Director Martin Campbell is guest of honour in the latest episode of Film Stories. He's just directed his new film, Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley, and he talks Simon through that, as well as the challenges of independent filmmaking.

Plus! The pair talk about some of Campbell's other directorial work, including Casino Royale, The Mask Of Zorro, No Escape, GoldenEye, Vertical Limit, and some of the other fruitier films on his early CV.

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In a special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by actor Geraldine Viswanathan for a conversation about her most recent work, and her body of work.

That most recent film? Thunderbolts, which also happens to feature a guinea pig. That comes up in conversation. Films such as Bad Education and Blockers are also discussed, and how she goes about choosing her films as well.

Thunderbolts is in UK cinemas now.

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After a week off for Easter, the Film Stories podcast is back with more behind the scenes movie stories. It's going all gangster this time too, with the tale of how Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels had to scale down from a very expensive film to a very cheap one. And the moment when Tom Cruise lent it a helping hand too.

Then it's 1993's Alive, telling a difficult true story on film, and as it turns out, a story that involved around 18 different scripts across a decade or so. The turning point? It might just have been a car bumper sticker!

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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The release of Sinners in cinemas brings with it a special episode of Film Stories, where Delroy Lindo joins Simon for a chat about the film. They also talk about Delroy's career, his key collaborations, his approach to his work and more.

Along with Sinners, you get bits of Malcolm X, Da 5 Bloods, Ransom and Congo in the conversation. Delroy Lindo proves to be quite the interviewee...

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It's a film made for TV that takes the spotlight in this episode of Film Stories, as 1984's terrifying post-apocalyptic Threads moves into the limelight. A film made on a very tight budget, and shot in under three weeks, it was nearly derailed entirely by an American TV production around the same time. And when it did get made and was screened? Well, traffic wardens have never looked so chilling.

20th Century Fox meanwhile had plans for a remake of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express.. When Kenneth Branagh joined, he not only had a decision about facial hair to make, but there was also the challenge of a very large cast with very few days together.

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by filmmaker Patricia Riggen, the director of the brand new action film G20. She talks about making the film, her collaboration with Viola Davis, and the problems she still faces on a movie set.

They also dig back into her film story, from her earlier career, to cemetery exploring for Guillermo del Toro, and a whole lot more...

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There was a brief period in time when the movie Drive was set to star Hugh Jackman, and be backed by a Universal Studios budget. But when they fell through, the movie became an lower budget independent, and for the first time, Ryan Gosling was able to hand-pick a director. He made an unusual, yet very successful choice.

For the second half of this episode, director Christopher Landon joins Simon to chat about his latest film, Drop. In the course of the conversation, they also end up nattering about Happy Death Day, the James Bond saga, and a whole lot more...

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Dinner dinner dinner dinner! Etc. Announced just six months before it landed in cinemas, the much-loved 1966 production Batman: The Movie was a masterclass in moving fast. Shot while the first series of the Batman TV show was still playing, it was written in two weeks, filmed in a month, and premiering in Texas as a result of some help with a boat...

Also filmed in a month? Jason Reitman's 2011 feature Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron. Written by Diablo Cody, Reitman was all set to go with a different film until the Young Adult script came in. Even then, he had a key condition to getting the movie made.

Stories of both are told in this episode...

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Two movies here where audiences went in expecting one thing, and might just have got another. 1991's The Fisher King though for a time was going to be a Disney movie, before the studio decided it was too dark. Directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron were mentioned, before Terry Gilliam - coming off the back of a commercial flop - decided to break all three of his conditions for taking on a film.

Director Joe Carnahan meanwhile was coming off his big studio movie - The A-Team - when he decided he wanted to pivot to something smaller. He chose The Grey, a film he developed, and which would be sold off the back of imagery of Liam Neeson getting ready to punch a wolf. That, though, wasn't the full picture...

Stories of both are told in this episode.

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In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler, for an hour-long chat about his career.

He was in town to talk about his latest film as producer, The Alto Knights. However, the stories take us right to the infancy of his producing career (including Elvis Presley!). Films covered in the chat include Rocky, Rocky IV, Raging Bull, Guilty By Suspicion, The Net, Goodfellas, Busting, Revolution... the list goes on and on.

Quite the chat, this. The Alto Knights is now in cinemas. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/simonbrew

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