Franchisography

Good evening, Mr/Ms. Listener. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join us for the espionage sequel that launched the live action career for an animation director.

After Tom Cruise’s deal on M:I 3 created issues for Paramount’s bottom line, Viacom head honcho Sumner Redstone nuked Cruise’s production deal with the studio and badmouthed him to the press. It seemed that the franchise was over until film piracy became such a major issue for the entertainment business that only one man could concoct an impossible mission to save it with a stunt so wild that audiences would have no choice but to buy a ticket.

The film? MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL. The director? Brad Bird. The spy tech? Malfunctioning. The banter? Perfection. Join Nick and Scott as they have the time of their lives revisiting this gourmet popcorn movie that does everything right.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Good evening, Mr/Ms. Listener. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join us for the espionage sequel that started the cinematic career of a television director.

The year was 2006, and a sequel to MI2 had spent six years in development hell as a handful of directors had all come and gone, one of which with an entire alternate cast attached. But after an exuberant incident involving a coach, producer/star Tom Cruise was at a crossroads with moviegoers and desperately needed a win. He finally turns to the creator of ABC’s hit spy series ALIAS for a shot at the big leagues. The result is a film that redefines what this franchise can and should be going forward.

The film? MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III. The director? J.J. Abrams. The star? On the back foot. Nick and Scott? Absolutely delighted.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Good evening, Mr/Ms. Listener. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch the high octane sequel to the espionage summer blockbuster four years in the making.

The year was 2000, and a highly anticipated sequel was released in the early days of summer that would take the pop culture and MTV’s Total Request Live by storm with not one, but two hit singles by the likes of Limp Bizkit and Metallica. After a sequel developed by director Oliver Stone went belly-up, Tom Cruise chose a Hong Kong action director to replace him. The result is a film with an identity crisis, and not just from all of the masks.

The film? MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II. The director? John Woo. The doves? Present. The sun glasses? Exploded. Join Nick and Scott for a trip to a time when Australia was Hollywood’s favorite location, and everything on screen smells like Mountain Dew and Taco Bell.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Good evening, Mr/Ms. Listener. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch every entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise along with the newest mini-series from the podcast FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

The year was 1996, and a film based on a 1960s television series would be released in the early days of summer that would continue with new entries in its franchise for the next 30 years. Starring Tom Cruise, the film would be his first as Producer, and he would go on to handpick the director of every entry going forward. To start? Legendary filmmaker Brian De Palma would get behind the camera for the first film, who would create a sequence for the film that has lived on in cinematic iconography ever since.

The film? MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. The podcast? Franchisography. The hosts? Nick and Scott. The listener? You.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the Fantastic Four, the current state of the MCU, look ahead toward First Steps, and announce our next mini-series!

Next week: A new franchise begins!

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Sky High (2005)

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Well that didn’t work! After Rise of the Silver Surfer failed to up the ante at the level of a Spider-Man 2 or X2: X-Men United, Marvel and Fox decided to hit the reset button and reboot the adventures of Marvel’s first family and bring in an exciting new director, Chronicle’s Josh Trank.

There was just one problem: Trank didn’t much care for the Fantastic Four or superhero stories in general. What he did care about was blazing a trail through Hollywood and crafting a cinematic legacy to rival Spielberg’s. What would transpire next is a saga of deceit, mistrust, paranoia and generally bad vibes for everyone involved, including audiences. This is 2015’s FAN4STIC!

Nick and Scott’s thrilling exploration through this tragic and disjointed franchise comes to a shocking conclusion in this unforgettable episode of FRANCHISOGRAPHY!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

This week’s FRANCHISOGRAPHY digs deep into one of the most infamous comic book movies in all of nerd history, a film that manages to whittle down a three part masterpiece of sequential art into a 90-something minute comedy and reduces one of the most awe-inspiring cosmic characters in all the Marvel universe into a CLOUD.

How did it come to this, true believers? Only our pair of podcasting pals Nick and Scott have the answer! 2005’s Fantastic Four was by no means a flop, but left much to be desired for both die hard fans and general audiences. When Marvel and Fox gave Tim Story a shot at a sequel, he knew he had to go big or go home. This is 2007’s FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER. Prepare your ears for the grandest audio adventure of all time! EXCELSIOR!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

With Marvel’s First Family finally taking their “First Steps” into the MCU, Nick and Scott are marking the occasion by looking back at the previous attempts to bring those iconic Silver Age explorers to the big screen! Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben have had a rough go of it when it comes to cinematic adventures, and FRANCHISOGRAPHY is here to find out why!

After successfully sabotaging a small budget, big hearted Roger Corman production in 1994, Marvel would team up with 20th Century Fox to toil for the next decade in adapting Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s legendary comic book series, finally doing so with the director of Barbershop and Taxi, Tim Story. With a cast of some of the hottest actors of the 2000’s and the momentum of a comic book movie revolution at his back, could Story deliver where so many other filmmakers had faltered? This is 2005’s FANTASTIC FOUR!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the state of female filmmaker “authors”, rank the films of Small Talk and Big Kitchens, and announce our next mini-series!

Next week: A new franchise begins!

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Home Again (2017) / Sleeping With Other People (2015)

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

SMALL TALK & BIG KITCHENS, our mini-series on the romcoms of Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers, comes to a close with the feel-good comedy about learning from your elders and falling in platonic love.

After It’s Complicated, Nancy Meyers wanted something new. She’d had enough of the tropes that had turned her career into a meme and brand and wanted to focus away from romance. With 2015’s THE INTERN, Meyers wanted to express her frustration with how working mothers are perceived, her empathy for the struggles of modern Millennial “boys”, and the kind of friendship a 70 year old man has to offer a 30 something woman.

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss everything on the mind of Nancy Meyer’s most recent (but hopefully not final) film.

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