Film Stories with Simon Brew

1992's Aladdin is one of Disney's most successful animated films. There have been sequels. There's been a live action remake. A Broadway show. Yet on one point in 1991, a day known during the production as 'Black Friday', things went very wrong. And the creative team had less than 18 months to turn things around. The story of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze (1991) was one of haste, and a shoehorned-in rapper. But in the UK, it's also responsible for one of the British Board Of Film Classification's most bizarre issues: and it's all to do with sausages. Stories of both films are told in this, the latest episode of the multi-award-winning Film Stories podcast. Now with sausages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Wan and Leigh Whannell knew they wanted to make a film. They knew they had barely any money. They knew they could afford one room, and a couple of actors. They figured they could keep costs down by chaining the actors up. Made for around $1m in the end, the journey to 2004's Saw was a difficult one. And its behind the scenes story is told in this episode. Plus, actor Domnhall Gleeson and director Michael Pearce then join Simon to talk about the new Apple TV+ thriller, Echo Valley, and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Alex Garland joins us for a conversation about his latest project, and some of his other work too. That latest work is 28 Years Later, which he's returned to write the script for. He talks through his desire to write something he didn't have to direct, and also, some of the threads of the story. Plus, there's a bit of Warfare and Devs in the conversation too. Ryan Lambie is your interviewer for this one, and 28 Years Later is now playing in cinemas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Nolan. A filmmaker long linked with James Bond. A man who loves his spy movies. A man who's got to the point where he can make pretty much any film he likes. 2020's Tenet remains arguably his most divisive, but talk of the film is also wrapped up in the lockdown year of 2020, and his split from long-term studio partner Warner Bros. We dig into the story here. Then! Gina Gershon is co-starring with John Travolta again in High Rollers, and she joins Simon for a long chat about the film, her career, and how her cat reviews movies. Quite the conversation, this...! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chums, talk to producers. They have great stories. For this latest episode of Film Stories, Pixar's Mary Alice Drumm joins me for a long chat about her new film, Elio, and also a long chat about her career. We go from Warner Bros Animation - Quest For Camelot, The Iron Giant! - through to Cinderella II, Curious George and a whole lot more. And then she lands at Pixar, and the story takes further turns. Elio is in UK cinemas on 20th June 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1970s and early 1980s, it was VHS vs Betamax. But in the 2000s, with companies keen to build on the success of DVD, a fresh movie format war sparked. In one corner? It was Blu-ray. In the other? HD DVD. The latter was best positioned to emerge victorious - but it all came to a head over a few days at the start of 2008. Dan Gilroy had built up a career as a Hollywood screenwriter, but only moved to directing in his 50s. His low budget project Nightcrawler broke many of the conventions of feature films - and it'd involve shooting in a lot of place, in not very much time... Stories of both are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by writer/director Dean DeBlois. He's the co-writer and co-director of the original How To Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch films, and after writing and directing the second and third Dragon movies, he's now done the same with the live action remake. Why did he do it? We get into that, as well as live action films that he's come close to making before. Plus, he talks about losing his father, Ireland, and what he's up to next. How To Train Your Dragon is in UK cinemas from 9th June 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legend of 1995's Waterworld suggests that it was a huge flop and a criticial disaster. The truth? It was neither. But it was one of the toughest Hollywood productions of the 1990s, and its story continued even after the arduous shoot was complete. In this episode, Simon goes through the origins of the film as a low budget idea, right through to the emergence of a longer, alternate cut to the film: The Ulysses Cut. The second half of this episode is given over to Len Wiseman, who talks to Ryan Lambie about Ballerina, a lost moment in an OAP's home, Die Hard, getting fired from ILM, and working with Roland Emmerich. Please like, subscribe and all of that stuff. Support us at www.filmstories.co.uk/support. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi-Oscar-winning editor, sound designer, writer and editor Walter Murch joins Simon for a very special episode of Film Stories. Walter's just released his latest book, Suddenly Something Clicked, and it's packed full of advice, plus stories from his extensive career. In this long chat, the pair talk about the Droid Olympics, The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola nearly poisoning him (!), and an unusual project with Mike Leigh. There's a lot more too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The summer of 1989 gave Warner Bros an enormous box office hit with Batman - but not far behind it came Lethal Weapon 2, a sequel turned around in a couple of years, and bringing back most of the key creatives. Not writer Shane Black, though. His much darker idea for the sequel would be rejected, and the tone would duly shift. Plus, we'd get a lot more Joe Pesci as a result. In the second half of this episode, Michael Cera joins us for a chat. There's his work on Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme for a start, but also, some of the lower-profile independent films he's made, and his own plans to direct. Quite a packed episode, this one... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices