Advertise on podcast: WHAT WENT WRONG

'Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ meets David Lowery’s ‘Mother Mary’ in this week’s bonus review episode. Chris and Lizzie break down the two new releases, their chances at the box office, and where they went right. Find out how we feel about entering the Anne Hathaway Summer, how Lee Cronin brings Exorcist AND Evil Dead vibes to one of the most classic movie monsters, and why both movies were surprisingly gooey! The Mummy section starts at 3:25 The Mother Mary section begins at 23:34

On the morning of November 24, 2014—just a few days before Thanksgiving—Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked. It was one of the most damaging business hacks in U.S. history. Some estimates put the cost to Sony at over a hundred million dollars. And when former Sony head Michael Lynton looked at what happened, he came to an uncomfortable conclusion: that it may have been all his fault. In this episode from Revisionist History, Michael tells host Malcolm Gladwell about the time thatgreenlighting a film led to an international incident. Find Revisionist History wherever you get your podcasts. Link: https://lnk.to/WWWRevisionistHistory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of 'Taxi Driver', which is somehow even more relevant now than it was in 1976. But the truth is 'Taxi Driver' almost didn't make it to the screen.  This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader fought to make a dark, deeply uncommercial script on a shoestring budget, that made the studio nervous from the start. Discover why the Board of Education nearly blocked Jodie Foster's controversial casting, and how Robert De Niro stepped in as her de facto acting coach on set. Plus find out how Scorsese wound up as a last minute replacement for one of his own actors, and why the production almost drove him to go full Travis Bickle on the studio execs... until Steven Spielberg talked him down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Taxi Driver' isn't just one of the greatest movies ever made... it's also deeply entangled with one of the most shocking true crimes in American history.  In this Out of Frame episode, Chris and Lizzie welcome special guests Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire from RedHanded to examine the disturbing case of John Hinkley Jr, whose obsession with Jodie Foster spiraled into an attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. Discover how the case reshaped Foster's life and career, and dive into the lasting impacts of the trial on the American criminal justice system. Find out how 'Taxi Driver', arguably an examination of toxic masculinity, became an extremely dangerous call to arms in the wrong hands.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's dive into a world of pure imagination... and some pretty unsafe set pieces! This week, Chris and Lizzie are joined by Aaron Tracy, creator and host of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, and they head into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to figure out how such an odd movie came to be. From cereal financing to secret rewrites and Gene Wilder's unexpectedly edgy performance, this production's only topped by the Zelig-esque life of the man who spawned the book it's based on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the one and only James McAvoy joins Chris and Lizzie to break down what went wrong - and very right - on his directorial debut, California Schemin’. The film follows two young Scottish rappers who get laughed out of the music industry… until they start pretending to be American. It’s a true story of ambition, delusion, and the blurry line between reinvention and outright fraud. Find out what drew McAvoy to the script, how he assembled the perfect cast, and what surprised him most about stepping behind the camera for the first time. Plus, discover the tricks he borrowed from some of the best directors he’s worked with (and which ones actually worked). Check out California Schemin’ in UK theaters starting today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Lean's ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made… but behind the sweeping desert vistas was a production as brutal and unpredictable as the landscape itself.  This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how a script that was never truly finished—thanks in part to one of its screenwriters landing in jail—left the film constantly evolving even as cameras rolled. Discover why Omar Sharif was a last minute replacement, and why both Sharif and Peter O’Toole were forced to perform their own dangerous stunts on camels that were as temperamental as they were painful to ride.  While ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ cemented David Lean's place in cinematic history, it also played a major role in shaping how the world understands the real T.E. Lawrence — for better and for worse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the Star Man, the Star Wars Man, and the Muppet Man come together to make the seminal 1986 oddity, Labyrinth? Join Chris and Lizzie as they get lost in the experimental mind of Jim Henson, young Jennifer Connelly's dispassion for acting, and the remarkable juggling of David Bowie's (crystal) balls. *CORRECTION: Terry Jones was Welsh, not English. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're headed to Tau Ceti and we're gonna find some friends when we get there! Join Chris, Lizzie and David as they discuss the first big hit of 2026, Project Hail Mary. Discover who liked the movie more than the book, who preferred the source material, and who went in completely blind. Plus, Lizzie's plea for more Sandra Hüller movies, Ryan Gosling's undeniable star-status, and a debate over whose sense of humor is superior - Andy Weir's or Lord and Miller's.

'American History X' was a tough sell on paper, though that didn't stop up-and-coming star Edward Norton from fighting for it. But what started as a promising collaboration between Norton and first-time director Tony Kaye would soon explode into one of the most infamous behind-the-scenes battles in movie history. This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how tensions that started brewing on set spiraled into an all out war in post-production. Discover how Kaye got completely shut out of the edit, and find out why he decided to spend $100K of his own money to retaliate... in public. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, the boys chat with Chris and Lizzie, the hosts of the What Went Wrong podcast about why Hollywood produces so many "twin films," movies that have very similar concepts and that release within a year of each other. They also debate whether A Bug's Life or ANTZ is the better movie, and talk through some controversial Hollywood development rumors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Kubrickian schedule! Two months of shooting in the mud! Roundworm, tuberculosis, and mass-method acting! What are the building blocks of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic jidaigeki film, Seven Samurai? Chris and Lizzie learn of Kurosawa's battles with censors (Japanese and American), studios, and his own personal demons. Plus, how the score went from the wastebasket to the silver screen, how Toshiro Mifune saved the film from a self-serious tone, and how a request for 10 days off can lead to a two year stay at your director's house. *This episode was made possible by the incredible support of Patrons like Blaise Ambrose! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris and Lizzie cast Train Dreams tears as Frankenstein leers and the Oscars near. Join us for our final pre-Oscar, best picture episode where our hosts examine the heights that adapted films can reach and, perhaps, why some recent ones have fallen short. In addition, Chris and Lizzie talk about each of their top-10 films of this year, full-stop, Oscar nominated or otherwise.

‘Forrest Gump’ became one of the biggest hits of the ’90s—but it was never a sure thing. What started as a seemingly unadaptable novel bounced through multiple directors, screenwriters, and studios before it finally found the team that could bring it to life. This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how Robert Zemeckis pulled off the film’s groundbreaking visual effects, why the first three days of Tom Hanks’ performance were thrown in the trash, and the unexpected source behind Forrest’s now-iconic accent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our penultimate episode of Oscars Season, we're heading abroad to talk all things international with The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. Chris loved one of these films, Lizzie the other, but both agree that some of the best films of the year were made outside the United States. They'll talk Wagner Moura's velvet voice and triple turn performance, Stellan Skarsgård sneaking into the Best Supporting Actor race, and the power of familial stories across generations.