With its body horror “The Substance” performing well at the box office, a rerelease of Tarsem Singh’s “The Fall” currently underway, and a successful streaming channel offering artful cinema from around the world, you’d think the fine folks at MUBI might slow down and smell the roses, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Returning for its seventh season, MUBI is announcing a new installment of its award-winning audio-documentary series, “MUBI Podcast.” This new batch of episodes is inspired by film critic Tim Robey’s soon-to-be-published book, “Box Office Poison: Hollywood’s Story in a Century of Flops.”
Highlighting films such as “Sylvia Scarlett” (1935), “Sorcerer” (1977), and “Speed Racer” (2008), Robey’s book uncovers the history behind some of the entertainment industry’s biggest flops, contrasting their initial failure with the eventual acclaim they’d garner over time. Over six episodes, “MUBI Podcast” host Rico Gagliano will use this material as a guide, interacting with guest such as actor James Cromwell (“Succession”), cinematographer Roger Deakins (“1917”), actress/filmmaker Rebecca Hall (“Passing”), and Robey himself as a recurring commentator.
Other films to be covered include George Miller’s harrowing sequel, “Babe: Pig in the City,” the Coen Brothers’ ode to Preston Sturges and the screwball comedy, “The Hudsucker Proxy,” and Charlie Kaufman’s postmodernist theatrical drama, “Synechdoche, New York,” which features one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s finest performances, but failed to gross even a quarter of its $20 million budget.
“Box Office Poison: Hollywood’s Story in a Century of Flops” releases on November 5. The first episode of the “MUBI Podcast” debuts November 14 with new chapters released every week after on Thursdays.
In addition to writing “Box Office Poison,” Robey also serves as a film critic for The Telegraph and regularly appears on Radio 4’s Front Row and Monocle FM Radio. Gagliano is a journalist who has written for The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and currently serves as Head of Audio for MUBI.
“MUBI Podcast” was launched in 2021. Season 6 of the series is currently airing and revolve around the theme of “Haunted Homes.” It is guest-hosted by author, film programmer, podcaster, and horror expert Anna Bogutskaya and covers films such as “Poltergeist,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “The Amityville Horror,” and more.
