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PODCAST

Tentpole Trauma

Tentpole Trauma

A podcast where we look at movies that came with hype and high hopes, but left with crushing disappointment, either critically, at the box office, or both.

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:04:30

The Mosquito Coast (1986)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/05/17

Harrison Ford’s reign as a superstar was well underway in 1986, so the idea of re-teaming with the director of their previous hit Witness for a no expense spared adaptation of an acclaimed Paul Theroux novel seemed a solid proposition. But despite exotic locations and a strong cast that featured Helen Mirren and rising star River Phoenix, the noble venture proved a fool’s errand at the box office. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they journey upriver to explore the fascinating financial misfire that

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01:50:39

The Chronicles of Riddick

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/05/10

The early aughts saw action hero Vin Diesel at the height of his fame, so the idea of re-teaming with director David Twohy for a space operatic sequel to their sci fi hit Pitch Black seemed like a license to print money. But despite big budget thrills and heavy doses of high octane Diesel, The Chronicles of Riddick failed to connect with audiences. Join Sebastian, Chris and Steve as they attempt to crack this mythologically dense and perhaps overly ambitious effort.

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01:39:16

Fantastic Four (2015)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/05/03

Coming off the surprise hit Chronicle, director Josh Trank seemed a suitable fit to deliver a fresh, youthful take on Marvel’s first family after some lackluster big screen attempts. But stories of on-set strife plagued the production, and despite a strong cast featuring Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, the disjointed film that landed in theaters was far from fantastic and failed to flame on at the box office. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and the film’s storyboard artist Troy, as they dig through the

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01:59:39

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/04/26

A live action adaptation of the seminal 90s anime seemed like a promising proposition for a new big budget sci fi franchise. But when a white washing controversy erupted over the casting of Scarlet Johansson in the lead, no amount of impressive visuals could save it from box office failure. So was it deserved?Join Sebastian, Chris and Rodney as they deep dive into the heart of Rupert Sanders’ 2017 adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.

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01:16:20

Escape from L.A.

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/04/19

Fans of John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York were clamoring for more of its iconic antihero Snake Plissken, but despite the creative team and star Kurt Russell returning for another round, the 1996 sequel met with poor box office receipts and violent rejection from audiences. The campy approach and reliance on sub-par visual effects certainly didn't help matters, but is the movie really that post-apocalyptically bad? Join Jennifer and Sebastian as they hang 10 with Snake and make another

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01:32:09

King Kong Lives

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/04/12

1986 was a big year for genre movies, and arguably the biggest — solely in terms of its central character — was the sequel to Dino De Laurentis’ remake of King Kong. Despite the presence of Terminator star Linda Hamilton this ape extravaganza went almost completely ignored at the box office and put the Kong franchise on ice for nearly 20 years. Join Sebastian, Jen and Troy as they attempt to kickstart the heart of the colossally absurd camp disaster that is King Kong Lives.

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01:44:32

Gods of Egypt

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/04/05

Following the success of 300 and Clash of the Titans studios were clamoring for mythological stories to turn into big budget tentpoles, so it stands to reason that the Gods of Egypt would vie for the box office throne. With Gerard Butler on board and visionary director Alex Proyas tapped to direct, thingsappeared promising for this 2016 fantasy spectacular, but instead of claiming fire from the heavens it crashed and burned with audiences and critics alike. Join Sebastian, Chris and new guest host

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01:51:52

Fight Club

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/03/29

Wait...Fight Club wasn't a hit? It's true, the re-teaming of director David Fincher and superstar Brad Pitt seemed like a no brainer back in 1999, and while the film has gone on to have a huge cultural impact, the initial box office receipts for the black comedy/thriller were no indication of its future meme generating status. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they break the first rule and pummel the beautiful face of this highly influential and still relevant cult classic.

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01:57:48

Justice League (2017)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/03/22

The DCEU was poised to make their play for Avengers style glory with Zack Snyder's follow-up to the divisive Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but after tragedy struck the director was forced to leave the completion of the project to then-celebrated geek god Joss Whedon. The end result was an uneven Frankenstein of a film that failed to crack 500 million, a disaster for a mega-budget superheroteam up that featured many of the world's most popularsuperheroes. With Snyder's original vision now

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02:00:09

Fright Night (2011)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/03/15

Horror remakes were all the rage at the turn of the previous decade, as were vampires, so an updatedversion of the 1985 hit Fright Night was all but inevitable. Armed with a strong cast that featured Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, David Tennant and sexy vamp Colin Farrell, Craig Gillespie's 2011 version had all the markings of a winner, so why did it fail to find blood at the box office? Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Rodney as they drive a stake through the heart of this unfairly forgotten horror

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01:59:19

Howard the Duck

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/03/08

George Lucas adaptinga Marvel comics property should be a license to print money, right? Directed by Lucas collaborator Willard Huyck, the 1986 adaptation of Steve Gerber's beloved comics character was given a huge budget that would feature top shelf animatronics and special effects, but audiences found it off-putting and ridiculous enough to flock far away. Still, isthere enjoyment to be found in this lame duck? Find out when Sebastian, Jennifer and Sonic the Hedgehog screenwriter Josh Miller quack

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01:52:16

Aeon Flux (2005)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/03/01

In a post-Matrix Hollywood, the prospect of adapting Peter Chung's cult anime hit seemed like the opportunity to kick-start another FX heavy sci fi franchise. Get Girlfight director Karyn Kusama to direct combined with white-hot star Charlize Theron in the action heroine lead...how could it fail? That's the mind-bending conundrumChris, Rodney and Sebastian wrestlewith as they dissectthe strange cinematic concoctionthat is the 2005 adaptation of Aeon Flux.

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01:19:48

Men in Black: International

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/02/22

In honor of Black History Month we're covering the obvious choice...Men in Black: International! Directed by filmmaker F. Gary Gray this continuation of the Will Smith fronted franchise was sure to be a smash, exceptit didn't star Will Smith. But can its box office failure be blamed on charming replacements Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson? Join Jennifer and Sebastian as they don the black suits and try to de-neuralizethis all-but forgotten 2019 flop.

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02:00:15

Tenet

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/02/15

Hold on a second... is this really fair? Christopher Nolan's mega-budget time travel spy thriller came out at the height of the pandemic, can its relative box office failure accurately be blamed on the film? Well no, but it was certainlya misguided effort to save cinemas and many werebaffled by the muddy sound mix... look,we just wanted to talk Tenet, OK? Join Sebastian, Troy and Chris as they work backwards in time to make sense of 2020's most confounding blockbuster

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02:00:46

Lady in the Water

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/02/08

M. Night Shyamalan was on a four blockbuster winning streak in 2006 when he left the nurturing bosom of Disney to make his next film, a fairy tale epic starring Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard. Surely the movie would be a critical and financial hit and prove the naysayers wrong... but in a shocking twist worthy of his own filmography it was neither. Join Rodney, Jennifer and Sebastian as they seek to comprehend the bedtime story box office disaster that is Lady in the

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02:23:57

Grindhouse

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/02/01

Coming off the 90s you'd be hard-pressed to find a cooler pair of directors than Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and when they decided to bring their love of Grindhouse cinema to the mainstream in 2007 with a joint effort that also featured hot filmmakers Eli Roth, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie, film geeks everywhere rejoiced. Sadly, mainstream audiences did not, and the film was the first major flop on both directors' resumes. But did it deserveto be? That's what Jennifer and Sebastian aim to

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01:29:22

Lifeforce

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/01/25

Take the director of The Texas Chain SawMassacre and the writer of Alien, and you've got yourself an 80s sci fi horror hit, right? Well, not so much. Tobe Hooper's 1985 schlockfest Lifeforce delivered in terms of gratuitous nudity and gonzo spectacle, but in terms of box office and critical reception it was an apocalyptic disaster. Join Sebastian, Chris and Troy as they try to unravel the horny insanity of this baffling yet wildly entertaining

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01:55:51

Jennifer's Body

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/01/18

Teaming Girlfight director Karyn Kusama with Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody for a female-driven horror film seemed a tantalizing prospect in 2009; add to that the presence of then white-hot sex symbol Megan Fox to the mix and Jennifer's Body should have been a sure-fire winner. Sadly the film fizzled at the box office and fan reaction was tepid – did this horror comedy deserve better, or was it too clever for itsown good? Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Rodney as they try to see the forest

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01:51:26

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Tentpole Trauma ·

2021/01/11

20 years after dazzling audiences with The Fifth Element, auteur Luc Besson returned to epic sci fi to adapt the beloved French comic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The trailers promised a dazzling, effects-heavy extravaganza that spared no expense and featured hot up-and-comers Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne, so how did it crash so resoundingly to earth with both critics and moviegoers? Join Chris, Sebastian and special guest Witney Seibold as they traverse a thousand planets to

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01:46:59

Dreamcatcher

Tentpole Trauma ·

2020/12/30

A Stephen King adaptation helmed by Hollywood legend Lawrence Kasdan with a cast that features Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee and Damian Lewis would seem a solid recipe for success, right? This 2003 sci fi/horror film proves that even a stable of A-list talent and gobs of studio money can still resultin a cinematic trainwreck and a box office flop – but is it entertaining? That's just one of many questions Josh, Jennifer and Sebastian ask themselves as they attemptto

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166 results

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