For over a decade, Tom Cruise was Hollywood's most bankable star, ruling Tinseltown with a million-dollar grin and a carefully crafted image. But when ditching his publicist led to couch-jumping antics, Scientology scandals, and box office bombs, La La Land’s Top Gun found himself in a tailspin that even Ethan Hunt couldn't escape.

On each episode of Wondery’s podcast The Big Flop, comedians join host Misha Brown to chronicle one of the biggest pop-culture fails of all time and try to answer the age-old question: who thought THIS was a good idea? Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer from What Went Wrong recently joined Misha to jump off the couch and into the lowest point of Tom Cruise’s career.

This is just a preview of The Big Flop. To hear the full episode, listen to The Big Flop wherever you get your podcasts, or at wondery.fm/thebigflop_whatwentwrong.

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What happens when Tom Cruise’s unstoppable force meets Stanley Kubrick’s immovable object? Tune in as Lizzie & Chris uncover the secrets of the reclusive auteur’s thirteenth and final film, a production so difficult it (likely) ended a marriage, dispatched its director and may have sent not one, but two Kubrick collaborators deeper into the embrace of a truly secretive society.

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Storyboard artist Warren Drummond (Shaft, A Beautiful Mind, Nightcrawler, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of our time, from John Singleton to Denzel Washington and Ron Howard. In this Below the Line interview, Warren illuminates the world of storyboarding, his journey into film, the transition from analog to digital, and more.

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How did a tennis pro, a theater nerd, and a TV actor redefine the action genre? Because they had nothing left to lose. This week, Chris and Lizzie dive deep into 1988’s quintessential Christmas film: from Bruce’s receding hairline and an unfinished script to Rickman’s inability to hold a gun and Joel Silver’s desire to just blow shit up, this production had more problems than a McClane marriage.

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More Gremlins, more problems! But that didn’t stop Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg from adding an endless stream of critters to the deranged 1984 Christmas classic. Busted puppets caused massive delays and pushed creature master Chris Walas to his limits, but it could’ve been worse - they could’ve used… live monkeys?! Find out why parents were furious about the film, how it helped change the MPAA rating system forever, and why Tom Hanks isn’t in it.

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Blue screens! Tennis balls! Directions from George Lucas! What are three things that make an actor’s job harder? Chris and Lizzie conclude their Menace coverage with a crunch at ILM, the public shaming of Jar Jar Binks and why George may have lost a lot more than $50 million in his divorce. Plus, how no one saw it coming… except for Weird Al.

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Jedi! Lightsabers! Taxes? This week, Chris tests Lizzie’s midi-chlorians (and patience) with George Lucas’ polarizing return to Star Wars. Was Lucas a victim of his own success, or were we all victims of his divorce? Plus, how Michael Jackson and Denzel Washington were nearly canon, and more!

CORRECTIONS:

*Doctor Dolittle was release in 1967, not 1976, as Chris mistakenly stated.

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How did the 4th (or maybe 5th) version of ‘A Star is Born’ take almost 20 years to make… and why did it almost star Russell Crowe and Beyoncé?! This week Lizzie and Chris break down Bradley Cooper’s 2018 directorial debut, and discover why Lady Gaga was initially a tough sell. Find out how everyone from Jamie Foxx to Metallica had a hand in this Oscar nominated film’s journey to the screen.

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