x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Failure to Franchise

A bi-weekly podcast devoted to infamous examples of failed film-franchise starters. In a Hollywood landscape dominated by giant tentpole movies, not all attempted franchises can succeed. Many intended first entries of a series fail to generate the planned sequels due to low box office, poor judgement, or, simply put... utter incompetence. This show is a celebration of (or perhaps a memorial for) those failures, as hosts Trev and Chris dissect what went wrong with these cinematic misfires. @F2Fpod

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:47:29

Episode Fifty-Six - The Pacifier (2005)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/11/08

It's a time-honored "rite of passage" tradition. The biggest action stars of Hollywood attempt to also show their softer side with a light family comedy. Schwarzenegger had Kindergarten Cop. Stallone had Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot! Dwayne Johnson had The Tooth Fairy. John Cena had Playing With Fire. Dolph Lundgren had, uh, Kindergarten Cop 2. And in 2005, one of the industry's more recent rising action stars teamed with Disney to make his own attempt at this image evolution. The film was a big

en

01:32:40

Success to Series #3 - The SAW Franchise

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/31

Do you want to play a game? It's Halloween, so we're dropping an extra-special surprise bonus episode. In the latest installment of our "Success to Series" spin-off, we're looking at one of our favorite horror franchises...Saw! That's right, the James Wan/Leigh Whannell created series that used to be synonymous with Halloween...and perhaps will be again soon? We discuss why we think the series is better than its critical reputation suggests, our favorite twists and traps of the various films, and

en

01:36:01

Episode Fifty-Five - Shocker (1989)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/25

In the 70s, Wes Craven shocked unsuspecting audiences with the unrelenting brutality of The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. In the 80s, he redefined what the slasher-film could be with A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the 90s, he gave horror a thrilling meta-edge with both New Nightmare and Scream. But in 1989, he was, uh, a little less successful with Shocker. So what exactly went wrong with Craven's own attempt to out-do Freddy Krueger with the creation of a new supernatural slasher

en

01:34:57

Episode Fifty-Four - Masters of the Universe (1987)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/10/11

After multiple years as a best-selling toy-line and popular animated series, it seemed like a live-action movie was a can't-miss proposition for Mattel's Masters of the Universe property. But between an untested leading man, a notoriously cheap studio, and disagreements over what the movie should be between various involved parties, even the mighty He-Man was no match for the difficulties of Hollywood franchise filmmaking. "Fall Back to the 80s" continues as we take a look at the film that confused

en

01:29:42

Episode Fifty-Three - Remo Williams: The Adventure...

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/09/27

Positioned as a "red, white, and blue-collar" alternative to the James Bond franchise, based on an extremely popular series of paperback novels, and starring an up-and-coming leading man...the producers of REMO WILLIAMS has every reason to believe the adventure would not just begin, but continue for many years. So what the heck went wrong? Why is a future Star Trek captain so wasted here? Did Wilford Brimley charge producers more if they asked him to stand up? And is it even possible to discuss the

en

01:35:55

Episode Fifty-Two - Streets of Fire (1984)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/09/13

"Custom cars, kissing in the rain, neon, trains in the night, high-speed pursuit, rumbles, rock stars, motorcycles, jokes in tough situations, leather jackets and questions of honor." These were the elements director Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hrs.) said he wanted to include in Streets of Fire, a "Rock'n'Roll Fable" which he saw as a tribute to everything he loved about movies in his youth. But did this mixture of so many influences result in a pretentious, style-over-substance mess, or an

en

01:24:43

Success to Series #2 - Rocky "The Italian Stallion"...

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/08/30

In the second edition of our "spin-off" series focusing on franchises that actually succeeded, we're sticking with the "Fall Back to the 80s" theme to take a look at a series that might not have started in the 80s, but nevertheless is often associated with the decade thanks to two of its most bombastic entries. So what is it about the saga of Rocky Balboa that speaks to audiences so much? Why do these films transcend the mere "sports movie" label? Are the Creed movies a worthy successor to the

en

01:35:13

Episode Fifty-One - The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai...

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/08/16

It's own lead actors didn't understand the script. The studio had no idea how to market it. And many critics of the time were utterly baffled by it. And yet, over the years, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has still attracted a devoted cult following. Is this wild tale of a rock'n'roll scientist battling interdimensional aliens actually a misguided failure, or a misunderstood masterpiece? We're here to discuss that very question, in the latest installment of our "Fall Back

en

01:37:24

Episode Fifty - Flash Gordon (1980)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/08/02

Join us as we "Fall Back to the 80s" (yeah, we know we're starting in the summer...what of it??), a special three-month event dedicated to some of the most infamous failed franchise starters of the 80s. First up, Dino De Laurentis' cult-classic adaptation of a beloved sci-fi character, Flash Gordon. Not only was this movie clearly made to cash in on the Star Wars-mania of the time, but it even has another fascinating connection to George Lucas. But, needless to say, the movie did not fare as well as

en

01:25:22

Episode Forty-Nine - V.I. Warshawski (1991)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/07/19

A bestselling book series about a tough-talking female detective, adapted into a feature starring one of the most successful actresses of the previous decade. It sounds like a can't-miss proposition. And yet 1991's V.I. Warshawski failed to connect with audiences, denying star Kathleen Turner her own crime-thriller franchise. So what happened? Was the hard-boiled style simply out of style? Was the mix of comedy and drama too tough for viewers to take? Or was it just that damn title? Like Warshawski

en

01:36:29

Episode Forty-Eight - The Darkest Minds (2018)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/07/05

The "Summer Surprise" series continues, with this look at the adaptation of the first book in Alexandra Bracken's popular YA dystopian sci-fi series. A world where the only surviving children of a mysterious plague all end up with superpowers, and are thus targeted for extermination, or worse, by the government - it should have been a perfect match-up of the successful YA and Superhero genres. So what happened? Was it simply too late in the YA movie cycle, or were there larger problems at play? Our

en

01:26:46

Episode Forty-Seven - Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/06/21

In the second installment of our second annual "Summer Surprise," we're looking at the final feature film of a legendary comedy director. Not only that, but it was another entry in a mega-successful, beloved franchise from that very same director. So why didn't this attempt to restart the series after a long break catch on with audiences? Well, there are many answers to that (and we discuss many of them here), but let's just go ahead and say the transition from Peter Sellers to Roberto Benigni was

en

01:29:22

Episode Forty-Six - Men In Black: International (2019)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/06/07

It's the first instalment of the second annual "Summer Surprise," where we're letting an online randomizer choose our next watches. First up, a very recent attempt to relaunch a once mega-successful summer sci-fi/comedy blockbuster series...without the original stars or director. But is the addition of two MCU actors (Chris Hemsworth & Tessa Thompson) fresh off the success of another humorous box-office hit (Thor: Ragnarok) enough to nevertheless revive this franchise? Well...no. The real question

en

01:21:28

Episode Forty-Five - Vacation (2015)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/05/24

In part two of "May the Farce be with You," we're looking at 2015's attempt to reboot a beloved comedy franchise...but this time with a new leading man, new attitude, and without a signature part of the original title. What makes for an effective "legacy sequel?" Is Ed Helms as strong a lead as Chevy Chase? And just how mean-spirited is too mean-spirited, when it comes to comedy? All this and more is discussed, as we look at "NOT National Lampoon's" Vacation. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram

en

01:38:01

Episode Forty-Four - Mortdecai (2015)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/05/10

Our "May the Farce be with You" event kicks off with a look at 2015's Mortdecai, the movie that seeks to answer the eternal question - just how many jokes can one film make about a single mustache? While star Johnny Depp had enjoyed an impressive, long-time-coming reign as one of Hollywood's biggest stars during the first decade of the 2000's, his career was clearly floundering by the time he strapped on Mortdecai's signature handlebar mustache...and the resultant critical and box-office reaction

en

01:29:09

Episode Forty-Three - Sky High (2005)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/04/26

In part two of "April Showers Bring April Powers," we're looking at Disney's mid-aughts superhero comedy, Sky High. With Kurt Russell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danielle Panabaker, Kelly Preston, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Kevin Heffernan, Lynda Carter, Jim Rash, Cloris Leachman, and even the voice of Patrick Warburton, it's one of the most impressively geek-friendly casts of all time. But was a pre-MCU audience ready for a movie designed to poke fun at tropes that hadn't yet fully

en

01:40:41

Episode Forty-Two - Hancock (2008)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/04/12

In a surprisingly topical kick-off to our "April Showers Bring April Powers" event, we're taking a look at a film where beloved Hollywood "good guy" Will Smith plays a jerk who the public doesn't really trust, and who is in desperate need of some image-restoring PR. Sound oddly familiar? Well, that's just a happy coincidence, because Hancock was actually a long-gestating project - a superhero genre deconstruction that, ironically, hit theaters just as the superhero genre was really about to take

en

01:25:45

Episode Forty-One - The Rhythm Section (2020)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/03/29

Is 2020's THE RHYTHM SECTION an artsy, introspective deconstruction of the spy-movie and revenge-thriller genres, or is it a high-octane, blockbuster attempt to create a new female-led James Bond-style franchise? The answer, depending on who you ask, is "yes," and therein perhaps is the problem. When EON Productions decided to branch out from Bond and give another literary spy-action series a whirl as a cinematic venture, they probably figured their experience guiding the most successful, enduring

en

01:09:32

Success to Series #1 - James Bond 007

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/03/15

And now, for something completely different. In the first edition of our new "spin-off" show, we're turning out attention from the world of failed franchises to franchises that not only very much worked, but that we're big fans of. Join us as we discuss the James Bond franchise, sharing our thoughts on what makes this particular franchise work - why it's so iconic, why it has stood the test of time, and how we each rank the individual Bond actors. All this and more, in what we hope is a little bit

en

01:26:00

Episode Forty - Salt (2010)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/03/01

It's a new month, and a new theme. We're kicking off "March Mix-Up," a series devoted to both the bad and good of spy cinema, with a look at Phillip Noyce's Salt, from 2010. Originally developed as a spy thriller franchise for Tom Cruise, the film was ultimately reworked to instead be a star vehicle for Angelina Jolie. Was this an upgrade? Are influences of the Bourne films a hindrance or a benefit? And how does the movie, while only being a little over ten years old, hold up today, in a landscape

en

142 results

Similar Podcasts

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Nerd Culture - A Gamekings Podcast

Blammo Media

UPodcast

UPodcast

The Writers Hangout

Sandy Adomaitis

The Sarah Fraser Show

Sarah Fraser