Some are lovers. Some are friends. Some are reluctant partners who have no business being in the same car. The Next Reel’s Couples on the Run series has been exploring what happens when two people hit the road with trouble in hot pursuit—and keeps finding new answers.
It’s our March member bonus episode! We return to our ‘Couples on the Run’ series from 2013 with David Lynch’s 1990 Palm D’Or winner ‘Wild at Heart.’ Is it too much Lynch craziness or just enough? Are Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern too over the top? Do they even come near the craziness of Diane Ladd? We dig in and may not agree but have a great conversation about it so tune in!
Does Scott’s film work as a feminist statement or does the ending turn it anti-feminist? How great are Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in their parts? And how did they ever get cast after Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster had originally been in the roles? This is a special member bonus episode, so make sure you’re a member of the show, then tune in and enjoy it!
In 1934, a little film studio released what they thought would be a minor but fun little film called “It Happened One Night.” That film went on to earn 5 Oscar nominations — Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay — and win all 5. It also was an audience favorite and turned that little studio — Columbia Pictures — into one of the major players. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we talk about Frank Capra’s wonderful film “It Happened One Night.”
Charles Laughton is most known for his larger than life performances in films from the 30s through the 60s, but he did have one chance to direct which came in the form of 1955’s The Night of the Hunter, a film he also co-wrote with James Agee based on the novel by Davis Grubb. Unfortunately for him, the film was a huge flop. Luckily for us, this quirky anomaly of a film has not only survived but has thrived — it is now critically praised and generally considered to be a classic film.
William Goldman is often credited as the first screenwriter to sell a spec script, meaning he wrote a script without getting paid for it then sold it once he was done with it. It’s common in the novel-writing world, but in the late 60s, it was unheard of in the film business. That script was “The Sundance Kid & Butch Cassidy,” which legendary producer Richard D. Zanuck, who was running 20th Century Fox at the time, optioned for twice what they were allowed to, knowing it was going to be big. And he was right. We continue our Couples On the Run series with George Roy Hill’s 1969 western, “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.”
Quentin Tarantino’s first script that he wrote turned out to be one he couldn’t get made himself. Lucky for us (or unlucky as some Tarantino fans feel), he managed to get “True Romance” into the hands of Tony Scott. Tony gave it a linear structure and a happy ending and, in our estimation, created a magical fairy tale of a film. We’re continuing our “Couples on the Run” series and are thrilled with this week’s edition of “True Romance” to the list.
Infrequent filmmaker Martin Brest may have directed the box office bombs Gigli and Meet Joe Black, but he also directed the huge critical and commercial successes Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman. Somewhere in the middle of these films, he made a fantastic action-comedy about a bounty hunter taking a criminal across country to collect his reward. That’s right, we’re talking about Midnight Run, a part of our Couples on the Run series.
The Next Reel has been tracking couples on the run since 2013. The original Season 3 lineup covered five films: Midnight Run (1988), True Romance (1993), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Night of the Hunter (1955), and It Happened One Night (1934). Member bonus episodes added Thelma & Louise (1991) in Season 10 and Wild at Heart (1990) in Season 11. Season 15 completes the current run with Gun Crazy (1950)—eight films in all.
The series earns its range. Midnight Run is a buddy comedy with action movie energy. It Happened One Night is pre-Code Hollywood screwball. The Night of the Hunter is gothic terror that barely qualifies as a road movie—and fits perfectly. Gun Crazy arrived before Bonnie and Clyde, before the New Hollywood road movie—passion and violence as the same impulse, already fully formed. Thelma & Louise redefined what the formula could carry. What holds all of them together isn't a mood or a decade. It's a dynamic: two people, bound to each other, moving through a world that doesn't especially want them to make it.
Andy and Pete treat the series as an ongoing conversation about partnership under pressure. What it means to have someone beside you when everything falls apart. What you're both willing to do. The films don't all end the same way. The series doesn't pretend they do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Next Reel's Couples on the Run series complete?
The current run reached eight films with Gun Crazy in Season 15—but a series is only ever as complete as we decide it is. The genre has a long and varied history, and Pete and Andy may well return to it in a future season.
Which films are in The Next Reel's Couples on the Run series?
Eight films across multiple seasons: Midnight Run, True Romance, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Night of the Hunter, and It Happened One Night in Season 3 (2013); Thelma & Louise as a member bonus in Season 10 (2021); Wild at Heart as a member bonus in Season 11 (2022); and Gun Crazy in Season 15 (2026).
Where should I start if I'm new to The Next Reel?
True Romance or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are both strong entry points—well-known films with wide-ranging conversations. If you want the earliest entry chronologically, It Happened One Night is where the series starts—and a great introduction to how far the formula can stretch.
Become a Supporting Member
The movie ends. The conversation goes further. Members of The Next Reel get every episode early and ad-free in their own private podcast feed, plus bonus episodes, exclusive Discord channels, and access to live recording sessions. Become a member at TruStory FM.
Related Listening
If the Couples on the Run series brought you here, you might also want to explore the Great Car Chases series—The Next Reel's look at films where speed, pursuit, and getting away are the whole point. The two series share some DNA, and the overlap between them is exactly as interesting as you'd expect.