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Failure to Franchise: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Trev & Chris
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.
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- 3 weeks ago1h 25m
Episode 157 - Kull the Conqueror (1997)
"Lamentations of their Winter," our series dedicated to failed franchise starters based on the works of Robert E. Howard, continues! This time, we're looking at a movie based on Howard's classic barbarian character! No...not, Conan. We're not there yet. And no, not Red Sonja, either. We just did that last time! No, this time we're looking at his other barbarian character, Kull of Atlantis. And yet, any confusion is understood, as 1997's Kull the Conqueror was originally meant to be a Conan film, and is at least partly based on a Howard story that was published at different times as both a Conan story and a Kull story! Got all that? If not, don't worry. We're here to walk you through this very '90s sword and sorcery "epic," full of hallmarks of that decade - from the hard-rock soundtrack to the dodgy FX to, well, Kevin Sorbo in the lead role. Why didn't Kull make Sorbo a movie star in the same way Conan the Barbarian did for Arnold? We certainly have our theories. Listen on to hear them, and more. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
- Oct 6, 20261h 35m
Episode 156 - Red Sonja (1985) w/ Special Guest: Bryan Kristopowitz
What is best in life? Well, let's hope it's watching a bunch of failed franchise starters, because we're kicking off a brand new theme dedicated entirely to films based on the works of legendary pulp author Robert E. Howard. That's right, it's time to hear "The Lamentations of their Winter!" To kick it off, it's 1985's Red Sonja, the first attempt to forge a cinematic franchise out of the fiery red-headed warrior loosely based on a Howard character (but really more based on the comic book character inspired by Howard's character...we know, it's confusing). Serving as a sort of sequel, sort of spin-off to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan series, and even featuring Arnold himself in a supporting role, Red Sonja seemed perfectly poised to be a huge hit and possibly turn debuting star Brigitte Nielsen into a megastar just like Conan the Barbarian did for Arnold. Except, uh...that didn't happen. Why not? We're here to discuss. And since we're kicking off another series with an '80s action film, who better to help us than returning guest Bryan Kristopowitz, author of Not Coming to a Theater Near You!: 50 Great Direct-to-Video Action Flicks of the Early 2000s. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd Buy Bryan's book HERE, titled: Not Coming to a Theater Near You!: 50 Great Direct-to-Video Action Flicks of the Early 2000s
- Sep 22, 20261h 40m
Episode 155 - The Fall Guy (2024)
"FALLure to Franchise" concludes with a very recent movie. One starring two big movie-stars coming off of the biggest hits of their career, directed by one of the filmmakers behind John Wick, and a movie that helped influence a major Academy Award change. So why the heck wasn't 2024's The Fall Guy a hit?? Your guess is as good as ours, but we're here to try to figure it out. Another cinematic adaptation of a classic TV show, The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the action-comedy tale of a fallen (hey!) stuntman whose attempted comeback is set back when he becomes embroiled in a mysterious criminal plot. Is the movie an effective adaptation of the source material series? Are the stunts as impressive as they should be in a movie dedicated to honoring stunt performers? Has Chris hallucinated unicorns? Would Ryan Gosling be friends with Trev? We ask all these questions, and more! Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
- Sep 8, 20261h 24m
Episode 154 - Fallen (2016)
As exciting as the start of a new theme month usually is here at F2F, this time it comes with a little bit of foreboding, as well. That's because we're kicking off September's "FALLure to Franchise" with a return to one of our most dreaded genres...the YA Lit Adaptation! This time, we're looking at 2016's Fallen, which poses the compelling(?) question...what if Twilight, but with angels? Also based on a popular series of books, and with a clear "it's worked before" template to follow, Fallen seemed to have an easy enough path to follow to at least somewhat replicate the Twilight success, but ultimately the movie was barely released and was barely seen or defended by even the books' most passionate fans. So what went wrong? We're here to investigate...and possibly even reconsider how much credit we give the Twilight series in retrospect. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
- Aug 25, 20261h 44m
Episode 153 - World War Z (2013)
"Summer Surprise" comes to a close, perhaps appropriately, in the form of a shambling, rotting corpse...or, in this case, thousands of them, spilling over each other as they scale a giant wall. That's right, we're looking at 2013's World War Z, the big budget adaptation of author Max Brooks' bestselling "Oral History of the Zombie War." The film overcame skepticism from book fans wary of its massive changes from the source material, and months of well-reported behind-the-scenes chaos - including an entirely scrapped, rethought, and re-shot third act - to still go on to become one of star Brad Pitt's biggest financial hits. But does the film hold up today? Is it a worthy addition to the zombie genre, or a too-bloated, CGI-filled example of Hollywood excess? And if it was such a success, why did we never get that sequel? Join us as we try to avoid getting bit and tackle all these questions, and more! Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
- Aug 11, 20261h 19m
Episode 152 - The Green Hornet (2011)
By 2011, the classic pulp character The Green Hornet had already been featured on the radio (where he was first born), movie screens (in a couple serials from the '40s), TV screens (in the 1966 series co-starring Bruce Lee), and the pages of comic books. As varied as these different versions were, they all played the character and his world fairly straight. Which arguably made the decision to turn the 2011 big-screen adaptation of the character into more of a buddy-comedy movie a unique, bold choice. But does that mean it was a "good" or "effective" choice? "Summer Surprise" continues as we take a look at another film with a long development history; one that faced the dual challenge of trying to turn Seth Rogen into a superhero and introduce Green Hornet and his sidekick Kato to a new, young audience more enamored with the heroes of DC and Marvel. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
- Jul 28, 20261h 38m
Episode 151 - Car 54, Where Are You? (1994) w/ Special Guest: Bede Jermyn
A successful music video director and the filmmaker behind a recently well-received cult hit is hired to helm the cinematic adaptation of a beloved '60s sitcom. Clearly aiming for something more hip and edgy than the original show, he largely eschews the tone of the source material, instead populating his film with esoteric cult celebs and performers, upping the raunch factor, and filming it as a musical. And then...nothing. The movie sits on the shelf for almost four years. Until - unbeknownst to the director himself - it is finally quietly released, in a drastically altered studio cut. Yes, the little-remembered Car 54, Where Are You? is truly one of strangest movies (and stories behind the movie) that we have done yet. So strange, we couldn't tackle it alone! And so, joining us for this New York movie edition of "Summer Surprise" is Trev's co-host from Bede & Trev vs The Big Apple, Bede Jermyn, aka "The Terrible Aussie." Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd Bede's Letterboxd Bede's Linktree Bede & Trev Vs. The Big Apple
- Jul 14, 20261h 27m
Episode 150 - Action Jackson (1988)
A mega-successful Hollywood producer. A popular star ready for his first big lead role. A respected actor one year away from an iconic sitcom role. A singer turned actor enjoying the height of her sex symbol status. Another actress just a few years away from becoming one of the industry's all-time biggest sex symbols. And explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. Put them all together, and you got a stew going, baby! This year's "Summer Surprise," in which we let an online randomizer pick our movies for us, kicks off with Action Jackson, an 80s blaxploitation riff from mega action producer Joel Silver, and starring the late, great Carl Weathers. The film was meant to finally catapult Weathers into the same above-the-title megastar status as his famed co-stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Silver brought along a bunch of cast and crew from his other recent efforts to help make it happen. So, what happened? Why are there multiple Lethal Weapon's, Die Hard's, and Predator's, but only one Action Jackson? We try to figure it out, while jumping out of the way of the sports car barreling down our hallway. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd
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About 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.
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