The Bomb Shelter

Episode 4 - Lucy Liu & Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

On this edition of The Bomb Shelter, we look at the biggest disaster in the floundering career of Lucy Liu. Released in September 2002, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is renowned as one of the worst movies of all time, holding the unenviable mantle of the most reviewed film on Rotten Tomatoes to possess a score of 0%, with each of its 118 critics failing to find any positives in the movie.  Costing a dubious $70 million for the infamous Franchise Pictures to produce, the film is a cluster of explosions, cliches, and inaudible dialogue. Ballistic was one of a collection that put lead producer - Elie Samaha - out of business for defrauding investors, and laid rest to the upward trajectory of all involved, save for Antonio Banderas.  Listen as Ryan, Angelo and Jonny mainly try (and fail) to get their head around the movie, and work out in what universe someone thought this could be worth $70 million. As always we go through the categories to understand and address the film's Box Office failures, and see if we can improve on it in any way. We hope you enjoy this episode of The Bomb Shelter

Episode 3 - Mike Myers & So I Married an Axe Murderer

This week on The Bomb Shelter, it's Mike Myers and So I Married an Axe Murderer. Sandwiched between the runaway success of Wayne's World and the crawl-away success of Wayne's World 2, SIMAAM should have established Myers as an A-list comedy star. Yet the damage should have been known before release. SIMAAM was a long time in the making - writer Robbie Fox was scarred by a process that saw his script go through multiple drafts and production companies over 5 years - with working titles including "The Man Who Cried Wife" and "Fatal Attraction" (renamed for obvious reasons). Indeed, the film was initially envisaged by Fox in the mould of Woody Allen's comedy thrillers, with the world's most famous neurotic lined up to direct an early version of the script, and potential stars including Larry Sander and Chevy Chase lined up to star. It is thanks to Mike Myers that the film was made, and his rewrites that largely impacted on the final version of the movie.  The film was by no means a roaring disaster - which is probably testament to Myers' financially, if not always comedically, stellar career. It made $11.5 million off of a $20 million budget, and found more success post cinematic release on VHS and comedy central. This may be seen as more impressive retrospectively given it was competing during a summer blockbuster season that included Jurassic Park. Yet it still damaged a number of careers. Myers didn't make another movie for four years, instead staying with Saturday Night Live longer than he might have liked. Co-star Nancy Travis's career never took off like expected, and writer Robbie Fox, so damaged by the experience, was seldom seen with other writing credits since.  Come with us as we investigate the damage, explore what went wrong, and try to reimagine a better life for this - in our opinion - underrated gem. Listen out for our own slam poem sequel ideas - and let us know who won. We hope you enjoy this edition of The Bomb Shelter.

Episode 2 - Emily Blunt & Wind Chill

This week on the Bomb Shelter, it's Mary Poppins herself, as we explore Emily Blunt's ill-fated Wind Chill. Wind Chill can best be classed as a supernatural highway horror, from the minds of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, and directed by longtime collaborator, Gregory Jacobs. These minds weren't able to create anything remotely close to the successes of previous venture like the Oceans franchise, indeed there appears to have been a lenghty tussle for artistic control within the production, evidenced by the film's release date in August - despite being a largely 'Christmas' movie - and the obvious reshoots that bifurcated the film into two parts, one a Nietzschean exploration into reincarnation, the other a jumpy ghost horror (there is also an underlying redeemed creep narrative that is inexplicable). Inevitably, this film did not do well, grossing $285,000 off of a $6 million budget. While Blunt's career, fresh off the success of The Devil Wears Prada, was unharmed in its trajectory, others were not so fortunate. Co-star Ashton Holmes - who after A History of Violence was probably at the same level of potential as Blunt - struggled to find work again, ditto for Gregory Jacobs in a Director capacity (yeah yeah, we see you Magic Mike XL). Was there, as Roger Ebert suggested, a good film hiding in here, begging to be set free? Or was it irredeemable, a cacophony of errors beaten into the ground on the cutting room floor? Come with us as we assess the damage, in this edition of The Bomb Shelter.

Episode 1 - Adam Sandler & Little Nicky

Welcome to The Bomb Shelter, the Podcast that takes a deep dive into the biggest stars' biggest failures. Host Ryan takes his friends, Angelo and Jonny, on a journey to understand of the origins, production, and aftermath of these flops. This week, it's Adam Sandler and the ill fated Little Nicky. Released in November 2000, Little Nicky came off a wave of Adam Sandler successes like Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Billy Madison and Big Daddy. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot could go wrong. The film made nowhere near its $100 million budget, and probably changed the way Adam Sandler chose roles in the future (then again, have you seen Jack & Jill?). A confused genre with some promise and a lot of holes, there was an evident disconnect between production and fans.   Why did it fail? Whose career suffered the most? Would it work today? How would a new director change the trajectory of the film? And if there were a sequel, what would it look like? Find the answers to these questions and more, in the latest episode of The Bomb Shelter.