Dunkirk (2017) and Dangerous Minds (1995)

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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