In this episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that benefitted from surges in popularity for their leading actors.
The action movie Broken Arrow would ultimately end up in the hands of director John Woo, his second Hollywood feature. John Travolta led the cast. And oddly, it all came together in the way it did thanks to Free Willy 2.
Julia Robert ... Show More
Yesterday
In conversation with Tiff Stevenson | Movies, and featuring in a film that shouldn't be any good
She's a comedian, writer, actor and film nerd, and Tiff Stevenson also is a go-to for hosting things on boats, it turns out! In this Film Stories special, she talks about her role in a film called Slotherhouse. A horror slasher movie, with a sloth in it. As the pair discuss, it s ... Show More
33m 30s
Jan 12
Almost Famous (2000) and Cellular (2004) | A box office stumble, and an underappreciated action thriller
Regular episodes of Film Stories with Simon Brew resume for 2026, with two very different films in the spotlight. First up there's Cameron Crowe's superb Almost Famous, a film he got the greenlight to make in the aftermath of Jerry Maguire's success. A hugely personal story, here ... Show More
1h 3m
Dec 2021
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Shane Black
As the writer of movies like Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Iron Man 3, Shane Black is a true screenwriting auteur, known for his scripts' pulse-racing action, quippy dialogue and genre-skewing surprises. At the heart of his stories are usually two odd- ... Show More
1h 18m
Jun 2023
Sliver and Sharon Stone as Superstar (Erotic 90’s, Part 12)
Sharon Stone and Joe Eszterhas’s post-Basic Instinct reunion film was one of the most troubled productions of the 90s. A post-Hitchcock tale of sexual surveillance given a technological update for the 90s, after a long battle with the MPAA the sanitized, R-rated version of Sliver ... Show More
1h 21m
Apr 2023
Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy and Julia Roberts in the early 90s (Erotic 90’s, Part 2)
The first blockbuster about sex of the 90s, Pretty Woman both reinvigorated Richard Gere’s career, and turned Julia Roberts into the biggest female movie star of the era. We’ll dissect the gender politics of this fantasy about love between a streetwalker and a corporate villain, ... Show More
1h 13m
Nov 2020
10 Things I Hate About You with Karen McCullah and Kirsten ‘Kiwi’ Smith
<p>Kirsten ‘Kiwi’ Smith and Karen McCullah are the writers behind the timeless high school comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. Released in 1999, their Gil Junger-directed teen reworking of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew had it all: big laughs, blossoming romance, coming-of-age ... Show More
51m 56s
Oct 2022
The Julia Roberts Hall of Fame and ‘Ticket to Paradise’
Julia Roberts, the once (and maybe future) queen of the box office returns to movie theaters this weekend with ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ a rom-com reunion of sorts with George Clooney—her first starring role on the big screen in four years. Amanda and Sean will review this new film, ... Show More
1h 40m
Apr 2023
“The actress everybody wants to fuck”: Theresa Russell and Sondra Locke (Erotic 90’s, Part 3)
An enigmatic sex symbol dating back to the 70s, Theresa Russell made a play for Hollywood stardom in the late 80s and early 90s, making a number of films about the sexual commodification and role playing. Ken Russell’s Whore was marketed as a gritty answer to Pretty Woman, showin ... Show More
1h 28m