Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Film Stories with Simon Brew

After the success of Superman: The Movie and Superman II, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind were quick to promote Superman III - or Superman vs Superman as they originally wanted to call it. But this time around, there'd be problems again, and no shortage of them. Christopher Reeve was rumoured to have had enough, Gene Hackman was outraged at the treatment of director Richard Donner on the previous movies, and a possible plot involving the character of Brainiac was nixed too.

The turning point? An appearance by Richard Pryor on a television show, that led to Superman III being a very different beast to the first two - and a film not without a childhood nightmare with it.

For the second part of this episode, Simon is joined by legendary actor James Spader. He's reprising his role of Ultron from Avengers: Age Of Ultron in Marvel's now-streaming VisionQuest series. And they get into a bit of Crash and Wolf as well...

If you like this independent podcast, please subscribe, please leave a nice review. And if you really, really like it, please don't be shy about heading to www.patreon.com/simonbrew too!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oscar-winning producer Roy Conli is a veteran of Disney animation, having produced or being involved with the likes of Big Hero 6, Strange World, Treasure Planet, Tangled and more. Sporting the finest facial hair in Hollywood, he headed to London to present footage from Disney's upcoming animated feature Hexed.

He's appeared on the podcast before, and he's back for a special episode as he looks forward to Hexed, reflects on Strange World, and fails to repay Simon the £3 he owes him.

If you like this independent podcast, please like and subscribe. Support me at www.patreon.com/simonbrew

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you didn't live through the Batmania surrounding 1989's Batman, it's hard to overstate just what a seismic shift it felt like in mainstream cinema. But also, it's easy to overlook as well that the journey of the film to the screen took a good decade, with lots of problems in landing its tone, a big backlash against its casting, and various directors taking a look.

The actual making of the film was then fraught, with a script that needed small tweaks then being overhauled. Then the mysterious $100,000 prop that needed to be written in, the late re-casting - and the marketing campaign that changed so much.

If you like this podcast, please please please subscribe, leave a nice review, that sort of thing. It really helps independents. Thank you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The sale of Shane Black's The Last Boy Scout screenplay for a then-eyewatering $1.75m (and that wasn't even the highest bid!) set Hollywood alight. It also virtually guaranteed at the time that the film would get made.

When it did? The reunion of Bruce Willis and Joel Silver seemed like a good idea after their Die Hard successes. Tony Scott as director? That should work. They'll all get on like a house on fire, right? Er...

In the second part of this episode, writer, actor, director, comedian and Midlander Steve Oram joins Simon to chat about his role in the indie film Crushed, which is available on digital now. A bit of Sightseers sneaks in too.

As always, if you like this independent podcast, please do subscribe and leave a nice review. Thank you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special episode of Film Stories, writer/director Brian Duffield chats to Simon about his brand new movie, Whalefall. Well, not just that. The pair also natter about The Muppets, about working in a clothing factory, just what happened with Jane Got A Gun, the story of Guillermo del Toro and Stephen King noticing No One Will Save You, and a whole lot more...!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin joins Simon for an elongated chat about The Social Reckoning, Facebook, compromised reviewers, and how the pair would overhaul the James Bond saga.

Plus! There's chatter about old film magazines, about making stories based on true people, plus Aaron Sorkin chats too about those times when Jerry Bruckheimer gives him a call...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a huge episode of Film Stories, Simon digs into the story of Daniel Craig's second adventure as James Bond, Quantum Of Solace. Originally set to come out just 18 months or so after 2006's Casino Royale, the speedy turnaround saw one director leave, a writer's strike curtail the script. Daniel Craig picking up a pen, and a handful of weeks to turn around a final cut.

Then, for the second part of this episode, indie director Brenda Lee chats about her new film, Fortune Cookies, and how she turned down the idea of getting it sent to Ang Lee to make it herself...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter M Hoffman has had a very, very storied career. From working with Alexander Salkind on the original Superman movies, through to Cannon Films and Carolco, it was his tax specialism that saw him rise to prominence in Hollywood.

But his story took one hell of a turn, as he discusses in this special episode of Film Stories, and in his new book, Karmic Winds: Reflections From The 'Smartest Guy In Hollywood'...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The road to The Inbetweeners Movie was a fairly swift one. Even while the hit British TV comedy was bringing in big ratings for E4, its creators - Iain Morris and Damon Beesley - were filing away ideas for an eventual movie.

When the opportunity came, time was not on its side: filming had to begun just six months before The Inbetweeners Movie was due in cinemas. It turns out too that if you're looking to shoot a movie set in the middle of summer, March isn't necessarily the best time to do it. Simon Brew tells the story...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon Brew turns to his attentention to the Apple TV show Slow Horses, which has just returned for its sixth season. The man directing season 6, as he did season 4, is Adam Randall.

He chats to Simon about landing the Slow Horses job, making the first film for Netflix UK many years ago, the IMDB movie with Miles Teller that he's linked with but has never heard of, and a whole lot more...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Cameron knew as he pitched Titanic to 20th Century Fox that it wasn't likely to be as commercial a film as the one he'd just done, True Lies. The budget was set to be lower, the release date was initially set for just a year after the start of filming, and there was to be no song.

What happened changed his career and many others. From the unhappy crew member drugging the food table, to press reports of a production out of control, Simon Brew digs into the extraordinary story behind one of the biggest movies of all time...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two different creatives share their film stories in this special episode of the podcast!

First up, Oscar-winner Susanne Bier talked to Simon the day after the Practical Magic 2 premiere in London. The pair natter about the the film, about the set build, and what Susanne is up to next.

And then producer Ken Petrie joins, a man who's had an unusual journey to film producing. Just how do you get from doing the pytotechnics at a Katherine Jenkins Christmas show, to producing the acclaimed indie comedy Sunny Dancer?

You'll hear both conversations in this episode...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1989's Parenthood started life on a long haul flight. Director Ron Howard would tell of how 'testing' it was to do such a journey with kids in tow, and soon, he realised there was a film in it. But it'd be a movie where he, producer Brian Grazer, and writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, would end up mining their personal lives. Plus, it was going to need one hell of an ensemble cast.

For the second part of this episode, Simon is joined by Robert Carlyle, who has just directed for the third time. Fittingly, it's a short film called three, and Robert talks about why he made it, how it differered from his other directing film, plus the importance of putting the bins out...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In UK cinemas now is the third film from writer/director Michael Sarnoski, The Death Of Robin Hood. Headlined by Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer, it's a hugely ambitious independent movie, with a very different spin on a well-known character.

Sarnoski joined Simon Brew for a Film Stories special, chatting about the movie, about filming in Northern Ireland, about the weather, and about shooting on film.

Plus, the pair talking about working with Nicolas Cage on Pig, an assortment of videogames, Sarnoski's upcoming Death Stranding movie, and the deadly nature of Split Fiction...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure already playing in cinemas, plans moved quickly for a sequel. Originally entitled Bill & Ted Go To Hell, the movie that became Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey survived the financial problems of the studio behind it, and brought in a first-time director, with a really tight schedule to turn the film around.

In the first part of this episode, Simon tells the story of the film. In the second, he's joined by two of its stars, Alex Winter and William Sadler, to put their side of things.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey has just made its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut in the UK, courtesy of Arrow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1994's Speed may now be regarded as an action classic, but the original idea was a bus that didn't go above 20mph, in a film called Minimum Speed. Sat for a late summer release in 1994, things changed after a really successful test screening - and Keanu Reeves' haircut! - but it'd gone over a lot of hurdles to get to that point.

Plus: where's Speed 3?!

In the second half of this episode, director Dave Green joins Simon to chat about the terrific Coyote Vs Acme, a film that very, very nearly didn't exist...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director Adam Shankman shot the joyously entertaining Stop! That! Train! in under three weeks, and it arrives in cinemas this very weekend in the UK.In this special Film Stories interview, he talks to Simon Brew about getting the film made, as well as his time producing the Oscars, the short film that got him started, Hairspray, and an upcoming Christmas movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger too...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Bond 007 took a grittier turn with 1989's Licence To Kill, an adventure that was the first and only Bond film very specifically written for Timothy Dalton.

It was an attempt to turn Bond grittier, and would mark the end of an era for many involved in the saga. Plus, it would end up doing box office battles with some tougher than expected competition.

For the second half of this episode, Simon is talking Dead Man's Shoes with actor Toby Kebbell, for whom it marked his first film apperance. The movie is finally available on Blu-ray for the first time, and Toby is not short of stories about it...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up front, you can find Simon's tour dates at www.filmstories.co.uk/live.

Simon Brew has been touring the UK with Film Stories in 2026, and in June 2026, he landed at the lovely Plaza Cinema in Truro. There, for an hour and half, he and Mark Kermode talked movies. And lots of them.

In this special recording, you can hear the pair talk about dentistry, John Travola, Event Horizon, The Devils, The Exorcist II, Howard The Duck, Masters Of The Universe and a whole lot more...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian De Palma's 1993 movie Carlito's Way was not a box office success. De Palma managed to predict the critical reaction to the film, reacted to studio notes saying it was too long by making it longer, and had to retool the finale action sequence very late in the day.

Even getting it to filming was a challenge - and the option to the source books would be taken out ten different times before Carlito's Way finally made it to production....!

The story is told in this episode. Please subscribe, leave nice reviews, and don't annoy Benny Blanco from the Bronx...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Costner gambled hard on making a three hour western, a third of which wasn't in the English language. He turned down roles in The Hunt For Red October and Presumed Innocent to take the risk of making Dances With Wolves. And while history tells it as a masterstroke, in the months leading up to the release, it looked anything but.

In this episode, Simon digs into the story of the film, the fact that it was millions short of its modest budget when shooting began... and now, the tale of three different cuts of Dances With Wolves too.

If you like this independent podcast, made in a small room in the West Midlands here in the UK, please leave a nice review and subscribe. If you really like it, head over to www.patreon.com/simonbrew too.

Thank you so much for listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I hear you, folks! Do more Marvel films? Gotcha! Let's go back to 1986, and Howard The Duck, the stunning-ish George Lucas-produced film of the subversive comic book character.

Howard The Duck would become notable on its release, but its production alone would have been worth the stories. Malfunctioning ducks, cigars, tonal conversations, George Lucas' chosen director passing on the film, and a fallout in the Universal boardroom afterwards? The making of is just as odd as the film.

Then! For the second part of this episode, live from Simon's recent show in Manchester, former Empire editor Terri White in conversation about Armageddon, regional cinema, and the Rocky franchise.

For more live shows - and print magazines! - head to www.filmstories.co.uk.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2000's Gladiator might be regarded as a classic now, but heck, did it have some bumps on its way to the screen. A script that was a long way from finished. A leading man, er, 'not too thrilled' with the fact said screenplay was constantly in flux. The death of Oliver Reed before the end of filming. And the worries of a studio that happened to be making its biggest-ever film. The story is told in this episode.

Plus, the second half is spent in the company of BAFTA-winning director Morgan Matthews, chatting about films such as 500 Miles (now in UK cinemas), The Railway Children Return, X+Y, and a £1 bet.

Please leave a nice review and subscribe. Thank you for supporting this independent podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just as Tom Cruise embarked on his run of Mission: Impossible and Top Gun sequels, he slipped in one of bolder choices too: an R-rated crime caper, based on a true story. Originally called Mena before being retitled American Made, the shoot saw the writer, director and star of the film living in the same house.

It also saw wildly ambitious flying sequences, a tragic accident, a challenge when selling the film and a whole lot more....

Please subscribe to this show if you like it and leave a nice review. Support us at www.patreon.com/simonbrew

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Campbell - he of Taskmaster and Last One Laughing - has made a comedy series about films. In Make That Movie, he and his crew face a filmmaking challenge each episode. All six episodes are streaming now on 4.

Sam joins Simon Brew for a conversation about the show, but it doesn't take long for it to go off track. Banana, VHS tapes, old films,a samurai sword? It's quite the chat...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Outside of the very well known rules, there's a whole load of other stuff about 1999's Fight Club.

There's the director who turned the book down, freely admitting they didn't get it. There's the moment when the budget was suddenly going to soar. There's the bit where the studio boss knew he was going to hit trouble for greenlighting the film (and boy, did he). And then there was a studio left with a film it didn't know how to market.

The story is told in this episode. Please subscribe, leave nice reviews, and try not to punch us hard in an after hours fighting establishment...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over 30 years since its original release, Strictly Ballroom - the debut feature from Baz Luhrmann - is back in cinemas with a 4K remaster. In a Film Stories special, Simon chats to its star - Paul Mercurio - about the making of the film, and looking back on it now.

Plus! Paul talks homebrew, cooking, and making Garry Marshall's S&M comedy, Exit To Eden...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The original Jurassic Park movie was set to land a few years earlier than it did. Announce in 1990, director Steven Spielberg would move on to making Hook while some of the art team were moved to Death Becomes Her.

The reason for the delays? How on earth do you bring dinosaurs to life. Even when that was cracked, though, there was a moment during the shoot when real life peril outweighed dino danger.

Even when the film was done, there was the looming threat of Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to cinema with Last Action Hero. It wouldn't turn out to be much of a blockbuster battle...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea wasn't a bad one. With the cost of X-Men movies spiralling, 20th Century Fox was interested in a lower cost, slightly more niche film in the saga. One that could perhaps appeal to a teen audience, that wouldn't put quite the strain on the old finances.

Josh Boone - off the back of The Fault In Our Stars - was brought in to write and direct, a dream project for him. But the dream would soon turn sour, with two big, unexpected obstacles, and a whole lot of to and fro over potential reshoots...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alicia MacDonald first feature film as director, Finding Emily, turns out to be a Working Title-backed romantic comedy, the kind that used to fill British cinema charts. Albeit with a twist!

In this Film Stories special, she talks to Simon Brew about launching her first feature, the years on her way up when she found herself alongside Mike Leigh, and in a room while Alan Rickman watched her type. Plus a whole lot more...

Finding Emily is now in UK cinemas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director Thea Sharrock is the guest for this special edition of the Film Stories podcast. She joins Simon to chat about her new film, Ladies First, which stars Rosamund Pike and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Plus! There's time too for conversation about Wicked Little Letters, The One And Only Ivan, directing Equus on Broadway, and the state of the chairs in the posh London hotel she happens to be sitting in.

If you like this podcast, you can support it at www.patreon.com/simonbrew

Please subscribe, like and that sort of thing too. Thank you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven Spielberg's 1991 movie Hook was supposed to be his perfect project. The director compared to Peter Pan, making the story of Peter Pan never growing up? What could go wrong?

Well, plenty. In this episode of Film Stories, Simon Brew charts the tale of how Spielberg lost control of Hook's production, how it became tied up with a major Hollywood acquistion, and why unexpected competition in the winter of 1991 didn't help its cause either.

Plus: why was Spielberg himself not keen?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, James Cameron's interest in making a third Terminator movie seemed to wane. However, that didn't stop others trying to take things forward.

And whilst Arnold Schwarzenegger would, for many years, insist that he'd only make T3 with Cameron, a string of underwhelming box office performers started to have an impact for Arnie.

That said, just securing the rights to Terminator caused no end of challenges, and would drive a wedge between James Cameron and two of his friends. And that's just part of the story...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Zemeckis' 1997 film of Carl Sagan's Contact is a remarkably grown-up science fiction movie for a summer blockbuster. Starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, it took nearly 20 years to bring the story to the screen - and along the way, Mad Max director George Miller was hired and fired too. It's quite a story, told by Simon Brew in this latest episode.

Plus! Oscar-winning filmmaker David Frankel chats to James about The Devil Wears Prada 2, and the short film that earned him an Academy Award...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's pretty well known that originally, Steven Spielberg was interested in directing a remake of Cape Fear, and that Martin Scorsese held the rights to what became Schindler's List. That the two then swapped projects. Yet that's just part of the story.

In this episode of Film Stories, Simon Brew digs into Scorsese's dislike of the project when he first came to it. Of Robert De Niro's tattoos. Of Nick Nolte not being recognised at the premiere of Goodfellas. And he uncovers a useful lesson in booking your location right near an airport...

Patreon: www.patreon.com/simonbrew

www.filmstories.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 1990 saw Disney spend big on a summer movie, at a point when that was the last thing it was inclined to do. But 1990's Dick Tracy - specifically the way it was promoted - was hugely influenced by Warner Bros' success with Batman the year before.

Dick Tracy though by that time had already taken around 15 years to come to the screen - and the aftermath of it would lead, bizarrely, to the creation of the film Jerry Maguire.

If you like this podcast, please do like and subscribe. Simon Brew is on tour with Film Stories too. Go to www.filmstories.co.uk/live-events for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The summer of 1999 brought with it some huge successes, and also the combination of Will Smith, Salma Hayek and Kevin Kline in Wild Wild West. Based on the TV show from the 1960s, this became a hugely expensive Warner Bros blockbuster, one that George Clooney saw the problem with and duly dropped out of fairly late in the day.

In this episode of Film Stories, Simon digs into the story of the movie, and how Will Smith faced a choice: does it take the lead role in this, or does he make The Matrix instead...?!

Please subscribe and leave nice reviews! Thank you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Feig returns to the Film Stories podcast, to chat with Simon about a whole bunch of stuff. There's The Housemaid - with a clearly marked spoiler! - and The Housemaid 2. There's also Bridesmaids at the Oscars, an attempt get Spy 2 moving, the long-lost idea of a Play-doh movie, and a whole lot more.

Bit sweary this one. Please like and subscribe and stuff!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director David Mackenzie stops by to chat about his new film, Fuze, in the latest episode of the Film Stories podcast. Ryan Lambie steps in to to chat to David about his work, and films such as Young Adam, Starred Up, the mighty Hell Or High Water (which Mackenzie chats about revisiting recently) and Relay.

Plus a whole lot on Fuze, in cinemas now, and his plans for future projects...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1980, an option was taken out on Judge Dredd with a view of getting a movie of Mega City One's legendary law enforcer to the big screen. In the years that followed, it looked like Tony Scott might direct a film based on 2000AD comics' most famous character, with Arnold Schwarzenegger sniffing around.

In the end, 1995 saw a seasoned movie star in Sylvester Stallone and a twentysomething British film director called Danny Cannon realising the film. Turned out to be quite a story...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett work as filmmakers under the collective name of Radio Silence, and they've been out and about promoting their new film, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come.

The poor pair had to suffer a conversation with Simon for their sins, that touched on the new movie, on films such as Abigail and Devil's Due, plus tips of the hat to very expensive chairs and the Sega Dreamcast console...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No two ways about it, 2000's X-Men movie was a massive gamble. At a time when studios needed movie star vehicles, 20th Century Fox found itself without a summer blockbuster due to a delay on a Tom Cruise film. It'd already greenlit and backtracked on X-Men once.

When the film finally got going? Well, there'd be well-reported behind the scenes problems. A star who wasn't cast until shooting began. And a story that requires a fair amount of use of the word 'allegedly'...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In person, Simon got to meet - after years of interviewing them remotely - writers/producers/directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. Chaos absolutely ensued.

In this Film Stories special, they talk about Project Hail Mary, the second best Rocky film, choosing to do a project because it's a good idea for a change, and a whole lot more...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of 1997, Kevin Costner's second film as director - The Postman - made its way into cinemas, at the end of a difficult year for Warner Bros. The $80m, three hour movie would be savaged by critics, and fail to find an audience - but there was quite the story behind the film, before and after.

There's quite a story too to Wag The Dog, a movie that could fit into the schedules when a far more expensive project was hit by a delay. And the political satire that followed made headlines for unexpected reasons within months of its release.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a special episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, where Simon is joined by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Drew Goddard. Drew was in town to talk about his script for Project Hail Mary. But as you're about to hear, the conversation goes off in a lot of different directions: from directing Bad Times At The El Royale and Cabin In The Woods, to writing The Martian, to, er, Police Academy...

Project Hail Mary is in UK cinemas from 20th March.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jared Leto was the reigning Joker. Todd Phillips couldn't get the films he wanted to do off the ground. The DC range of movies was having a whole range of challenges for Warner Bros. And constant changes at the studio were leading to regular challenges of direction. In the midst of this, a relatively slim production, Joker, would have notable ramifications.

Similarly slim, Cat's Eye marks the first credited screenplay for a man called Stephen King. But this too had challenges, when the original financing plan fell apart. And then, another film - Firestarter - had a bit of a knock-on effect...

Stories of both are told in this episode. Please like/subscribe/leave nice reviews. Thank you!

Find more at www.filmstories.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the late 1980s, Kevin Costner - pre-Dances With Wolves - first had the idea for what became the Horizon movie saga. A hugely-ambitious series of westerns, that he'd ultimately star in, co-write, and direct. By 2026, two films had been made, only one released, and around ten minutes shot of a third. So what's happened?

For the second half of this episode, Simon is joined by director Andrew Stanton, chatting about his new film In The Blink Of An Eye. The pair chat science fiction, semi-colons, a fruity toy, John Carter, and a whole lot more...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The plan was for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to spend around six months in the UK for the filming of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick had been mulling the film for decades, and considering a couple of other projects, too. But the shoot of Eyes Wide Shut would ultimately be his final film - and it's end up in the Guinness Book of Records.

For Ben Elton, he was keen to pursue making the film Maybe Baby, having enjoyed success with the same story in his novel Inconceivable. But his insistence on a particular piece of casting nearly derailed the whole project.

Stories of both are told in this episode. Please do like and subscribe and leave nice reviews!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The art of movie testing isn't just about researching finished films. It's also testing the very concept of a movie, that can determine both whether it gets made, and what it gets made for.

In a special episode of the podcast, a man who you may not have heard of joins Simon. Yet Kevin Goetz has certainly had some impact on the films you watch. His new book - How To Score In Hollywood, written with Bob Levin - digs into this. And in this special chat, we uncover some of his work...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was very different times for Marvel when, in the 1990s, it struck an assortment of deals over screen rights for its characters. For the purposes of this tale, the Incredible Hulk, for whom Universal snapped up the rights.

The deal done then continues to have some ramifications now, but the first fruits of it? Ang Lee's 2003 movie Hulk, starring Eric Bana. Arriving the year after Sam Raimi's Spider-man, it turns out there was an early alarm bell that they might have got the tone a little wrong...

More on the film, and the ongoing sequel issues, in this episode...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.