The very future of the James Bond movie franchise was resting on The Spy Who Loved Me. Producer Albert R Broccoli was contending with the dissolution of his business partnership, a potential rival film, and an underperforming previous 007 film. Plus, questions about his leading man.

And it was a leading man causing conversations when it came to Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach. Where was Steve Guttenberg? Come to think of it, where was Bobcat Goldthwait? And could the enduring franchise survive?

The behind the scenes stories of both movies are told in this episode. Please note this is the last regular episode of Film Stories for a few weeks, while I take some summer downtime. Specials will follow...!

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The behind the scenes stories of two movies, starting with Naked Gun 33 1/3, a movie that saw franchise director David Zucker opt to step back, and thirtysomething Peter Segal make his directorial debut. The problem? There was a comedy to make, and Segal was struggling to get a connection with his leading man, the late Leslie Nielsen.

2000's Cast Away meanwhile would be a movie that contributed to health problems Tom Hanks has put up with since. It made a volleyball famous, and notably, it's a film that took so long to make, that director Robert Zemeckis shot and released another movie entirely in the midst of Cast Away's production schedule.

Stories of both films are told in this episode...

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He's currently - at the time of recording - touring the UK with his Mr Swallow show, but Nick Mohammed is also one of the leads in Deep Cover, a really impressive UK film that's riding high on Prime Video.

In this Film Stories special, he talks to Simon about his ventures into movies, joining Slow Horses, the impact of Ted Lasso, and his love of magic...

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Nearly 500 episodes in, and the Film Stories podcast finally arrives at a Godfather film. Specifically, The Godfather Part III, a fascinating project whose behind the scenes story went on for over a decade. The number of attempts to get the film made climbed into double figures, named such as Sylvester Stallone, Madonna and John Travolta were amongst those linked.

But also: writer/director Francis Ford Coppola was not keen to make the movie.

Writer/director Amy Heckerling had an opposite problem with Clueless. She was keen to make the story, but for a while, she couldn't get anyone to stump up the bill. When they did? Well, Heckerling finally got some of the respect she deserved...

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, director Ilya Naishuller joins Simon to talk about his new film, Heads Of State.

Thing is, they talk about a hell of a lot of other things too before they get there. Nunchuks, sausages, Hardcore Henry, grief, CG on a pint of bitter, Nobody, trying to work a clapperboard... quite a conversation this, with some fruity language included.

Heads Of State is now streaming on Prime Video.

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1992's Aladdin is one of Disney's most successful animated films. There have been sequels. There's been a live action remake. A Broadway show. Yet on one point in 1991, a day known during the production as 'Black Friday', things went very wrong. And the creative team had less than 18 months to turn things around.

The story of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze (1991) was one of haste, and a shoehorned-in rapper. But in the UK, it's also responsible for one of the British Board Of Film Classification's most bizarre issues: and it's all to do with sausages.

Stories of both films are told in this, the latest episode of the multi-award-winning Film Stories podcast.

Now with sausages.

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James Wan and Leigh Whannell knew they wanted to make a film. They knew they had barely any money. They knew they could afford one room, and a couple of actors. They figured they could keep costs down by chaining the actors up.

Made for around $1m in the end, the journey to 2004's Saw was a difficult one. And its behind the scenes story is told in this episode.

Plus, actor Domnhall Gleeson and director Michael Pearce then join Simon to talk about the new Apple TV+ thriller, Echo Valley, and more...

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Alex Garland joins us for a conversation about his latest project, and some of his other work too.

That latest work is 28 Years Later, which he's returned to write the script for. He talks through his desire to write something he didn't have to direct, and also, some of the threads of the story. Plus, there's a bit of Warfare and Devs in the conversation too.

Ryan Lambie is your interviewer for this one, and 28 Years Later is now playing in cinemas.

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Christopher Nolan. A filmmaker long linked with James Bond. A man who loves his spy movies. A man who's got to the point where he can make pretty much any film he likes.

2020's Tenet remains arguably his most divisive, but talk of the film is also wrapped up in the lockdown year of 2020, and his split from long-term studio partner Warner Bros. We dig into the story here.

Then! Gina Gershon is co-starring with John Travolta again in High Rollers, and she joins Simon for a long chat about the film, her career, and how her cat reviews movies. Quite the conversation, this...!

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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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