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Film News,

Matthew Vaughn tells Mark Kermode the story of how Tom Cruise saved Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and kick-started Vaughn's career

Matthew Vaughn tells Mark Kermode about Tom Cruise saving Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

Sometime back in February 2015 Mark Kermode interviewed various film industry luminaries about the risky business of film for BBC Radio 4, in an insightful 3 part mini-series called The Business Of Film With Mark Kermode.

In the first episode - Development Hell, Kermode chats with Director/ Producer Matthew Vaughn who had some interesting points about the state of the British film industry.

During the discussion, Vaughn tells a wonderful anecdote about how his second foray in film, producing his friend Guy Ritchie’s 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was almost his last and how Tom Cruise saved the day.

This story has stuck with me since I first heard it, it came up again the other day whilst posting about Top Gun: Maverick and thought I would share it.




Arguably Trudie Styler is the real hero who made this all happen but Cruise’s unexpected intervention certainly was the catalyst for a bidding war that made Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels the success that it was and boosted the careers of Guy Ritchie, Matthew Vaughn, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran and Jason Statham.



WHERE ARE THEY NOW? EPILOGUE

The Business Of Film With Mark Kermode is well worth a listen and has subsequently made its way onto every podcast outlet as well as the BBC

Mark Kermode and fellow podcaster Simon Mayo recently shifted their much-loved film podcast over to a new si·nay·may format called Kermode and Mayo’s Take under the Sony umbrella.

More information and all their social links can be found here: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/

Matthew Vaughn (and Guy Ritchie each) took home £9 Million from Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels his career has continued on an upwards trajectory and never made a financial loss on any of his films, despite the ratio of style over content of most of his output. Vaughn has managed to change the landscape of British film. We are eagerly awaiting his Argylle to be released later this year.

Tom Cruise has tried his hand at; flair bartending, playing pool, car racing, rock-climbing, joined a band, free-diving, flying both aeroplanes and helicopters before eventually gambling his career time and time again on small independent feature films. He finally struck gold by making one of the best action films ever committed to the big screen in the shape of his 2018 Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Currently, Cruise is hoping that the sequel to his little known 80s film Top Gun called Top Gun: Maverick will be picked up for distribution this year.

Trudie Styler has continued her TV acting career that started with the original production of Poldark, with roles in Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Midsomer Murders (avoid this town - it has a ridiculously high crime rate), The Wonderful World of Disney, The Vicar of Dibley, Search Party, Pose, The Night Of and Cary Joji Fukunaga's Maniac.

As well as roles in films like; Filth, The Next Three Days and Silent Night. Whilst maintaining a low key lifestyle as one of Britain most influential film-producers and charity ambassadors.

THE ESTABLISHING SHOT: MATTHEW VAUGHN TELLS MARK KERMODE THE STORY OF HOW TOM CRUISE SAVED GUY RITCHIE'S LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS AND KICK-STARTED VAUGHN'S CAREER