In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two films that had struggles with their casting.

The hugely controversial Showgirls are one stage got close to landing Madonna. But the reunion of writer Joe Eszterhas and director Paul Verhoeven would battle a whole host of problems.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle was a more modest, off-radar production. But it still had two lead female roles that Hollywood stars weren't particularly keen on taking on.

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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