Franchisography

Five years after the most successful Rocky movie ever made, Stallone decided to write a bittersweet ending for his character that attempted to bring him back to his Philadelphia roots in 1990’s ROCKY V, this time with original director John Avildson returning. But with heavily criticized performances by a real non-actor boxer (Tommy Morrison) and his real son (Sage Stallone), Rocky as a trainer instead of a boxer, and a fight on the street instead of in the ring to end the movie, the fifth Rocky would become the least successful film in the franchise and the most controversial among fans.

Scott and Nick are joined by Bentley Michaels (Clerks: The Musical) to figure out what went wrong and if the “worst Rocky” is really as bad as everyone says.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the immense success of Rocky III, Stallone looked to a real pair of boxing matches between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling for inspiration, updating the conflict with WWII Nazi Germany to Cold War Soviet Union. But to make it personal, Stallone would give Rocky more than just American pride to fight for.

In 1985’s ROCKY IV he would give him something to avenge: Apollo Creed.

Returning guest Chris O’Conner (Geek By Night) joins Scott and Nick to figure out if there’s more to this 80s guilty pleasure than birthday robots and endless musical montages, and discuss the changes Stallone recently made in his quarantine pet project, “Rocky Vs Drago” the Rocky IV re-edit.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett

We pity the fool who skips this episode!

As Stallone puts it, Rocky made him famous, but Rocky II made him rich. And with this newfound success, he wanted to give his underdog boxer character a similar trajectory, turning him into the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That is until an unknown boxer challenges his title, forcing Rocky to learn a new way of doing things through the forging of a new friendship with an old adversary. But does he have the eye of the tiger to see it through?

Scott and Nick are joined by podcaster Brad Mendenhall (Cosmic Gepetto) to discuss Philly pride, questionable boxing techniques, and the pop culture phenomenon of 1982’s ROCKY III.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett

Ain’t gonna be no rematch? We’ll see about that… 

After its immense success, the writer and star of Rocky found himself dealing with sudden celebrity status and knew just where to take his Italian American hero on his next adventure. But the rematch of the century would lead to Stallone betting on himself yet again in an effort to add another credit to his resume as director. The eventual sequel would be 1979’s ROCKY II, a film with just as much heart as its predecessor, but would establish the familiar tropes that audiences would come to expect in every entry going forward. 

Nick & Scott give you their best as they’re joined by Bethany Carelli (Scott’s wife!) to discuss the very personal connection this sequel has to their relationship.

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Crack some raw eggs into a glass and start your morning run because thanks to our listeners FRANCHISOGRAPHY is getting into the ring to go the distance with the most successful sports movie franchise of all time, starting with the classic underdog story and Best Picture winner, 1976’s ROCKY.

Throughout the 1970s, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor just trying to make ends meet when a boxing match would inspire him to write a script in 4 days about an amateur boxer being given a shot at the title. But while Hollywood was very interested in Stallone’s story, offering him more money than he’d ever seen for the script, they wanted to make the movie without the unknown actor in the titular role. Stallone would need to put it all on the line and bet on himself to get the movie made on a budget of less than $1 million, a decision that would change his life forever.

Join Nick & Scott as they go all fifteen rounds with returning guest Niall McGowan to discuss everything that makes the Italian Stallion worth a shot.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the conclusion of the Evil Dead mini-series, speculate about next year’s Evil Dead Rise, and discuss the start of the listener-chosen Rocky mini-series beginning next week.

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producers: Matt Bennett & Michael McKendry

The body might stay the same, but the laughs are few and far between in the film that might have invented the modern “elevated horror” genre:

Don’t say it, don’t write it, don’t hear it, it’s 2013’s EVIL DEAD.

Between Platinum Dunes and Japanese imports, the mid-2000s were lousy with horror remakes and most of them were… well, pretty lousy! So when up-and-coming filmmaker Fede Alvarez was handpicked to direct a remake of the 1981 classic, no one thought it would be a good idea. Little did we know, however, that by returning the franchise to its grueling horror roots and adding a healthy dose of thematic allegory, Alvarez would end up making one of the greatest horror remakes of all time, largely embraced by fans and critics alike.

Another FRANCHISOGRAPHY mini-series comes to a close (for now) as Nick & Scott are joined by returning guest Billy McCartney to gush about a lead performance that rivals the best horror heroines in history. 

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We’re falling through time to pay off a cliffhanger as Ash Williams goes up against the Medival Dead in 1992’s ARMY OF DARKNESS.

After the success of DARKMAN, Sam Raimi was ready to turn EVIL DEAD into a studio picture, and Universal Pictures was more than happy to oblige. What they wanted was a PG-13 adventure film, but what they got was a barely R-rated horror comedy that was notoriously difficult to market and ultimately flopped at the box office. However, the film would go on to become an instant cable classic and to this day, remains the only feature film from a major studio featuring Bruce Campbell in a lead role. 

Film critic Jeremiah Sherman has his boomstick at the ready as he joins Nick & Scott to explode as many skeletons on screen as possible in this deadite-lite episode of FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

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Strap on your chainsaw and hop in the Classic because we’re headed back to the cabin for 1987’s EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN.

After his sophomore effort proved to be a financial flop and creative misfire, Sam Raimi was ready to reopen the Necronomicon. But there would be no need to beg dentists for money this time around! Legendary Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis gives the greenlight on Raimi and co.’s horror sequel and manages to make it profitable before they had even begun shooting, allowing for more blood, more gore, and more campy hijinx than ever before. 

Groovy horror aficionado Pat Driscol joins Scott & Nick to swallow the soul of this splat-stick horror masterpiece on an all-new (except for that reshot recap) FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

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Fire up that reel-to-reel tape recorder and stay out of the woods because FRANCHISOGRAPHY is back with the ultimate mini-series of grueling terror, and it all begins with 1981’s THE EVIL DEAD.

In the winter of 1979, a group of young friends from Michigan, went to a cabin in the woods of Tennesee to make a movie on a shoestring budget. What followed was a miserable experience for everyone involved; a shoot held together with duct tape, 2x4s, and determination. But the result? A horror film unlike anything that anyone had ever seen, that would launch the careers of its director, a barely 20-year-old Sam Raimi, and star, the boyishly handsome Bruce Campbell.

Joining Nick & Scott is writer Anya Crittenton to decipher the text of this horror classic and decide if there’s more to it than corn syrup and reusable hard contacts.

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Patreon Associate Producers: Matt Bennett & Michael McKendry