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

01:44:44

Episode Sixty-Six - The Rocketeer (1991)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/03/28

"Pulp Frustration" continues, as we look at another early-90s Disney action movie. But this time, it's not one of the original, beloved pulp characters from yesteryear, but rather an adaptation of a cult favorite 80s comic meant to pay homage to the classic serial heroes of old. Part superhero origin story, part historical pastiche, part Indiana Jones-esque adventure (complete with clubbering Nazi's), The Rocketeer seemed to be an easy recipe for success in a post Batman '89 world. And yet...here we

en

01:47:52

Episode Sixty-Five - Dick Tracy (1990)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/03/14

We kick off our two-month "Pulp Frustration" series, dedicated to the 90s obsession with adapting pulp heroes to the big screen, with the 1990 Warren Beatty vanity project, Dick Tracy! How long was a Tracy movie in development before finally happening? How did Beatty convince an all-star cast to appear in something so outrageous? Was the character still relevant enough to entice modern audiences of the time? Why did the movie forever change how Disney did business moving forward? What the heck was

en

01:58:14

Episode Sixty-Four - Vampire Academy (2014) w/ GUEST!

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/28

"Will You Be My VAMPentine" concludes with a trip back to one of our most dreaded genres - the YA Lit adaptation! But this time, we weren't willing to do it alone. We're joined by our friend Jackie, an ardent fan of the Vampire Academy book series, to discuss its 2014 big screen adaptation. With the director of Mean Girls and the writer of Heathers(!!) in charge, what could have possibly gone wrong? Well...about that. We're taking a look at Vampire Academy's place in a post-Twilight world, a

en

01:35:34

Success to Series #4 - Underworld

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/21

In this special bonus "Will You Be My VAMPentine"-themed episode of our "Success to Series" spin-off, we're squeezing into our tightest leathers, cranking the early 2000's nu-metal, and diving into the immortal war between vampires and werewolves...err, sorry, "lycans." That's right, it's a look at Underworld, the critically maligned but financially successful action/monster mash-up that we can't help but love...maybe even more than its own leading lady. What is it about this series that attracted

en

01:33:41

Episode Sixty-Three - Vampirella (1996)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/02/14

Travel back with us to a time when comic-book movies were less cool (and certainly less respectable), to examine how one of comic's most enduring cult heroines ended up with only one feature film to her name: a little-known, made-for-cable oddity from cult-movie king Roger Corman, and T&A/Schlock movie "maestro" Jim Wynorski. Between a leading lady the director didn't want, to the surprising casting of a famous rock star in the villain role, to a Vegas-based production fraught with

en

01:30:19

Episode Sixty-Two - Charlie's Angels (2019)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/31

When the latest big-screen reboot of the popular 70s TV series Charlie's Angels - this time written and directed by Elizabeth Banks - hit in 2019, the franchise had already proven its cinematic bankability (Banks-ability??). And yet, despite the much-buzzed-about excitement of seeing Kristen Stewart taking on a "fun" role in a big Hollywood action-blockbuster, and the intrigue of two potential new stars with Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska, Banks's film failed to connect with audiences. But was this

en

01:37:03

Episode Sixty-One - Baywatch (2017)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/17

Baywatch, the series, was once the most watched television show in the world. Baywatch, the movie, was...well...not the most watched movie of 2017, to put it lightly. So, what went wrong? Did they simply wait too long to make a Baywatch movie? Was it a bad idea to go the tongue-in-cheek parody route? Or could the problem perhaps lie with the lead actor, Dwayne Johnson, who - despite his oft-repeated "Franchise Viagra" reputation - failed to rescue this one from the choppy box office waters. We're

en

01:25:50

Episode Sixty - The A-Team (2010)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/01/03

Are you ready to "Ring in 2023 with the ABC's of TV?" That's right - we're kicking off the new year with three episodes dedicated to feature adaptations of beloved TV shows. First up, Joe Carnahan's adaptation of the classic 80s Mr. T action series, The A-Team. This movie version had a lot to accomplish - solidify Liam Neeson's new action-star career resurgence, make a movie star out of UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, prove Sharlto Copley's District 9 success wasn't a fluke, and show that

en

01:52:23

Episode Fifty-Nine - Lost in Space (1998)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/12/20

In the second installment of this year's "Failure to Franchise with Trev & Chris-tmas," it's a blast from Chris's past, as we're looking at the 90s reboot of a beloved 60s sci-fi series whose reruns were a childhood favorite of Chris's. But does the movie version live up to the show? How does it play for someone less familiar with the original series, like Trev? And why the heck did this thing seemingly kill Matt Leblanc's Hollywood leading man status just as it was beginning? We discuss all this,

en

01:39:26

Episode Fifty-Eight - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm...

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/12/06

The second annual "Failure to Franchise with Trev and Chris-tmas" kicks off with a tribute to the recently departed Kevin Conroy, in the form of an episode dedicated to the one theatrical adventure spun off from Batman: The Animated Series. Long considered by many fans to be one of the finest Batman films ever produced, why did Mask of the Phantasm nonetheless fail at the box office? And, despite its financial failure, how does it succeed in so many elements that the live-action Batman films never

en

01:32:03

Episode Fifty-Seven - The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Failure to Franchise ·

2022/11/22

After Vin Diesel's full return to the Fast & Furious franchise in 2009 steered the series back on track (see what we did there?), he once again enjoyed the sort of clout he hadn't seen since early in his career. He utilized this clout to indulge in some of his "nerdier" sci-fi and fantasy interests. First, by bringing back his beloved Riddick character for a third film. And then, in 2015, by trying to start up a brand-new franchise loosely based on the original character he had created for his own

en

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

153 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