In conversation with Pixar producer Mary Alice Drumm
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.
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52:06
The HD DVD disc format (2006) and Nightcrawler (2014)
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 of both are told in this episode.
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58:14
In conversation with Dean DeBlois
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.
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49:13
Waterworld, including The Ulysses Cut (1995), plus Len Wiseman
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 working with Roland Emmerich.
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1:15:57
In conversation with Walter Murch
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...
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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!
Ireland