Film Stories with Simon Brew

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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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...
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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...
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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...
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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.
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