Episode #333
Howard The Duck (1986): Is The Making Of Howard The Duck The Most Howard The Duck Thing That Ever Happened To Howard The Duck?
Ben and Rob step into Howard the Duck, the 1986 sci-fi comedy that took George Lucas's decade long crush on a foul mouthed Marvel comic book duck and turned it into one of the most notorious box office disasters in Hollywood history. Directed by Willard Huyck from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gloria Katz, the film stars Lea Thompson as rock singer Beverly Switzler, Jeffrey Jones as a scientist possessed by an alien entity, and a young Tim Robbins as her hapless almost scientist friend, all sharing the screen with a wisecracking, cigar smoking duck played by a rotating cast of performers in animatronic suits. Why did Lucas and his American Graffiti collaborators originally want to make this thing as a cartoon, and what forced Universal to demand a live-action duck instead? How do you even get an audience to accept a romantic subplot between a human woman and a man in a rubber duck costume, and did anyone involved really think that would work? What happened on release that turned this into a punchline for years and got it nominated for Worst Picture of the Decade at the Razzies? And is there something almost too perfect about a movie starring an outsider who doesn't fit anywhere getting made by an industry that couldn't figure out where it fit either? And finally… what does it really mean?! Find us on your socials of choice at www.linktr.ee/everymovieeverpodcast If you enjoyed the show and want more, head on over to Patreon and enjoy heaps of exclusive content there! LOVE YA GET 20% OFF CINEWORLD UNLIMITED MEMBERSHIP WITH DISCOUNT CODE: ' TEL013 ' You're Welcome!
