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PODCAST

WHAT WENT WRONG

What Went Wrong covers Hollywood’s most notoriously disastrous movie productions, digging into the behind-the-scenes insanity of everything from massive flops to record-breaking blockbusters. In each episode, hosts Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer dive into a new film to explore the mind-blowing (and sometimes numbing) reasons why making a movie is nearly impossible (especially a good one). Produced by David Boman.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon for monthly bonus episodes! Hosted

tv & film

All Episodes

30:46

The Sony Hack | From Revisionist History

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/22

On the morning of November 24, 2014—just a few days before Thanksgiving—Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked. It was one of the most damaging business hacks in U.S. history. Some estimates put the cost to Sony at over a hundred million dollars. And when former Sony head Michael Lynton looked at what happened, he came to an uncomfortable conclusion: that it may have been all his fault.In this episode from Revisionist History, Michael tells host Malcolm Gladwell about the time thatgreenlighting a

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1:19:37

Taxi Driver

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/20

This year marks the 50th anniversary of 'Taxi Driver', which is somehow even more relevant now than it was in 1976. But the truth is 'Taxi Driver' almost didn't make it to the screen.This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader fought to make a dark, deeply uncommercial script on a shoestring budget, that made the studio nervous from the start. Discover why the Board of Education nearly blocked Jodie Foster's controversial casting, and how Robert De Niro stepped in as

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1:11:48

Jodie Foster & John Hinckley Jr. (with RedHanded)

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/17

'Taxi Driver' isn't just one of the greatest movies ever made... it's also deeply entangled with one of the most shocking true crimes in American history.In this Out of Frame episode, Chris and Lizzie welcome special guests Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire from RedHanded to examine the disturbing case of John Hinkley Jr, whose obsession with Jodie Foster spiraled into an attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. Discover how the case reshaped Foster's life and career, and dive into the lasting impacts of

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1:40:19

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/13

Let's dive into a world of pure imagination... and some pretty unsafe set pieces! This week, Chris and Lizzie are joined by Aaron Tracy, creator and host of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, and they head into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to figure out how such an odd movie came to be. From cereal financing to secret rewrites and Gene Wilder's unexpectedly edgy performance, this production's only topped by the Zelig-esque life of the man who spawned the book it's based on. Hosted on Acast. See

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38:35

James McAvoy on California Schemin'

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/10

This week, the one and only James McAvoy joins Chris and Lizzie to break down what went wrong - and very right - on his directorial debut, California Schemin’.The film follows two young Scottish rappers who get laughed out of the music industry… until they start pretending to be American. It’s a true story of ambition, delusion, and the blurry line between reinvention and outright fraud.Find out what drew McAvoy to the script, how he assembled the perfect cast, and what surprised him most about

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1:30:47

Lawrence of Arabia

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/04/06

David Lean's ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made… but behind the sweeping desert vistas was a production as brutal and unpredictable as the landscape itself.This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how a script that was never truly finished—thanks in part to one of its screenwriters landing in jail—left the film constantly evolving even as cameras rolled. Discover why Omar Sharif was a last minute replacement, and why both Sharif and Peter O’Toole were forced

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1:25:55

Labyrinth

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/30

How did the Star Man, the Star Wars Man, and the Muppet Man come together to make the seminal 1986 oddity, Labyrinth? Join Chris and Lizzie as they get lost in the experimental mind of Jim Henson, young Jennifer Connelly's dispassion for acting, and the remarkable juggling of David Bowie's (crystal) balls.*CORRECTION: Terry Jones was Welsh, not English. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:17:02

American History X

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/23

'American History X' was a tough sell on paper, though that didn't stop up-and-coming star Edward Norton from fighting for it. But what started as a promising collaboration between Norton and first-time director Tony Kaye would soon explode into one of the most infamous behind-the-scenes battles in movie history.This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how tensions that started brewing on set spiraled into an all out war in post-production. Discover how Kaye got completely shut out of the edit, and

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46:45

'WWW' on 'No Such Thing': Why Are There so Many Twin...

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/20

On this week's episode, the boys chat with Chris and Lizzie, the hosts of the What Went Wrong podcast about why Hollywood produces so many "twin films," movies that have very similar concepts and that release within a year of each other. They also debate whether A Bug's Life or ANTZ is the better movie, and talk through some controversial Hollywood development rumors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:21:41

Seven Samurai

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/16

A Kubrickian schedule! Two months of shooting in the mud! Roundworm, tuberculosis, and mass-method acting! What are the building blocks of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic jidaigeki film, Seven Samurai? Chris and Lizzie learn of Kurosawa's battles with censors (Japanese and American), studios, and his own personal demons. Plus, how the score went from the wastebasket to the silver screen, how Toshiro Mifune saved the film from a self-serious tone, and how a request for 10 days off can lead to a two

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1:23:35

Forrest Gump

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/09

‘Forrest Gump’ became one of the biggest hits of the ’90s—but it was never a sure thing. What started as a seemingly unadaptable novel bounced through multiple directors, screenwriters, and studios before it finally found the team that could bring it to life.This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how Robert Zemeckis pulled off the film’s groundbreaking visual effects, why the first three days of Tom Hanks’ performance were thrown in the trash, and the unexpected source behind Forrest’s now-iconic

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1:32:29

Casablanca

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/03/02

This week, everybody comes to Rick's! Chris and Lizzie head to French Morocco for a deep dive on Casablanca, the movie that no one believed in and everyone wanted credit for. Learn how a notoriously tough director (Michael Curtiz), a freshly minted producer (Hal Wallis), a frustrated starlet (Ingrid Bergman), and a truly international cast brought this Hollywood classic from an unproduced play to the silver screen in mere months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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50:28

SNAFU with Ed Helms: Starfish Prime

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/26

Join Chris & Lizzie as Ed Helms guides them through Starfish Prime: that time the US government decided to detonate a nuke in the atmosphere, just to see what would happen. SNAFU is basically What Went Wrong, but with real-world stakes, nukes, and hosted by the wonderfully talented Ed Helms! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:21:00

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/23

'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' was supposed to launch a franchise... Instead, it was a production so toxic it ended a legendary career—and shoved one of the most influential comic writers of all time into a legal nightmare.This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' collapsed under the weight of ego, chaos, and truly terrible luck. From devastating floods that destroyed entire sets to a power struggle between director Stephen Norrington and star Sean

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1:29:31

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/16

Were Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman star-crossed lovers or creatively cursed? This week, Chris & Lizzie plumb the memories of all involved in the 2004 sci-fi hit, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie Charlie Kaufman tried endlessly to break up with. Plus, Gondry and Jim Carrey's loveless marriage, how Kate Winslet set the tone, and Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson's wildly different reactions to the on set vibes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:36:31

The Cotton Club

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/09

'The Cotton Club' was supposed to be Robert Evans’ big comeback... Instead, it became the movie that finally took him down - and nearly dragged Francis Ford Coppola with him. Chris and Lizzie break down how Evans' desperation to make the film led to shady financing, a baffling creative curveball from Richard Gere, and a production so chaotic that an actual mobster came on board as a line producer.Even though 'The Cotton Club' began as a story highlighting the racial inequalities of the actual

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53:07

Out of Frame: The Cotton Club Murder

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/06

Before ‘The Cotton Club’ became one of Hollywood’s most notorious flops, it was connected to something much darker. In this episode of Out of Frame, Chris and Lizzie dig into the death of Roy Radin — a small-time producer whose obsession with breaking into Hollywood by financing ’The Cotton Club’ ended in murder. Find out how Radin got involved with Lanie Jacobs, a cocaine dealer with movie ambitions of her own, and why the entire case revolved around one of the most influential producers of all

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1:19:31

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/02/02

Lord & Miller lord over creative chaos as Sony succumbs to the stratospheric success of Marvel. This week, Chris & Lizzie learn how relinquishing control of Peter Parker may have opened the door for Miles Morales, how Donald Glover is at least partly responsible for the Spider-Verse trilogy, and why you might want to double check the meaning behind that 1930's slang you just added to the script before Nic Cage reads it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:02:15

Oscars 2026: Sinners & One Battle After Another

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/01/30

Chris and Lizzie kick off the 2026 Oscars conversation by discussing the overall Hollywood landscape, followed by a deep dive on where the best picture nominees stand. This week it's Sinners and One Battle After Another. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:23:03

The Interview

WHAT WENT WRONG ·

2026/01/26

'The Interview' was supposed to be another easy studio comedy win for hitmakers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Instead, it cost Sony millions — and that was only the beginning. In this episode, Chris and Lizzie investigate how 'The Interview' went from parodying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to being labeled an act of war, triggering one of the most devastating corporate hacks in history. Which joke pushed things over the edge? What exactly was in those leaked emails? And why are some people still

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210 results

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