50 MPH

50 MPH proudly presents an exclusive interview with the stars of SPEED, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, as they look back on the film?s chemistry-fueled production, its impact on their careers and the lightning strike of a Hollywood success story.

As 50 MPH nears the finish, we pause for one more grab bag of fun anecdotes, listener emails and our own version of a sequel: a 7-year-old's take on SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL! Hear, among other things, SPEED-adjacent tales from TWISTER and TOP GUN, plus a very special announcement.

From Indiana Jones to the Blair Witch, Rotten Tomatoes Awards Editor Jacqueline Coley joins the cause to discuss the sequels that let us down the most.

Director Jan de Bont and others unfortunate enough to be involved in SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL (plus a few who dodged the bullet) discuss SPEED's disastrous 1997 sequel starring Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe and a returning Sandra Bullock.

Surveying the aftereffects of SPEED and how its various players parlayed the film's star-making success into their next ventures.

Filmmakers Paul Verhoeven, John McTiernan, Guillermo del Toro, Barry Jenkins and Joe Carnahan chime in on SPEED and fellow director Jan de Bont.

From scrappy theater productions Down Under to epic collector quests to, ahem, podcasts dedicated to a legacy, the fandom surrounding SPEED is a global affair.

Where does SPEED fit in the overall cinema landscape of 1994? Podcast host Jonathan Foster helps dissect a movie year celebrating its ongoing 30th anniversary.

SPEED deserved its awards but did the Oscars get everything else right 29 years ago? IndieWire's Anne Thompson joins in to check the Academy's work three decades on.

At the 67th annual Academy Awards, held on March 27, 1995, SPEED would walk away with multiple Oscars. Those in the mix recall their Cinderella evening.

SPEED hits theaters and it's an instant popular and critical success. Filmmakers and studio brass relive the glory days that came in the wake of June 10, 1994.

SPEED is ready for its close-up, but first, Fox has to figure out its marketing strategy. How can execs drive interest and turn this potential hit into an actual one?

In the wake of Billy Idol, Variety's Todd Gilchrist joins the cause for a deep-dive discussion of a bygone era: the 1990s movie soundtrack heyday!

A seasoned team races against the clock to craft SPEED's Oscar-winning sound design, with a fast-approaching release date on the horizon!

With the picture locked, SPEED needs a score! Enter newcomer Mark Mancina with a groundbreaking work of action film music composition. DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN!

Settle in for a deep dive into the visual effects elements of SPEED, including old-school practices and cutting-edge post-production applications.

As SPEED moves into post-production, 50 MPH brings you the final interview ever with the late Oscar-nominated film editor John Wright!

Finally, we reach SPEED's gripping subway finale! Deep beneath the surface, Jack Traven faces his foe in a brilliant collision of filmmaking technique.

With the bus material shot and in the editing room, it's time to knock out SPEED's opening act: a riveting sequence set in an elevator shaft that, by some accounts, was even more dangerous.

At the halfway mark of 50 MPH we pause for a grab bag of SPEED material, including stories that haven't found a home, a 7-year-old's take on the film and a quick dive into director Jan de Bont's temperament on set.

The SPEED production moves to LAX (and Mojave) airport for Bus 2525's final act, including a few more harrowing stunts, roaring Malibu fires and an explosive finale!

In the wake of our study of the jump sequence in SPEED, Drew Taylor and Charles Hood, hosts of "Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast," help us count down the greatest action set pieces ever!

It's time to talk about "the jump." Cast and crew look back at the centerpiece moment of SPEED and film's most immortal sequence: Bus 2525 sailing across a gap in the freeway.

50 MPH goes deep inside production on the first half of the bus section of SPEED as cast and crew recall a hair-raising hell-ride through Los Angeles aboard Bus 2525.

As SPEED launches into production, let?s take a moment to meet the production department heads and other artisans tasked with lifting Graham Yost?s (and Paul Attanasio?s and Joss Whedon?s) screenplay off the page and onto the screen!

SPEED is an all-time great Los Angeles film. In that spirit, 50 MPH is joined by Tribune Publishing film critic Katie Walsh to help us forge the ultimate LA movie guide, from LA LA LAND and SWINGERS to NIGHTCRAWLER and COLLATERAL and all points in between!

Before the cast and crew for SPEED really get out to set, what IS the set? From Venice to Long Beach, downtown to LAX, strap in for a guided tour of the many locations from the film as Jan de Bont and company set up shop in Hollywood's back yard.

It's high time we met the passengers of SPEED's doomed city workhorse... ALL of them. 50 MPH goes deep into the film's ensemble with insights from the many character actors who filled out Bus 2525.

In his new book "The Last Action Heroes," author Nick de Semlyen charts the rise and stall of the '80s action gods. This week 50 MPH talks to de Semlyen about the era that paved the way for SPEED and where Jan de Bont's film fits in the action movie canon.

An examination of the Easy Rider himself! 50 MPH talks to journalist and author Mark Harris (Pictures at a Revolution) about the life and times of one Dennis Hopper and what he brought to SPEED.

We still need a bad guy! And we won't get one until two weeks into production. The team recounts the whirlwind search for Howard Payne, a role that would be offered to any and everyone under the sun, from Robert Duvall to Christopher Walken. In the end, the film ends up with American icon Dennis Hopper. Hopper passed away in 2010 but his spirit is kept alive by those who remember him and his impact on SPEED.

We need a bad guy, but it's hard to discuss the villain of SPEED without also discussing the journey of Harry Temple, Jack Traven's LAPD SWAT team partner who, until the big 11th-hour rewrite, was actually revealed to be the mad bomber at the center of the story. Actor Jeff Daniels comes to the table with his memories and experiences as a character actor, at the time, desperate for a career turnaround.

With production imminent, the suits at Fox decide the script for SPEED needs a tune-up. In a sprawling, uncommonly candid account that takes you behind the scenes of the screen(re)writing process and the under-the-hood efforts that get a project camera-ready, screenwriters Paul Attanasio and Joss Whedon chime in along with producers Walter Parkes and Laurie Macdonald. All would be uncredited for their considerable contributions to the success of SPEED.

From "America's Sweetheart" to Oscar-winning Hollywood titan, Sandra Bullock is the topic of discussion. 50 MPH talks to IndieWire executive editor Kate Erbland about the rise and continued dominance of a beloved actress who commands an audience to this day. And it all started with SPEED!

With an action hero in the pocket, an action heroine is in order! But the search for unsuspecting bus-passenger-turned-driver Annie proves to be an exhaustive one lasting up until the brink of production. Hear all about the series of events that led to casting a ready-to-ignite Sandra Bullock.

It's time to contextualize our star and how SPEED set him up for the action-hero superstardom he enjoys to this day. 50 MPH talks to journalist Alex Pappademas, author of the book "Keanu Reeves: Most Triumphant - The Movies and Meaning of an Irrepressible Icon," to discuss the enigmatic persona and his eclectic 40-year career.

The search is on for SPEED's leading man. Once again, forget the A-list. John McClane ain't happening, and the studio has its eyes on Topper Harley. The guy from BILL & TED? He wasn't on anyone's wishlist. The team recalls the unlikely casting of Keanu Reeves and the forging of a new action hero.

From Holland to Hollywood! 50 MPH talks to New York Magazine film critic Bilge Ebiri about the career and influence of Jan de Bont. They discuss the cinematographer's early days collaborating with a young Paul Verhoeven, his studio success behind the camera of classics like DIE HARD, FLATLINERS and BASIC INSTINCT and his transition to the director's chair from SPEED to TWISTER and beyond.

Fox searches high and low for a filmmaker willing to take on this silly "DIE HARD on a bus" premise. But having no luck with the A-list set, will the studio play it safe with a journeyman for a single or a double, or will they roll the dice on Jan de Bont, a cinematographer-turned-first-time director who just might hit it out of the park?

Through a connection to co-producer Allison Lyon, Graham Yost finds a producer to take on SPEED in the up-and-coming Mark Gordon. The trio finds interest at Paramount Pictures for a time with former Vice President of Production Don Granger. But after a year of development the studio would hit the brakes on the project.

Screenwriter Graham Yost details the genesis of SPEED and his efforts to work it out on the page while toiling away as a TV writer in Hollywood at the dawn of a new decade: the 90s!

50 MPH talks to Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang about the achievement and significance of SPEED, as well as the film's place in the modern context.

50 MPH host Kris Tapley sets the stage for what listeners can expect on his year-long study of SPEED, plus an electrifying 8-minute sizzle reel of coming attractions. Voices include director Jan de Bont, producer Mark Gordon, screenwriter Graham Yost, stars Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels and Joe Morton, a roll call of filmmaking talent behind the camera, studio personnel who saw the project through development at two major Hollywood studios and tons more!

Welcome to 50 MPH, a behind-the-scenes podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Kris Tapley that charts the development, production and legacy of director Jan de Bont?s Oscar-winning 1994 summer blockbuster SPEED, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels. (TRAILER)