War of the Worlds (2005)

Who do you think of when you think of Spaghetti Westerns? Because Sergio Leone thinks of... Akira Kurosawa? In this week's primer, Chris & Lizzie dive into the Eurocentric Western revival of the 60's and 70's, how it saved Clint Eastwood's career, drew the scorn of American critics, and gave birth to some of the most stylish movies ever made.This episode is brought to you by Brami. Shop Brami at enjoybrami.com or your nearest retailer, and find their newest shape Cubetti exclusively at Whole Foods.Plus, we're giving away exclusive What Went Wrong x Brami kits! Enter at whatwentbrami.com for your chance to win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It took Christopher Nolan mere minutes to sell Warner Brothers on his vision of Batman. And while he began to change the face of superhero movies with Batman Begins he altered it forever with The Dark Knight. This week Chris and Lizzie break down which element of The Joker made the studio very nervous, why Hong Kong proved incredibly difficult to film in, and how the hell they flipped that 18 wheeler in the middle of downtown Chicago. Find out how a stunt gone wrong resulted in the on-set death of a veteran stunt technician, how Heath Ledger got his iconic role and how it impacted him, and why Harvey Weinstein may be to blame for blocking the film out of the Best Picture category at the Oscars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ become one of the greatest teen comedies of all time? In this Featurette bonus episode, Chris, Lizzie, and special guest Mary from Two Judgey Girls explore the movie that introduced Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles to the world. Find out why the screenwriters clashed with the director, which role Joseph Gordon Levitt really wanted to play, and how that bonkers helicopter shot came to be! Plus discover why this Seattle-based shoot was magical for the cast. Our Featurette episodes are shorter, more relaxed explorations of films we love that don't have quite as much behind-the-scenes drama as a regular What Went Wrong episode... but they’re too fun to skip! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once upon a time there lived a boy who loved monsters. This week, Chris & Lizzie head swap Jim Henson's Labyrinth for Guillermo Del Toro's, err... Pan's, err... the Faun's Labyrinth. They explore Del Toro's dark-fairy-tale of a childhood, his battles with real Hollywood monsters (the Weinsteins), and how an insult to Alfonso Cuarón's face led to arguably his most defining film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Independence Day’ was a runaway hit in the summer of 1996, elevating Will Smith to full blown movie star status, and cementing Roland Emmerich as a major action movie director. But Emmerich and co-writer Dean Devlin had a rocky road to alien domination. This week, Chris and Lizzie discover how Tim Burton’s competing ‘Mars Attacks’ almost canceled out ‘Independence Day’, why the studio didn’t want to cast Will Smith, and how the United States Government threw a major wrench in the works. Plus we reveal how Jeff Goldblum’s most famous line from ‘Jurassic Park’ snuck into the film, and why Bill Pullman’s speech has no business being as excellent as it is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Chris and Lizzie explore the mid-90's full metal misfire, Tank Girl, a movie bursting with creativity that deserved better than it got. From Ice T believing he'd be playing a stripper to Lori Petty knowing she'd gotten the part (even when she explicitly hadn't) and director Rachel Talalay fighting the studio to protect the dildo cut, this one's a doozy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1999, Touchstone thought they had a surefire hit in the works. They had source material by the author of ‘Jurassic Park’ and the director of ‘Die Hard’ behind the camera! But soon things fell apart so spectacularly that ‘The 13th Warrior’ would become one of the year’s biggest box office bombs. This week, Chris and Lizzie unpack how a power struggle between author Michael Crichton and director John McTiernan doomed the film from the start. Find out why making this movie was a battle worthy of Beowulf himself, full of injuries, near death experiences, and pure unadulterated treachery. Don’t worry, Antonio Banderas still comes out looking great!*CORRECTIONS: Chris has the chronology of the score for 'Legend' reversed - Jerry Goldsmith composed the original score (included in the European release of the 'director's cut'), Tangerine Dream was hired to re-score the film for the American release at the behest of the producers. Thanks to Brian McVickar for the correction! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Chris & Lizzie try to unearth the truth behind 2005's War of the Worlds - was it an unmitigated, Cruisian PR disaster? Or was Tom Cruise's bizarre press tour merely a scapegoat? Plus, how Steven Spielberg and company put together a $135M sci-fi epic on a 10 month turn-around, how a couple of B-movie mockbusters beat it to the box office, and yet another concept album throwing a wrench in the works. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In preparation for Monday's episode on War of the Worlds (2005) Chris and Lizzie explore the history of Scientology, the wave of religious movements in early 20th century Los Angeles, and set the table for Tom Cruise's disastrous publicity tour leading up to the release of the film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Giant’ may be remembered as James Dean’s final film, but there is so much more to the story. Chris and Lizzie dive into the making of the classic 1956 film, why James Dean and Rock Hudson couldn’t stand each other, and how Elizabeth Taylor found herself caught between the two. Find out how homophobia tore Rock Hudson’s life apart, why director George Stevens constantly fought with James Dean, and how Dean’s untimely death prior to the end of production set the film on a totally different course. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.