Film Stories with Simon Brew

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.

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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.

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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...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, we're delighted to welcome back Paul Feig for his third appearance. This time the starting point is Feig's new film Jackpot!, that's on Prime Video now.

They also talk about the already-shot A Simple Favor 2, as well as legal stuff, Naked Gun 33 1/3, and if there's any chance on this planet of getting Spy 2....

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by actor, producer, writer and fine human being Rob Delaney.

The pair talk about Delaney's role in the smash hit Deadpool And Wolverine, while also touching on a moment in a restaurant, writing, movies, and the TV hit Catastrophe.

Plus they natter too about Delaney's book A Heart That Works, and his amazing-sounding late son, Henry.

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Deadpool And Wolverine is now in cinemas. This podcast has fruity language in it. Not usually, but this episode does.

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Episode 400! Crikey. And I'm thrilled to say that producer Gale Anne Hurd is helping with the celebrations, thanks to a huge chat about her life, her work, and The Terminator at 40.

The first part of the episode, Simon goes through the story of The Terminator, and quite how its rights ended up so muddled going forward. But the bulk of episode 400 is over to Gale Anne Hurd, in a long conversation - set against noisy background sounds! - that took place in London in June 2024.

Thanks for all your support everyone. Hope you enjoy the episode...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Lee Isaac Chung, as they discuss the brand new blockbuster movie, Twisters.

Lee talks about how he got the job in the first place, and just what time contrainsts he was up against. Plus, the depth of the casting in the film, the scale of the movie, and his work with filmmakers in Rwanda. A bit of Minari, too.

Twisters is in UK cinemas now.

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Sean Connery had vowed he was never going to return as James Bond after 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Meanwhile, a man called Kevin McClory had agreed not to exercise his screen rights to the story of Thunderball until 1975. Yet the highest profile 'unofficial' Bond project would bring them both together, as Never Say Never Again did battle with the official 007 film Octopussy at the 1983 box office.

A different battle played out in 1999, as Robert De Niro took the plunge into comedy with Analyze This. It'd be an early hit in a year that was awash with them - yet the idea of a mob boss seeing a shrink, that seemed original when the film was conceived - was about to slam head-first into a brand new TV show...

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In this very special episode of Film Stories, Neil Jordan is the guest, talking about his brand new memoir, Amnesiac, along with tales of his movie life.

He and Simon chat about movies as varied as Angel, The Crying Game, Michael Collins, High Spirits, We're No Angels and Mona Lisa, in a far-reaching chat. Plus: Neil Jordan talks through approaching telling his own story, and why he chose to do it now...

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Damien Chazelle first started seriously considering a film about old Hollywood back in 2009, long before he made La La Land. And even when the writer/director had channelled his energies into that film, he still had Babylon in mind: a hugely ambitious, expensive, three hour film that needed an R-rating!

In the case of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, the challenge with the hit stage show was bringing it to the big screen at some scale - in spite of a truncated budget. Then there was the small matter of a pandemic getting in the way too...

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a very special episode of Film Stories, Baroness Beeban Kidron joins Simon for a chat about her career, her films, and her move to politics.

They go from her early film Carry Greenham Home, from being one of the first British women to direct a movie with Vroom. Then a big turning point: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, an acclaimed adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's book.

The chat covers Kidron's move to Hollywood, and then the documentary that launched what effectively became her second career...

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Two movies from 1993 and the stories behind them here: both of which had their fair share of off-set drama.

RoboCop 3 was supposed to be quickly followed by RoboCop 4, yet financial problems with parent company Orion Pictures led to a change of plan - not least when Orion went bankrupt. In the midst of this was an idea to make a RoboCop film with a PG-13 rating too.

Boxing Helena originally attracted Madonna to the title role, but this micro-budget independent movie gained infamy not for the film itself, but for the court case that ensued when potential star Kim Basinger then dropped the project.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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When Tim Burton's first film, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, proved a surprise hit for Warner Bros, the studio was keen to get a second picture off him. Yet Burton wasn't enamoured with the scripts he was being offered - until an unusual one landed on his desk. Just lacking a bit of an ending. Enter: Beetlejuice.

Rye Lane was a much smaller production, a directorial debut for Raine Allen Miller. A British romcom, it had to negotiate Covid restrictions - but then, after strong reviews, there was its release strategy to negotiate.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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Originally set to be released by Disney in 2023, Jeff Nichols' new film - The Bikeriders - was dropped by the studio at the last minute, before finally landing a new home with Focus Features and Universal.

Nichols joins us for a special podcast to discuss the film, with the conversation also taking in Take Shelter, Michael Shannon, and making a movie without too much money...

The Bikeriders finally arrives in cinemas on 21st June 2024.

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On the one hand in this episode, we've got a comic book movie that should in theory have launched further films. 2022's Morbius was designed to follow Venom into Sony's universe of Spider-Man spin-off characters. Yet so keen was the studio to join it up to the ongoing Spider-Man films, that problems ensued. And Jared Leto, in the lead role, was going method again.

The Gift, the directorial debut of Joel Edgerton, was originally called Weirdo. He designed it to be a slim film, that he knew would be up against some tough competition at the box office. Yet he had quite a special film up his sleeve...

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After enjoying success with the TV series Servant, for which she wrote and directed several episodes, Ishana Night Shyamalan was on the lookout for a story to turn into her feature directorial debut.

The tale she found involved a pet store, a creepy forest, a trip to Ireland and some people watching. And in this Film Stories podcast special, she tells us about why she made The Watched (or The Watcher in the US) and tells us more of her story.

The Watched is in UK cinemas now...

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Sam Mendes didn't want to make another James Bond film after completing 2015's Spectre. As we discover in this episode, he had another film lined up that he backed away form. He decided to gamble on 1917, a movie that he had a plan to shoot in a really rather unconventional way.

When Gone Girl hit, meanwhile, Hollywood went looking for more books that it felt might be along the same lines. It didn't take long to find The Girl On The Train, and it took seemingly even less time to get a film of it moving.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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After the release of 2008's Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford declared that he'd be happy to make Indiana Jones 5, as long as it didn't take another 20 years.

It wasn't that far off before we got Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. And in the interim, two of the three key creatives had changes roles.

Steve Martin should have got Oscar recognition for 1984's All Of Me meanwhile, but even by that point, he had an idea for a fresh take on the classic Cyrano De Bergerac story. When he couldn't find a screenwriter to tackle it for him? He took the plunge himself....

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Two films in this episode that for different reasons needed a fair amount of time to come to the screen.

Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves didn't turn up until 2023, yet for many years, there was a rights battle over which studio could make a D&D movie. Even when the rights were sorted, challenges still lay ahead.

With The Phantom Of The Opera meanwhile, the plan had originally been to have the movie filming by 1990. Yet a separation delayed the movie, and when it returned, an actor by the name of Gerard Butler was all set for his singing lessons...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In a special episode of the podcast, Fiona Shaw CBE is the guest, as she joins to chat about her career, and her latest movie, IF.

Topics of conversation in this chat? The problem with her bathroom, plus working on films such as Super Mario Bros and The Avengers. Then there's her time working with Terrence Malick, her work with Brian De Palma, and a very special film too that's on the horizon for her.

IF is in UK cinemas now.

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The Halloween franchise was at a crossroads after Rob Zombie's 2009 movie, Halloween II. There was only one logical thing to do next: er, Halloween 3D, which was set for the early 2010s. The first in a line of false starts, that'd eventually take us to 2018's wildly-successful reboot/reimagining.

Some reshoot work on that was done for the ending too, and the ending of Rocky V (1990) was an area of much disagreement. Sylvester Stallone had wanted to take the Rocky films back to basics, bringing back director John G Avildsen too. Yet what was expected to be one of 1990's big tickets didn't go to plan.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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With his new film, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, now out in cinemas, director Wes Ball joins the Film Stories podcast for a long chat about the new film, and his career to date.

From his early shorts, to his fast work on Celebrity Apprentice (and boy, is there a story there), we then move through to The Maze Runner, The Mouse Guard, and right the way through to Apes...

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It's taken nearly 400 episodes, but a Star Wars film finally takes centre stage. It's 2019's saga-ending The Rise Of Skywalker, a film that was announced in 2012, and went through, well, 'changes' over the ensuing years.

The planned remake of Road House actually started life roughly around the same time, and there were a couple of false starts. But when it was finally ready to go, filming seemed to go without too much trouble. It was only in post-production that the problems started to mount...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In a special episode, Drew Pearce joins us for a chat about his journey from making British TV show No Heroics through to writing the brand new blockbuster The Fall Guy.

Key moments? Getting stuck in Los Angeles thanks to an Icelandic volcano, landing the job of writing Iron Man 3, working out what his hourly rate was for penning a $1bn blockbuster, the last-minute call for Hobbs & Shaw and a whole lot more...

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Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had been asked questions many times about making a sequel to their 1996 smash hit Independence Day. Several times they came close to doing so over the years, including an ambitious plan to shoot two films back to back at one stage. Yet when it came time to move forward, the big question they faced: would Will Smith want to return? And could 20th Century Fox afford him? The story of Independence Day: Resurgence is told here.

As a director, Dexter Fletcher announced himself with the impressive low budget success Wild Bill. But he was on the lookout for something different, something out of his comfort zone for his next film. What, then, about a muscal movie set around the tunes of The Proclaimers? Enter stage left, Sunshine On Leith.

Tales of both are told in this episode...

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A film that's not yet happened - at the time of recording! - takes centre stage in this Film Stories episode. In 2019, Quentin Tarantino released his apparently penultimate film as director - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - but five years on, it's no clearer what his final film will be. It doesn't look like it's going to be The Movie Critic, as had been suggested....

One film that did happen? How about the wildy successful Erin Brockovich? A 2000 movie that brought with it the challenge of adapting a real life story to the screen. Oh, with a major movie star on board...

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In this special episode of Film Stories, Dan Stevens joins Simon to talk about his latest film, Abigail. They talk about the making of the film, the sort-of crossover with Cocaine Bear, and why it needed to be shot in a certain order.

Plus, they also touch on drinking receptables, Colossal, choosing roles, and a whole lot more...

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Two risky films take centre stage in this episode of Film Stories, starting with Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. A 170-minute film released in the midst of a summer jammed with over 100 films to choose from in cinema. Who would have thought it'd prevail at the box office?

Spielberg for one wasn't too worried: but also, he came to it directly after making The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad. No wonder he had to rely heavily on his instincts.

Fran Kranz meanwhile, better known for his acting, got nowhere with a script he'd written for a $100m alien invasion movie. He turned his attention to something a lot smaller, that he could raise the funding for. He came up with Mass, on a shoestring budget. Completing the film was just part of the challenge...

Stories of both are told in this episode

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In this special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Philip Martin, chatting days after the release of his latest film.

That movie is Scoop, the dramatisation of the infamous BBC interview with Prince Andrew. The pair chat about Philip's early work, his time in Canada trying to break into the film industry, then jetting to Los Angeles at one point to pitch to John Travolta.

Then there's Scoop, and the challenges of making a film where everybody pretty much knows the ending...

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A pair of bang up to the minute films in this episode of Film Stories, both of which enjoyed the fruits of viral marketing.

Saltburn (2023) had been in the head of its writer/director Emerald Fennell for years before she even got to work on her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman (2020). The catalyst? A really rather famous scene in with a bathtub. But who could have guessed how the internet would take hold of her film post-release?

In the case of Mean Girls (2024), the battle was on to hide what it actually was. The new take on the 2004 film of the same name was a musical, but you'd never guess that from the (very deliberate) way that Paramount marketed the movie. A movie that, incidentally, was originally intended for streaming services before getting a cinema upgrade...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Dolph Lundgren. Yep, that Dolph Lundgren: not only Ivan Dragon, but a writer, director, actor, TED Talker, academic and lover of cats.

They chat about his latest directorial outing, Wanted Man, that's available on UK digital services now. Plus, which version of Rocky IV is the best, why his cat has ended up in the end credits of his latest film, his love of watching Sex And The City, and a chat about the impact of putting his own story out into the world...

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There's a Ghostbusters theme running through this episode of Film Stories, starting off with a dive into 1989's Ghostbusters II. Dismissed by critics on its release and not matching the commercial performance of the 1984 original, the movie had a very difficult path to the screen. Then, when it finally started moving forward, it found itself in a queue with films such as Twins and Scrooged, to which others had commitments to.

We dig into that in this episode - including the crucial meeting in a Los Angeles restaurant that unlocked Ghostbusters II in the first place.

Then finally, a very special guest: Ernie Hudson joins us for the second half of the episode. On the one hand, he's talking about the newly-released Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. On the other? Well, how are we supposed to resist talking to him about Congo...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director and co-writer Gil Kenan joins to talk about his latest movie, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

He tells Simon about being one of four people to direct a Ghostbusters movie, and the one moment where it hit him how monumental that was. Plus, how filming got underway one year before release, the practicalities of puppets, and some of the career challenges that led to this moment too.

Plus, reflections on Kenan's own story, and what got him to this point in time...

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now in cinemas.

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It's back to the 1980s in this episode of the Film Stories podcast, kicking off with one last James Bond 007 adventure for Roger Moore.

A View To A Kill - teased at the end of 1983's Octopussy as From A View To A Kill - came together initially with little fuss for a James Bond movie. Roger Moore was quickly invited back. John Glen was asked to direct even before he'd finished the last film. Pinewood Studios was booked. And then the problems: question marks over whether Roger Moore was too old for the role, announcing someone for the villain who turned the part down - and then the 007 stage at Pinewood burning down.

1988's Buster by comparison was a fairly smooth shoot. Phil Collins agreed to take his first lead role, Julie Walters was in the USA for the Oscars when she got the script. But the story of one of the Great Train Robbers came with questions, not least should such a movie be with such a light tone about such a serious subject. Still, it got to the Oscars...

Stories of both - and their respective royal premieres too - are told in this episode...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director Phillip Noyce joins Simon for a good, long chat.

They talk about many of films from across Noyce’s career, starting with his latest, Fast Charlie. The Pierce Brosnan-headlined pulpy thriller has quite the story of its own.

From there, the conversation moves across Noyce’s career: from the printer of Clear & Present Danger, working with Rutger Hauer on Blind Fury, the crisis of confidence surrounding The Giver and the impact of Rabbit Proof Fence. And that’s just a flavour of the conversation – there’s lots more…

Fast Charlie streaming on Prime Video 15 March. Distributed by Signature Entertainment

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With Christopher Nolan now an Oscar-winner, this particular episode of Film Stories begins by zipping back to 2017, when he had a his first serious drive-by of the Academy Awards. That'd be with Dunkirk, the first time he told a true story on film. It took him a long time to be in a position where he felt confident enough to make the film - and even then, he faced some pretty significant technical and logistical challenges to get it made.Even before he asked Warner Bros for the money to make it it.

Back in the mid-1990s meanwhile, uber-producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer - best known for the likes of Flashdance and Top Gun - had acquired an unusual project for them, an inspirational teacher film based on a true story. The author of that story, LouAnne Johnson, was alert to working with Hollywood though, and absolutely wouldn't be bowing down to people who thought they were Hollywood royalty. The film Dangerous Minds would, too, take some liberties with her story.

Stories of both of these films are told in this very episode...

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In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by writer/director Jeff Wadlow, as he releases his new film - Imaginary - into the world. There's therefore discussion about that, the challenge of making a traditional 'Blumhouse' film, and working with puppets too.

Along the way, they chat too about Truth Or Dare, 2005's Cry Wolf and - yes! - The Muppets. Plus, some words on The Adrenaline Film Project, a tremendous initiative that's very close to Jeff Wadlow's heart.

Imaginary is in cinemas now.

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Superhero movies? Oh, go on then. A pair of very different projects take centre stage here, at different ends of the budget spectrum.

2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice was a pivotal movie for Warner Bros, and a big screen showdown that it'd first attempted nearly 20 years previously. This time, director Zack Snyder was effectively charged with leading the fightback against Marvel and its cinematic universe - and his Batman/Superman showdown would have plenty of ramifications.

In the case of 1996's The Phantom, here was a lower budget superhero outing, where the price was chopped just weeks ahead of filming. Joe Dante had originally been set to direct, and Simon Wincer would step in. But 10 days away from release, the boss of Paramount was very aware few people had heard of the movie...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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A very warm welcome to the Film Stories podcast to screenwriter (and producer!) Eric Roth. He joins Simon for a conversation that goes right back through his career: from working on a hit Airport movie, to thinking he picked the wrong ending for the thriller Suspect.

Things turned in the 1990s though with the success of Forrest Gump, and Roth reflects on that, as well as touching on films such as Michael Mann's masterpiece, The Insider. We come right up to date too with Killers Of The Flower Moon, writing for Cher, his thoughts on AI, and his upcoming project that reunites him with Robert Zemeckis...

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Two films with very short titles in this episode, starting with a comedy favourite from the 2010s.

Director Paul Feig broke out of movie jail with 2010's Bridesmaids - and he used his freshly-inked deal with 20th Century Fox to get his own take on a James Bond film to the screen. Thing is: how do you persuade studio executives that Jason Statham can be a comedy lead? And, come to think of it, how do you convince Jason Statham?

As for 1986's F/X, here was a movie written with television originally in mind, until a producer read it and reckoned there was more to it. Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and even George C Scott were linked. But the final cast would lead to a solid hit - albeit one that led to questions over the film's title.

Stories of both in this episode...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, a pair of guests join Simon to talk about the really, really good indie film American Star, and the ecosystem of independent filmmaking.

A guessable spoiler for the film is dropped by Ian McShane in the conversation.

Director Gonzalo López-Gallego and his star/producer Ian McShane talk about how the film took years to come together, and then was shot in under a month, and edited in under a month. The pair clearly enjoyed working together, and it's a lively chat. The film is out on video on demand and in cinemas now...

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The Fantastic Four take centre stage on the Film Stories podcast, with a pair of films that each had their demands.

The 2015 Fantastic Four was set to reboot the characters on the big screen, and give 20th Century Fox another ongoing superhero franchise. Yet this didn't go to plan at all. Director Josh Trank was hired, and wouldn't get to make the film he wanted. Others were quite happy to point the finger at Trank. Either way, the film would struggle.

Yet at least it'd get a release. In 1994, a $1m version of The Fantastic Four was made, with those making it fully expecting a cinema release. Trailers were released, promotions began - but on the eve of the film's world premiere, everything was stopped: and there's a strong theory about just what happened.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In this latest episode of Film Stories, we start with sharks. Very big sharks. A story imagined by a young screenwriter's memory of a childhood incident, that he eventually turned into a script. Then that script would go on to become Deep Blue Sea.

There were challenges, though: should the tone be Jaws-like? Or Jurassic Park? Or Alien? And then the very late need for more footage to be shot too.

In the case of 1984, adapted from George Orwell's novel of the same name, time was a luxury they didn't have. And, for six weeks of shooting, a co-star for John Hurt was missing too. Sean Connery turned the film down, Rod Steiger was rejected. But could they trust Richard Burton?

Stories of both films are told in this episode...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-nominated director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema for a long chat about his work.

They talk extensively about Hoyte's work with Christopher Nolan, not least on Oppenheimer. But also, there's a bit of Dunkirk and Interstellar in there. Furthermore, a few words on working on the James Bond movie SPECTRE too. Plus: the chances of working with Tomas Aldredson again.

Oppenheimer is available now on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K disc.

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Neither The King Of Comedy nor I Love Trouble were met with strong box office or enthusiastic reviews on their initial releases - but one has fared a lot better since.

1982's The King Of Comedy would be the last time Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese would unite for many years - and for a long time it was a project that appealed more to De Niro than Scorsese. Still, after a damp initial response, the film's reputation has grown. A lot.

Not so with 1994's I Love Trouble, a rare movie star-driven summer film from Disney in the early 1990s. Julia Roberts starred, but didn't sign on the dotted line until he co-star was chosen. That'd be Nick Nolte, and it wouldn't be a particularly successful pairing...

Stories of both movies are told in this episode.

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Was there ever a bigger casting furore in the 1990s than when Tom Cruise landed the role of Lestat in Interview With The Vampire? Based on the book by Anne Rice, the author herself was incandescent, taking out advertising the slam the casting. Meanwhile, there were issues over keeping the rights - and problems that could have been avoided had John Travolta - as was once planned - accepted the role in the 1970s!

The late Tina Turner meanwhile claimed that - for very good reasons - she never watched the 1993 biopic of her life, What's Love Got To Do With It? She was very involved with it, though, not least approving Angela Bassett for the lead role. The challenge? Bassett got the job just 30 days before the start of filming...

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a special episode, Simon is joined the writer and director Juan Antonio Bayona for a conversation about his work and his latest film.

That movie is the Oscar-nominated (at the time of writing) Society Of The Snow, an extraordinary drama shot over more than 100 days. Bayona talks about his process and the duty of care involved in telling the story, as well as the importance to him of a long shoot.

They touch on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Impossible, The Orphanage and A Monster Calls as well...

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Two individual filmmakers take centre stage in this episode of Film Stories, starting with Quentin Tarantino. For a decade, he was talking in interviews about making a World War II movie called Inglorious Bastards, but he swerved making it for a long time, in favour of the Kill Bill movies and Death Proof. He argued he didn't have writer's block: he just couldn't stop writing it.

He changed the title to Inglourious Basterds, set himself a firm deadline, and started shooting just eight months before the film was due to debut at the Cannes Film Festival...

In the case of Jim Henson, he had dreams of taking The Muppets to the big screen, and as they were proving to be a sensation on television in the 1970s, he got a handsome budget to do so. The challenge? Production on The Muppet Show was ongoing, and the three month shoot would take The Muppets out of a controlled studio environment for the story for the first time.

Stories of both films are told in this episode...

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In this very special episode of Film Stories, Simon welcomes Oscar-winning writer and director Alexander Payne to chat, in part, about the newly-released The Holdovers.

Yet this is a bit of a different chat, as their conversation not only takes in the film, but also the process of finding the spark for a movie, the process of being interviewed for the release of a feature, and some book recommendations as well. Hope you enjoy the conversation, and The Holdovers is now playing...

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This time on the Film Stories podcast, its 1985 animated feature The Black Cauldron. A film whose budget more than doubled, that arrived five years later, and nearly broke Walt Disney Animation Studios in the process. Plus, its legacy is such that you won't find it anywhere near a Disney theme park. The story of one of the most remarkable chapters in Disney animation history.

Then the second film in this episode is the Oscar-nominated British satirical comedy In The Loop. The directorial debut of Armando Iannucci, it spun out of the TV series The Thick Of It - but the decision was made to not to a straight TV-to-film adaptation.

The stories of both of these films are found in this very episode...

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In a brand new special episode of Film Stories, writer/producer/director David Ayer joins Simon for a chat. It's Ayer's new film The Beekeeper that's their prime focus: an old school action film with some honey in it as well.

It's a tonal shift for Ayer, and also a rare film that he's directed but not written himself. As well as talking about that, a few words too on the media ecosystem following David Ayer's Suicide Squad experiences, and he opens up about the films that he's really keen to make next. Quite surprising choices...

The Beekeeper lands in UK cinemas on January 12th.

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In this episode of Film Stories, a pair of films that enjoyed varying fortunes on their original cinema release - both of which are said to have unreleased alternate cuts.

In the case of 1995's Batman Forever, reports of a longer version of the movie - said to be a lot darker - started surfacing a couple of years after the film's original release. Then came a DVD release added some striking deleted scenes - and director Joel Schumacher's 170-minute version of Batman Forever was starting to gather interest. Right up to 2023, when it actually screened...

2019's Cats meanwhile was up against a ferocious schedule to be finished on time. But finished it was, albeit with an upgrade patch sent to cinemas days after its release (!). Then came the rumours: was there really a cut of the film where digital feline backsides were, well, really rather obvious?

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a very special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by writer/director Billy Ray, to chat about his career and body of work. Simon quickly gets sidetracked by the fact that Billy started off by writing for The Jetsons, but soon they're into conversation about films as diverse as Captain Phillips, Shattered Glass, Breach, Color Of Night and Hart's War.

They also chat about AI in the film business, and cover a few of the films that Billy had written which never made it to the screen. It's a bit of a packed hour, this, and there's much that's discussed...

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In 1995, Kenneth Branagh - between the giant projects of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and his film version of Hamlet - made an utterly charming low budget comedy called In The Bleak Midwinter. He paid for the film himself, bringing together a bunch of actors to tell the story of, well, a bunch of actors. A company who happened to be putting on a Christmas Eve performance of Hamlet.

In December 2023, after years of trying, we managed to bring them all together for a special screening of the film. And what you're going to hear in this podcast episode is the conversation afterwards. Bear in mind that they'd all sat and watched the film collectively for the first time in over 25 years just before this conversation took place!

The evening was raising funds for Centrepoint, of which you can find more here: https://centrepoint.org.uk/support-us/donate?utm_source=jaagoogleads&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=csarppc23&utm_content=&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4Y-sBhC6ARIsAGXF1g6ofP7eioHgWYRsjB-cDrmSTNDzeegNsuExmtsqt6Ot4jVhAO_4DL4aAipxEALw_wcB

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At the end of a busy year for movies, this episode of Film Stories is saluting some of the films that might just have passed a few people by.

Simon, unusually, isn't by himself for this episode either, as the Film Stories magazine and website team each come along with their picks too. Chaos, as you might expect, is soon the order of the day. Although hopefully you might find a movie or two in all of this to add to your watchlist!

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Ah, It's A Wonderful Life. A Christmas classic, that managed to basically bankrupt the production company of its director, and also lose money at the box office. In fact, were it not for an admin error, there's a good chance it wouldn't be regarded as arguably the best Christmas movie of all time. One that was targeted for original release in January. Lots to chat about here.

A fair amount to talk about with 2013's Saving Mr Banks too, a movie script that Disney reportedly nearly bought simply to stop anyone else making the film. After all, Walt Disney is a key character in the movie - and Disney had hardly been keen to make a Walt Disney biopic before. Had the project been developed in-house, it likely wouldn't have happened at all.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Paul King (director/co-writer) and Simon Farnaby (co-writer) join Simon to talk about their latest movie: Wonka.

The conversation covers the writing process, how they felt after The Bunny & The Bull struggled to find and audience, a bit of Paddington 2, and a tiny dab of The Phantom Of The Open. But also: the challenges of making a Willy Wonka prequel story..

Complete with Paul King's phone going off, and Simon Farnaby trying to give Simon the giggles...

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Writer/director George Miller steps into the spotlight for this episode of Film Stories, as we dig into a pair of his sequels.

The hugely-acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road arrived in 2015, but it had a heck of a journey to get that far. An abandoned attempt to get the film made in 2003, and then the whole production having to be put on ice for a year after weather conditions meant a change of location. And then there was the shoot itself, which came to an end without the beginning or final act of the film shot. It was quite a saga.

1998's Babe: Pig In The City was a film pretty much taken for granted by its parent studio, Universal Pictures. It wasn't until a late preview screening that the studio discovered it hadn't quite got the sequel to 1995's Babe that it was after - and urgent last minute changes were called for.

Stories of both movies are told in this episode...

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In a special episode of Film Stories, writer, director, producer and a whole lot more Reginald Hudlin joins Simon. They're talking as Hudlin's new film, Candy Cane Lane, arrives on Prime Video. And Christmas is very much part of the discussion.

But they also cover a bit of Marshall, why Hudlin put together his own website with quite so much detail, the curiosity of film critics and a whole lot more.

Candy Cane Lane is now playing on Prime Video.

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A pair of late 1990s movies in this episode, both of which are remembered three decades later for differing reasons.

In the case of 1999's Election, the Alexander Payne-directed movie remains one of the most scathing and cleverly dark high school movies of its era. Perhaps that's why Paramount Pictures at the time had problems with it, not least how on Earth do you market the film? 'Not well' was the eventual answer to that. Plus: would Tom Cruise really have been right for the Matthew Broderick role?

Then there was 1998's surprise hit Sliding Doors, a film from a first time writer/director, who spent seven years trying to nail the script, suffering a nervous breakdown in the midst of the process. Turns out too that a Hollywood legend, Sydney Pollack, would turn into the movie's guardian angel.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a very special episode, Simon is joined by the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Jennifer Lee.

Jennifer Lee has also co-written and executive produces Disney's centenary animated feature, Wish, so there's some chat about that. But also, about Lee's journey from being the person brought into the Wreck-It Ralph writing team on an eight week contract, through to writing and co-directing the two Frozen movies, then taking arguably the key job at the studio.

The pair talk about all of this, about the reasons it took so long to make the film Wish, and a slight issue with a character in it who happens to be called Simon...

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In the latest episode of Film Stories, a deeper dig into 1992's Batman Returns, and how 1991's firefighter drama Backdraft suddenly hotted up.

With Batman Returns, director Tim Burton had no original intention of coming back, after the problems he'd been through on 1989's Batman. But promised a freer hand, he signed on the dotted line - and it'd be fair to say didn't quite give Warner Bros the film it expected or wanted.

Backdraft wasn't quite as dramatic a story, but it did go from a relatively small drama to something a whole lot bigger when director Ron Howard expressed interest. And there was also the drive for authenticity - and how just over $1m spent on special effects paid dividends.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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It's a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, and joining Simon for a chat about her career is writer, director and production designer Catherine Hardwicke.

The pair chat first and foremost about her latest film, the indie comedy Mafia Mamma! that's now available in the UK. They talk logistics, the challenges, and the joy that is Toni Collette. The conversation also covers Hardwicke's breakthrough film, Thirteen, and the independent movie landscape. Plus, a bit of casting, a bit of Twilight, and an insight into how she goes about making her films...

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The impact of Pulp Fiction's success in the mid-1990s meant that ensemble films based on scripts from relatively inexperienced writer/directors were on the radar of Hollywood. Step forward James Mangold's Cop Land, which was a quick beneficiary.

After an attempt to get John Travolta to star in the film failed, and incredible cast - led by Sylvester Stallone - started to come together. But had Pulp Fiction unfairly changed the expectation of what Cop Land was to be? And that's before Mangold and Harvey Weinstein clashed over the film's edit.

1994's Junior was much calmer - and much quicker. Filming began just months before the movie's release, with Arnold Schwarzenegger's box office fortunes dampened following the previous year's Last Action Hero. But others had turned the film down before Arnie got to it - in one case, for religious reasons...

Stories of both films are told in this episode...

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It's a pair of summer movies in this episode of Film Stories, both of which were affected by the pandemic, one of which would fare a lot better than the other.

The journey to 2022's Top Gun: Maverick was over a decade long, a sequel that stopped and started more than once. Tom Cruise eventually agreed to make the film though, with filming underway in 2018: yet circumstances would mean it'd be many years before audiences could clap their eyes on it.

The idea of doing a movie based around the music of Take That looked to be a strong one, and Greatest Days was all set to film in 2020. Yet when the movie had to put the brakes on, it took away most of the lead cast too - and it'd all have to be put back together two years' later. Even then, the weather gods were not with it...

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In this episode of Film Stories, a little bit of a Marvel misfire, and a film that was pitched by the owner of the company that made it.

When Marvel first for into making films, it secured over $500m via a major loan to fund its plans. It was felt that a Hulk movie, The Incredible Hulk, was needed quickly to help pay things off. That and Iron Man thus went into production at the same time - and one would go a lot, lot smoother than the other.

Life meanwhile is an often-overlooked sci-fi hit from 2017. Not only is it a good film, though, but it came together very, very quickly. And for writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Rheese, they were given a one line idea and around a month to work out just what the resultant film would be. Plus: the shadow of the not-dissimilar Alien: Covenant was on the horizon...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is chatting to director Joe Stephenson, and actor/producer Scott Chambers. It turns into quite a chat, only temporarily interrupted by a cup of coffee.

Stephenson is the director of Doctor Jekyll, in which Chambers co-stars with Eddie Izzard. He talks about trying to get a sub-£1m film moving in the UK, and how it ended up getting a posh London premiere. He chats too about films such as Chicken and McKellen: Playing The Part.

Scott Chambers chats too about his acting work in the film, but also we dig into his own secret identity, as the producer of over 100 low budget films such as Jurassic Island, Crocodile Vengeance and Darker Shades Of Elise....

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This time in the Film Stories podcast, the fast turnaround of the first Knives Out movie, and a Hugh Grant-headlined comedy drama, where Four Weddings Hugh Grant was absolutely not required.

Writer/director Rian Johnson has admitted in the past that he's not a fast writer. However, when an opportunity arose to bring a murder mystery whodunnit to the screen - long a passion project of Johnson's - he was going to have to move fast. Thanks to his Star Wars commitments, he and producer Ram Bergman had a 12 month window to write Knives Out, cast it, finance it, and shoot it. All in one calendar year.

2002's About A Boy didn't move quite that quickly, but this time the catalyst was a novel from Nick Hornby that got leaked to Hollywood early. A big bidding war led to a big cheque for the rights - but there'd be a change of director, a brief flirtation with Brad Pitt and a change of studio before it ultimately got made.

Stories of both films are told in this episode.

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It's a Kevin Costner double bill in the latest episode of Film Stories - and whilst the films are very different, there is a link between them.

1987's No Way Out is actually a remake, something its director - Roger Donaldson - wasn't actually aware of. One of the very best thrillers of the 1980s - especially if you don't know its twists and turns - its release actually ended up being held back to see if another Costner-headlined movie would prove more successful first.

Yet it was the ultimate success of No Way Out that finally led to Bull Durham getting off the ground, after a hell of a challenge to raise the money for the movie. Not the only challenge, either: an executive at Orion Pictures was causing problems, and there was a casting demand that wasn't going away...

Both films are covered in this episode. Both films are also making their UK Blu-ray debut this month, and you can find details on the releases at store.filmstories.co.uk

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Ah-ha! Two of the most acclaimed British directors of the 2010s take centre stage in this episode, albeit with very, very different films.

Christopher Nolan originally envisaged his dreamy heist movie Inception as a low budget feature. But just after he'd made Insomnia, he got 80 pages into what he felt the film should be and hit a stumbling block. Two Batman movies and The Prestige later and he finally began to crack it - and things built from there.

It was a lengthy journey too to bring the dark British comedy Sightseers to the screen, a road that began when Alice Lowe and Steve Oram started working on the two lead characters in an Ealing comedy club. And - with a helping hand from Edgar Wright - their work would come to the attention of a fast-rising director by the name of Ben Wheatley...

The stories of both films are told in this episode.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director Oliver Parker joins Simon for a long chat about his latest film, and his career. The new film is The Great Escaper, starring Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson. They natter about how the film came to be, and the challenges involved in making the film.

They also recall when Parker managed to get Othello down to just over two hours, and running times in general. Plus, in a not entirely expected turn, they end up chatting too about Clive Barker, and the plans once upon a time to bring Hellraiser to the stage!

The Great Escaper is in UK cinemas on October 6th 2023.

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After an unscheduled week break (sorry!), the Film Stories podcast returns with the stories of two superb modern fantasy films.

Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning The Shape Of Water owes a debt to a 1950s horror, and an original idea that came to someone in their teenage years. When it came time to make the film? The budget was always going to be tight, but del Toro faced two different funding options for two different ways to make the film.

Juan Antonio Bayona's A Monster Calls, meanwhile, had a relatively swift journey to the screen, although the push to work with practical effects wherever possible did have an impact on the making of the film. Casting proved a challenge, too...

Stories of both are told in this very episode...

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R-rated movies from major studios. R-rated comic book movies from major studios. R-rated comic book movies that don't even mention the name of the umbrella franchise in the title. These were not the norm when Hugh Jackman and writer/director James Mangold somehow talked 20th Century Fox into what became Logan. Yet ironically, as the mainline X-Men franchise stumbled, it was the R-rated entries that were delivering...

Also delivering? The revival of Evil Dead on the big screen with Evil Dead Rise. It took ten years and a four season TV show in-between to bring the franchise back to cinemas, even if at one point the plan was to go straight to streaming. And it was an upcoming director who was given the responsibility...

Stories of both are told in this episode. Please don't forget to subscribe and leave a glowing review. You're lovely. Ta.

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Find Simon on Twitter and Bluesky at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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It's been over a decade since the debate first ignited: is Tom Cruise the right person to play the character of Jack Reacher? The answer came originally in the form of a 2012 movie, although the first big screen outing for Lee Child's famous character had been in development for well over a decade by that point.

In the end, Werner Herzog was recruited too. But it was the choice of director that would have a lasting impact on Tom Cruise's career.

The film Once though had barely any expectations on it, even for a cinema release. A few screens in Dublin, maybe? And when Cillian Murphy left the film, it looked like the tiny budget would fall away anyway. What happened next? Well it was that rarest of movie fairytales...

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Find Simon on Twitter and Bluesky at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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For the latest episode of the Film Stories podcast, a war movie, a boxing movie, and a few problems in the making of both.

1963's The Great Escape was a film that director John Sturges couldn't initially get off the ground, and he needed his success with The Magnificent Seven to make it happen. When it did? It wasn't the easiest of productions, with a lot of chopped down trees, and a star who wasn't happy with his part in the film.

Sylvester Stallone wasn't initially chomping at the bit to make Rocky III meanwhile, but when he opted to make the movie, his script would reflect the difficulties he was facing himself at the time. Then there was the small matter of finding the actor to play his opponent: Clubber Lang...

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Find Simon on Twitter and Bluesky at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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The podcast is fully back up and running again, and this time, we turn our attention to the return of Hannibal Lecter.

2001's Hannibal was the long-awaited return of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter to the big screen, following 1991's The Silence Of The Lambs. But the original director didn't return. The original screenwriter didn't return. One of the two Oscar-winning stars didn't return. And a chance meeting in Malta - as Ridley Scott was shooting Gladiator - was what helped push things forward.

The gestation of I, Daniel Blake was a little more straightforward, as writer Paul Laverty and director Ken Loach went about their familiar process: this time, though, they'd be making a film with fairly quick ramifications. What's more, casting a lead actor who was just on the verge of jacking it all in...

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Find Simon on Twitter and Bluesky at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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After a longer than originally planned gap (due to a dodgy voice!), the Film Stories podcast returns from its summer snooze. And what better way to start than with not one T2, but a pair of them.

First up? Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a film that cost its makers $15m just for the rights to. That, and enormous cheques to writer/director James Cameron, and leading man Arnold Schwarzenegger. All well and good: but they didn't actually have a lot of time to make the actual film.

The passing of time was one thing T2 Trainspotting had fewer worries about, arriving over 20 years following the original film. One of the key hold ups? A long-running falling out between director Danny Boyle and leading man Ewan McGregor...

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that were - in the end - turned around to very tight deadlines. One slightly more expensive than the other!

The challenge with 2015's Spectre was to follow up the most successful James Bond film of all time. Skyfall had grossed over $1bn: but its director, Sam Mendes, wasn't keen originally to return for Spectre. And when the film did get filming, star Daniel Craig was covering the fact that he had a broken leg.

Less high profile drama followed 1996's When Saturday Comes, but the Sean Bean-headlined football drama still faced some uphill challenges of its own...

This is the last Film Stories episode before a summer break. In true James Bond style, Film Stories will return...

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a hugely risky studio movie, and a bit of a breakthrough role for Daniel Craig.

The Insider, from Michael Mann, was telling a story about a piece of modern history just years old when the movie was made. As such, there was a huge risk of litigation, and whichever studio took the movie on was opening itself to huge risks, with no obvious box office upside. Incredibly, Disney said yes.

Matthew Vaughn meanwhile had come to prominence producing Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, that Guy Ritchie had directed. A trip to a football match unlocked the path to a new project, Layer Cake, that he'd planned for Ritchie to direct too. But when Ritchie said no? Vaughn swiftly moved to plan B...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, we're digging into the story of a much-loved modern classic.

Two films in 1990 arrived based around the story of real-life gangster Henry Hill. Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas though is something very special: Scorsese took a rare co-writing credit on the film, although at one stage, it was being suggested that Tom Cruise and Madonna take lead roles...

In the second half of the episode, we're joined by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, chatting not just Indiana Jones, but also films such as Noises Off, Jurassic Park III and Alive.

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In a very special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by the co-writer and director of the latest – and last – Indiana Jones film, James Mangold.

The pair spend some time chatting about Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny, and also explore parts of the making of Cop Land and Heavy. There’s chat about Le Mans ’66 and Brummie accents, before a chunter too about Mangold’s hugely underappreciated film, Girl, Interrupted.

Hope you enjoy the conversation. As this podcast episode is being released, Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny is playing in cinemas around the world.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films that might just have had a bit of overlap to them!

Olympus Has Fallen began life many years before it got to the screen, but it had an added advantage over its rival in that it had a movie star in place - and Gerard Butler wanted to up the violence quotient a little too.

Sony meanwhile was spending a lot more money on a rival project, White House Down, that started filming last, but tried to release first. Turns out it had a bit of a film story of its own to it, too.

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films that both hit problems with one of their lead roles...

2004's Spider-Man 2 is (rightly) regarded as one of the finest superhero films, and that's impressive in itself given the tight turnaround that Sony wanted on the film. However, just weeks before filming was about to begin, there was even sizeable doubt that its leading man would be returning.

2022's The Menu meanwhile did have to change things around, having originally been set up in 2019 with a different director and a different star in one of its lead roles. And when it did come back together, there were serious doubts about whether people were even going out to the cinema to watch films like it too...

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a massive hit sci-fi movie that came from smaller origins, and a baseball film that, well, hit problems.

The story of I, Robot the movie - in theory based on the work of Isaac Asimov - started with an indie script that was set effectively in one room. But over time, the film escalated, at one stage attracting Arnold Schwarzenegger. Still, when it got made, there was a disagreement ahead...

There was a hell of a disagreement on 1999's baseball movie For Love Of The Game too, regarded as the forgotten Kevin Costner baseball movie. Directed by Sam Raimi, things were going find - right up until very different views on the final cut of the film...

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A very special episode of Film Stories, with a very special guest: producer Barbara DeFina.

She tells us what's she currently up to, and takes us through her early work with Sidney Lumet. Then, the many films she produced for Martin Scorsese, including the particular challenges of The Last Temptation Of Christ, Casino, and finding the right house for Cape Fear. There's a bit of Goodfellas in the conversation as well.

It's a far-ranging conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two relatively low budget films that both proved bigger hits than expected.

For writer/director Zach Cregger, he was in 'director jail' following the commercial disappointment of his first couple of films. Still, he managed to get his new film, Barbarian, into place (with a bit of help from a spreadsheet). The problem? Funding fell away just days before filming...

In the case of Superbad, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were teenagers when they first wrote the script. In fact, Rogen at one point was going to star - but it took a little too long to get to the screen for that to happen.

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, the difficult journey back to Middle Earth, and the first animated film from DreamWorks.

Following the success of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it seemed straightforward that at some point, The Hobbit would make it back to the screen. But the path there would prove far more difficult than originally thought, thanks to legal issues, financial issues, and a late change of director.

With Antz, the first animated film from DreamWorks had a lot of pathfinding to get through just to get made - and then its release date was moved forward, meaning it was a race against time to get the film completed, before Pixar's A Bug's Life stole its thunder.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, the continued attempt to find box office life in the Terminator films, and a modestly-priced movie that demonstrated the power of a trailer.

For the third attempt to make a new Terminator trilogy of movies, the plan this time was more straightforward: bring James Cameron back to the series, and give him a big chunk of creative power again. With Deadpool director Tim Miller also on board, hopes were high - but problems were mounting.

The simple concept of a bear taking a lot of cocaine meanwhile became fuel for a very R-rated studio film - even if there was some dispute about the title for a while...

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Hollywood royalty joins the Film Stories podcast for this special episode, as writer, producer and director James L Brooks.

The starting point for the chat is a film that Brooks has produced, the long awaited screen adaptation of Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret.

And then they get chatting about making movies, about the 1994 box office disappointment I'll Do Anything, a brief drive by As Good As It Gets, and a few hints as to the film he's workong on next.

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret is in UK cinemas now.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two very big blockbuster films, one of which had more joy finding an audience than the other.

1996's Independence Day came together at surprising speed, with creative duo Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin wary that Mars Attacks! was on the way too. And there was the small matter of getting the film's Superbowl trailer right as well.

Battleship was to be the first of up to six pictures based on board games and Hasbro properties at Universal, but at one stage, the studio's new chairperson had a choice: accept a $30m write-off, or carry on with the picture.

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Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of 2014 releases: one of which sent a movie star grey, the other sending its director to movie jail.

Collateral marks one of the darker leading roles in Tom Cruise's career. But for a while, the film was actually set to feature Russell Crowe and Adam Sandler in its lead roles. Furthermore, the spark for the movie came when its writer was in his late teens.

The idea of bringing the hugely successful TV show Thunderbirds to the screen in a bigger budget movie had been around for a while. But when Spy Kids and the Harry Potter movies went big, so did plans for Thunderbirds - even if it didn't involve the people who created the show in the first place.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two successful movies, one of which cost a lot more money than the othert!

2005's Batman Begins gave filmmaker Christopher Nolan the latitude to properly reboot and reinvent Batman on the big screen. But he still insisted on building part of the film in his garage, and he wasn't Warner Bros' initial choice either.

With The Guard, writer/director John Michael McDonagh was coming off the back of a bad experience on 2003's Ned Kelly movie. This time, he was going to direct the film himself - even if investors didn't entirely appreciate what they might be getting.

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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.

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It's a very welcome return to the Film Stories podcast for the brilliant Dexter Fletcher, as he joins Simon for a special episode.

In this one, they talk about Dexter's new film - Ghosted - and the challenges involved in making it. That, and his abandoned attempt to make The Saint, working alongside movie stars in nice jumpers, late casting replacements and a whole lot more. Plus, he still wants to make a James Bond picture...

Ghosted is out now on Apple TV+.

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In a bonus special episode of Film Stories, here's a collection of interviews from our live shows that take place around the UK. At each show, we talk to people in and around the world of film, and get their stories. In this collection:

Oscar-winner Nina Hartstone on Bohemian Rhapsody, Cats, Cyborg Cop, and recreating a certain sound that I'm certainly not writing down here.

Independent filmmaker Cassiah Joski-Jethi on her writing and directing work, watching Shrek a lot, and meeting Gurinder Chadha on a train.

Children's TV legend Simon Hickson on his television work, and then his move into the world of Medicinema.

To find out where a Film Stories Movie Geek Live show is near you, head to https://www.filmstories.co.uk/live-events/

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that were released in unusual times for the pair of them!

1990's The Hunt For Red October is a cold war thriller, that landed as the Cold War was thawing. It had a different problem too: a week or two into filming, its leading man needed very quick replacing - and a fax went over to Sean Connery...

The idea of bringing together Godzilla and King Kong for a movie together meanwhile led to a bit of studio jostling - and then, of course, when Godzilla Vs Kong finally landed, a global pandemic had significantly changed Warner Bros' release strategy.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In a very, very special episode of Film Stories, four-time Oscar winner Nick Park joins Simon for a conversation about his work and career.

So much is covered here: from the genesis of Wallace & Gromit and the early days trying to break into animation, through to the seven-year journey of A Grand Day Out and being presented an Oscar by Woody Woodpecker.

They also chat about Nick joining Aardman, the making of The Wrong Trousers (now 30 years old, remarkably!), the ramping up to a feature film, the making of Chicken Run, and working alongside DreamWorks. Plus the Wallace & Gromit movie, Early Man, and what he's up to next...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a hit Spider-Man spin-off, and the film that tried to capitalise on the success of Basic Instinct.

The first talk of a Venom movie came about in the late 1990s. But eventually, Sony would start developing the film as part of its Spider-Man rights package. The problem? It kept rebooting Spider-Man, and that kept resetting its Venom plans.

Big things were expected of 1993's erotic thriller Sliver, meanwhile. But a hugely ambitious final act was originally shot involving a volcano, that nearly led to the death of two people. And, well, let's just say that on set, not everyone was getting along...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon welcome director Jeremy Garelick for a chat about his work.

They talk about the newly-released Murder Mystery 2, as well as The Wedding Ringer, The Break Up and a few projects that didn't come to pass. And then about the eureka moment that led to Garelick searching for a disused high school for sale - and the number of films that suddenly seemed to unlock.

Murder Mystery 2 is on Netflix now.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a much-loved original, and its subsequent remake.

1969's The Italian Job came about in part due to Paramount Pictures wanting to make movies in the UK. But it was tough to get cooperation from the manufacturer of Mini cars, its famous ending came about very late in the day, and apparently - 30 years after its release - the film was still in debt!

Still, a planned remake went ahead, but the story of it for a long time was that of one of its co-star - Edward Norton - who famously didn't want to appear in the film (but ended up having to do so, under threat of legal action). 2003's The Italian Job was not without one or two other stories behind it too...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two modestly-costed movies from 2014 that turned out to be really rather successful.

Writer Derek Kolstad had got his first screen credit on a Dolph Lundgren-headlined movie. And he had a plan for a slimmed down action movie, with a 75-year old lead character. Things changed though when a man called Keanu Reeves got interested in it.

With It Follows, writer/director David Robert Mitchell had actually planned to do a different movie, until it became clear that it'd be easier to get his horror project funded. But it was still low budget enough to give him absolute control over how he wanted to shoot it...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that were adapted for the screen - albeit in very different ways.

Author Frank Miller wasn't looking to let Hollywood bring his acclaimed Sin City to the big screen. Yet filmmaker Robert Rodriguez had an unusual approach, and his own film studio to help him realise it. Plus, he wasn't strictly looking to do an adaptation anyway.

A little more straightforward was The Fault In Our Stars, adapted by John Green's novel. The trick here was to go quicker, and to have a division of a studio - the much-missed Fox 2000 - able to get the film made on a low budget. There was still a tiny permission problem when it came to filming, though...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a sequel that took a long time to come together, and an attempt by Sylvester Stallone to change direction.

1992's Basic Instinct didn't immediately seem an obvious candidate for a sequel. A huge box office take soon changed that - but the path to the follow-up would involve a bankruptcy, a legal case, and a lot of people turning the project down. Until all of a sudden, it came together...

Daylight was a quicker film to come together, and for Sylvester Stallone, a very lucrative one. He secured a huge pay packet, but also signalled a change in direction for his career. Things didn't quite go to plan.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer, producer and director Aline Brosh McKenna.

They talk about her feature directorial debut Your Place Or Mine, and the journey to get to that point. Plus, they go over projects such as The Devil Wears Prada, Morning Glory, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, We Bought A Zoo and a whole lot more. Plus, her journey into film, and a whole lot more.

Your Place Or Mine is on Netflix.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, the belated return of Indiana Jones, and a smart British zombie film that faced a fair few challenges.

After the huge success of the much-loved Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade at the end of the 1980s, there was an ongoing clamour for a fourth Indiana Jones adventure. But George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford had packed schedules - and didn't always see eye to eye on where to go next.

Things were more straightforward story-wise with The Girl With All The Gifts. Author M R Carey was pretty much writing the novel and the screenplay of the story at the same time. And with a tenacious producer, funding slowly came together...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by a legend of American independent cinema, John Sayles.

In a far-reaching conversation, they talk about John's new novel - Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade's Journey - as well as the movie origins of the project. Plus they go back over Sayles' career, the way he managed to get his films made, ownership and copyright, battles with a movie studio and a whole lot more.

Plus: a few thoughts on where cinema stands now, and a screening too of Avatar: The Way Of Water...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, how James Bond responded to Star Wars, and a comedy that onlookers had all but written off.

Moonraker wasn't expected to be the Roger Moore James Bond adventure to follow up The Spy Who Loved Me. But then Star Wars happened, and a co-production deal opened up some funding too. 007 was going to space.

More down to earth was comedy sleeper hit Look Who's Talking, a genuinely sleeper success that in turn made Bruce Willis very rich for four days of work. It's also the first film on this podcast that involves puppeteers operating sperm.

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Well, crikey.

In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, two things to tell you about. Firstly, this is episode 300: thank you so much for everyone who's helped me get here.

Secondly, the special guest for this episode is Hugh Jackman. We were talking in London about his latest film, The Son, but also snuck one or two other things in there as well. He seemed quite taken with it being episode 300, as you're about to hear...

Thanks for all your support, folks. Hope you enjoy the episode...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, how the Die Hard franchise came to a crashing end, and an Elvis Presley biopic finally got over the line.

There's not a lot of love out there for A Good Day To Die Hard (2013), and with good reason. But the intent behind it was sound, and the man who landed the director's chair was a clear fan of the series.

Producer Gail Berman meanwhile was the person who did a lot battling to bring 2022's Elvis to the screen - not least securing the necessary music rights to Presley's catalogue twice to ensure the project kept moving. And then Baz Luhrmann got involved...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, the film that gave Tim Burton his first hit in over half a decade, and a golfing comedy that took a bit of a path to the screen.

Director Tim Burton lost around a year of his working life when the planned Superman Lives film with Nicolas Cage collapsed. Which is when a script to Sleepy Hollow - that had been sat in Hollywood development for years - was sent in his direction.

The script for the charming The Phantom Of The Open originally got no traction at all. As such, its story was published in a book, an option was taken out on said book, and the process had to pretty much start all over again.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writers and producers Pen Densham and John Watson. Their story covers a lot of short films, working with Sylvester Stallone to reshape the ending of Rocky II, and the writing and producing 1991's Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. That involved a battle of the Robin Hoods too, and they also had Backdraft in production at the same time.

The pair tell their stories in this episode, and there's just time at the end for a quick venture into The Dangerous Lives Of The Altar Boys too...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a sequel that wasn't originally in the plans, and a comedy where more spin-offs were due to follow.

After the very, very difficult shoot of The Bourne Identity, the key creatives weren't rushing to return for The Bourne Supremacy. There was little chance of director Doug Liman coming back either - and that meant a turn in a slightly different direction for the franchise.

With Bad Moms meanwhile, the hit comedy lost its original studio backer and then found a home that worked: but plans for spin-offs and further sequels soon hit the buffers. But not before a hit movie came together.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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Here's a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, that might just be of interest for any filmmaker fighting their way to get a feature made. Jon Wright's new film, Unwelcome, has the backing of Warner Bros, and it's a UK horror film that gets a full national release.

It's been quite a journey for Wright to get this far, and he tells the story in this podcast special, which also takes in films such as Tormented, Robot Overlords and Grabbers. Plus there's a bit of a story for 2000AD fans too...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of hit movies, with a religious edge to each.

Filmmaker M Night Shyamalan admitted he came to Signs off the back of the mixed response to his previous film, Unbreakable. He came up with a project initially for an older actor, that blended two key ideas - and the bidding war in Hollywood for the film was a swift one.

There was a bidding war too for the screen rights to Dan Brown's extraordinarily successful book, The Da Vinci Code. At first, there was a chance it could go to TV, but $6m of Sony's money did the job - and a whole lot of controversy was just around the corner...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an action film that took time to find its audience, and a Formula 1 movie made as a British independent film.

Road House (1989) saw Patrick Swayze battling with a knee that had to be regularly drained, and also saw producer Joel Silver on the hunt for a Die Hard-size hit. Plus: the most expensive scene in this action favourite didn't involve any fighting at all.

Up until he directed Rush (2013), Ron Howard had made his films for Hollywood studios and within the Hollywood system. When he stepped in to take on this film, though, the financial safety nets were long, long gone...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two hugely acclaimed and much-loved movies, that each had their challenges.

When writer/director Michael Mann first happened upon the story that would become Heat, he wasn't in a position to turn it into a major feature film. But he clearly had some unfinished business with the material.

Alexander Payne had planned to make Sideways after his success with Election. But even get the source novel published had proven to be a challenge. The film adaptation? Well, that ended up with some waiting to do as well...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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For a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Marc Forster for a conversation. They chat about Forster's latest movie, A Man Called Otto, a film that seemed to come together really quickly, but actually has been percolating for some time.

They also chat about Forster's decision in his teens to up sticks to America. And there's time too for a story from the making of Forster's Stranger Than Fiction...

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For the final episode of Film Stories in 2022, something a bit special: a welcome back to director Phil Alden Robinson, who joins Simon to tell the story of 2002's Tom Clancy adaptation, The Sum Of All Fears.

They talk about how Robinson came to the project, and the challenge when they ended up having to use locations booked for an entirely different film. Plus, dealing with Tom Clancy, the possible sequel that never was, and the incredibly spoiler-y trailer for the film. Robinson also chats about his late addition to directing Band Of Brothers, and what happened post-The Sum Of All Fears.

Thanks to everybody who's supported Film Stories this year. The podcast returns in 2023...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films from top notch filmmakers take centre stage.

1992's The Last Of The Mohicans, from Michael Mann, wasn't the easiest of productions. From personnel leaving and the threat of strike action, to the months of required training and the difficulty landing the score, it proved quite the challenge.

The Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Are Thou? was a lot calmer by comparison. George Clooney, for instance, signed on without reading the script. But there was still a bit of groundbreaking technical work that needed to be done - and a lot of music that needed to be recorded before filming could begin...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer and director Ol Parker, with the pair chatting about his latest film, Ticket To Paradise.

They look at how the film came together, and the challenges of making a film led by two major movie stars. Parker also candidly discusses the response to the movie, and the less than stellar critical response to it. He also talks about further projects, and what may lie ahead.

Ticket To Paradise is available on demand, and on DVD and Blu-ray, now.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a dash of the festive spirit as two Christmas-set movies take centre stage.

The first Lethal Weapon movie came together in just a few years, sparked by then-twentysomething Shane Black's script. The project was offered to Leonard Nimoy to look at before Richard Donner signed on the dotted line to direct - and it remains a casting masterclass too.

Jingle All The Way meanwhile came together even quicker, with Arnold Schwarzenegger suddenly having a gap in his schedule once a planned Planet Of The Apes movie he was attached to fell apart. Just six months after filming began, the film would be in cinemas - and that didn't help the movie's merchandising plans.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstories

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-winning film composer Michael Giacchino. Michael's in the awards running again for his score to The Batman, and that's one of the subjects they talk about (the film is widely available now).

They also chat about getting started, about juggling multiple projects, making sure you finish work on time, and general nerdy stuff. Simon nearly manages to offend him too. Ulp...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a much-loved box office disappointment, and a film that burned through a lot of directors

The late, great Jim Henson earned a success with The Dark Crystal, but he knew he wanted his next film to be a bit lighter, and to have human characters in it too. 25 drafts of the script and story later, Labyrinth went before the cameras - but with a lot of challenges in its path.

Uncharted meanwhile started its way to the big screen in 2008. By the time cameras rolled over a decade later, six different directors would have left the project.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Matthew Warchus and screenwriter Dennis Kelly, with the focus primarily being 2022's Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical.

In their conversation, they talk about taking the hugely success musical from stage to screen, and how brutal they had to be as they did so. They chat too the many, many drafts of the script, the songs that were filmed but which didn't make the finally cut, and a bit of CG involving a giraffe.

You also get little mentions of both Pride and Utopia too, and the pair both end up with what their clickbait news stories would be...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films from the 1990s that attracted awards attention - one with less controversy than the other.

After the way his first film was treated, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson was adamant things would be different with his second. But who would give a twentysomething filmmaker $15m and creative control for a film on the surface about making adult movies? And why would Burt Reynolds get so upset?

Things were more straightforward with 1992's Unforgiven, the film that finally bagged Clint Eastwood an Oscar he never expected to see. However, Eastwood nearly missed the script altogether when he was recommended to avoid it. And even when he read it, it'd be a long, long wait for the film.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

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In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon chats to Oscar-winning Disney producer Roy Conli, in part about the new animated film, Strange World.

Their chat takes them back to Roy's theatrical origins but also the teacher who pushed him to read. On top of that though, they get into the Oscar bet that Roy didn't deliver on, the new bet that hopefully he will, and the ongoing challenge of making feature films!

Strange World is in UK cinemas on the very day this podcast lands...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of 1990s summer blockbusters - one of which proved more problematic than the other.

Come 1990 and there were three competing Robin Hood projects on the way from Hollywood. But it was 1991's Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves that won the race to the screen. It'd be fair to say it was not an easy journey to get there.

Off the back of making GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan was looking for new projects - and he settled on a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. Small problem though about trying to make a movie about a museum heist: museums don't seem very keen to let you film on their premises...

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

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In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon chats to writer/director James Gray. The pair met around the time of the release of his film Armageddon Time, and they chat about the complexities of getting such a movie through the studio system.

It's a really candid chat this, as Gray explores opening up his family life for a film, and his feelings on the current state of cinema. Plus, isn't it about time they brought back curtains in cinemas?

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that hardy set the box office alight - although the fallout from one was a lot, lot louder than the other!

Ed Wood was a movie Tim Burton decided to make when he walked away from a higher profile project. However, the studio paying for the movie panicked a month before production and tried to box Burton into a deal. He wasn't playing ball, though.

The Last Duel was a movie project that took over a decade to reach the screen, with the source book optioned three different times (Martin Scorsese circled the project for a while). But then in came Ridley Scott, in come disappointing box office, and in came quite the aftermath...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a sequel that was a beast to make, and a British book adaptation that Tom Hanks sort-of-unlocked.

Aliens remains the template for how to make an excellent sequel - but heck, was it beset by problems. Not least that writer/director James Cameron and the crew at Pinewood Studios making the film were not exactly on each other's Christmas card lists.

Starter For Ten was a bit more straightforward, but even then, it took American money to bring a very British book to the screen. All in a film that had a hand in launching a lot of big name careers...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two hit films come under the microscope - but one of them nearly fell apart days before filming was due to begin.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would become for a long time the most successful independent film of all time in terms of box office returns. Yet none of the major studio would commit to the film, and it'd take a late deal to save the movie.

Timecop had a much clearer path the big screen, and this was Jean-Claude Van Damme trying to emulate the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger and cross over into the mainstream. Just don't ask him about the plans for a sequel...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two very successful films - one of which nearly lost the confidence of its parent studio

The tale behind Hidden Figures had seemingly been all but lost to history. That was until one writer went digging, and then a producer won a bidding war for movie rights in which barely anyone else was interested. A late release date change also would prove inspired.

The LEGO Movie meanwhile would take some negotiating to even get off the ground. And when it did? Warner Bros brought in two funding partners and sold off a sizeable percentage of its box office receipts too. It was not the studio's wisest move...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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Paul Feig is a busy man. He's got a new film (The School For Good And Evil) and a new cocktail book too. But he squeezed some time into his schedule for a special podcast recording, where he chats to Simon about his directorial career.

Recorded in front of a live audience in London, the pair chat about Paul Feig's early stand-up and acting work, the films that landed him in movie jail, and then the run of Freaks & Geeks, Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, A Simple Favour, Last Christmas and, of course, The School For Good And Evil.

It was quite an evening, and the audio is presented in full here. Right down to the Ski Patrol chat...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films that faced their challenges, but one came out of it all better than the other.

A third Blade film was announced even before Blade II had arrived in cinemas. David S Goyer took on the director's chair, but to say the production had a few problems would be quite the understatement. Gulp.

Things were a little smoother with 1992's Candyman, although writer/director Bernard Rose was first approached about a different Clive Barker story to adapt. But three different financiers meant there were differing opinions about the film behind the scenes - and distribution wasn't entirely straightforward either.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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After building a strong career as an actor over the past few decades, Frances O'Connor has now taken the jump into feature writing and directing. In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, she chats to Simon about why she's decided to take the plunge now, and what was it that unlocked her film, Emily.

She takes us into the writing process of the film, the battle to get funding, and making the move into directing. Plus, there's time for a little bit of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence chatter in there too...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that hit much bigger than expected - each of which changed a lot in post-production.

Horror hit Paranormal Activity actually first debuted on screen in 2007. But it'd be two years before it got a full wide release in cinemas, and by then the ending would have undergone changes (and a planned remake abandoned).

20th Century Fox was having doubts about 1985's Cocoon, meanwhile, to the point where Robert Zemeckis was fired as its director (making Back To The Future instead!). In came Ron Howard though, and changes would get underway...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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Decade after decade, director Stephen Frears has maintained an enviable output of movies and TV shows, and his latest film - The Lost King - is now playing in UK cinemas. He joins Simon for a podcast special, where they chat about his work, from breaking through with My Beautiful Laundrette, to the ultra-fast turnaround of Dangerous Liaisons.

They also talk about the perils of making studio films in Hollywood, why The Queen went to cinemas rather than TV (and legal advice was involved!), and the assorted challenges of The Lost King...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films released within a few months of each other, that had one or two things in common.

The Silence Of The Lambs was originally earmarked by Gene Hackman for his directorial debut, and a deal was struck for the book rights. But the story's violence was putting people off, and there was a bit of a rights hurdle that had to be negotiated too.

Things with Toy Soldiers were lower profile, but still: at one stage this low-ish budget action film was being adapted with Midnight Cowboy director John Schlesinger in mind - and then the company backing the project decided to drop out.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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Recorded before a live audience in London in September 2022, this very special episode of Film Stories sees Simon in conversation with writer and director Gurinder Chadha OBE.

They chat about her early days, how she broke into movies with I'm British But... and the wonderful Bhaji On The Beach. And then she takes us through tales of films such as Bend It Like Beckham, Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogging, Viceroy's House, What's Cookin' and Bride & Prejudice. Be sure too to keep an ear out for the audience gasp when Gurinder reveals the movie she turned down...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two movies that hit at the box office - but it didn't stop one of them being regarded a commercial disappointment.

2006's Mission: Impossible III went though a range of directors before Tom Cruise settled on giving JJ Abrams his feature directorial debut. But that decision brought with it delays, and the film's aftermath would see Cruise's deal with Paramount come to an end (temporarily).

The Birdcage meanwhile landed on Oscar-winner Mike Nichols' plate at a point where people were beginning to feel his hit movie days were behind him. Nichols though would turn a Harrison Ford movie down in order to take this one on - and to work again with Elaine May.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a franchise-starting hit, and a modest thriller with an impressive roster of personnel.

The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now written large into movie history - but it's often forgotten just what a risk the first Iron Man movie was. And also, that it was arguably Marvel's most tight-fisted production too.

Pacific Heights was more modest, but did attract a legendary director, and in Michael Keaton, a man who'd just brought Batman to the big screen. Yet there were, as it turns out, behind the scenes problems on this one...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two big hit movies - but both of them took at least a decade to make it to the screen.

In the case of I Am Legend, the latest take on the story was all ready to go in 1997 with Ridley Scott directing and Arnold Schwarzenegger starring: but not everything went to plan there. And there'd be other attempts that failed before we got the version we got.

There's Something About Mary didn't start out as the raunchy comedy it became - but after five years sitting still in development hell, a Writers Guild Of America rule change suddenly worked to its favour.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon chats to Jan De Bont about his extensive movie career.

They chat about his work as cinematographer on movies as varied as Die Hard, Flatliners, The Hunt For Red October and Black Rain. They chat too about De Bont nearly having his face fully ripped off by a wild animal while shooting Roar. And then there's his work as a director, specifically Speed and Twister.

Flatliners has just been released by Arrow on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, and is available now.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a massive film that didn't cost too much, and a box office disappointment that did.

1999's The Sixth Sense would prove to be an absolute box office sensation: but heck. Disney wasn't happy about making it. The executive who gave the film the greenlight would ultimately lose his job, and Disney would sell off most distribution rights before it was released. But why?

Pixels meanwhile was the last film in Adam Sandler's long-running deal with Sony Pictures, and was chosen only after the studio had turned one or two other Sandler projects down. On paper, combining classic videogame characters with a live action New York-set family feature seemed a good idea. But things did not go to plan.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that went through some tough physical production.

Mind you, Quentin Tarantino's second western, The Hateful Eight, nearly didn't get as far as production. A script leak, a law suit, Tarantino dropping the project? That was all before filming began, and the idea of shooting on location in freezing cold conditions suddenly seemed a bit... taxing.

The location shoot for Romancing The Stone sequel The Jewel Of The Nile was taxing in the other direction. Piping hit temperatures, a change in personnel behind the camera, and a co-star who was contractually obliged to appear? Yep, this one was a bit of a saga.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon chats to Hollywood producer Will Packer. It's a good long chat, so they get to chew over Beast, ladder holding in Hollywood, getting non-franchise films off the ground, and the odd ways people pitch projects to Packer!

Beast is in cinemas in the UK on August 26th 2022.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that benefitted from surges in popularity for their leading actors.

The action movie Broken Arrow would ultimately end up in the hands of director John Woo, his second Hollywood feature. John Travolta led the cast. And oddly, it all came together in the way it did thanks to Free Willy 2.

Julia Roberts had already shot Pretty Woman and Flatliners by the time she was signed up for 1991 thriller Sleeping With The Enemy. Sean Connery and Kim Basinger had originally been linked - but 20th Century Fox would end up with one hell of a deal when Roberts signed up.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, David Fincher's last movie for over five years, and the challenge in bringing a much-loved man to the big screen.

Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl was an absolute publishing sensation. But even before it was released, Reese Witherspoon had snapped it up. Gillian Flynn meanwhile was able to strike an unusual deal for her book, that left her in charge of its adaptation.

The script approach for the story of Fred Rogers, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, went through some fairly dramatic changes. In the end, it'd take nearly a decade to bring to the screen...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In a Film Stories special episode, Oscar-nominated director John Madden reflects with Simon on the release of his latest film, Operation Mincemeat. The pair look at its changing release plans, and its eventual success. Plus the perils of bringing a true story to the screen.

They also touch on the release of Madden's 2016 film Miss Sloane, and go back to investigate the casting of his breakthrough movie, Mrs Brown. All this and more in our latest special episode...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that delayed production to get their star of choice on board.

The Living Daylights - the 15th James Bond film - ended up with around 18 months start to finish to get made. And it was complicated by the fact that the search for a new 007 wasn't going entirely to plan.

With Crazy Rich Asians, the core of behind the camera creatives would have never had to work again had they sold the film to Netflix. But they accepted a much lower offer from Warner Bros for the film - and they certainly had their reasons for doing so.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of sequels that both did well at the box office, but faced other problems.

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer should have been fan gold, and was planned to set up a couple more movies. But the Fantastic Four sequel found itself looking a little out of time - and even promoting it, the cracks were showing.

Jaws 3-D meanwhile nearly ended up a very different film: an official Jaws comedy movie called Jaws 3 People 0. When the decision was made to go 3-D instead? Well, again, let's just say there were problems.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a high budget sequel, and Kevin Costner's first box office disappointment.

The original Speed movie was lean, relatively modestly costed and a big, surprise hit. Speed 2 was pretty much the opposite - and its story ended up being reverse-engineered from a dream its director had.

Revenge meanwhile brought together director Tony Scott and star Kevin Costner, but neither would quite get the film they wanted. And Scott didn't have final cut...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a deeper look at a sequel that took a while to happen, and a film that spawned no shortage of sequels itself.

The wheels of Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) started moving nearly a year before the 2009 reboot of the franchise hit the big screen. Yet it'd have to wait, not least for a definite yet from director JJ Abrams. And there'd be a bit of a post-mortem too.

Beethoven meanwhile generated no shortage of follow-ups - but the story goes its original director wasn't, er, overly keen on dogs. Quite the tail (chortle) this one...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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This episode contains spoilers.

In a Film Stories special episode, director Scott Derrickson joins Simon to chat about his new film, The Black Phone. They talk about adapting and changing the source short story, one or two moments within the film itself, right through to overseeing the release of the film.

Note that the discussion does veer into spoiler territory, hence we're releasing this after the film has landed in cinemas. Nothing major, just things you'd likely rather not know until you've seen the movie!

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of comedy sequels, that each managed to financially outperform their predecessors.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) proved to be a masterclass in how to market a movie. But even ahead of production, all concerned were determined to make it a much bigger film that the original. 

Things weren't quite as straightforward on 2001's American Pie 2, a film that originally Universal wasn't in a rush to make, then suddenly was very much in a rush to make. What's more, it underwent quite significant changes in post-production too...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In a Film Stories special episode, director Dexter Fletcher returns to the podcast. He chats to Simon about his latest project, the Paramount+ series The Offer, about the making of The Godfather (it's streaming on Paramount+ now).

They also find time to chat about projects as varied as Sherlock Holmes 3, Wild Bill, The Saint, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and his upcoming film Ghosted. And we try and land Dexter the Bond job as well...

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In the 250th episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an all-time science fiction classic, and a very difficult comedy sequel. 

1987's RoboCop needs little introduction. Yet the ultra-violent crime-battler was the result of two diffierent film ideas being brought into one. And a bit of a battle with the American ratings board was involved too.

Jim Carrey was contractually obliged to make 1995's Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and it'd put him off sequels for the bulk of his career. Not surprisingly: it proved to be a very, very difficult production.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a Martin Scorsese film that took years to come together, and a career-altering Kevin Smith movie.

The Irishman was a long talked about reunion of Scorsese and Robert De Niro - but it was always set to be expensive, long, and not family-friendly. Just who would want to pay the bill?

Finding a financier was much easier where Kevin Smith's Zack And Miri Make A Porno was concerned - but other problems were around the corner.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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They talk about the coming together of the film, of how it changed since it was originally conceived, and the inclusion of a small shop in London.

Plus, they reflect on Trevorrow's career since his superb debut, Safety Not Guaranteed, and how the ecosystem of the moives has changed since he made it...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a British sensation and the reunion of the Top Gun team.

Trainspotting came together quickly, as director Danny Boyle and his team built on the success of 1995's Shallow Grave. Small problem? Even as the script was being written, the rights to the source book hadn't been secured.

With Days Of Thunder, it looks simple: bring the star, producer and director of Top Gun back together, and box office gold would follow. What happened though was one of the most infamous blockbuster movie shoots of its era.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two box office successes, one far more acclaimed than the other.

Prisoners was the English-language breakthrough film for director Denis Villeneuve. But by the time he got the script, several filmmakers had already come and gone.

Indecent Proposal had no such director trouble, meanwhile. Instead, it had one lead star who wanted to quit, and another whose casting got the studio sued.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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Plus, they touch on David Fincher's impact on Kosinski's career, and the temptation to tinker with the movie during lockdown...

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that did decent box office, but had other problems.

Terminator Salvation ended up in the hands of two producers who got a stroke of luck. However, things began to turn sour as the costs mounted up.

King Ralph meanwhile was a comedy that was filming in the UK - but had to do some careful stepping around the British Royal Family.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of hit family movies with very different stories behind them.

It took a little while for writer/director Paul King to confirm he was returning for Paddington 2. And for the sequel, there was a big idea that didn't fit into the first movie, plus a much-loved sequence that nearly got the chop.

Mrs Doubtfire meanwhile was a film that saw its star, the late Robin Williams, spend over 100 hours in a make-up chair. What's more, it was a movie sparking a lot of behind the scenes debate about its ending.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that both interested Oscar-winning directors - and ended up with different ones.

Steven Spielberg was originally pursuing directing Interstellar. But it was in part for reasons not related to the film he stepped away - and Christopher Nolan took over.

The big screen take on the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street meanwhile had Sam Mendes linked for a while. But it'd be Tim Burton who steered it to the screen - and the trailer proved to be quite infamous.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that - unusually - came together really quickly.

Steven Spielberg had the idea for The Goonies, with Richard Donner directing and Chris Columbus writing. It'd turn out to be a quite a lively shoot, though.

The biggest delay hitting a remake of Father Of The Bride was securing the rights in the first place - oh, and having to replace a major role in the film less than two weeks before filming.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, arguably the forgotten David Fincher movie, and the unmade sequel he nearly directed too.

The Game (1997) originally had a different director involved, but David Fincher was able to get it moving quickly after Seven hit - yet there was a sizeable legal problem with the film.

World War Z 2 should have been a logical project for Paramount after the first film hit, and it quickly greenlit the film. Yet the plug would ultimately be pulled, with the film deep in pre-production.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a trouble Marvel Studios production, and a hugely expensive independent movie. Thor: The Dark World was a sequel quickly greenlit - but it'd prove to one of Marvel's most troubled productions, with problems arising from pretty much the get go. Roland Emmerich meanwhile raised over $130m to shoot one of the world's most expensive independent films, Moonfall. He didn't have studio problems to contend with - but there were plenty of other challenges.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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National Treasure (2004) was originally announced for a summer 2000 release. Yet by the time it finally got going, it had nine writers who'd worked on it - and Nicolas Cage agreeing to star.

1992's Fortress meanwhile was originally developed as a vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. When he turned it down, the budget was slashed - but in the hands of star Christopher Lambert and director Stuart Gordon, it'd be in profit before it opened in America.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an attempt to launch a cinematic universe, and an attempt to not directly follow-up an earlier success.

The Mummy (2017) was the starting point for Universal's planned Dark Universe of movies. Things changed a little when Tom Cruise was cast - but it became clear too late the project was in trouble.

Following the success of Four Weddings & A Funeral, there was an assumption that 1999's Notting Hill would be a sort-of follow up. Not so, the filmmakers insisted - as they faced the challenge of bringing a huge movie star to the streets of London.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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The World Is Not Enough (1999) brought in new writers, an unlikely director, and the press for an American star. And it got on the nerves of some British MPs...

Coda (2021) meanwhile was shot quickly, after nearly a year of preparation. The wait for its release was a long one - and then it looked like it'd come and gone. But then awards season kicked in.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a notorious film of the 1990s, and an early hit of the 1980s.

Last Action Hero was Arnold Schwarzenegger's eagerly-awaited first action movie following Terminator 2. It was billed as the big ticket for summer 1993. Things did not go to plan.

Burt Reynolds meanwhile vowed to never go faster than 35mph in a movie again following a string of car films. But a cheque making him the most expensive movie star in the world for The Cannonball Run helped change his mind...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by actor and writer Simon Farnaby. 

They talk about The Phantom Of The Open, Farnaby's latest work as screenwriter. Plus, other topics that come up include Ghosts, Mindhorn, Bill and a little bit of Paddington 2. Oh, and a tractor as well...

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In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, one film that found an audience, one that struggled to.

Few were enthused at the idea of another Rocky movie, yet alone a spin-off. But a young filmmaker had a pitch for Sylvester Stallone - and the worst case scenario would be he got a signed copy of a Rocky II DVD for his dad.

The Postman meanwhile was Kevin Costner's first directorial outing following his Oscar-winning success with Dances With Wolves. This time though, the reception would be very different.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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Academy Award-winning producer Lord David Puttnam - a giant of the British film industry - joins Simon for a very special episode of the podcast.

They chat about Lord Puttnam's career, his early successes with David Essex-headlined movies, his lifelong friendship with the late Alan Parker, and films as varied as Local Hero, Memphis Belle, Chariots Of Fire, The Mission and more.

Plus: no shortage of thoughts on modern film, the future of the UK industry and a whole lot more...

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In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that both struggled to fully find their audience.

The Iron Giant was quickly regarded as a modern masterpiece. But Brad Bird's directorial debut was made as Warner Bros was shutting down hand drawn feature animation - and the film was only given a release date very late.

The A-Team meanwhile was in development for a good decade at 20th Century Fox before making it to the screen. And it faced some uphill battles of its own.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support this podcast: www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films facing very different challenges.

James Cameron knew he was trying to do things that hadn't been done before on film with 1989's The Abyss. The film would be such a difficult shoot that even its trailer would boast about it.

Big meanwhile earned Tom Hanks his first Oscar nomination. But Robert De Niro nearly starred, and director Penny Marshall had some difficult tonal challenges to balance.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support our work at www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a sci-fi sequel and a low budget romcom, both of which sparked at the box office.

Star Trek: First Contact was ordered whilst the previous film in the series - Generations - was still in cinemas. This time though, there'd be fewer studio mandates, but a very tight production schedule.

The pressure with The Big Sick was on getting the script right: it took years of work before the $5m film went before the cameras, and it all ended up with an Oscar nomination.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support our work at www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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