Star Trek, Gladiator, Skyfall - The Stories Behind the Names with John Logan
In this episode, John Logan sits down to reflect on a career shaped by bold choices and stories that have defined modern film, television, and theater... from Gladiator and Skyfall to Star Trek, Broadway, and beyond. It’s a candid, wide-ranging look at the moments and relationships that shaped his…
Two moments from this episode
Matthau Answers Two Weeks Later
Nervous on his first day working with Walter Matthau, Brent was told the actor knew every trivia question going, so he tried one out in the car to set: who played Friar Tuck in Errol Flynn's Robin Hood. Matthau turned around slowly, asked why he was being asked such a thing, and laughed it off. Two weeks later, on a soundstage, the door opened, Matthau walked straight up to Brent and said, Eugene Palette.
“I know horse racing and how to lose money.”
The Clarence Brown Question
Angela Lansbury came to dinner at Brent and Loree's house, and John Logan, who had not been told she was coming, was so awestruck he could barely speak. There was a lull at the table until Brent asked her about the director of National Velvet, and from there she talked freely for the rest of the night. John took it as a lesson in how to meet someone you admire: ask about the work nobody asks about.
“Angela, what was it like working with Clarence Brown?”
Names dropped in this episode
36 names come up in this episode, in the order they are mentioned. Tap a timestamp to jump straight to that moment.
Mary Howard
3:23Mary Howard de Liagre was an American actress usually credited as Mary Howard Wikipedia ↗
Marty Short
4:28Canadian comedian, actor, singer, and writer Wikipedia ↗
John Logan
4:45American playwright, screenwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: John Logan · CC BY-SA 3.0
John Lennon
8:35English musician, songwriter and activist Wikipedia ↗
Denzel Washington
15:02American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Gabriel Hutchinson · CC BY-SA 4.0
John Adams
16:07Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801 Wikipedia ↗
James Coburn
16:25American actor who featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television… Wikipedia ↗
Jean Simmons
16:25British actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
Mike Nichols
18:00American film and theatre director and comedian Wikipedia ↗
David Selby
20:07American film, television, and stage actor and writer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: JoeInQueens · CC BY 2.0
Harold Pinter
21:02English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor Wikipedia ↗
Elizabeth Taylor
28:47British and American actress Wikipedia ↗
Mickey Rooney
28:47American actor Wikipedia ↗
Clarence Brown
28:53American film director Wikipedia ↗
Roger Corman
29:20American film director and producer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Marianna Diamos, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0
Howard Hughes
30:11American aviator, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor Wikipedia ↗
Kate Blanchett
33:52Catherine Élise Blanchett is an Australian actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jack Lemon
36:02American actor Wikipedia ↗
Billy Wilder
36:07Austrian and American film director and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
Oliver Reed
44:14English actor, known for his upper-middle class, masculine image and his heavy-drinking, "hellraiser"… Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Jack de Nijs for Anefo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Peter Cushing
44:33English actor Wikipedia ↗
Johnny Depp
56:52American actor, musician, and filmmaker Wikipedia ↗
Photo: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons.
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