Joel Soisson: Horror Icon on Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Surviving the Weinstein Brothers

Veteran filmmaker Joel Soisson takes listeners on a fascinating journey through four decades of Hollywood filmmaking, from his humble beginnings as a PA in the early 1980s to becoming what one website dubbed "the direct-to-video sequel king." Unlike many of his generation who experienced a "Star Wars moment" that defined their career path, Soisson drifted organically from art school into animation and eventually motion pictures, originally dreaming of becoming a cinematographer before fate intervened. His break into writing came when producer Sandy Howard mentioned wanting to do a family film about a lost dog, prompting Soisson to pitch ideas that led to his first screenplay. What followed was an unexpected career trajectory defined largely by horror films—not because he lived and breathed the genre, but because early successes made horror projects incredibly easy to greenlight while his romantic comedy pitches faced much steeper odds in an industry that quickly typecast him based on what worked commercially.Soisson shares insider stories from some of his most iconic projects, including A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, which wasn't just another franchise opportunity but literally a matter of survival for Bob Shaye's fledgling New Line Cinema after Wes Craven had sold away all profit participation on the original film. The story of how Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure got made reveals Hollywood dealmaking at its most wonderfully absurd: Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, who barely understood English and had no concept of American teenage culture, greenlit the project primarily because he'd made a definitive Napoleon epic and apparently misread "exterior, the world of San Dimas" as "the war of San Dimas." Soisson also provides a sobering perspective on his extensive work with the Weinstein brothers, describing how he spent nearly two decades literally ducking into doorways to avoid Harvey Weinstein after being fired from Mother's Boys, while defending Bob Weinstein against guilt by association and noting the brothers barely spoke during his final five years there. Now focused on reimagining classics like The Magnificent Seven and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Soisson discusses his proudest work: "My Best Worst Adventure," a family film set in Northern Thailand centered on the dangerous sport of buffalo racing that combines all his storytelling passions into one unique project.