Hollywood Gold

When Steve Martin first approached Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers about rewriting the script for a modern take on the 1950 Spencer Tracy film FATHER OF THE BRIDE, Charles wasn't sure. He thought the script was truly awful, but he took the meeting and told Steve the script wasn't good enough for him. Charles and Nancy proved a dynamic duo behind the scenes, creating scenes full of heart and humor f...

Producer Josh Penn recalls leaving the Obama campaign to try his hand at movie producing, and striking gold with 2012's BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. Not only was the film nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, it grossed nearly 10x its budget at the box office. Not having much film experience served the filmmaking team well because their optimism, ingenuity, and confidence is...

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green recalls the challenges of making a film about the legendary Bob Marley. One of the hardest tasks was finding the right actor to embody Marley mind, body, and soul. Rei and the producers reviewed many audition tapes and almost lost hope when Kingsley Ben-Adir entered the picture. Not only did he look like Marley, he dedicated himself to learning to sing in Bob's accen...

Directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon glide us through the making of 2007's hit comedy BLADES OF GLORY. Having made their mark directing a few iconic commercial campaigns, the duo went into directing their first feature film with a little too much confidence, and hit their first big challenge when Ben Stiller decided the role felt too repetitive for him and stepped away from the lead...

Writer/Director (and Daniela's stepdad) David Ward recounts how he hit a box office home run with 1989's MAJOR LEAGUE. At a time when both baseball movies and baseball as a sport were struggling, he managed to create the perfect formula for a sports underdog story. Performances from Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, and Tom Berenger combined to make the perfect cast of quirky characters that everyone...

Writer Kiwi Smith recalls the making of the 2001 classic LEGALLY BLONDE. Fresh off of her first hit 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, Kiwi and her writing partner Karen McCullah were eager to find a story centered on female empowerment that was fun, fresh, smart, and accessible. She found all that and more in an unpublished manuscript about a sorority girl going to Stanford Law. Kiwi remembers wearing p...

In this special edition of Hollywood Gold, we give you a post mortem of all the biggest moments from the 2024 Academy Awards! From the Emma Stone win to the epic Ryan Gosling "I'm Just Ken" moment, Daniela, Becca and special guest, Riva Marker, discuss it all!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Producer Jeremy Thomas remembers the making of 1987's legendary film THE LAST EMPEROR. Jeremy was a young indie producer with an eager spirit and a history of ingenuity when iconic director Bernardo Bertolucci approached him about making a film about the last Emperor of China. Jeremy knew it would be a feat to accomplish such an undertaking, but instead of shying away from the challenge, he leaned...

On this week's episode of the Hollywood Gold Podcast sponsored by Kalshi, Daniela, Becca, and Vanessa discuss the 2024 Oscars race and give their predictions. For more information on how you can participate in all the fun, head to Kalshi.com/HollywoodGold and place your first $10 bet today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Producers David Hinojosa and Pamela Koffler discuss the making of last year's powerful film PAST LIVES. From first time feature director Celine Song, the film explores the themes of love and destiny through a story of immigration and reconnection. It was recently nominated for two Oscars, including Best Picture, thanks in part to the performances from leads Greta Lee and Teo Yoo. The film's path t...

Writer/producer David Hemingson reflects on the making of 2023's THE HOLDOVERS, which is nominated for 5 Oscars. An established TV writer, David didn't take it seriously at first when iconic director Alexander Payne called him about the film. Once he realized the film was going to get made and Alex suggested Paul Giamatti, David recalled how his father and Giamatti's father were friends at Yale. T...

Producer Jonathan Glickman joins Hollywood Gold again to discuss the making of 1995's classic romantic comedy WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING. Made at a time when a good romcom could launch the career of an unknown actress, Sandra Bullock's star turn put her into a category alongside the likes of Julia Roberts and Demi Moore, both of whom were offered the part. As a young producer in charge of running a s...

Producer Debra Martin Chase returns to Hollywood Gold to talk about the making of 2005's THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, a film that resonated (and still resonates) with countless women as it showcases the enduring value of female friendship. Based on the popular novel by Ann Brashares, Debra knew the film would need an incredible director and cast to portray the multitude of emotions with...

Director/Producer Elizabeth Banks, who always impresses us with her vast array of talents, joins Hollywood Gold for a second time to discuss one of 2023's most talked about movies, COCAINE BEAR. Banks responded to the script as soon as she read it as she was looking for an unexpected follow up to CHARLIE'S ANGELS. The myriad difficulties of having a CGI bear as the main character were amplified by...

Producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe discuss the long and winding road to production for Yorgos Lanthimos' fantastical POOR THINGS, which was just nominated for a mind-blowing 11 Oscars. The producing pair had been fans of Yorgos' Greek films, and helped him successfully navigate the transition to English language films beginning with 2015's breakout THE LOBSTER. Having worked with Emma Stone on hi...

Producer Janet Yang recounts the making of 1993's groundbreaking adaptation of Amy Tan's THE JOY LUCK CLUB. After trailblazing a career path bridging the gap between American movies and Chinese audiences, Janet got her first taste of producing with Spielberg's EMPIRE OF THE SUN. Her initial experience of THE JOY LUCK CLUB was reading three chapters of the unpublished manuscript, but she knew right...

Producer Sean Covel details the making of 2004's surprise box office smash NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. In contrast to the poppy, feel-good films of the early 2000s, Sean saw genius in the offbeat humor of the film's unlikely hero. Despite being difficult to cast with the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Jack Black, and Bruce Campbell all passing on the project, the filmmakers eventually found movie magic and a st...

Editor Wyatt Smith guides us through the making of the most ambitious Disney live action remake to date. Wyatt, fresh off the remake of another Disney classic (Mary Poppins Returns), was involved in THE LITTLE MERMAID from day one with his frequent collaborator, director Rob Marshall. The filmmaker faced numerous challenges from updating the music, lyrics, and characters to modernize the story, to...

Producer Nina Jacobson recounts the making of 2012's wildly successful THE HUNGER GAMES, the adaptation of the hit book series that became a cultural phenomenon and catapulted Jennifer Lawrence to superstardom. Nina, fresh off a gig as the head of Disney, used her studio experience to navigate the tricky road to successfully launch the first film of a female-centered action franchise that is still...

Producer Wendy Finerman discusses the making of 2006's Oscar-nominated classic THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Wendy was confident in the unexpected casting of Meryl Streep in a role that many didn't think she would be funny in, and was proved right when Meryl truly embodied a role that immortalized Vogue's already famous Anna Wintour. Paired with the brilliance of Anne Hathaway and a young Emily Blunt in...

Producer Bruce Cohen recounts the making of 2012’s Oscar winning Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell’s brilliant film about a bipolar man and the widow who changed his life. Not only did the film launch a young Jennifer Lawrence into a new career stratosphere and encourage Bradley Cooper’s interest in directing, it remains one of the few films to be nominated for the Big Five Oscars. David O...

Producer Dan Levine recalls the making of 2016's iconic ARRIVAL. From the moment he read Ted Chiang's STORY OF YOUR LIFE, Dan knew he had to find a way to bring it to the screen. Director Denis Villeneuve, an incredible talent but still relatively unknown, was the perfect choice. Producers had to wait until Denis wrapped SICARiO, but things moved quickly once Amy Adams came on board and suggested...

Producer Sarah Pillsbury details the Superstar women both in front of and behind the screen who made1985's iconic film DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN. Taking a risk on newcomer Madonna, an emerging musician who would walk the streets of New York with a boombox on her shoulder, turned out to be a genius bet. "Like a Virgin" was released during production and Madonna suddenly became a superstar in need o...

Multi-hyphanate writer, director, and producer Nancy Meyers shares how studios initially rejected her idea for a romantic film about an older couple. No one wanted to see people of a certain age be sexy, but Meyers believed in the value and impact of telling a non-traditional love story. Meyers' brilliant writing and masterful production design found their perfect match in stars Diane Keaton and J...

Producers Jason Michael Berman and Jordan Moldo talk about the kismet involved in assembling the perfect team to tell Sonny Vaccaro's story in AIR. From the marriage of sports, movies, and aritst equity in the production comapnies, to Ben Affleck boarding as director, to securing the dream cast and the blessings of Sonny, Michael Jordan, and Nike, the producers describe a production that felt like...