What happens when you greenlight a sequel without a proper script or star? Somehow, you get the best superhero movie ever made.

Two years after the mega-success of the first Spider-Man feature film, Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2 was released in the Summer of 2004 to wide acclaim among critics and fans alike. A film that almost starred Jake Gyllenhaal as Peter Parker; filmed with a Frankensteined script from multiple drafts rewritten on the fly; it’s a movie that has no right to be as good as it is.

Join Nick and Scott as they break down how a movie with multiple plot holes and questionable character arcs can be miraculously held together by good vibes and a strong central theme to become a superhero cinema classic.

(NOTE: This episode features clips from the podcast SPIDER-MAN MINUTE hosted by Scott Carelli and Zach Luna, originally released in April of 2018.)

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

With Great Podcast, Comes Great Responsibility… and so FRANCHISOGRAPHY returns with a new mini-series focused on everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.

It’s difficult to understate the impact that SPIDER-MAN had on pop culture when it hit theaters in 2002. Filled to the brim with meme-able moments, memorable characters, and an iconic kiss that has never been matched, the first film to feature Peter Parker was unstoppable. Not only was it the first film to ever break $100 million at the box office in its opening weekend, it eventually became the top-grossing domestic film of the year, beating Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings.

And with that, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man launched superhero cinema into the stratosphere.

Join Nick and Scott as they try to pinpoint just what makes this movie so special and how it continues to stand the test of time.

(NOTE: This episode features clips from the podcast SPIDER-MAN MINUTE hosted by Scott Carelli and Zach Luna, originally released in April of 2017.)

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

We interrupt our regularly scheduled mini-series with a BONUS FEATURE as we return to Wes Anderson for a look at his latest film, 2023’s ASTEROID CITY.

Releasing less than 2 years after The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson returns to cinemas with another film featuring a framing device and a massive ensemble. This time, a play about a small desert town forced into quarantine after an interaction with an alien visitor and the effect it has on the lives of the people trapped there.

Join Nick and Scott as they dig into one of Wes Anderson’s best films, as well as his deepest and most thematically rich as it examines life’s biggest questions and the very nature of art itself.

Next Week: SPIDER-MAN begins!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the conclusion of the Apatow mini-series, what they want to see him do next, and announce our next mini-series (beginning on July 14)!

Next Week: ASTEROID CITY

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producers: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

As all of humanity grappled with a worldwide pandemic, writer-director Judd Apatow wanted to provide filmgoers with distraction and laughter, but could he provide that distraction while also investigating the existential crisis of lockdown and quarantine with his patented brand of honesty and self-deprecation? The answer it turns out was a resounding no.

Subbing out his grounded, humanistic style with bawdy slapstick and uncharacteristic mean-spiritedness, THE BUBBLE is unlike any movie Apatow had ever made before and, hopefully, unlike any movie he ever makes again.

The Apatow era of FRANCHISOGRAPHY somehow ends with both a whimper and a bang as Nick and Scott take on one of their toughest challenges yet.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Five years after Trainwreck, director Judd Apatow was now nearly two decades into his storied career as Hollywood’s leading comedy director. For his next film, Apatow would return to a now familiar formula: Collaborating with a young star-in-the-making to craft a deeply personal, semi-autobiographical character study that mixed big laughs with honest self-examination.

This time, his muse would be then-26-year-old Pete Davidson, a stand-up wunderkind turned Saturday Night Live superstar more well-known for his list of famous ex-girlfriends than his film and TV roles. But Davidson had a mission with his first big movie, emotional baggage he needed to process in order to grow not just as an actor and comedian, but a person.

In interviews, Apatow had often said his love of working with actors in their first projects stemmed from their hunger and passion for finally bringing their story to the screen, and in Pete Davidson, he may have found his ultimate collaborator. This is THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND.

No guests. Just vibes.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

One day while stuck in LA traffic, Judd Apatow heard stand-up comedian Amy Schumer talking on Howard Stern and felt the same excitement and curiosity he felt when he first discovered Steve Carrell, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and Lena Dunham. And so, after brokering a deal between himself, Schumer, and his old home at Universal Studios, Apatow began work on a more back-to-basics romantic comedy than his two previous films.

This is TRAINWRECK.

With exceptional performances from supporting actors like Bill Hader, Brie Larson and LeBron James, can a movie still work if its star just might be delivering its weakest performance?

Nick and Scott hold nothing back on this brutally honest episode of FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

No guests. Just vibes.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

We interrupt your regularly scheduled mini-series for a Centenisode!

Join Nick and Scott as they celebrate 100 episodes of Franchisography, answer listener questions, and rank all of the franchises that we’ve covered so far.

Plus, what better way to commemorate our 100th episode than discussing both entries in a franchise that we wouldn’t be able to cover as a regular mini-series? The story of two high school rivals who become cops and eventually best friends when they go undercover as high school students, and then again as college students, with strong ties to our very first mini-series.

It’s Lord & Miller’s 21 JUMP STREET & 22 JUMP STREET.

Strap in folks, it’s gonna be a long one.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

2009’s Funny People was neither the critical nor the commercial success that his previous films were, but for his follow-up, writer/director Judd Apatow decided to get even more personal while returning to familiar characters from the world of his previous blockbuster success, Knocked Up, with 2012’s THIS IS 40.

Gathering stories of middle-aged anxiety and marital angst with wife and muse Leslie Mann, Apatow crafted a comedy that put honesty and vulnerability above easy laughs and easier answers. Would audiences return after their chilly response to Funny People?

Scott and Nick struggle to shape this ambling collection of scenes and sketches into a story, but you the listener will have no such difficulty enjoying this loose and (of course) honest addition of FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

No guests. Just vibes.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

In the wake of Knocked Up’s critical and commercial success, Judd Apatow has become “The Guy:” The Guy Who Brought You Superbad,” “The Guy Who Brought You Pineapple Express,” “The Guy Who Brought You Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

But as his empire reached new heights, Apatow prepared his riskiest film yet; A two and a half hour comedy-drama starring his former roomier Adam Sandler as a lonelier, more bitter variation on his beloved funnyman persona. At once an affectionate look back at his days as a hungry stand up comedian in Hollywood and also a melancholy examination of fame in the face of mortality, regret and middle age. It seemed like American film audiences couldn’t get enough of the lovable, profane comedies of Judd Apatow, but what would they think of FUNNY PEOPLE?

Join Scott and Nick on a meandering journey that leads them through the comedy clubs of Los Angeles to the forests of Marin County for a FRANCHISOGRAPHY that digs deeper than ever before.

No guests. Just vibes.

Become a Premier Tier PATREON supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick!

Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw

Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra