Failure to Franchise

This is a show about franchises, and we all know a big part of franchises is spin-offs. So here then is the first installment of our occasional bonus spin-off series, in which we take a brief look at failed TV pilots that never made it to series. Just in time for the release of WW84, we're kicking off with a look at the 2011 WONDER WOMAN pilot, from writer David E. Kelley and starring Adrianne Palicki as the Amazonian superhero (and, interestingly enough, WW84's Pedro Pascal in a supporting role). DC has had a number of successful TV series in recent years...why wasn't this one of them? Listen on to find out. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

When is a Batman movie NOT a Batman movie? How literal can a movie's title be? Can you convince an Academy Award winning actress at the height of her stardom to rub her face in catnip and swat at insects? Is there anything sexier than an alley pick-up game of one-on-one basketball? And who is the mysterious man known only as...Pitof?? In this episode, we answer these questions and more, as we take a look at the ill-fated 2004 attempt to create a new version of an iconic DC comic character. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

One of the biggest movie stars of the moment, re-teaming with the director of his recent mega-success sci-fi comedy blockbuster for ANOTHER sci-fi comedy blockbuster. What could possibly go wrong? Well, clearly something did, or else we wouldn't be talking about 1999's WILD WILD WEST on this show. So join us as we try to get to the bottom of this infamous mess, with all the misplaced sexual innuendo, casual racism, and giant mechanical spiders it entails. It will be a "wicky-wicky-wild" time. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

While the failure of 1995's JUDGE DREDD might have left some believing the character's cinematic journey was over, time has shown that Hollywood will let no IP with a substantial enough fanbase be left alone forever. And so, in 2012, we were given a brand-new attempt at bringing Mega-City One's toughest Judge to the screen...and this time, the helmet stays on. But how does the movie stack up even beyond that one crucial detail? Why isn't Karl Urban a bigger star? When is a director maybe NOT a director? And just what exactly does Justin Bieber have to do with all of it? We explore these questions and more in part two of our Judge Dredd spectacular. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

"He takes off the helmet?!" This became the go-to, angry exclamation of JUDGE DREDD fans around the world when the cult favorite British comic book series was adapted into a 1995 Hollywood summer blockbuster. For these "Dredd-heads," this betrayal of an iconic visual tradition was indicative of a larger sense that the film didn't understand the spirit of their beloved character. But IS the movie really as bad as the comic fans (and, to be fair, most of the rest of the world, too) claimed at the time? And, if so, who is ultimately to blame, when considering a production that was, by most accounts, fraught with tension between the megastar at its center and a young, unproven director determined to do right by the comic he grew up loving? The answers...will probably NOT shock you. But listen anyway! Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

In the wake the financial success of 2009's FRIDAY THE 13th reboot, New Line and Platinum Dunes were eager to revive the other slasher icon of the '80s. But this time, they faced different significant challenges...is it possible to recast Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger? Could a music video director making his feature debut bring the same class and style as horror master Wes Craven? And what would audiences expect to see from a more modern take on the franchise, with a bigger budget and an allegedly more "serious" and "realistic" take on the story? The attempt to answer these questions would result in one of the more maligned examples of the 2000's horror remake boom...but do we believe it deserves its frightfully bad reputation? Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

After dominating the slasher sub-genre throughout the '80s, and heading to space and then doing battle with his biggest box-office rival Freddy in the early 2000's, what else was left for everyone's favorite hockey-masked, homicidal mama's boy to do? Why, take part in the horror remake craze of the mid-'00s, of course! This episode, we take a look at Platinum Dunes' 2009 reboot of FRIDAY THE 13th, discussing both its worth as an overall entry in the franchise, and why, despite financial success, it didn't kick-start a new era of Camp Crystal Lake as clearly intended. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

"Video game movie." This three-word phrase has sent a shudder down the spine of gamers and movie fans alike for almost three decades. To say this particular sub-genre has a spotty track record is an understatement. And it all started with a failed attempt to begin a new cinematic series featuring the most popular video game franchise of them all. In terms of pop culture in 1993, it didn't get much hotter than Super Mario Brothers...so what exactly went wrong with the movie? In this episode, we take a look at the film's troubled production and bizarre creative decisions, in order to try to answer that question. Plus, the debut of everyone's next favorite podcast-within-a-podcast, "Let's Go, Leguizamo!" Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

After a wave of independent and foreign MAD MAX rip-off films dominated video store shelves throughout the 1980s, Hollywood finally took its own shot, in a big way, at the post-apocalyptic wasteland action genre in the mid-90s. Swapping vast desert for a flooded earth, and starring mega-star (at the time) Kevin Costner, WATERWORLD arrived in theaters amidst bad behind-the-scenes buzz and a reputation as the most expensive movie ever made. But would it be able to overcome all that and still launch a wildly successful franchise?? Well...no. And in this episode, we discuss why not. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

How could the reboot of a beloved '80s comedy classic, coming from the filmmaker behind one of the 2010's most successful comedies and starring a number of popular performers, end up one of the most controversial films in recent memory? The hysteria and heated debates surrounding 2016's GHOSTBUSTERS might be one of the elements it is ultimately best remembered for...but are they really the only reasons this attempted franchise relaunch didn't take off? Join us as we attempt to find out, cause we ain't afraid of no GHOSTBUSTERS discussion. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

An iconic character that influenced 100 years of storytelling. An award-winning, critically-acclaimed filmmaker. A rising star in the lead role. All in the hands of the biggest movie studio in the world. When Disney's JOHN CARTER arrived in 2012, it seemed to have a lot going for it. And yet, it ended up arguably the most infamous bomb in recent cinematic history. So what happened? In our first episode, we investigate the behind-the-scenes decisions that may have sunk the film fans had been waiting a century for. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

Before embarking on a bi-weekly quest to chronicle some of Hollywood's most infamous failures, we take a moment to introduce ourselves, and explain what lies ahead. How will we go about discussing the movies we cover? What do we think constitutes a franchise non-starter in the first place? And how do we feel about the modern day dependence on franchise film-making in general? All these questions and more are covered, as we gear up for Failure to Franchise. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd