Scriptnotes Podcast 197 - How do bad movies get made? (Encore)
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Mar 10, 2026 A lively dive into how questionable ideas and powerful personalities push strange films into production. They trace studio economics, sunk-cost thinking, market pressure and IP deadlines that force bad choices. Timing, miscasting, editing tweaks and mismarketing get spotlighted as pathways from strong concepts to disappointing releases.
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Talk To Marketing Early To Avoid Mismarketing
- Talk with marketing early to align expectations and avoid mismarketing that sets wrong audience assumptions.
- John August advises creatives should meet marketing to prevent trailers or campaigns selling a different movie than intended.
Bad Movies Can Mean Different Things
- Bad movies often mean different things: poor quality for critics or simply failure to connect at the box office.
- Craig Mazin defines a bad movie as one he personally doesn't like, stressing subjective and shared failures versus commercial flops.
Bad Films Can Become Influential First Followers
- John August notes some films are simply ahead or behind their time and may be re-evaluated later.
- He points to Grindhouse influences on Tarantino as examples where rough, 'bad' films inspired future successes.