Film Stories with Simon Brew

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 movie directing, Interstate 60, and his work and friendship with Robert Zemeckis. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. Find Michael at @mcatonjones. You can find the Film Stories website here.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 that wanted big star names - not without problems - and the production had to be shut down for 24 hours too... Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 inspiration for U-571 when he was developing The Game. But as he lost control of that film, his submarine movie bubbled up - and hit some controversial waters. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 people wanting to act in it, meanwhile. The problem? Getting insurance for the film, due to its director being pregnant. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 sparked Palookaville and The Full Monty into life. And finally, Uberto's move towards writing and directing his own films. It's an extraordinary career, even if he doesn't think so! Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. Find Michael at @mcatonjones. You can find the Film Stories website here.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Movie, it was a project mooted for well over a decade - and when it finally went ahead, it was a top secret race to the finish. Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 Shades Of Grey - and it didn't help that one of its stars quit weeks before filming. Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 remains one of its darkest family films - and a huge corporate problem at the studio meant it could fly a little under the radar. Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 Forgetting Sarah Marshall to thank for its existence. It was a seven year battle to get the film made. Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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

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 studio had a little panic about it very late in the day. Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. 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