50 MPH

With production imminent, the suits at Fox decide the script for SPEED needs a tune-up. In a sprawling, uncommonly candid account that takes you behind the scenes of the screen(re)writing process and the under-the-hood efforts that get a project camera-ready, screenwriters Paul Attanasio and Joss Whedon chime in along with producers Walter Parkes and Laurie Macdonald. All would be uncredited for their considerable contributions to the success of SPEED.

From "America's Sweetheart" to Oscar-winning Hollywood titan, Sandra Bullock is the topic of discussion. 50 MPH talks to IndieWire executive editor Kate Erbland about the rise and continued dominance of a beloved actress who commands an audience to this day. And it all started with SPEED!

With an action hero in the pocket, an action heroine is in order! But the search for unsuspecting bus-passenger-turned-driver Annie proves to be an exhaustive one lasting up until the brink of production. Hear all about the series of events that led to casting a ready-to-ignite Sandra Bullock.

It's time to contextualize our star and how SPEED set him up for the action-hero superstardom he enjoys to this day. 50 MPH talks to journalist Alex Pappademas, author of the book "Keanu Reeves: Most Triumphant - The Movies and Meaning of an Irrepressible Icon," to discuss the enigmatic persona and his eclectic 40-year career.

The search is on for SPEED's leading man. Once again, forget the A-list. John McClane ain't happening, and the studio has its eyes on Topper Harley. The guy from BILL & TED? He wasn't on anyone's wishlist. The team recalls the unlikely casting of Keanu Reeves and the forging of a new action hero.

From Holland to Hollywood! 50 MPH talks to New York Magazine film critic Bilge Ebiri about the career and influence of Jan de Bont. They discuss the cinematographer's early days collaborating with a young Paul Verhoeven, his studio success behind the camera of classics like DIE HARD, FLATLINERS and BASIC INSTINCT and his transition to the director's chair from SPEED to TWISTER and beyond.

Fox searches high and low for a filmmaker willing to take on this silly "DIE HARD on a bus" premise. But having no luck with the A-list set, will the studio play it safe with a journeyman for a single or a double, or will they roll the dice on Jan de Bont, a cinematographer-turned-first-time director who just might hit it out of the park?

As a second studio takes a bite at the SPEED apple, more development voices join the mix. Former Fox junior executive Jorge Saralegui and production president Tom Jacobson talk about their interest in the project as Peter Chernin's new regime takes hold in Century City.

Through a connection to co-producer Allison Lyon, Graham Yost finds a producer to take on SPEED in the up-and-coming Mark Gordon. The trio finds interest at Paramount Pictures for a time with former Vice President of Production Don Granger. But after a year of development the studio would hit the brakes on the project.

Screenwriter Graham Yost details the genesis of SPEED and his efforts to work it out on the page while toiling away as a TV writer in Hollywood at the dawn of a new decade: the 90s!