Film Stories with Simon Brew

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...
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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...
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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.
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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...
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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...

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