In the latest episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two hit blockbuster movies. One helped make Keanu Reeves a (bigger) star. The other made against a deadline and a half.

1994's Speed was nearly postponed when 20th Century Fox executives saw Keanu Reeves's haircut. Plus, the studio didn't want to cast Sandra Bullock.

X-Men: First Class, meanwhile, hired Matthew Vaughn to co-write and direct the movie. And the schedule was so tight, its finale was filmed just weeks before the movie was in cinemas.

Stories of both are discussed in this episode.

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

You can find the Film Stories website here.

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