CP Sideshow 116 - Bill Fay, Co-Founder of Legendary Pictures and for some reason ... friends with Jacques

·1 hr 27 min·5 clips

Jacques reveals his 20-year friendship with Bill Fay, co-founder of Legendary Pictures, who has no right being this nice.

The episode opens with hosts Jacques, Biff, and Joe welcoming Bill Fay, co-founder of Legendary Pictures, who Jacques met 20 years ago while Fay was recording a voiceover. Fay explains how he and Thomas Tull founded Legendary Pictures in 2003, raising $300 million in equity and $500 million in debt to fund a 25-film slate. They used data analysis from the Salter Group to focus on director-driven genre pictures, avoiding star-driven dramas. Early hits included Batman Begins and 300, which exceeded financial models. Fay recounts producing Independence Day, including the studio's initial resistance to casting Will Smith and a negotiation with the U.S. military over referencing Area 51. He shares a personal story about nearly bankrupting himself by misplacing a decimal point when buying MCA stock before Back to the Future's release. Fay discusses leaving Legendary to produce smaller films like Replicate, where he worked with Jacques on location in Mississippi. He now runs Steric Systems, a company that uses electromagnetic technology to improve spirits and wine, with machines installed in distilleries worldwide. Fay also mentions developing a stage musical adaptation of the film Happy Texas and a salmon spread business with his brother. The conversation covers his early career, including working for Roger Corman and producing films in Africa, and touches on topics like the success of The Hangover and the lack of an Independence Day sequel.

As heard by us

Bill Fay revisits the Will Smith casting push, military equipment talks, and a stock tip with a warning attached.

Bill Fay frames the movie-making story around a clean comic hinge: at the start, nobody was attached, the studio was not sold on Will Smith, and Roland kept pressing after seeing him in Six Degrees of Separation.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Will Smith casting detour, Independence Day lore, and a stock tip that knows better than to promise much.

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