: Apocalypse, and big things were expected of it. On the other hand, it had taken a gamble with a different X-Men-related project, Deadpool. Things would not go the way that the studio had originally expected. The story of Scent Of A Woman meanwhile is wrapped up in the push for Al Pacino to finally get an Oscar, after several unsuccessful nominations. Not bad, for a film that originally had Jack Nicholson in line for the lead role... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

The path to the 26th James Bond film is one already filled with quite the story. Unmade at the point this episode is released in 2025, James Bond 26 has looked in limbo since the release of No Time To Die in 2021. There's no new 007, no script, no director...and it's an impasse that's cost $1bn to resolve. More conventionally, Long Shot did actually get made, released in 2019. Still, a romantic comedy with movie stars was going to be a tough sell, and a film whose script popped up on the Black List in 2011 had to take its place in the queue behind the infamous The Interview here. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

After the huge success of the original Gremlins, Warner Bros quickly wanted a sequel. The people who'd actually made Gremlins, not least director Joe Dante? The thought of making another was not in the slightest big appealing. Until, many years later, the studio made Dante an offer: if you make Gremlins 2, you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. This is the story of how the ensuing film became one of the most boldest blockbuster sequels of all time. Later in the same decade, Christopher Guest took a small company of actors down to Texas for a month. On a modest budget, he shot over 50 hours of footage, that'd take over a year to edit into a feature film. Even when the resultant movie, Waiting For Guffman, was finished, it took a long time to earn its reputation as a modern comedy classic... Stories of both films are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

Mario Van Peebles was in London in early February along with his son, Mandela. And the pair stopped by for a long chat about their work, their latest film - Outlaw Posse - and a whole lot more. In this chat, topics include Jaws: The Revenge, the role of a producer, Melvin Van Peebles, the hidden names in the end credits of Outlaw Posse, New Jack City and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2025

Coming off the back of the film Payback, Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland feared he might be in movie jail. Thus, he got writing, and came up with A Knight's Tale, a film mixing jousting, modern music, Heath Ledger, and a naked Paul Bettany. It took months to shoot in Europe. When it came to the music, David Bowie turned up. And then there's the tale of its sequel that never was. King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword meanwhile was to be the first of six films, as originally pitched. Guy Ritchie came in to direct, and star Charlie Hunnam would admit that the film they started making wasn't the one they ended up with. Quite the story, though. Includes elephants and David Beckham. Tales of both are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

In an extra episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Tim Fehlbaum, as they discuss his new film, the Oscar-nominated September 5. As always, it's a far-ranging conversation, taking in Fehlbaum's earlier work, a name on the end credits of the film, and the attention to detail in making the movie. Plus, a few thoughts on the technical similarities with Saturday Night as well. September 5 is now out in UK cinemas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2025

The path to 2007's Zodiac started when a then-19-year old managed to take out an option on a best-selling book. Then, a few years later, he inked a deal with Disney to make the movie. Fate took a few turns though, and it was the collapse of an $80m television series that would bring David Fincher to the eventual movie. Some people were expecting a film along the lines of Fincher's Seven though. They did not get it... For the second half of this episode, Oscar-nominated director Brady Corbet then joins the podcast to talk about his film The Brutalist, the challenges of which have been well documented. Over a lengthy chat, he talks about the film, the question he's not asked, and - it says here - there's a bit about toilet roll too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined for a long, clickbait-free chat by writer/director Nicholas Stoller. Recorded at the junket for They're Cordially Invited, they explore how that film came together. But also, the conversation covers a whole bunch of other movies. There's Stoller's directing work on the likes of Neighbors/Bad Neighbours, Bros, Get Him To The Greek and The Five Year Engagement. Plus, his writing, on movies such as The Muppets and Captain Underpants. You're Cordially Invited is on Prime Video now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2025

Acclaimed as one of the finest films of the 2000s, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was - at one stage - a movie people weren't keen to pay for. The movie though has an unlikely link to the book Fast Food Nation, and Anderson dropped a different idea to go with it. Then, there was the small matter of the first two weeks of filming having to be pretty much re-done from scratch. The second half of the episode is a career-spanning chat with filmmaker Mike Leigh, that takes in his new movie - Hard Truths, landing in UK cinemas on 31st January 2025 - but also goes back some 60 years to the start of his famous process... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2025

With his brilliant new book - Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time - Barry Sonnenfeld joins Film Stories for a long, funny and candid conversation about his work. The chat covers his director of photograpy days for the Coen Brothers, shooting the last two weeks of Goodfellas, and then moving onto directing. From his debut with The Addams Family, to the challenges of Get Shorty with Gene Hackman and John Travola, and a whole lot more. Quite the chat, this. A little bit of fruity language too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2025

When it comes to making your feature directorial debut, The Producers isn't a bad way to get off the mark! But Mel Brooks' now much-loved comedy faced a bumpy path to the screen, not least the struggle to write it in the first place. That, and the kind of subject matter that Hollywood studios didn't have much desire to go near. Plus, it turned out that the fate of the film owed a bit of a debt to Peter Sellers. After the success of A Fish Called Wanda meanwhile, the question was asked: would John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin and Kevin Kline come back for a sequel? Well, not quite: and despite Fierce Creatures being billed as an 'equal not a sequel', the comedy had a very, very difficult production. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

Joining the Film Stories podcast for a special episode, writer/director Leigh Whannell chats to Simon and Maria about his latest film, Wolf Man. It's had a bit of a journey to the screen, and Whannell explores that in this longform chat. Also: the small release date change that might have proven pivotal to The Invisible Man, the prescience of Upgrade, a segue into Police Academy 3, and his short-lived career as a film critic. Note this episode was recorded just before the passing of David Lynch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2025

The plan with the DC Comics character Black Adam was firstly to make him part of the Shazam movie, and then - when Dwayne Johnson signed up for $20m+ plus - to give him his own adventure. Johnson, it seemed, wanted lots of adventures - including a crossover he reportedly lobbied hard for. In the case of 2014's Draft Day, here was a drama where the writing of draft one took a very hurried two weeks. But after initial interest, Paramount Pictures would drop the movie. Things suddenly looked really tricky - until the Black List came along to save the movie... --- Stories of both are told in this episode. Support our print film magazines at https://store.filmstories.co.uk. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2025

Returning to the Film Stories podcast, writer/producer/director Steven Knight is in writing mode for his latest project, Maria. Directed by Pablo Larrain and written by Knight, in a wide-ranging conversation he discusses the unusual unHollywood relationship between the pair. The chat also covers a rogue Christmas tree, a boiled egg, Birmingham Airport, and strange Google searches too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

With Oliver Stone writing the script, Al Pacino starring and Brian De Palma behind the camera, perhaps it's no wonder that 1983's Scarface has enjoyed a long success. It was met with no shortage of problems during its production though: an unhappy shoot, a change of location, long overruns and the budget soaring. And then Al Pacino had to go to hospital. It's quite the film story. The second half of this episode? Filmmaker Robert Eggers arrives for a long chat about Nosferatu, The Northman, The Witch and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2025

Chris Columbus and Robert Eggers aren't necessarily names you expect to see side by side, but the pair formed a creative force on the newly-released Nosferatu. In a wide-ranging podcast special, Simon chats at length to Chris Columbus about his producing career primarily, but with films such as Only The Lonely, Home Alone, Stepmom, Bicentennial Man, Reckless and more making an appearance too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 3 January 2025

In a special episode of Film Stories, it's a guest filmmaker and a guest interviewer! This time, director Justin Kurzel is chatting about his latest movie, The Order, that's now playing in UK cinemas. Plus, there's a bit of chat about Snowtown and Assasin's Creed in there too. Ryan Lambie of Film Stories is asking the questions, after a bit of babble from Simon at the start. And it's just the kind of longform, clickbait-free conversation we love to do... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 December 2024

The return of Wallace & Gromit to our screens also coincides with a return visit for Nick Park to the Film Stories podcast. He's joined by his co-director too, Merlin Crossingham, as the pair chat about their new film, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. The conversation covers timescales, writing, studio notes... and a little bit of clingfilm... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2024

In a very special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by Andrew Davis, perhaps best known for directing films such as The Fugitive, Under Siege, Holes and more. Those movies certainly come up in the extensive conversation between the pair. Davis has also, with Jeff Biggers, written his first novel, Disturbing The Bones, and there's a strong movie link to it as well. And the chat also takes in Stony Island, The Fugitive sequel, Steal Big Steal Little and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

In the final regular Film Stories episode of 2024, we start with a 1989 movie that's gone on to become something of a Christmas favourite. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation saw John Hughes writing again, and a first time director in Jeremiah Chechik. The former protected the latter from studio notes, and even a potential lack of snow turned into the opposite problem. Still: what happened to the UK cinema release? Clint Eastwood's Juror #2 remains one of the more curious film stories of 2024. A movie made for a modest sum, that Warner Bros then gave the impression of simply not really wanting to release it. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 December 2024

It took some time for writer/director J C Chandor to break into the movie business. When he did, it was with the mini-budget Margin Call, a film that would snag him an Oscar nomination. Since then, he's brought to the screen All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier and now Kraven The Hunter, arguably his highest profile feature to date. In this special episode, he talks through his new film, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

It's fairly well known that the role of Detective Harry Callahan was originally set to be played by Frank Sinatra, before he had to pull out as production neared. Yet when Clint Eastwood decided to accept, he had several versions of a script to choose from - and decided to put a call into someone he trusted: Don Siegel. The pair would go on to fashion a cinema classic. The journey to 2002's Anita And Me meanwhile began with the publication of Meera Syal's semi-autobiographical novel in 1996. Work began to then turn it into a film - but the challenge of making an independent film in the UK, with two young, unknown leads? That'd be quite the test. Stories of both are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2024

In a potty-mouthed Film Stories podcast special, Simon welcomes back Kevin Smith. It's a chat centred around Smith's new film,. The 4.30 Movie - and how he came to make it. That tale involves buying a cinema, and digging deep into his own youth. Beyond that, they chat about the length of the end credits, they segue into Waterworld, and consider some of the bumps in life. Not least reviews, and a rejection from the Sundance Film Festival. The 4.30 Movie is available to buy and rent on video on demand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 December 2024

In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by Kevin Costner and John Debney. Costner is, of course, the star, director and co-writer of Horizon: An American Saga, which he conceived and part-financed. Debney is a composer working on his fourth Kevin Costner-related project. The pair share their stories of making Horizon. The conversation also looks at funding films, a few films from both Kevin Costner and John Debney's back catalogues, and a whole lot more... --- Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024

In a very special episode of the podcast, the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios - Oscar-winner Jared Bush - joins Simon for a chat about his work and career. They start off with Moana 2, which is in cinemas now. But the conversation goes right the way back to Jared Bush's time as a script reader for Robert Zemeckis, and then through to the future of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Plus: the sliding doors moment that could have taken Jared Bush's career in a very different direction... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 29 November 2024

1993 was a banner year for Sylvester Stallone, thanks to two films that gave him quite the comeback. First up was Cliffhanger. Not far behind? That'd be the much-loved Demolition Man. Ahead of its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut, let's take a look at a movie that one of its co-stars loathed making. And also try to work out why its director moved away from feature films straight after. Then there's Hundreds Of Beavers, a 2022 film that for reasons explained, most could only get to see in 2024. It involved a long shoot, lots of beaver costumes, and a fair amount of expertise in Adobe After Affects too... ---- Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

Vicky Jenson's directorial career got off to a hell of a start. As co-director of Shrek, she went to the Cannes Film Festival, she won an Oscar, scored a massive box office hit. Then Shark Tale followed, another hit. Then a live action movie, Post-Grad - but that didn't hit. And she paid a career price. This story gets better though, as Jenson's now made the animated feature Spellbound, which is available on Netflix. And she's chatting to us for this special episode of Film Stories. Hers is quite the story... ---- Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2024

It was following the success of The Fugitive that Hollywood started plundering (again) the archives of television for its movie ideas. Sony wanted a Charlie's Angels film, and was looking for pitches. Drew Barrymore, then making Never Been Kissed, was interested. The film she'd help steer to the screen though wasn't without behind the scenes incidents, though. Sylvester Stallone was all set to earn $60m for three movies in the mid-1990s meanwhile, he just had to make sure he picked the right projects. He committed to filming D-Tox in the late 1990s. But years after it was finished, it'd been through three titles, assorted cuts, and Hollywood smelt trouble. Stories of both films are told in this episode... Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2024

In a Film Stories podcast special, producers Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick - the latter an Oscar-winner for the original Gladiator - join Simon to talk about their work. A lot of the chat is taken up with Gladiator II, working with Ridley Scott, and trying to get an epic production off the ground. There is a very odd left turn when Stuart Little comes into the conversation, and a cat's bottom is discussed... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 15 November 2024

Two twisty behind the scenes stories here. Originally, 1980's Superman II was being shot alongside the original Superman, with Richard Donner directing both. But frictions behind the scenes led to an eventual parting of the ways, a retooling of Superman II, and an eventual emergence of a second cut of the film. Toys meanwhile? From the director of Rain Man and starring Robin Williams? It should have been huge, not least because its script had been revered for over a decade. In fact, the film was supposed to have been made nearly a decade before. And when it did eventually happen? The challenge turned out to be how to sell it... The behind the scenes stories of both are told in this episode... Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2024

The new film from director Jake Kasdan is Red One, now playing in cinemas, and itself a massive, expensive Christmas blockbuster film. On the flip side, he started his directorial career with a microbudget indie by the name of Zero Effect back in 1998. In this special episode of Film Stories, he takes his through his work. He and Simon talk about his blockbuster movies (Jake's, not Simon's), but also the indie film that got lost a little, The TV Set. Plus there's chat about the physical side of filmmaking, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 8 November 2024

Ah, Tombstone. The 1993 western with a cast led by Kurt Russell, and basically co-starring everyone else who wasn't in the rival project - Wyatt Earp - telling a similar story. But heck, behind the scenes, there were all sorts of problems. Examples? A director who got fired. A release date that couldn't move. A script that needed urgently hacking to hit the production deadline. A star who was rumoured to be ghost directing the movie. Meanwhile, following the success of 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol, director Brian Henson liked the idea of taking another classic tale and adding The Muppets to it. But the first announced version of what became Muppet Treasure Island would slightly differ from the actual movie... Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2024

Paul Reiser first came on my radar, as he did for many, with 1986's Aliens. We touch on that very briefly here, as we chat independent film, The Problem With People, a bit of Diner, and the challenges of getting films made. Plus! Colm Meaney going to the wrong bar, a date set for 19 years into the future, and a whole lot more... The Problem With People is in UK cinemas from 8th November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 1 November 2024

When the script for Passengers turned up on the famous Hollywood black list of the best unproduced screenplays, it seemed it'd be just a matter of time before it got made. Keanu Reeves and Reece Witherspoon were attached, a director was in place - what could go wrong? Well, a few things. And when the movie did get made? More problems weren't far behind. The 1983 hit Flashdance meanwhile launched numerous careers - but also had its fair share of behind the scenes dramas. That, and some Hollywood executives watching a hosepipe... Stories of both are told in this episode.... Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

None of the Hollywood studios wanted to make 2010's Kick-Ass, a comic book movie with an R-rated edge. All of them turned it down, and so the film came to life in tandem with the comics, exploding into cinemas in 2010. It would be fair to say that not everyone in the media was pleased about it, as quite a backlash bubbled up. There were problems with 1999's Payback too, but they came down to a different of opinion between star Mel Gibson and writer/director Brian Helgeland. It got to a point where just days after Helgeland won an Oscar for L.A. Confidential, he was, er, 'removed' from Payback. The behind the scenes stories of both films are told in this episode... Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-nominee Chris Sanders, for a conversation and his latest film and career. The latest film? The Wild Robot, a box office smash and a break in style for DreamWorks Animation. It's now in UK cinemas and we go through the journey of the movie. Plus! Gene Kelly pops up in conversation, as does Lilo & Stitch and a few other moments from Chris' career... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 October 2024

The Terrifier movie franchise has now led to a number one box office hit - but the story behind the first film involves short films, a crowdfunding campaign that missed its target, a shoot that went on longer than originally planned and financiers dropping out. And then there was the battle to get the film noticed in the first place. Plus, how a tiny team gave the impression of a crew of 100. Writer/direcotr Osgood Perkins meanwhile had been mulling about a possibe character who would become Longlegs long before he embarked on an unusual serial killer film. Made on a budget of around $10m, and marketed for roughly the same amount - so how did Longlegs become the box office surprise of 2024? Stories of both are told in this episode... ---- Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2024

2016 marked the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, and not unreasonably, Paramount Pictures wanted a movie. But far from being a straightforward production, Star Trek Beyond would go through different directors, and eventually find itself without a script just months ahead of filming. It made for a tense situation, and that's explored in this episode. Also explored: the moment when Quentin Tarantino was suddenly announced as the potential writer/director of a new Star Trek movie. It involved a writers' room coming together, a move into R-rated territory - and Tarantino deciding whether he wanted it to be his final film... --- Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2024

The film Rain Man became a huge box office hit at the end if 1988, and an Oscar-winner in 1989. Yet here was a movie that went through the hands of at least three directors who didn't make it, including Steven Spielberg, who was attached for nearly half a year. But Barry Levinson did make the film - and he was able to take advantage of a situation that gave him a surprising amount of control. Michael Flatley meanwhile had seemingly total control over his passion project, Blackbird. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in the movie, which debuted in 2018 - but then seemed to disappear. The stories of both films are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2024

An article published back in 1992 would spark a bidding war in Hollywood. Nothing unusual there. That article would lead to Ridley Scott, Jodie Foster and Robert Redford signing up for a big, expensive movie - a movie that never got made. And it never got made because of 1995's Outbreak. Three movies meanwhile had failed to come together in a row for filmmakers the Spierig brothers after they scored a hit with Daybreakers. But they had a project in mind, based on a Robert A Heinlein (Starship Troopers) short story. It'd lead to Predestination - but there was the small matter of starting work without securing the rights to the story... The stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2024

Headlined by James McAvoy, Speak No Evil is a taut suspence film that's the latest from director James Watkins. Previously responsible for Eden Lake and The Woman In Black, amongst others, he joins Simon for a special episode of Film Stories. They chat about Speak No Evil, and the confidence of holding tension. Plus, editing with Jon Harris, a bit of Rolling Thunder, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 September 2024

It's not uncommon for films to get through a director or two on their way to the screen. In this episode, that's certainly the case. American Gangster might have ended up on the slate of Ridley Scott, but he was the third or fourth name involved. At one stage, Universal was said to have spent $30m on the film in fact, with no hope of getting a single frame of footage shot. Shooting footage wasn't a problem with the low budget Piranha II: The Spawning, nominally the directorial debut of James Cameron. But Cameron was ejected from the film a week or two into shooting - even if the story goes he managed to sneak into the edit suite... Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2024

Director Anand Tucker began in the world of documentaries, before switching into dramatic features. His most recent film, The Critic, is arriving in UK cinemas with Ian McKellen in its lead, having had to change casts following the pandemic. Before that, Tucker had briefly been attached to The Golden Compass, had worked on films such as Girl With A Pearl Earring and Shopgirl, and has no shortage too of stories to tell. Which he does on this very podcast... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 September 2024

Two films looooong in the making in this episode of Film Stories: one's been made at the time of recording, one hasn't. Talk first surfaced of The Flash movie back in the 1980s, but it wasn't until 2023 that a film was finally released. By then, an under-fire Warner Bros was hoping for great things from the film, and confidence appeared to be high: but there were problems, and no shortage of them. The idea of taking the smash-hit TV show 24 and turning it into a movie seemed fairly logical, and the production budget was going to be on the modest side. Yet delay after delay hit the project - but not before an audacious Die Hard spin-off had been proposed... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2024

Producer Tommy Harper joins Simon for a Film Stories podcast special, to talk through a career that's taken him from not being allowed on the set of Showgirls, to producing Star Wars, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek films. Oh, and the brand new release, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It's quite a story, with the likes of JJ Abrams, Paul Verhoeven, Tim Burton and more popping up. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in cinemas now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 September 2024

Ah, The Avengers. The 1998 big screen adaptation of the much-loved TV series is a bit of an odd movie, but as Simon discusses in this episode, things weren't quite going to plan at studio level. Not that Warner Bros handled the film particularly well come release time - an infamously late decisiont to avoid a review screening soon backfired. In the case of Step Brothers, the third film together for Adam McKay and Will Ferrell is often cited as their best. Still, the hit comedy has a bit of a story to it - plus the pub quiz fact that McKay shot more footage for Step Brothers than Francis Ford Coppola shot for Apocalypse Now... Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2024