It Happened in Hollywood
“If You Don’t Change the Movie, You Won’t Direct ‘Wayne’s World 2′”: How Mike Myers and Lorne Michaels Faced Off With Director Penelope Spheeris
Wayne’s World director Penelope Spheeris is setting the record straight about rumored clashes with star Mike Myers on the set of 1992’s Wayne’s World — the first scripted feature for both of them. “It was not an uncomfortable set,” Spheeris, 77, tells THR‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast. “Mike is hypoglycemic, so if he got […]
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Terry Gilliam: Robert De Niro Helped Rescue ‘Brazil’ From Oblivion
Now widely regarded as a masterpiece, Terry Gilliam’s 1985 dystopic dark comedy Brazil was very nearly shelved by Universal. But one of its stars — Robert De Niro — played a hand in rescuing it from oblivion. “The studio did not like the movie at all,” says Gilliam on The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in […]
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Meet the 91-Year-Old Mastermind Behind ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’
His books have inspired everything from Rian Johnson’s Knives Out to Black Mirror‘s “Bandersnatch” episode. Now Edward Packard is telling all about the creation of Choose Your Own Adventure, the groundbreaking interactive book series that turned “you,” the reader, into the hero. Joining The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast, Packard, 91, details how […]
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What Is ‘The List?’: In Hollywood, Survival Means Being on It
It’s an open secret in Hollywood — and your place on it can mean the difference between career life or death. It’s “The List”: a constantly shifting roll call of the most bankable actors in Hollywood. While the powers that be would never admit to it, such an index does exist, as verified by writer-director […]
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Porn Star Harry Reems Nearly Starred in ‘Grease’ — and Five Other Surprises About the Making of the 1978 Blockbuster
Deep Throat star Harry Reems was hired to play Coach Calhoun in the 1978 Paramount blockbuster Grease. It all unraveled, however, when studio executives caught wind of the plan and forced producer Alan Carr to fire the adult film star from the production. That surprising detail came out on the latest episode of It Happened […]
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Director Walter Hill Regrets Cutting Gay Gang the Dingos From 1979’s ‘The Warriors’
Dismissed by some critics upon its initial release in 1979, The Warriors has only grown in esteem over the years and is now considered one of the most imitated studio films of all time. The film is credited with accelerating the rise of hip-hop culture, with its dialogue sampled by the likes of Ice Cube […]
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Madonna Got ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ Audition Because Mike Medavoy’s Son Found Her ‘Cute’
It was Madonna’s first starring role in a movie. And many say it is still her best. The film was 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan, a hip comedy of errors set in the downtown New York club scene. Madonna plays Susan, a scenester trailed by the mob after stealing a pair of valuable Egyptian earrings. Rosanna […]
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‘Leaving Las Vegas’ Director Says Nicolas Cage Was Never Paid $100K Fee for Oscar-Winning Role
Nicolas Cage may have won a priceless Oscar for his turn as a suicidal screenwriter with an alcohol addiction in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas — but that’s all he got. The actor was never paid the $100,000 he was promised to star in the film. That surprising detail was revealed in a podcast interview with […]
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‘WALL-E’ Was Inspired by Rise of Amazon and Apple, Director Says
Andrew Stanton describes the inspiration for 2008's 'WALL-E' for The Hollywood Reporter's 'It Happened in Hollywood' podcast.
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Nathan Lane Recalls “Terrifying” Moment Oprah Tried to Out Him: “I Wasn’t Ready”
Nathan Lane reveals to The Hollywood Reporter's 'It Happened in Hollywood' podcast that fame post-'The Birdcage' wasn't all it was cracked up to be: "It was all so intimidating."
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Peter Bogdanovich Recalls “Horrified” Local Reaction to Texas-Set ‘Last Picture Show’
Legendary director Peter Bogdanovich stopped by the 'It Happened in Hollywood' podcast to share stories about the making of 1971's 'The Last Picture Show.'
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Harry Hamlin: Playing Gay in 1982’s ‘Making Love’ Ended My Film Career
After 1981's 'Clash of the Titans,' Harry Hamlin wanted to tackle "something relevant and cutting edge," but playing a gay writer in the way-ahead-of-its-time 1982 drama 'Making Love' torpedoed his job prospects until 'L.A. Law.'
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