In the latest episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a film that struggled against stiff competition, and a genuine surprise hit.
Tim Burton's Mars Attacks was wrong-footed when the Independence Day trailer landed. But the film's roots went back a very long way.
With Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon had been looking for a more commercial film. It took a producer picking up an unsolicited manuscript to put that into motion.
Stories of both are discussed in this episode.
Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.
You can find the Film Stories website here.
Support our work at www.patreon.com/simonbrew.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices