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WTF Happened to TOP SECRET! (1984)? WtF Happened to this movie?!

WTF Happened to TOP SECRET! (1984)? WtF Happened to this movie?!

FromWTF Happened To....?!


WTF Happened to TOP SECRET! (1984)? WtF Happened to this movie?!

FromWTF Happened To....?!

ratings:
Length:
15 minutes
Released:
Jun 2, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

In 1980, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ) took the world by storm with the spoof of disaster films, Airplane. It utterly changed the genre overnight, with the laugh-a-minute style being tremendously influential. Rather than cash in with an Airplane sequel (although Paramount went ahead and did an awful one without them), ZAZ decided to send up old Elvis Presley movies and old-fashioned spy yarns with Top Secret! Starring a then-unknown Val Kilmer as the rock star hero, Nick Rivers, the film is truly bizarre, and audiences reacted coolly, with it only grossing $20 million, about 1/9th of what Airplane did. Still, the film has maintained a cult following thanks primarily to how popular it was on VHS and cable, and to this day, many consider it a neglected comedy gem.  In this episode of WTF Happened to this Movie, we dig into the Movie’s origins, including Team ZAZ’s reluctance to do an Airplane sequel, how Kilmer was cost, the hilarious soundtrack (Skeet Surfin’!) and more.
Released:
Jun 2, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions and actors/actresses that were "hot" one minute and gone the next. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, many films had such behind the scenes issues that we will discuss in our shows. We'll also delve into the lives of some Hollywood folk who seemed to have disappeared after striking it big at first. Either way, we have to ask: WTF Happened To....?!