Film Stories with Simon Brew

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of movies that hit big, both with difficulties behind them. The Firm was the first of John Grisham's novel to make the jump to the big screen. But notable changes were going to be made, and there was a bit of kerfuffle over the star billing on the poster. Meet The Parents was actually a remake of a 1992 movie. At one stage Steven Spielberg...

For the 200th episode of Film Stories, a 1989 modern classic that still feels incredible it got through the Hollywood system. That film is Field Of Dreams, and for this special episode, we're delighted to welcome the film's writer/director Phil Alden Robinson. He doesn't give many interviews, and he tells - candidly - the story of the film coming together, and the challenges they faced. Plus, he t...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of big hit movies, that each had their challenges to make. With The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone was on acting, writing and director duties. But he ended up with as many injuries as there were action stars in his film, and it'd be a taxing movie to make. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids was the brainchild of Re-animator director Stuart Gordon,...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that in their own ways changed the course of a few things. Even though Pierce Brosnan was keen to return, the James Bond producers went for a reboot with Casino Royale. It would be a decision not shy of sizeable challenges, not least thanks to some financial troubles. The aftermath of DreamWorks Animation's Rise Of The Guardians tends t...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer and director Kevin Reynolds. They talk about his high profile films (Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, Waterworld), his indie breakthrough with Fandango, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and One Eight Seven. Plus, the shoot from hell with Rapa Nui, heading to the small screen with Hatfield & McCoys, finding the sweet spot with...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, one film that overperformed its box office expectations, and one that didn't. Kevin Costner had won an Oscar for his first directorial outing, but his second - The Postman - had been widely criticised. His third, Open Range, would be a very tricky film to get off the ground. Off the back of Airplane!, comedy team Zucker/Abrahams/Zuckler had less...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that both interested the Oscars, albeit taking very different paths. Martin Scorsese may finally have won his Oscar for The Departed, but he saw this one as a B movie, and editing delays meant he only saw the very final print for the first time at its premiere. With La La Land meanwhile, it was seen as a very risky film by Hollywood, an...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer, producer and director Bob Gale. They talk about various elements of the Back To The Future trilogy, not least the pressures of the back-to-back filming of Part II and Part III. And, of course, of bringing Back To The Future to the stage in a brand new West End musical. They find time too to discuss Bob's venture into movi...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a Steven Spielberg film that took a long time to make, and a 1980s romcom with a casting challenge. Ready Player One (2018) was subject of a sizeable bidding war. When Steven Spielberg finally came to the film, he'd be able to complete and release a different film from scratch during its post-production. Working Girl (1988) had a parent studio th...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an action favourite with a lot of writers, and a war movie hit that ended up criticised in UK Parliament. The Rock (1996) utilised lots of writers, and its stars - Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris - all had significant input. Director Michael Bay meanwhile would do a bit of battle with Disney over the film. Jonathan Mostow first had the insp...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films that each came together quickly, and each topped the US box office  Hollywood was keen at the start of the 2000s to lure Eminem to a movie project. Thus, 8 Mile came together - a film where he was in pretty much every scene. Problem? He'd never acted before. To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar had no shortage of peopl...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer, producer and director Uberto Pasolini. Uberto talks about his new film, the acclaimed Nowhere Special. And the pair go through his career, from buying his own ticket to the set of The Killing Fields, his work alongside David Puttnam, through to his time in Hollywood. Then, they chat about his jump into producing that spar...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a film that took some rescuing from a Hollywood studio, and another that required one hell of a deal to even get going. A Few Good Men started off as a Broadway hit: but come the movie version, executives were really rather keen to cram a sex scene in the middle of it. And its first-time screenwriter was powerless to stop it. As for The Simpsons...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a film that brought one saga to an end, and another that launched a new trilogy. X-Men: Dark Phoenix was supposed to right some earlier wrongs - but its ending got retooled in post-production, and it got caught up in Disney's takeover of Fox too. The creative control awarded to author E L James meanwhile created challenges on the film of Fifty Sh...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that fell short of expectations at the box office, but whose reputation has endured. 1980's Flash Gordon was nearly directed by Nicolas Roeg (with Sergio Leono and Federico Fellini rumoured), and when it did get going, there was a sequel planned from the off. But things didn't go to plan. Disney's animation The Hunchback Of Notre Dame r...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two big screen returns: one that went a little bit better than the other. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) saw Christopher Reeve return to play the Man of Steel. But a late more than halving of the production budget played havoc with the film, and led it to Milton Keynes. The Muppets (2011) meanwhile in a small way had the hit sex comedy F...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films with very different levels of studio expectation. Much was resting on RoboCop 2 being a huge success, but it didn't bode well when it got its final director just days before filming began. And the studio was very hands on. Drop Dead Gorgeous was a much lower-budget project, with a writer and director who didn't really click. Plus, its s...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer and director Paul W S Anderson. They chat about Monster Hunter (2020), his latest feature that's finally landing in UK cinemas. But also Anderson's love of videogames, of the first Space Invaders machine, the logistics of filming in the middle of nowhere and more. Oh, and there's a bit of Event Horizon too... Find Simon on...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two Oscar-winning movies  The likes of Michael Mann and Mel Gibson toyed with directing Good Will Hunting, and the original idea effectively got cut in two. Plus there was a cunning trick in its script. Fame came together quicker, but it faced a fair few problems - including the New York Board of Education being very unhappy with the tone of the...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a blockbuster that needed a late casting change, and an indie success that struggled to get actors interested. Maverick at one stage interested the likes of Paul Newman and Meg Ryan. And when it did get filming, the first half hour was pretty much dropped months before release. On the other hand, Secretary spent pretty much a year in limbo as hig...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, an ensemble film with a reluctant director, and a Shakespeare take that made its studio nervous. Sneakers took years to simply write - and then when it came to finding a director, the man who took the job on had suggested John Badham first. Romeo + Juliet meanwhile needed Leonardo DiCaprio to fly himself to Australia just to keep the studio inter...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a superhero movie that changed course, and a musical that struggled to get going. Two months into filming on Daredevil (2003), the first Spider-Man movie went stellar at the box office - and Fox figured it might have a bigger project than it thought on its hands. With The Greatest Showman (2017), the studio was less sure - leading to Hugh Jackman...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer and director Will Gluck  They talk about his new film, Peter Rabbit 2, and having to wait an extra year for its release. How did the response to the first movie alter it, and what were the challenges?  Also: Will's love of opening credits, the challenges of releasing Annie in the midst of Sony's troubles, and directing Eas...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that had very, very long journeys to the big screen. The Man From UNCLE (2015) was months away from starring Tom Cruise, and at one stage Steven Soderbergh was about to start filming too. But the project went through lots of changes. Phone Booth (2002) kept its original writer for over 30 years, and lots of star names nearly took the le...

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, a pair of films that worked from relatively low budgets and turned into sizeable hits. Taken (2008) was originally set to star Jeff Bridges, and eventual lead Liam Neeson suspected it might go straight to DVD. Plus, there were fears piracy had scuppered its US chances. With American Pie (1999), the film was written and sold in under two months -...