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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

01:25:50

The Wicker Man (2006)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/06/13

Horror remakes were all the rage by the mid 2000s, so a remake of the seminal folk horror classic The Wicker Man was all but inevitable. Armed with a crazy Nic Cage performance and seasoned indie director Neil LaBute at the helm, the 2006 reimagining was set to catch fire at the box office but fizzled instead, failing to justify its hefty 40 million dollar budget. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Troy as they travel to Summer’s Isle to reevaluate this much maligned effort and sacrifice their sanity in

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00:56:23

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/06/06

H.G. Wells’ tale of genetic tampering had been adapted for the big screen before Richard Stanley attempted it again in 1996, but never before had a version gone so horribly awry. Plagued by misbehaving stars Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando, Stanley himself being fired and replaced by veteran director John Frankenheimer, and numerous onset mishaps, the production would live in infamy for its wildly troubled evolution, one that resulted in a monstrous mess of a finished product. Join Sebastian and

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01:42:42

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/05/23

The stardom of both Henry Cavill and cannibal fetishist Armie Hammer was on the rise in 2015, making it the perfect time to team them up in a buddy spy movie directed by Guy Ritchie. But despite a solid effort, a groovy 60’s period setting and the always beguiling Alicia Vikander, this re-imaging of the cult TV show cried uncle at the box office. Join special agents Sebastian and Matt as they crack the code behind the Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s failure.

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01:34:27

The Saint

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/05/09

Val Kilmer was riding high as a leading man in 1997, so it made sense that he’d try his hand at establishing his own globetrotting espionage role. Sadly the resulting reimagining of the 60s British TV sensation The Saint turned out more Boring Identity than Bond, torpedoing a potential franchise and setting Kilmer’s career into a funk from which it never fully recovered. Join Sebastian and Matt as they don multiple disguises and crack the code on cold fusion to unravel this convoluted and

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01:22:55

Scream 4

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/04/25

The Scream franchise may have been dormant for over ten years, but hopes were still high for Wes Craven and company’s 2011 remake-era reboot, Scream 4. But despite returning stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, as well as a promising new cast, the film failed to scare up significant returns at the box office. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Rodney as they go over the rules and are menaced by Ghostface in discussing this unfairly maligned outing.

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01:15:16

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/04/10

Based on the beloved Nintendo side scroller, the 1993 live action Super Mario Bros. movie was poised to prove the viability of video games making the jump to the big screen. Sadly, despite boasting the talents of Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Samantha Mathis and Dennis Hopper, as well as big budget special effects, the film laid a dinosaur-sized egg at the box office and left audiences baffled by what they had watched. Join Sebastian and Steve as they dodge barrels, take magic mushrooms and attempt

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01:23:01

Dungeons and Dragons (2000)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/04/03

An adaptation of TSR’s seminal role playing was long in the cards, or the 20 sided dice as it were, but it wasn’t until the year 2000 that the first big screen effort was launched. Unfortunately Courtney Solomon’s Dungeons and Dragons was a catastrophic misfire marred by hammy performances, poor scripting and monstrously bad CGI, bombing hard at the box office and placing a wizard’s curse on the franchise over the next two decades. Join Sebastian and Richard as they face the Eye of the Beholder and

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01:31:29

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/03/20

The television phenomenon of Twin Peaks had cooled by 1992, but that didn’t stop creator and arthouse darling David Lynch from directing a theatrical prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The reaction was less than enthusiastic; critics couldn’t make sense of Lynch’s unconventional narrative, and fans of the show were upset by the lack of characters and humor they had come to expect. And yet, despite a tepid box office, the film gained a cult following and the franchise survived in the form of a

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01:03:22

The Legend of Billie Jean

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/03/13

Fair is fair! Teenage rebellion and MTV were all the rage in the 80s, so it was only natural that a film would come along to capitalize on both trends and become a box office sensation. Sadly, Matthew Robbins’ The Legend of Billie Jean, starring hot young newcomers Helen and Christian Slater, was not that film. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they stand up and face the enemy to discuss this legendary box office failure.

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01:05:38

Blow Out

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/03/06

With a director at the height of his game and a star at the early peak of his fame, Blow Out, directed by Brian De Palma and starring John Travolta, was poised to be one of the big hits of 1981. But despite being a rock solid re-imagining of Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up and a nail-biting thriller in its own right, the film blew a flat tire at the box office. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they comb the audio files for clues as to why this clever and suspenseful neo noir failed to blow up

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01:04:14

Posse

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/02/27

The 90s saw a resurgence in the western genre, though none of the many offerings outside of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven were major hits. Unfortunately that held true for Mario Van Peebles’ Posse, which distinguished itself by featuring a mostly black cast and was the star/director’s follow up to his enormously successful New Jack City. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and VQ as they celebrate black representation in the old west and rustle up some posse love for this gunslinging cult classic.

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01:17:03

Heaven's Gate

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/02/20

Not to be confused with the 90s death cult of the same name, Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, was, for a time, synonymous with the words “box office bomb”. Credited with ending the auteur driven studio system of the 70s, the Oscar winning director’s epic western was an exercise in excess, from the wildly bloated budget, to the interminable running time, to the star-studded but underutilized cast. Join Sebastian and Troy as they storm the gates of heaven to reevaluate a film that, for better or worse,

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00:55:22

Clue

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/02/13

A favorite among the board gaming set, Parker Brother’s Clue, with its parlor mystery whodunnit premise, seemed a natural fit for a big screen adaptation. But despite being armed with an all-star cast of top shelf comedic talent, the film failed to generate intrigue from audiences and critics, resulting in a box office flop. Join Sebastian and EnCLUEthesiast Jennifer as they piece together the mystery of why this farcical cult classic was dead on arrival when it hit theaters in 1985.

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01:44:19

The Dark Tower

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/02/06

Stephen King's The Dark Tower fantasy series has been a long-gestating white whale project in Hollywood, passing through countless development hands and having many promising false starts. Hopes were high when a feature film finally came to fruition in 2017 starring Idris Elba as the heroic Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as his Man in Black nemesis, onlyto be dashed when the film arrived as a slapdash, woefully truncated pastiche with little fealty to the beloved source material or its iconic

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01:23:38

Showgirls

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/23

Madman director Paul Verhoeven was riding high off of several blockbuster successes when he re-teamed with Basic Instinct writer and fellow madman Joe Ezterhaus for a film about the sordid lives of Las Vegas showgirls. Their resulting collaboration, 1995’s Showgirls, was met with resounding box office failure and critical derision, tanking the career of its unlikely lead, Saved By the Bell’s Elizabeth Berkeley. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Violent Night writer Josh Miller as they hit the stage to

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01:27:43

Masters of the Universe

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/16

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe may have been past their prime by 1987, but that didn’t stop shlockmeisters Golan and Globus from capitalizing on the popular toy and cartoon property by attempting a big budget film adaptation. Despite casting a near-perfect He-Man in Dolph Lundgren and boasting up and comer Courteney Cox, as well as a delightfully hammy Frank Langella in the role of the villainous Skeletor, the film tanked with fans and critics and helped to bankrupt Cannon films. Join

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01:02:11

Stir of Echoes

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/09

Spirits were high for A list screenwriter David Koepp’s sophomore directorial outing, an adaptation of the Richard Matheson short story A Stir of Echoes. But despite the presence of leading man Kevin Bacon, the film’s release was six degrees too close to another mega hit ghost story with a similar premise, burying Koepp’s otherwise solid effort in an early box office grave. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they unearth this underrated late 90s supernatural thriller and discuss whether or not it has

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01:00:29

The Happening

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/02

Following the high profile failure of Lady In the Water, famed director M. Night Shyamalan ignored the naysayers and doubled down on absurd high concepts with 2008’s The Happening. The results were resoundingly mocked by fans and critics alike, dragging down the director’s already sinking reputation, as well as the careers of leads Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. Join Sebastian and Jennifer for a cool lemon drank as they attempt to justify this loopy and enjoyably ludicrous happening.

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01:25:10

Tentpole Triumph: Avatar

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/28

It’s a post Christmas miracle from Pandora — Tentpole Trauma sees you, and you’ve been very nice this year, so as a gift we give you this month’s Tentpole Triumph discussion of Avatar as a bonus episode! Join Sebastian, Chris and Rodney as they finally hash it out over the #1 box office champ of all time, director James Cameron and what they anticipate from the long awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. If you like what you hear, consider becoming a Patreon subscriber at —

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01:41:19

Alita: Battle Angel

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/19

Many expected that James Cameron’s long promised adaptation of the famed manga Battle Angel Alita would never materialize, but when the megastar director conceded the reigns to Robert Rodriguez, the project was at last brought to life. Sadly, the uncanny valley effect of the film’s bug-eyed CG protagonist did not entice large audiences, and while well regarded by fans of the manga, the response was not effusive enough to guarantee the sequel promised in the film’s ending. Join Sebastian, Chris and

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159 results

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