In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, how Paramount gambled heavily on a Michael Crichton book, and Warner Bros dug deep for an unusual blockbuster.

Congo started as a project dreamed up in the 1970s as a vehicle for Sean Connery. By the time it made it to the screen, its author would be having nothing to do with it.

For Conspiracy Theory, Julia Roberts took a lot of persuading to do the film - and it didn't help that Warner Bros wasn't happy with the movie's price.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod.

Support our work at www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

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