50 MPH
Get ready for rush hour! 50 MPH is a podcast dedicated to the making and legacy of Jan de Bont’s 1994 summer movie blockbuster SPEED. Across 50 episodes, this one-of-a-kind oral history takes you on a breakneck journey from conception to execution, distribution and beyond. Join entertainment journalist Kris Tapley as he talks to the people who made it happen and discusses their memories of an electrifying thrill ride that defied expectations and became a global, star-making phenomenon. Through conversations with actors, executives, filmmakers, film scholars and film fans, 50 MPH will attempt to secure SPEED’s rightful place in the canon of action cinema on the way to celebrating its fast-approaching 30th anniversary in style. Don’t forget to fasten your seatbelts!
Episodes
Monday Nov 06, 2023
22 MPH / Mind the Gap
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
It's time to talk about "the jump." Cast and crew look back at the centerpiece moment of SPEED and film's most immortal sequence: Bus 2525 sailing across a gap in the freeway.
Monday Oct 30, 2023
21 MPH / Hell on Wheels
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
50 MPH goes deep inside production on the first half of the bus section of SPEED as cast and crew recall a hair-raising hell-ride through Los Angeles aboard Bus 2525.
Monday Oct 23, 2023
20 MPH / They Don’t Make ’Em Like They Used To
Monday Oct 23, 2023
Monday Oct 23, 2023
As SPEED launches into production, let’s take a moment to meet the production department heads and other artisans tasked with lifting Graham Yost’s (and Paul Attanasio’s and Joss Whedon’s) screenplay off the page and onto the screen!
Monday Oct 16, 2023
19 MPH / The Ultimate L.A. Movie Guide (with Katie Walsh)
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
SPEED is an all-time great Los Angeles film. In that spirit, 50 MPH is joined by Tribune Publishing film critic Katie Walsh to help us forge the ultimate LA movie guide, from LA LA LAND and SWINGERS to NIGHTCRAWLER and COLLATERAL and all points in between!
Monday Oct 09, 2023
18 MPH / Location, Location, Location
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Before the cast and crew for SPEED really get out to set, what IS the set? From Venice to Long Beach, downtown to LAX, strap in for a guided tour of the many locations from the film as Jan de Bont and company set up shop in Hollywood's back yard.
Monday Oct 02, 2023
17 MPH / The Passengers of Bus 2525
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
It's high time we met the passengers of SPEED's doomed city workhorse... ALL of them. 50 MPH goes deep into the film's ensemble with insights from the many character actors who filled out Bus 2525.
Monday Sep 25, 2023
16 MPH / Speed and the Action Movie Canon (with Nick de Semlyen)
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
In his new book "The Last Action Heroes," author Nick de Semlyen charts the rise and stall of the '80s action gods. This week 50 MPH talks to de Semlyen about the era that paved the way for SPEED and where Jan de Bont's film fits in the action movie canon.
Monday Sep 18, 2023
15 MPH / Dennis Hopper, Hollywood Hotshot (with Mark Harris)
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
An examination of the Easy Rider himself! 50 MPH talks to journalist and author Mark Harris (Pictures at a Revolution) about the life and times of one Dennis Hopper and what he brought to SPEED.
Monday Sep 11, 2023
14 MPH / The Perfect Foil
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
We still need a bad guy! And we won't get one until two weeks into production. The team recounts the whirlwind search for Howard Payne, a role that would be offered to any and everyone under the sun, from Robert Duvall to Christopher Walken. In the end, the film ends up with American icon Dennis Hopper. Hopper passed away in 2010 but his spirit is kept alive by those who remember him and his impact on SPEED.
Monday Sep 04, 2023
13 MPH / Jeff Daniels Needs a Job
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
We need a bad guy, but it's hard to discuss the villain of SPEED without also discussing the journey of Harry Temple, Jack Traven's LAPD SWAT team partner who, until the big 11th-hour rewrite, was actually revealed to be the mad bomber at the center of the story. Actor Jeff Daniels comes to the table with his memories and experiences as a character actor, at the time, desperate for a career turnaround.