In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that had very, very long journeys to the big screen.
The Man From UNCLE (2015) was months away from starring Tom Cruise, and at one stage Steven Soderbergh was about to start filming too. But the project went through lots of changes.
Phone Booth (2002) kept its original writer for over 30 years, ... Show More
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 24
The Romesh Ranganathan episode (Film Stories 500 celebration live from London)
To celebrate Film Stories turning 500 episodes old (and then some!), a very special live recording took place in London in November 2025. Long-time Film Stories supporter Romesh Ranganathan joined Simon Brew on stage to go through his, er, 'storied' cinema career and talk movies. ... Show More
1h 30m
Feb 2020
Introducing the Movie Director Game, With Sam Esmail | The Big Picture
Movies have the February blues, so we enlisted a friend of the show to liven things up. 'Mr. Robot' creator and movie fanatic Sam Esmail joins Sean and Amanda and comes bearing a new game to play that reveals a lot about their favorite directors, personal taste, and how they view ... Show More
2h 2m
Jun 2023
#570 — Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston
Wes Anderson's new film, Asteroid City, has so many incredible actors in it that we were able to send John Nugent to the Cannes Film Festival recently, steal three of them away for interview purposes, and put them back before anyone even noticed. So, in this week's episode of the ... Show More
1h 37m
Dec 2020
The Steven Soderbergh Rankings, Featuring Steven Soderbergh!
Acclaimed filmmaker and 'Big Picture' hero Steven Soderbergh returns with a new film on HBO Max, 'Let Them All Talk.' Sean and Amanda discuss his new movie, the news that he will be one of the producers of next year's Academy Awards ceremony, and rank his 30-plus films and TV pro ... Show More
1h 41m
Jun 2024
David Koepp (Jurassic Park; Spider-man; Mission Impossible)
Jurassic Park, Spider-man, Mission: Impossible, Carlito's Way, Indiana Jones, Bad Influence, Kimi, Snake Eyes, Panic Room, Presence, Black Bag, and even more. We're lucky to have David Koepp on today's episode. Want to participate in a writing workshop this summer with Ben Blacke ... Show More
1h 4m
Dec 2021
Back To The Future with Bob Gale
Great Scott, it’s the end of season two so we're going out with a 88mph, 1.21 gigawatt bang. Joining us before we make like a tree and get out of here, as Biff Tannen might say, is none other than Bob Gale –writer of the iconic Back To The Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, thi ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 2024
‘The Bikeriders’ and the ‘Dudes Rock’ Movie Canon, Plus ‘Kinds of Kindness’
Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss ‘The Bikeriders,’ a new Jeff Nichols movie starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer (1:00). They discuss the film’s successes, its influences, and more, before building a partial canon for movies in the “dudes rock” ge ... Show More
1h 53m