The Fisher King (1991) And The Grey (2011) Film Stories With Simon Brew podcast

#Cinema #Simon Brew #Movies

26:18

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…

Film Stories with Simon Brew »
The Fisher King (1991) and The Grey (2011)

5 days ago 1:00:12

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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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

375 episodes

Film Stories with Simon Brew

The Fisher King (1991) and The Grey (2011)

Film Stories with Simon Brew

13 subscribers

published 5 days ago

MP3•Episode home

Stories of both are told in this episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

375 episodes

#Cinema #Simon Brew #Movies

All episodes

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
The Fisher King (1991) and The Grey (2011) 1:00:12

5 days ago1:00:12

1:00:12

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
In conversation with Irwin Winkler: Alto Knights, Goodfellas, Rocky, Raging Bull, The Net and more 1:05:26

9 days ago1:05:26

1:05:26

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Are You There God, It's Me Margaret (2023) 1:00:53

12 days ago1:00:53

1:00:53

It had taken five years for Stanley Kubrick to go from 1975's Barry Lyndon to 1980's The Shining. The gap to Full Metal Jacket would be longer, but it'd mark the first in a three picture deal that Kubrick signed with Warner Bros. A deal that would never be completed. Full Metal Jacket was, though, but the making of it was exhausting and exhaustive. And a disused gasworks was just part of the problem. Much-loved novelist Judy Blume was always reluctant to sell the film rights to her books. It took several decades - and a very special letter - before she'd do so. But the challenge of Are You There God, It's Me Margaret was just beginning. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), plus The Russo Brothers 1:09:40

19 days ago1:09:40

1:09:40

For Star Wars spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story , it wasn't supposed to be like this. Infamously, 90 days into photography, parent company Lucasfilm opted for a director change. Out when Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, and in came Ron Howard. And Howard had less than year to retool the movie, and shoot a whole lot of new footage. It remains one of the most infamous Film Stories of the 2010s. For the second half of the episode, Simon is joined by filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo, for a long chat about their career, their new film - The Electric State - and a strange film magazine of the 1970s... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Scent Of A Woman (1992) 57:02

26 days ago57:02

57:02

2016 was a turning point in the world of the X-Men movies. After the big success of 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past , 20th Century Fox spent big on X-Men: Apocalypse , and big things were expected of it. On the other hand, it had taken a gamble with a different X-Men-related project, Deadpool . Things would not go the way that the studio had originally expected. The story of Scent Of A Woman meanwhile is wrapped up in the push for Al Pacino to finally get an Oscar, after several unsuccessful nominations. Not bad, for a film that originally had Jack Nicholson in line for the lead role... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
James Bond 26 (unmade, as of 2025) and Long Shot (2019) 54:48

5 weeks ago54:48

54:48

The path to the 26th James Bond film is one already filled with quite the story. Unmade at the point this episode is released in 2025, James Bond 26 has looked in limbo since the release of No Time To Die in 2021. There's no new 007, no script, no director...and it's an impasse that's cost $1bn to resolve. More conventionally, Long Shot did actually get made, released in 2019. Still, a romantic comedy with movie stars was going to be a tough sell, and a film whose script popped up on the Black List in 2011 had to take its place in the queue behind the infamous The Interview here. Stories of both are told in this episode... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and Waiting For Guffman (1996) 1:02:33

6 weeks ago1:02:33

1:02:33

After the huge success of the original Gremlins , Warner Bros quickly wanted a sequel. The people who'd actually made Gremlins , not least director Joe Dante? The thought of making another was not in the slightest big appealing. Until, many years later, the studio made Dante an offer: if you make Gremlins 2 , you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. This is the story of how the ensuing film became one of the most boldest blockbuster sequels of all time. Later in the same decade, Christopher Guest took a small company of actors down to Texas for a month. On a modest budget, he shot over 50 hours of footage, that'd take over a year to edit into a feature film. Even when the resultant movie, Waiting For Guffman , was finished, it took a long time to earn its reputation as a modern comedy classic... Stories of both films are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
In conversation with Mario and Mandela Van Peebles 53:54

6 weeks ago53:54

53:54

Mario Van Peebles was in London in early February along with his son, Mandela. And the pair stopped by for a long chat about their work, their latest film - Outlaw Posse - and a whole lot more. In this chat, topics include Jaws: The Revenge , the role of a producer, Melvin Van Peebles, the hidden names in the end credits of Outlaw Posse , New Jack City and a whole lot more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
A Knight's Tale (2001) and King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (2017) 59:34

7 weeks ago59:34

59:34

Coming off the back of the film Payback , Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland feared he might be in movie jail. Thus, he got writing, and came up with A Knight's Tale , a film mixing jousting, modern music, Heath Ledger, and a naked Paul Bettany. It took months to shoot in Europe. When it came to the music, David Bowie turned up. And then there's the tale of its sequel that never was. King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword meanwhile was to be the first of six films, as originally pitched. Guy Ritchie came in to direct, and star Charlie Hunnam would admit that the film they started making wasn't the one they ended up with. Quite the story, though. Includes elephants and David Beckham. Tales of both are told in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
September 5 (2024), with co-writer and director Tim Fehlbaum 31:27

7 weeks ago31:27

31:27

In an extra episode of the Film Stories podcast, Simon is joined by director Tim Fehlbaum, as they discuss his new film, the Oscar-nominated September 5. As always, it's a far-ranging conversation, taking in Fehlbaum's earlier work, a name on the end credits of the film, and the attention to detail in making the movie. Plus, a few thoughts on the technical similarities with Saturday Night as well. September 5 is now out in UK cinemas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
Zodiac (2007), plus Brady Corbet 1:10:59

8 weeks ago1:10:59

1:10:59

The path to 2007's Zodiac started when a then-19-year old managed to take out an option on a best-selling book. Then, a few years later, he inked a deal with Disney to make the movie. Fate took a few turns though, and it was the collapse of an $80m television series that would bring David Fincher to the eventual movie. Some people were expecting a film along the lines of Fincher's Seven though. They did not get it... For the second half of this episode, Oscar-nominated director Brady Corbet then joins the podcast to talk about his film The Brutalist , the challenges of which have been well documented. Over a lengthy chat, he talks about the film, the question he's not asked, and - it says here - there's a bit about toilet roll too... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
In conversation with Nicholas Stoller - You're Cordially Invited, The Five Year Engagement, The Muppets, Captain Underpants, Bros and more 52:37

8 weeks ago52:37

52:37

In a special episode of Film Stories, Simon is joined for a long, clickbait-free chat by writer/director Nicholas Stoller. Recorded at the junket for They're Cordially Invited , they explore how that film came together. But also, the conversation covers a whole bunch of other movies. There's Stoller's directing work on the likes of Neighbors / Bad Neighbours, Bros , Get Him To The Greek and The Five Year Engagement . Plus, his writing, on movies such as The Muppets and Captain Underpants . You're Cordially Invited is on Prime Video now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
There Will Be Blood (2007), plus Mike Leigh 1:07:19

9 weeks ago1:07:19

1:07:19

Acclaimed as one of the finest films of the 2000s, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was - at one stage - a movie people weren't keen to pay for. The movie though has an unlikely link to the book Fast Food Nation , and Anderson dropped a different idea to go with it. Then, there was the small matter of the first two weeks of filming having to be pretty much re-done from scratch. The second half of the episode is a career-spanning chat with filmmaker Mike Leigh, that takes in his new movie - Hard Truths , landing in UK cinemas on 31st January 2025 - but also goes back some 60 years to the start of his famous process... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
In conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld: Coen Brothers, The Addams Family, Get Shorty, books, wearing two watches, a whole lot more 1:14:17

9 weeks ago1:14:17

1:14:17

With his brilliant new book - Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time - Barry Sonnenfeld joins Film Stories for a long, funny and candid conversation about his work. The chat covers his director of photograpy days for the Coen Brothers, shooting the last two weeks of Goodfellas , and then moving onto directing. From his debut with The Addams Family , to the challenges of Get Shorty with Gene Hackman and John Travola, and a whole lot more. Quite the chat, this. A little bit of fruity language too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Film Stories with Simon Brew

1
The Producers (1967) and Fierce Creatures (1997) 1:02:06

10 weeks ago1:02:06