Film Stories
Film Stories with Simon Brew is a podcast that looks to dig into the stories behind popular movies.From troubled productions, to rights issues, to difficulties with release to films nearly falling apart, the podcast will be looking at the stories that don't always seem apparent when watching a movie! The podcast is hosted by Simon Brew, the founder of Den Of Geek. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/simonbrew. Thank you!
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Episodes
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Saw (2004), plus Domnhall Gleeson and Michael Pearce
Monday, 23 June 2025
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
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In conversation with Alex Garland
Friday, 20 June 2025
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
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Tenet (2020), plus a huge interview with Gina Gershon
Monday, 16 June 2025
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 abou...
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In conversation with Pixar producer Mary Alice Drumm
Friday, 13 June 2025
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
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The HD DVD disc format (2006) and Nightcrawler (2014)
Monday, 9 June 2025
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 o...
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In conversation with Dean DeBlois
Friday, 6 June 2025
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....
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Waterworld, including The Ulysses Cut (1995), plus Len Wiseman
Monday, 2 June 2025
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...
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In conversation with Walter Murch
Friday, 30 May 2025
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
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Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), plus Michael Cera
Monday, 26 May 2025
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...
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In conversation with Mia Threapleton - The Phoenician Scheme, dyslexia, Tesco ClubCard
Friday, 23 May 2025
Mia Threapleton, in her teens, was obsessed with Moonrise Kingdom, and wanted to work with Wes Anderson. Fast forward to now, and she's the standout of his new film, The Pheonician Scheme. In this long interview, she talks about working with Wes, about how dyslexia affects how she processes a script, and why she keeps being stuck on trains when she gets important phone calls. The Phoenician Scheme is in cinemas now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) and Pixar's Newt (abandoned)
Monday, 19 May 2025
The future of the Mission: Impossible movies was up in the air after the third film, with Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise parting ways. It took some bridge building to get a fourth movie going, and even then, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol would bring with it changes. Plus, a contingency plan to replace Tom Cruise as the figurehead of the franchise going forward... Pixar meanwhile, around the same time, was working on an animated movie called Newt, that to this day remains the only time it announced a film, and then abandoned it. Both stories are told in this episode... Learn mo...
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In conversation with Bobcat Goldthwait | God Bless America, Robin Williams, cat biscuits, odd Amazon reviews and more
Friday, 16 May 2025
In a very special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by writer, director, actor and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, for a conversation about his film career. In the wide-ranging chat, taking place as God Bless America arrives on the Studiocanal Presents streaming channel in the UK, Bobcat tells us about his approach, The Muppets, and why he writes reviews of cat biscuits on Amazon... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Jurassic Park (1993) and Booksmart (2019)
Monday, 12 May 2025
The behind the scenes stories of two films some time in the making come together in this episode, starting with 1993's Jurassic Park. A film made at a point when Steven Spielberg's box office touch was being questioned. A movie that, had a battle for the rights gone the other way, could have been made by one of Tim Burton, Joe Dante or Richard Donner. As it was, Universal and Spielberg made the movie, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger-headlined Last Action Hero was set to go head-to-head with it. 2019's Booksmart meanwhile took ten years to get made, even though its budget was well under $10...
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In conversation with Martin Campbell - Cleaner, Zorro, No Escape, GoldenEye, James Bond and more
Monday, 5 May 2025
Director Martin Campbell is guest of honour in the latest episode of Film Stories. He's just directed his new film, Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley, and he talks Simon through that, as well as the challenges of independent filmmaking. Plus! The pair talk about some of Campbell's other directorial work, including Casino Royale, The Mask Of Zorro, No Escape, GoldenEye, Vertical Limit, and some of the other fruitier films on his early CV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In conversation with Geraldine Viswanathan: Blockers, Thunderbolts, guinea pigs and more
Thursday, 1 May 2025
In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by actor Geraldine Viswanathan for a conversation about her most recent work, and her body of work. That most recent film? Thunderbolts, which also happens to feature a guinea pig. That comes up in conversation. Films such as Bad Education and Blockers are also discussed, and how she goes about choosing her films as well. Thunderbolts is in UK cinemas now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Alive (1993)
Monday, 28 April 2025
After a week off for Easter, the Film Stories podcast is back with more behind the scenes movie stories. It's going all gangster this time too, with the tale of how Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels had to scale down from a very expensive film to a very cheap one. And the moment when Tom Cruise lent it a helping hand too. Then it's 1993's Alive, telling a difficult true story on film, and as it turns out, a story that involved around 18 different scripts across a decade or so. The turning point? It might just have been a car bumper sticker! Stories of both are told in this episode... ...
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In conversation with Delroy Lindo
Thursday, 17 April 2025
The release of Sinners in cinemas brings with it a special episode of Film Stories, where Delroy Lindo joins Simon for a chat about the film. They also talk about Delroy's career, his key collaborations, his approach to his work and more. Along with Sinners, you get bits of Malcolm X, Da 5 Bloods, Ransom and Congo in the conversation. Delroy Lindo proves to be quite the interviewee... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Threads (1984) and Murder On The Orient Express (2017)
Monday, 14 April 2025
It's a film made for TV that takes the spotlight in this episode of Film Stories, as 1984's terrifying post-apocalyptic Threads moves into the limelight. A film made on a very tight budget, and shot in under three weeks, it was nearly derailed entirely by an American TV production around the same time. And when it did get made and was screened? Well, traffic wardens have never looked so chilling. 20th Century Fox meanwhile had plans for a remake of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express.. When Kenneth Branagh joined, he not only had a decision about facial hair to make, but there w...
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In conversation with director Patricia Riggen | G20, Jack Ryan, cemeteries with Guillermo del Toro
Thursday, 10 April 2025
In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by filmmaker Patricia Riggen, the director of the brand new action film G20. She talks about making the film, her collaboration with Viola Davis, and the problems she still faces on a movie set. They also dig back into her film story, from her earlier career, to cemetery exploring for Guillermo del Toro, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Drive (2011), plus director Christopher Landon on Drop, James Bond, Happy Death Day and more
Monday, 7 April 2025
There was a brief period in time when the movie Drive was set to star Hugh Jackman, and be backed by a Universal Studios budget. But when they fell through, the movie became an lower budget independent, and for the first time, Ryan Gosling was able to hand-pick a director. He made an unusual, yet very successful choice. For the second half of this episode, director Christopher Landon joins Simon to chat about his latest film, Drop. In the course of the conversation, they also end up nattering about Happy Death Day, the James Bond saga, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choic...
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Batman: The Movie (1966) and Young Adult (2011)
Monday, 31 March 2025
Dinner dinner dinner dinner! Etc. Announced just six months before it landed in cinemas, the much-loved 1966 production Batman: The Movie was a masterclass in moving fast. Shot while the first series of the Batman TV show was still playing, it was written in two weeks, filmed in a month, and premiering in Texas as a result of some help with a boat... Also filmed in a month? Jason Reitman's 2011 feature Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron. Written by Diablo Cody, Reitman was all set to go with a different film until the Young Adult script came in. Even then, he had a key condition to gett...
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The Fisher King (1991) and The Grey (2011)
Monday, 24 March 2025
Two movies here where audiences went in expecting one thing, and might just have got another. 1991's The Fisher King though for a time was going to be a Disney movie, before the studio decided it was too dark. Directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron were mentioned, before Terry Gilliam - coming off the back of a commercial flop - decided to break all three of his conditions for taking on a film. Director Joe Carnahan meanwhile was coming off his big studio movie - The A-Team - when he decided he wanted to pivot to something smaller. He chose The Grey, a film he developed, and ...
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In conversation with Irwin Winkler: Alto Knights, Goodfellas, Rocky, Raging Bull, The Net and more
Thursday, 20 March 2025
In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler, for an hour-long chat about his career. He was in town to talk about his latest film as producer, The Alto Knights. However, the stories take us right to the infancy of his producing career (including Elvis Presley!). Films covered in the chat include Rocky, Rocky IV, Raging Bull, Guilty By Suspicion, The Net, Goodfellas, Busting, Revolution... the list goes on and on. Quite the chat, this. The Alto Knights is now in cinemas. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/simonbrew Lear...
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Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Are You There God, It's Me Margaret (2023)
Monday, 17 March 2025
It had taken five years for Stanley Kubrick to go from 1975's Barry Lyndon to 1980's The Shining. The gap to Full Metal Jacket would be longer, but it'd mark the first in a three picture deal that Kubrick signed with Warner Bros. A deal that would never be completed. Full Metal Jacket was, though, but the making of it was exhausting and exhaustive. And a disused gasworks was just part of the problem. Much-loved novelist Judy Blume was always reluctant to sell the film rights to her books. It took several decades - and a very special letter - before she'd do so. But the challenge of Are Yo...
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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), plus The Russo Brothers
Monday, 10 March 2025
For Star Wars spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story, it wasn't supposed to be like this. Infamously, 90 days into photography, parent company Lucasfilm opted for a director change. Out when Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, and in came Ron Howard. And Howard had less than year to retool the movie, and shoot a whole lot of new footage. It remains one of the most infamous Film Stories of the 2010s. For the second half of the episode, Simon is joined by filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo, for a long chat about their career, their new film - The Electric State - and a strange film magazine of the 19...
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X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Scent Of A Woman (1992)
Monday, 3 March 2025
2016 was a turning point in the world of the X-Men movies. After the big success of 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past, 20th Century Fox spent big on X-Men: Apocalypse, and big things were expected of it. On the other hand, it had taken a gamble with a different X-Men-related project, Deadpool. Things would not go the way that the studio had originally expected. The story of Scent Of A Woman meanwhile is wrapped up in the push for Al Pacino to finally get an Oscar, after several unsuccessful nominations. Not bad, for a film that originally had Jack Nicholson in line for the lead role... Lea...
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James Bond 26 (unmade, as of 2025) and Long Shot (2019)
Monday, 24 February 2025
The path to the 26th James Bond film is one already filled with quite the story. Unmade at the point this episode is released in 2025, James Bond 26 has looked in limbo since the release of No Time To Die in 2021. There's no new 007, no script, no director...and it's an impasse that's cost $1bn to resolve. More conventionally, Long Shot did actually get made, released in 2019. Still, a romantic comedy with movie stars was going to be a tough sell, and a film whose script popped up on the Black List in 2011 had to take its place in the queue behind the infamous The Interview here. Stories ...
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Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and Waiting For Guffman (1996)
Monday, 17 February 2025
After the huge success of the original Gremlins, Warner Bros quickly wanted a sequel. The people who'd actually made Gremlins, not least director Joe Dante? The thought of making another was not in the slightest big appealing. Until, many years later, the studio made Dante an offer: if you make Gremlins 2, you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. This is the story of how the ensuing film became one of the most boldest blockbuster sequels of all time. Later in the same decade, Christopher Guest took a small company of actors down to Texas for a month. On a modest budget, he shot o...
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In conversation with Mario and Mandela Van Peebles
Friday, 14 February 2025
Mario Van Peebles was in London in early February along with his son, Mandela. And the pair stopped by for a long chat about their work, their latest film - Outlaw Posse - and a whole lot more. In this chat, topics include Jaws: The Revenge, the role of a producer, Melvin Van Peebles, the hidden names in the end credits of Outlaw Posse, New Jack City and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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A Knight's Tale (2001) and King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017)
Monday, 10 February 2025
Coming off the back of the film Payback, Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland feared he might be in movie jail. Thus, he got writing, and came up with A Knight's Tale, a film mixing jousting, modern music, Heath Ledger, and a naked Paul Bettany. It took months to shoot in Europe. When it came to the music, David Bowie turned up. And then there's the tale of its sequel that never was. King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword meanwhile was to be the first of six films, as originally pitched. Guy Ritchie came in to direct, and star Charlie Hunnam would admit that the film they started maki...
