A film that's not yet happened - at the time of recording! - takes centre stage in this Film Stories episode. In 2019, Quentin Tarantino released his apparently penultimate film as director - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - but five years on, it's no clearer what his final film will be. It doesn't look like it's going to be The Movie Critic, as had been suggested.... One film that did happen? How about the wildy successful Erin Brockovich? A 2000 movie that brought with it the challenge of...

In this special episode of Film Stories, Dan Stevens joins Simon to talk about his latest film, Abigail. They talk about the making of the film, the sort-of crossover with Cocaine Bear, and why it needed to be shot in a certain order. Plus, they also touch on drinking receptables, Colossal, choosing roles, and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two risky films take centre stage in this episode of Film Stories, starting with Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. A 170-minute film released in the midst of a summer jammed with over 100 films to choose from in cinema. Who would have thought it'd prevail at the box office? Spielberg for one wasn't too worried: but also, he came to it directly after making The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad. No wonder he had to rely heavily on his instincts. Fran Kranz meanwhile, better known for...

In this special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Philip Martin, chatting days after the release of his latest film. That movie is Scoop, the dramatisation of the infamous BBC interview with Prince Andrew. The pair chat about Philip's early work, his time in Canada trying to break into the film industry, then jetting to Los Angeles at one point to pitch to John Travolta. Then there's Scoop, and the challenges of making a film where everybody pretty much knows...

A pair of bang up to the minute films in this episode of Film Stories, both of which enjoyed the fruits of viral marketing. Saltburn (2023) had been in the head of its writer/director Emerald Fennell for years before she even got to work on her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman (2020). The catalyst? A really rather famous scene in with a bathtub. But who could have guessed how the internet would take hold of her film post-release? In the case of Mean Girls (2024), the battle was on to hide...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Dolph Lundgren. Yep, that Dolph Lundgren: not only Ivan Dragon, but a writer, director, actor, TED Talker, academic and lover of cats. They chat about his latest directorial outing, Wanted Man, that's available on UK digital services now. Plus, which version of Rocky IV is the best, why his cat has ended up in the end credits of his latest film, his love of watching Sex And The City, and a chat about the impact of putting...

There's a Ghostbusters theme running through this episode of Film Stories, starting off with a dive into 1989's Ghostbusters II. Dismissed by critics on its release and not matching the commercial performance of the 1984 original, the movie had a very difficult path to the screen. Then, when it finally started moving forward, it found itself in a queue with films such as Twins and Scrooged, to which others had commitments to. We dig into that in this episode - including the crucial meeting in...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director and co-writer Gil Kenan joins to talk about his latest movie, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. He tells Simon about being one of four people to direct a Ghostbusters movie, and the one moment where it hit him how monumental that was. Plus, how filming got underway one year before release, the practicalities of puppets, and some of the career challenges that led to this moment too. Plus, reflections on Kenan's own story, and what got him...

It's back to the 1980s in this episode of the Film Stories podcast, kicking off with one last James Bond 007 adventure for Roger Moore. A View To A Kill - teased at the end of 1983's Octopussy as From A View To A Kill - came together initially with little fuss for a James Bond movie. Roger Moore was quickly invited back. John Glen was asked to direct even before he'd finished the last film. Pinewood Studios was booked. And then the problems: question marks over whether Roger Moore was too old...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director Phillip Noyce joins Simon for a good, long chat.   They talk about many of films from across Noyce’s career, starting with his latest, Fast Charlie. The Pierce Brosnan-headlined pulpy thriller has quite the story of its own.   From there, the conversation moves across Noyce’s career: from the printer of Clear & Present Danger, working with Rutger Hauer on Blind Fury, the crisis of confidence surrounding The Giver and the impact...

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...

In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined by writer/director Jeff Wadlow, as he releases his new film - Imaginary - into the world. There's therefore discussion about that, the challenge of making a traditional 'Blumhouse' film, and working with puppets too. Along the way, they chat too about Truth Or Dare, 2005's Cry Wolf and - yes! - The Muppets. Plus, some words on The Adrenaline Film Project, a tremendous initiative that's very close to Jeff Wadlow's heart. Imaginary is in...

Superhero movies? Oh, go on then. A pair of very different projects take centre stage here, at different ends of the budget spectrum. 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice was a pivotal movie for Warner Bros, and a big screen showdown that it'd first attempted nearly 20 years previously. This time, director Zack Snyder was effectively charged with leading the fightback against Marvel and its cinematic universe - and his Batman/Superman showdown would have plenty of ramifications. In the...

A very warm welcome to the Film Stories podcast to screenwriter (and producer!) Eric Roth. He joins Simon for a conversation that goes right back through his career: from working on a hit Airport movie, to thinking he picked the wrong ending for the thriller Suspect. Things turned in the 1990s though with the success of Forrest Gump, and Roth reflects on that, as well as touching on films such as Michael Mann's masterpiece, The Insider. We come right up to date too with Killers Of The Flower...

Two films with very short titles in this episode, starting with a comedy favourite from the 2010s. Director Paul Feig broke out of movie jail with 2010's Bridesmaids - and he used his freshly-inked deal with 20th Century Fox to get his own take on a James Bond film to the screen. Thing is: how do you persuade studio executives that Jason Statham can be a comedy lead? And, come to think of it, how do you convince Jason Statham? As for 1986's F/X, here was a movie written with television...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, a pair of guests join Simon to talk about the really, really good indie film American Star, and the ecosystem of independent filmmaking. A guessable spoiler for the film is dropped by Ian McShane in the conversation. Director Gonzalo López-Gallego and his star/producer Ian McShane talk about how the film took years to come together, and then was shot in under a month, and edited in under a month. The pair clearly enjoyed working together, and...

The Fantastic Four take centre stage on the Film Stories podcast, with a pair of films that each had their demands. The 2015 Fantastic Four was set to reboot the characters on the big screen, and give 20th Century Fox another ongoing superhero franchise. Yet this didn't go to plan at all. Director Josh Trank was hired, and wouldn't get to make the film he wanted. Others were quite happy to point the finger at Trank. Either way, the film would struggle. Yet at least it'd get a release. In...

In this latest episode of Film Stories, we start with sharks. Very big sharks. A story imagined by a young screenwriter's memory of a childhood incident, that he eventually turned into a script. Then that script would go on to become Deep Blue Sea. There were challenges, though: should the tone be Jaws-like? Or Jurassic Park? Or Alien? And then the very late need for more footage to be shot too. In the case of 1984, adapted from George Orwell's novel of the same name, time was a luxury they...

In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-nominated director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema for a long chat about his work. They talk extensively about Hoyte's work with Christopher Nolan, not least on Oppenheimer. But also, there's a bit of Dunkirk and Interstellar in there. Furthermore, a few words on working on the James Bond movie SPECTRE too. Plus: the chances of working with Tomas Aldredson again. Oppenheimer is available now on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K...

Neither The King Of Comedy nor I Love Trouble were met with strong box office or enthusiastic reviews on their initial releases - but one has fared a lot better since. 1982's The King Of Comedy would be the last time Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese would unite for many years - and for a long time it was a project that appealed more to De Niro than Scorsese. Still, after a damp initial response, the film's reputation has grown. A lot. Not so with 1994's I Love Trouble, a rare movie...

Was there ever a bigger casting furore in the 1990s than when Tom Cruise landed the role of Lestat in Interview With The Vampire? Based on the book by Anne Rice, the author herself was incandescent, taking out advertising the slam the casting. Meanwhile, there were issues over keeping the rights - and problems that could have been avoided had John Travolta - as was once planned - accepted the role in the 1970s! The late Tina Turner meanwhile claimed that - for very good reasons - she never...

In a special episode, Simon is joined the writer and director Juan Antonio Bayona for a conversation about his work and his latest film. That movie is the Oscar-nominated (at the time of writing) Society Of The Snow, an extraordinary drama shot over more than 100 days. Bayona talks about his process and the duty of care involved in telling the story, as well as the importance to him of a long shoot. They touch on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Impossible, The Orphanage and A Monster...

Two individual filmmakers take centre stage in this episode of Film Stories, starting with Quentin Tarantino. For a decade, he was talking in interviews about making a World War II movie called Inglorious Bastards, but he swerved making it for a long time, in favour of the Kill Bill movies and Death Proof. He argued he didn't have writer's block: he just couldn't stop writing it. He changed the title to Inglourious Basterds, set himself a firm deadline, and started shooting just eight months...

In this very special episode of Film Stories, Simon welcomes Oscar-winning writer and director Alexander Payne to chat, in part, about the newly-released The Holdovers. Yet this is a bit of a different chat, as their conversation not only takes in the film, but also the process of finding the spark for a movie, the process of being interviewed for the release of a feature, and some book recommendations as well. Hope you enjoy the conversation, and The Holdovers is now playing... Hosted on...