# Who greenlighted this cinematic shitshow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 1, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703 "2026-05-01T18:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/81 "2026-05-04T06:20:42Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > _Zardoz_ (1974) I concede that you are correct - on IMDB it gets an even lower score than One Trick Pony (5.8 vs 6.0). However, I have a soft spot for that film, and I know I’m not alone. For sure, it was an absolutely TERRIBLE movie. But it had heart (and for those of us who admire the male form, another plus is that it featured a young Sean Connery in the beefcakiest of beefcake poses and clothing) and somewhere hidden amongst the cringeworthy dialog and ludicrous plot, there was the germ of an actual _good_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/82 "2026-05-04T08:14:43Z")
As I’ve said before, I once saw a double feature of _Halloween_ and _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_…and it was the latter that gave me nightmares. It was pretentious crap by people that had no love for the source material. It was a drug-addled mess from beginning to end. In fact, Robin Gibb said before the film’s release, " Kids today don’t know the Beatles’ _Sgt. Pepper_ . And when those who do see our film and hear us doing it, that will be the version they relate to and remember. Unfortunately, the Beatles will be secondary. You see, there is no such thing as the Beatles. They don’t exist as a band and never performed _Sgt. Pepper_ live, in any case. When ours comes out, it will be, in effect, as if theirs never existed. When you heard the Beatles do ‘Long Tall Sally’ or ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ did you care about Little Richard’s or Chuck Berry’s version?". While technically it made some money, I think the vast majority went to see if it was as big a bomb as everyone claimed, because the reviews stunk to high heaven. When you see who was in it, and who participated in the final sing-along, you will know the definition of “stunt casting”. [Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/83 "2026-05-04T08:37:49Z")
Yeah, I was going to say _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,_ but @Czarcasm beat me to it. So much wrong with this one. Trying to build a story out of a bunch of disparate songs on a record album. Some great musical performances (Steve Martin as Dr. Maxwell Edison, and Aerosmith and Earth. Wind and Fire), but I note that Sandy Farina (who played the character “Strawberry Fields”), has little to her credit since. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/84 "2026-05-04T08:55:25Z")
Poor Sandy Farina. SPLHCB was supposed to be her big debut, her guaranteed stairway to stardom. Instead, her next film was six years later-_The Toxic Avenger_…where she sang one song. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/85 "2026-05-04T10:16:55Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > > [@Dropo](#): > > > > _Zardoz_ (1974) > > I concede that you are correct - on IMDB it gets an even lower score than One Trick Pony (5.8 vs 6.0). > > However, I have a soft spot for that film, and I know I’m not alone. For sure, it was an absolutely TERRIBLE movie. But it had heart (and for those of us who admire the male form, another plus is that it featured a young Sean Connery in the beefcakiest of beefcake poses and clothing) and somewhere hidden amongst the cringeworthy dialog and ludicrous plot, there was the germ of an actual _good_ movie. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I feel Zardoz drags a bit in the middle. But other than that it’s a perfectly cromulent 70s dystopian sci-fi film right up there with Logan’s Run, The Omega Man, Rollerball, Soylant Green, or even Planet of the Apes. > > > [@Dropo](#): > > > > _Howard the Duck_ (1986) > > The answer to “who greenlit this one” appears to be George Lucas. Especially because it appears that it was initially being developed as an animated film, but as Lucas (who was executive producer) had a contractual obligation to deliver a live-action film to Universal. And in all fairness, Howard the Duck is a legit part of the MCU now. So I don’t think the concept of a foulmouthed sarcastic anthropomorphic duck is any more or less out there than the concept of a foulmouthed sarcastic anthropomorphic teddy bear (Ted and Ted 2, collective gross over $700 million) I think the OP is differentiating between movies with bonkers concepts and movies that are based on completely ill-conceived concepts. Like the Wolverine movie where Deadpool doesn’t speak. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/86 "2026-05-04T10:42:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > _Bud and Lou_ starring Buddy Hackett and Harvey Korman, who have none of the timing of the men they’re portraying. Fun fact: Buddy Hackett appeared in Spike Jones’ 1954 movie **Fireman, Save my Child!** in a role originally intended for Lou Costello. Hugh O’Brian took what would have been Bud Abbott’s part. Costello supposedly fell ill, and they canceled. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/87 "2026-05-04T14:23:53Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > And in all fairness, Howard the Duck is a legit part of the MCU now. So I don’t think the concept of a foulmouthed sarcastic anthropomorphic duck is any more or less out there than the concept of a foulmouthed sarcastic anthropomorphic teddy bear (Ted and Ted 2, collective gross over $700 million) If you have seen the movie, you know that they completely neutered the comic book character’s “foulmothed sarcastic” personality: he was generally depicted as a “nice guy.” On the other hand, the comic book character had a very niche appeal, even back then (it was a strange, surrealistic comic book, not like any thing else that Marvel or DC were publishing), and was not at all well known by the general public in 1986 (when comic book movies, other than Superman, were just not a thing). ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/88 "2026-05-04T14:39:19Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > and somewhere hidden amongst the cringeworthy dialog and ludicrous plot, there was the germ of an actual _good_ movie. _ **Zardoz** _ touches upon a really hard to face question: what if immortality, even if we could achieve it, _just wouldn’t work_? The episode “Brigadoom” of _ **Lexx** _ revolved around the same question. Having to accept that death is ultimately necessary is as bitter a pill as they come. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/89 "2026-05-04T14:45:12Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The episode “Brigadoom” of _ **Lexx** _ revolved around the same question. As did the _Good Place_ episode “Patty.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/90 "2026-05-04T14:54:52Z")
So, if a bad idea is successful artistically (Being John Malkovich) or a financial one (Movie 43), is it really a bad idea? Is a good idea made into a bad movie really a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/91 "2026-05-04T15:09:55Z")
The OP is asking why obvious losers were greenlit. The thing is, if a dubious concept somehow made good at the box office, then whoever greenlit it either got very lucky or else somehow saw potential that others did not. It’s a judgement of the process, not the content. If somehow against all reason a 2-hour film of dogs defecating could be a box office winner, greenlighting it would be an act of genius. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/92 "2026-05-04T15:14:46Z")
Zardoz may not be the best film ever committed to celluloid, but it’s far from the worst. About half of the people who saw it liked it. I’m one of them. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/93 "2026-05-04T16:02:30Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If you have seen the movie, you know that they completely neutered the comic book character’s “foulmothed sarcastic” personality: he was generally depicted as a “nice guy.” On the other hand, the comic book character had a very niche appeal, even back then (it was a strange, surrealistic comic book, not like any thing else that Marvel or DC were publishing), and was not at all well known by the general public in 1986 (when comic book movies, other than Superman, were just not a thing). Of course I’ve never seen the Howard the Duck movie! So I think that meets the OPs criteria. Creating a somewhat niche and eclectic film but then removing the fundamental core of what makes it niche and eclectic. > [@Lumpy](#): > > _ **Zardoz** _ touches upon a really hard to face question: what if immortality, even if we could achieve it, _just wouldn’t work_? The episode “Brigadoom” of _ **Lexx** _ revolved around the same question. Having to accept that death is ultimately necessary is as bitter a pill as they come. FWIW, I couldn’t get into Lexx, but I appreciate the effort. Maybe because it aired on SciFy channel in a time slot that in my mind felt designed for a target audience who thought Farscape wasn’t bizarre enough. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/94 "2026-05-04T16:07:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > So I think that meets the OPs criteria. Creating a somewhat niche and eclectic film but then removing the fundamental core of what makes it niche and eclectic. What’s more, at that time (1986), Howard was only been occasionally appearing in Marvel Comics; his own comic book had ended around 1980, though a one-shot issue was published in early 1986 (undoubtedly to build interest for the movie). So, not only was Howard a niche character, but even among comic book readers, he was likely not a visible, well-known character at that time. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/95 "2026-05-04T16:30:34Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The OP is asking why obvious losers were greenlit. The thing is, if a dubious concept somehow made good at the box office, then whoever greenlit it either got very lucky or else somehow saw potential that others did not. It’s a judgement of the process, not the content. If somehow against all reason a 2-hour film of dogs defecating could be a box office winner, greenlighting it would be an act of genius. One could almost start a companion thread of “What genius greenlighted what should have been a cinematic shitshow!?” Who would have thought film where a bunch of people in ape masks chase are Charleston Heston would spawn ten films, several TV shows and a [Broadway musical](https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=simpsons+planet+of+the+apes+episode&&mid=4B5653FF820169FD92314B5653FF820169FD9231&churl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fchannel%2fUCXMSGSVunZx7YhMbaGolaiw&FORM=VAMGZC) over the next 50+ years? On its surface, the film Snowpiercer sounds absolutely ridiculous. But that film became a cult classic and more or less established Bong Joon Ho’s career. Who would have thought that a film about two stoners living in Hoboken suddenly deciding to drive around New Jersey looking for a White Castle (a trip that would have taken at least 4-6 hours of just DRIVING mind you based on stated locations in the film) would have been so successful. For every Juwanna Man you have Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris. And “Cocaine Bear” just sells itself. In defense of the Sharknado films (which I haven’t actually seen), they made the original film as a tongue in cheek concept for almost nothing ($2m) starring C-actors like Tara Reid and Ian Ziering and it made like $20 million back, spawned and bunch of sequels. So in terms of the business of making films, you can pretty much make whatever batshit crazy nonsense you want so long as you price and market it correctly. Where studios get into trouble is when they spend $200 million on the "next Sharknado but with bears instead of sharks and an earthquake instead of tornados…Bearquake! Coming this summer to a theater near you! ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/96 "2026-05-04T16:33:57Z")
Sharknado is the film that made me laugh the most in the last 15 years by far. It’s a film so bad that is good, then bad again and finally good again. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/97 "2026-05-04T16:34:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > . Trying to build a story out of a bunch of disparate songs on a record album The songs aren’t just from that one album. And building a story out of a bunch of disparate songs isn’t an inherently dumb idea. It worked for a number of successful Broadway musicals, including **We Will Rock You** , **& Juliet** , and, of course, **Mamma Mia**. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/98 "2026-05-04T16:38:40Z")
Yep, that’s a reliably crowd-pleasing formula by now: > **[Jukebox musical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukebox_musical)** > > A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. > Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs previously performed by one singer or band, or written by one songwriter. In such cases, the plot is often a biography of the artist or artists. In other jukebox musicals, the plot is purely fictional. For musicals abou... ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/99 "2026-05-04T16:45:01Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Bad timing. The Village People fell off the charts in 1978. Disco itself pretty much fell off the charts in 1979. By the summer of 1980 disco was pretty much as dead as 1950s cocktail lounge music. I remember reading that the original title was “Discoland: Where the Music Never Stops”, but they changed it when they realized disco had died. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703/100 "2026-05-04T17:23:19Z")
It’s such a fine line between clever and stupid. We have: Movies that are solid pitchable ideas that were poorly executed. Movies that seem like terrible ideas that turn out brilliant. Movies that seem like terrible ideas that turn out as terrible as they seemed. Then you have movies that seem like bad ideas, that failed at the box office, and that are now enjoyed (Clue, anyone?) I mean Heaven’s Gate pitch was an epic western with top talent directed by a guy who just won an Oscar. Yeah, it turned out to be a disaster but greenlighting it wasn’t necessarily a bad concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-greenlighted-this-cinematic-shitshow/1029703.md?page=6)