Battlefield Earth: John Travolta’s $75 Million Sci-Fi Disaster with Cassie Willson and Katie Marovitch | 96

Imagine a world where you could listen to the big flop without any breaks.

Newsflash, you can!

By joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts, you'll get early access to episodes of the Big Flop and enjoy them entirely ad-free.

It's the ultimate way to immerse yourself in the drama of these business debacles.

Y'all, I was in an Uber the other day, and the driver was listening to the most wild podcast.

It was all about Scientology and about how the church believes women should remain silent while giving birth.

Can you imagine?

Now, Scientology is objectively wild, and we know about all of the celebrities who have been attached to it, but only one of them followed his devotion to L.

Ron Hubbard all the way to making the worst movie movie of the decade.

Hop it, it's gonna get crazy.

Hubbard's most popular science fiction book, and according to two surveys, the most favorite book of the century.

The critic for the New York Times said, Battle through Earth is about the extinction of the human race, and after seeing this movie, I'm all for it.

This is one of the ugliest, the most incomprehensible movies I've ever seen.

We are

on

a single ship.

What if I told you that the crime of the century is happening right now?

From coast to coast, people are fleeing flames, wind, and water.

Nature is telling us, I can't take this anymore.

These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet.

Stories of scams, murders, and cover-ups, and the things we're doing to either protect the Earth or destroy it.

This is Lawless Planet.

Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

From Wondery and At Will Media, this is the Big Flop, where we chronicle the greatest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time.

I'm your host, Misha Brown, social media's superstar and your neighborhood theton at your bestie, Misha.

And y'all, I'm so excited because on the show today we have two absolutely hilarious creators and improvisers.

You can hear them on the improvised Regency Comedy Podcast Bitcherton.

It's Cassie Wilson and Katie Marovich.

Welcome to the show.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

We love that little sing-song-y.

So, okay, before we get into

John Travolta and Scientology and this movie, I got a question.

What is your favorite bad movie?

I know immediately.

Okay.

Mine too.

Wait, Katie, what's yours?

No, you go first.

Let's say them on three.

Okay.

Okay.

One, two, three.

The freaking hooker.

Uh-oh.

So close.

We almost said the same thing.

We were so close.

What the heck, even?

Well, the movie that we'll be talking about today is Battlefield Earth, which is so bad, even folks who like Can't Be Sci-Fi steer clear of it.

Definitely know midnight screetings of this, I don't think.

But we can't have Battlefield Earth without two men.

L.

Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, and the wickedly talented, forever iconic, John Travolta.

Oh, yes,

wickedly talented, perfect, wickedly talented.

I can't wait to find out their relationship to one another.

This is all gonna be brand new information to me.

I'm

love that.

Yeah.

Long before it was a film, Battlefield Earth was a super unhinged novel written by L.

Ron Hubbard.

But to understand why this book, which again is insane, resonated so deeply with John Travolta, we have to go back to the early days of his career.

Born in 1954 in suburban New Jersey to a working-class family, Travolta is built to be a dreamboat, right?

His father was a former football player, his mother, a drama coach.

I really thought you were going to say like ballet dancer or something.

Like the two, like, cause that's really his vibe is like a little bit of, he's a very Troy Bolton-esque in my mind.

Or maybe I'm just associating Greece with high school musical and my wires got crossed.

No, I think, I think it's a fair assessment.

Cool.

But as a young actor in the New York area, Travolta books a fair amount of auditions for local soaps and Broadway Productions.

Side note, I worked at a little non-equity regional theater in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, when I first started my theater career.

And their big claim to fame was that John Travolta had done Summer Stock there.

Wow.

Yeah.

Huge if true.

Huge if true.

Huge shout out to that regional theater.

That's a big deal.

I would never stop talking about that.

And they didn't.

And they didn't.

Oh, no.

But when he takes his career to the next level and moves to Los Angeles, he hits a wall.

There, he's unknown.

So he stops getting noticed and becomes really lonely.

Honestly, relatable.

Yes.

Listen, I live in L.A.

Katie, did that happen to you?

Almost.

And I almost joined Scientology.

I was so close.

I just needed a friend.

Just one friend.

Well, in 1974, Travolta gets a bit part in a low-budget movie called The Devil's Reign, which is where a colleague on set hands him a stack of books about a rapidly growing religion called Scientology.

Is Scientology big in New York or is that just an LA thing?

Oh, I think it's big everywhere.

I live in Austin, Texas, and we have a huge Scientology building, like right in the heart of everything.

Wow.

I haven't really looked into it at the New York.

I like that we have these three different points around the country that we're representing here.

So I'll be sure to look into how big Scientology is in this town and I'll come back to you guys later on that.

Text me.

Yeah, I want to know.

Yeah, yeah.

No worries.

I will.

So, yeah, I mean, within a year, Travolta becomes a convert and joins this Church of Scientology.

Wow.

I had no idea.

That's crazy.

You didn't know that he

didn't know.

For me, it was always like him and Tom Cruise, right?

Yeah.

Well, I knew about Tom Cruise and who's the one from Mad Men and also.

Elizabeth Moss.

Yeah, those are like, those are the two big ones in my mind.

I didn't know.

Damn, this changes everything.

I've got to take down my poster of John Travolta that's on the wall.

I'm obsessed with John Travolta.

Yeah, put my cardboard cut out on the street.

Oh, no, man.

What am I going to do?

How am I going to decorate?

I don't know.

I'm sorry to tell you, the resale value on that's probably not very high.

Plummeting.

But you know, like, it's so weird because Scientology has been like in my orbit a lot recently.

I was just in an Uber ride with someone who was listening to a podcast that I'm pretty sure was on Scientology because it was talking about how they view that birth needs to be absolutely silent, as in the woman's not allowed to utter a single word while giving birth, as to not transfer her trauma onto the baby.

Horrible.

No, I think that's actually a really good take.

Time of Scientologists.

That is why.

I don't agree more.

Keep it down, ladies, you know?

The basic idea is that humans are immortal creatures called thetans who must clear themselves of negative influences and trauma so they can rediscover their true selves.

Wow.

There we go.

Yeah.

This is sounding really appealing to me.

The more we talk, by the end of this pod, I'm going to be a convert.

This is great.

Little did you know that was my whole plan this whole time.

I'm a recruiter.

Oh, no.

Now, regardless of what's going on in Travolta's spiritual life, his public-facing life is skyrocketing.

He makes a killing portraying a bunch of ditzy dream boats, some redeemable like like Danny Zucco and Grease, and some not so much, like Billy Nolan, one of the teen villains in the classic horror flick Carrie.

Forgot he was in that.

No, he was in that.

Yeah.

I'm going to re-watch him.

Same.

Now, a lot of people know him as the handsome but dumb Vinny Barberino from the sitcom Welcome Back, Cotter.

Oh, yes, that's how I know him for sure.

Yeah, not what I thought you were going to say.

100%.

I was nodding and and then I stopped nodding really quick.

I was like, don't know what that is, but okay.

Yes, that's my main point of reference for John Travolta.

Maybe you're thinking about his 70s disco leisure suit from Saturday Night Fever.

That's what I thought you were going to say.

There we go.

Yeah, yeah.

Incidentally, he also plays a handsome dumb guy here, but this time he gets an Oscar nom.

For Saturday Night Fever?

Mm-hmm.

I thought you were talking about Battlefield Earth, and I was like, there's no way.

You did not do your research.

He did win an award, but we'll get into which award that was.

So as Travolta's fame grows exponentially, so does the church's visibility.

So it's like this like ugly symbiotic relationship.

But by 1980, Travolta goes clear.

which essentially means that you've freed yourself of unwanted emotions.

And this allows him to reach the upper echelons of the Church of Scientology.

Now, this is the stage where Scientologists are taught about the evil Xenu, a galactic ruler who massacred his people in Earth's volcanoes and is the reason that humans are infested by alien ghosts.

Oh no.

This is what Scientology is?

Yes.

Holy moly.

Cassie, there's so much to you got to watch some documentaries on it.

I guess it is bonkers.

After I watch Battlefield Earth, or should I watch both at the same time?

Could be cool.

Now, for anybody else who is looking for a deeper dive on celebrities and Scientology, please go listen to our episode on Tom Cruise's Flop Era.

Now is the time.

Noted.

Not long after going clear, Travolta actually steps away from the church.

He says it's because of issues he has with management, but many people leave once they find out aliens are involved.

I would.

I would leave them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You're like, oh, I get this.

We're just trying to get rid of like negative influences, our trauma.

That sounds good.

Tell women to quiet down as they're giving birth.

If they're on board with that, like, I don't know.

I feel like it's a lost cause at this point.

But aliens are the nail in the coffin.

And yet, Travolta doesn't stay away for long.

Now, there are allegations and rumors that he is blackmailed by the church and only returns to keep his secrets from leaking to the public.

It's important to note that this has never been proven, and neither Travolta or the church have ever given any credence to these rumors.

It's unclear how these rumors even began.

But in 1981, when Travolta is only 27, he takes a role in a small but decent thriller called Blowout, where he gets to act, not just sing and dance.

Finally, unfortunately, the box office numbers for Blowout signal that unless Travolta is wiggling those hips, not many people want to empty their wallets.

Oh, I know.

Or John.

I know.

He just wants to be a real actor, everybody.

Yeah.

I get that.

I'm the same way.

I just want to act.

She's been waiting for that role of a lifetime to fall into her lap.

Sink our teeth into a role.

So Travolta now has a few options.

He can keep trying to do important, serious work until people get it, or he can dance for his supper.

So if you were him, what would you do?

I would dance for my supper.

Yeah, I'd be dancing.

I'd shake those hips around.

I'd be shuffling off to Buffalo, everybody.

Well, fortuitously, a proclamation from on high gives him a third option.

Scientology daddy, Mr.

L.

Ron Hubbard, has just written a new book that might be good material for a movie.

And he wants Trabolta to star in the adaptation.

Such honor.

Yeah.

It's not a religious text, this book, at least not explicitly.

It's a sci-fi novel called Battlefield Earth, and it's a dystopian thousand-page tome.

Oh my God.

Why?

Get yourself an editor, Ron.

Come on, Ron.

That's like Ama Karenina.

Like, that's horrible.

Fun fact, its original title is Man, the Endangered Species.

Wow, that's powerful.

Provocative.

Now, also, at one point, the cover had to be fixed because in the book, the main character has a beard and they forgot to draw one.

Oh, I hate when that happens.

Wires are crossed everywhere.

Well, here's the plot summary for Battlefield Earth, or at least the gist.

So, it's the year 3000 AD, and a thousand years earlier, an evil race of aliens called Cyclos from the planet Cyclo came across an Earthling space probe, presumed to be Voyager 1, which in real life was launched in 1977.

The probe tells them exactly where to go, which is Earth, and that there will be plenty of gold when they arrive.

Totally.

Like real gold, or like, that's a metaphor.

Yeah, they're into gold.

Okay, I agree.

Well, I think it's in reference to the Voyager's golden record.

Uh-huh.

So there was this golden record, which was taken up in space.

Wayne.

The thing we all know about a lot.

You're like, oh.

What are you talking about?

You're crazy.

Well, the real golden record, which was taken up in space by the Voyager spacecraft in 1977, does contain useful information about the human race, like greetings in multiple languages, images of our solar system, samples of our DNA.

Hello, 23andMe.

Yeah, literally.

Yeah, so we're just hoping only good aliens will be able to decipher the messages, of course.

But we'll see, I guess, someday.

I bet they're all nice.

Well, back to Battlefield Earth.

Because the cyclos are nine feet tall and weigh a thousand pounds, they easily overtake the humans.

And centuries have now passed since their conquest.

And the cyclos have subjugated humans, feeding them raw rats and using them for labor.

Yes, I don't like that.

Narr.

Nard!

Darren want that to happen to me.

Nard.

So the invaders are using the humans for labor to mine the gold they so crave.

Also, humans have lost the ability to speak for some reason.

Now, the few remaining human beings left on Earth, about 35,000, must fight for their freedom.

Totally.

That's it.

Rebel Alliance, let's go.

Now, Travolta considers the pros and cons of turning this thing into a movie.

He knows that Star Trek and Star Wars are massively popular, and Battlefield Earth is Hubbard's first sci-fi book since his pre-Scientology heyday in the 1940s.

So there is a chance a movie adaptation could be a hit.

Now, there's even a heroic character in it called Johnny Good Boy Tyler.

No way.

No way love that that's gotta be a bit baby good girl maravich

yeah he's a handsome man who the evil aliens underestimate until of course he leads the human rebellion and defeats them how perfect we got spoiler sorry sorry i didn't do a little error Travolta knows the feeling.

He's always being underestimated in Hollywood.

And this role would require no singing, no dancing.

He can show off off his range, besties.

So, all right, he's it.

Travolta publicly proclaims that this will be one of the greatest science fiction films of all time.

He was right.

He was totally right.

Johnny.

Yeah.

And now, a next level moment from AT ⁇ T Business.

Say you've sent out a gigantic shipment of pillows and they need to be there in time for International Sleep Day.

You've got AT ⁇ T 5G, so you're fully confident, but the vendor isn't responding.

And International Sleep Day is tomorrow.

Luckily, AT ⁇ T 5G lets you deal with any issues with ease, so the pillows will get delivered and everyone can sleep soundly, especially you.

AT ⁇ T 5G requires a compatible plant and device.

Coverage not available everywhere.

Learn more at ATT.com slash 5G network.

It's your man, Nick Cannon, and I'm here to bring you my new podcast, Nick Cannon at Night.

I've heard y'all been needing some advice in the love department.

So who better to help than yours, truly?

Nah, I'm serious.

Every week I'm bringing out some of my celebrity friends and the best experts in the business to answer your most intimate relationship questions.

Having problems with your man?

We got you.

Catching feelings for your sneaky link?

Let's make sure it's the real deal first.

Ready to bring toys into the bedroom?

Let's talk about it.

Consider this a non-judgment zone to ask your questions when it comes to sex and modern dating in relationships, friendships, situationships, and everything in between.

It's going to be sexy, freaky, messy, and you know what?

You'll just have to watch the show.

So don't be shy.

Join the conversation and head over to YouTube to watch Nick Cannon at night or subscribe on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast.

Want to watch episodes early and af-free?

Join Wondery Plus right now.

So the plot is bizarre, you know, by writing standards, and it is really long, thousand pages of material.

It would also be very expensive to film and edit.

Now, the alien costumes, the stunts, special effects, all of that will require major studio support and financial backing.

Now, Travolta is a big star by this point, but that doesn't mean it's an easy task, especially since his latest movie just bombed.

Travolta must play his cards just right to get anything made at this point.

So he retreats to his safe place, trying to build up more cash and stars in a Saturday Night Fever sequel called Staying Alive, which is hilariously directed by Sylvester Stallone.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

What?

Yeah.

I have to see that too.

That's wild.

When you said retreats to a safe space, I really thought you were going to say the like Pennsylvania Summer Stock Theater.

So in 1985, Travolta stars in a flick called Perfect, but it was not perfect.

Travolta plays a Rolling Stone reporter who falls in love with the subject of his story and a Robix instructor played by Queen Jamie Lee Curtis.

Oh my god, I've seen clips from this.

The hips.

Oh, oh, yeah.

Yes.

The plot of Perfect is as sweaty as its actors.

And just for fun, let's watch that clip.

Yes, please, please, let's watch it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, God.

Oh God.

Oh my God.

I love that.

Why are they that sweaty for doing such small movements?

If you're not that sweaty, you're not doing it right.

For some light thrusting.

It's a very controlled movement.

Oh, wow.

Wow.

Yeah.

Can't imagine why that was a flop.

That's crazy.

So here's where Travolta is career-wise in the mid-80s.

He's had a string of hits.

He's made a good movie that's bombed, a bad movie that's made money, and a couple of forgettable horny flicks.

Yeah, what a career.

What a run.

I know.

Plus, he's in his 30s.

Oh, my God.

If anyone over 30 is dead to me, so

seriously, don't associate.

Thank God we're all 21 on this podcast.

Am I right?

I know.

For sure.

Riz.

But Hollywood now has other prospects like Kevin Costner or fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise.

So while Cruz becomes top gun, Travolta doesn't make another movie for four years.

What a loser.

I know.

Yeah, if I don't make one a year, I feel really bad.

Yeah.

If I'm not in movie theaters across the world at least once a year.

That's so embarrassing.

I know, basically helpless, but.

There is hope.

Hubbard still wants Travolta to be in Battlefield Earth.

And while Travolta is floundering, Hubbard is working hard to make his fantasy film a reality.

Do you think at this point, four years with no movies, would this be a good idea for Travolta?

I mean, I see why he would do it, you know what I mean?

But wait, so wait, what's the timeline again?

It's like when,

so he was pitched on the movie a while ago, but then it

got stalled in production.

Is that what happened?

Yeah, I think like writing it, you know.

I think they had to read the book and it took a long time.

Yeah, sure.

I think it took four years to get through.

Yeah, something like that.

Yeah, so it's been a few years.

Now, Hubbard finds a tiny studio called Salem Productions to produce the movie.

Actually, Battlefield Earth will be two movies.

Hello, Wicked.

Hubbard finds some script writers, and either to drum a buzz or because he's very excited, Hubbard puts the cart before the horse, promoting the film before it even begins production.

Totally.

In 1984, he announces a Battlefield Earth contest to win a walk-on part in the movie.

Contestants also win swag, like cassettes, copies of the books, things like that.

Say less.

Car phones, like

car phones.

And a 30-foot inflatable figure of the movie's villain Turl is plopped in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard.

Let's take a look at that Turl.

Oh, wow.

Turl the Cyclo.

Oh, my God.

I literally worked across the street from this.

I swear to God, for a long time.

We're looking at a photo of Katie.

That's me.

That's me in 1984.

So can you describe Turl for the listeners only?

Purple?

It is purple.

And big.

Yeah, big, purple.

Scary eyes wearing us a space helmet.

Yeah.

Oh, it's like an elephant trunk.

Yeah, like a hose connected to his body, I guess.

Yeah.

It's like the hose goes between his chest and his like mouth area.

So I'm not sure.

It feels like a circular, oxygenated.

And big boots.

Big, big boots.

So we got all of this excitement and buzz and Turl hanging out on Hollywood Boulevard.

So what do you think goes wrong?

Everything.

Well, actually,

Hubbard suddenly dies.

Oh, that is bad.

Yeah.

Well, that is under the umbrella of everything.

That is true.

That is true.

Technically, you are right.

Although Scientology very much still lives on, the momentum for the movie ends pretty much right there.

Sure.

By 1988, Travolta has officially become Passe.

Worse, without Hubbard pushing the ball forward, he might never have the clout to make Battlefield Earth.

Even if he manages to pull off a miracle and get it produced, he's now aging out of the role he wanted to play.

Johnny Goodboy Tyler, of course.

Johnny Goodboy.

Okay.

Oh, I was wondering that why he didn't play the main character.

Okay, that makes sense.

He was old.

Because now he's like 35.

I know.

I mean, frankly, at this point, he's aging out of every role he might ever play again.

Literally.

Now, if only some quirky new filmmaker with a foot fetish could somehow write Travolta the perfect role to resurrect his career.

I'm starting to understand.

Yes.

Enter Quentin Tarantino.

Yes, daddy.

So Tarantino is the hot new kid on the block.

His first two movies, True Romance and Reservoir Dogs, aren't huge box office hits, but they both earn him critical acclaim.

And he wants to work with Travolta.

And pretty quickly, he makes it happen with pulp fiction.

I love that movie.

What a classic.

Yes, with Travolta cast as the hapless gangster, Vincent.

He's good in that role.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

He's acting capital A.

Now, even though the studio lowballs him and only offers him $150,000 for the part.

Oh, that is low.

Yeah.

For someone like John Travolta.

Yeah, that's wild.

Oscar nominated John Travolta got $150,000 for the part.

He, of course, still takes the gig, and it's the single best business decision he's made in a decade.

Because in pulp fiction, Travolta proves that he can, in fact, act and not just bat his pretty blue eyes at the camera.

And the movie even nets him another Oscar nom, his first since Saturday Night Fever.

And taking a pay cut paid off because Travolta soon gets to make real money again and he becomes a member of the $20 million club.

Oh my God.

The group of Hollywood actors who command that ridiculous feat.

I'm so close.

Yeah, any second now.

I'm just like 14 really good movies away

from being able to do that.

Yeah, so naturally, he's got to make this Battlefield Earth movie now, right?

Of course.

It's the only decision.

Yeah.

Guy, someone needed to stare him better.

Where is his manager?

Yeah, like what's going on there?

I don't know.

Now, a lot has changed since the mid-80s.

With movies like Pulp Fiction and the upcoming face-off, Travolta Travolta is coming into his own playing villains, which means even though he feels too old to play the hero Johnny Goodboy, if he can get Battlefield Earth back on track, he can now play Turl,

the purple mane cyclo antagonist.

Yeah, it's all coming together.

Now, in the 80s, it would be unthinkable to picture Travolta with talons for fingers and ugly amber contact lenses, bushy eyebrows, etc.

But now, I mean, why not?

As Travolta tries to get this show on the road, there are countless things that go wrong.

Issues with the writers, the studios, the budget, Hollywood.

It was a nightmare on all fronts.

But that's not necessarily out of the ordinary, right?

Stuff goes wrong in development all of the time.

But the one thing we do need to know is that somewhere along the way, when the film is stuck without a studio to back it, Travolta enlists the help of a guy named Eli Sumaya.

I thought you were going to say Elon Musk.

Unfortunately, Elon Musk.

Now, Eli Samaya is a former dry cleaning mogul from Beirut, turned nightclub owner, turned film producer.

Same.

That's about my journey through life as well.

It's a common path.

It's a common path.

We've seen it countless times.

Classic playbook.

Now, in the early 90s, Samaya runs the VIP room of a club he co-owns called The Roxbury.

I've heard of that.

Yes, it is the same Roxbury from the movie A Night at the Roxbury.

Samaya meets a lot of celebrities and makes all of their dreams come true.

Let's go.

I want to go.

Dream come true.

The Roxbury.

Love it.

And then he starts franchise pictures.

Samaya, like many indie producers in Hollywood, makes really bad movies.

A lot of straight video flicks, a few geezer teasers, that sort of thing.

Do I want to know what a geezer teaser is?

Oh, it's just a term for a cheap movie starring past their prime action stars like

Sylvester Stallone or Bruce Willis.

Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

So Samaya calls Travolta's people and lays it on thick.

He's going to make Travolta's dreams come true.

Now, neither Travolta nor his manager know who the hell this guy is, naturally, but they do need a production company.

And then they heard he's a dry cleaning mogul and they said, let's do it.

But they did need a production company and Samaya actually has a pretty big connection.

He and his partner have negotiated a deal with Warner Brothers to make big-named movies that will sell overseas.

And they have a sweetheart funding deal with a German company called Entertainment, who will cover almost half of the financing costs.

Side note,

remember entertainment for later.

This is what we in the podcast biz called signposting.

Okay,

I don't think I would ever forget entertainment.

Entertainment.

So franchise pictures does most of the heavy lifting, but Travolta is also a producer, and he throws in $5 million of his own money to beef up the casting budget.

That's too much money.

Don't do that.

Oh, my God.

I know.

But they get future Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker to play Turl's frenemy, Kerr.

SAG Award nominee Barry Pepper from Saving Private Ryan will play Johnny Goodboy.

And John Travolta's real-life wife, wife, Kelly Preston, rounds out the cast as Turl's secretary and side piece.

Wait, what's her name?

Blur?

Like, it's all like Turl and like Claire.

There's Tearl, there's Kerr, there's Johnny Goodboy.

Wait,

she only had a second in the film.

Yeah.

So by the time filming starts, the script has gone through 10 rounds of revisions.

That's including the ones from the 80s.

And nobody knows what the movie will be like.

The production is also top secret.

The crew has to sign NDAs, and the Canadian military even lends production a military base to keep everything hush-hush.

Okay.

Remember the ties to Scientology.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sure.

I'm on board.

I get it.

Now, security even walks the perimeter of a chain-linked fence, discouraging any snooping

from the paparazzi.

Keep out, paparazzi.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So after many, many years of false starts, Travolta is finally in the process of bringing Battlefield Earth into the mortal world.

Thank God.

Now it's the future.

It's the year 2000.

Whoa.

Yeah.

Not quite as much of the future as is the case in the movie.

However, here we are in the future.

Here we are in the future.

Post-production wraps on Battlefield Earth part one, because remember there is supposed to be a sequel.

And promotion gets underway in the spring.

After 18 years of diligent hard work, Travolta will have his dream project project released in theaters in May, and he is thrilled.

Okay.

During his PR tour, he does have to frequently defend the movie.

Travolta swears up and down, like, no, this is not a Scientology project.

And yes, this movie is based on Hubbard's book, but Travolta says it's his favorite sci-fi novel.

That's why he's making the movie.

It's not a Scientology recruitment film, guys.

Yeah, no, no, no.

It just happens to be written by the guy who founded the religion that I'm in, but it's not about Scientology.

Separate from that, it's my favorite book.

Uh-huh.

Goodness.

How hard is it to kill a planet?

Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining, and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere.

When you see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene.

Are we really safe?

Is our water safe?

You destroyed our town.

And crimes like that, they don't just happen.

We call things accidents.

There is no accident.

This was 100%

preventable.

They're the result of choices by people.

Ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime.

These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet.

Stories of scams, murders, and cover-ups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the Earth or destroy it.

Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad-free right now by joining Wonder Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

So in May, just before the movie is released, Travolta sits down with famed interviewer Charlie Rose to assure his fans that Battlefield Earth will be amazing.

The episode airs on May 10th, 2000.

This is also the same day that Battlefield Earth has its world premiere at Groman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

Obviously, it's a star-studded event.

Now, Travolta's buddy, Quentin Tarantino, is of course there.

And according to people who have to watch the movie sitting near him, he cheers and chants the whole time.

According to Travolta, George Lucas also quote unquote flips over the film.

And here's a clip from his interview with Rose where he elaborates.

Said it was great.

Didn't have anything to do.

Didn't say, look, John, this is not working.

Go back to the edit room and turn it upside down.

No, he loved it.

He loved it.

And so did 300 of his employees, plus his kids.

So that was great.

This is such a bizarre lead-up to the movie.

Like, the movie's not even out yet, and you're doing this media tour being like, trust me, guys, it's going to rock.

Like, is this this?

Is this how movies used to be promoted?

I feel like, no.

I don't think so.

The bad ones would, though.

Movies that they think are going to flop often get more marketing.

Now, Travolta seems really optimistic about how the movie turned out, or at least he claims to be.

Here's what he says to Rose about the initial screenings.

Phenomenal screenings.

The cheering and stomping and clapping and laughing, because it's a very funny movie, too.

It's a very comic villain that I play, but the overall reaction has been phenomenal.

Oh, bless them.

The stomping and the clapping and the cheering.

They were crying, they were throwing up.

They were giving birth silently.

It was a whole thing.

I wish I had that confidence.

Yeah.

I know.

It's like, does he actually believe what he's saying, or is he just that good of an actor?

Yeah.

That's me plugging my stand-up shows in like back rooms of Brooklyn.

I'm like, guys, everyone's going to be stomping and crying.

I'm laughing.

It's very comedic sound.

I hope so.

Now, it makes sense that Travolto would try to sell the movie as best he could, no matter how it turned out.

I mean, he has sunk his entire reputation, all of his industry goodwill, and millions of dollars of his own money.

Now, spoiler, despite his friends George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino saying they love the movie, the rest of the world hate it.

Yeah.

Wow.

Shocking information.

I know.

Now, we don't have eternity to dissect the plot, if it even exists.

Basically, the man-animals learn to fly old fighter jets that are inexplicably still operational after a thousand years, and they defeat John Travolta's cyclo character, Turl.

Let's just do the greatest hits of why this movie sucks.

Please.

Starting with the costumes and makeup.

Let's take a look at a photo.

Oh, God.

Yes.

I still wasn't ready.

Why do they look like that?

The nose plugs.

Yeah, the nose plugs, the big head.

That's what they think aliens look like.

Well, the nose plugs help them breathe because they can't breathe human air.

Right.

People, what are they breathing?

Exactly.

Okay, great.

Yeah, totally.

The Washington Post describes cyclos as Bigfoot gone Rastafarian.

Oh, yes.

That is perfect.

It is.

That is

perfect.

According to Newsweek, they've got bulky prosthetics on that make their hands look like hobbits' feet, and their crotches are always bulging.

What?

That's part of it?

That's part of it.

Oh, God, it's fingernails.

This is so gross.

Yeah.

Now,

the men, they might have bulging crotches, but the female cyclos don't have bulging crotches, but they do have other bulging features.

Can't wait.

Okay, there it is.

All right.

Yeah.

Oh, I was not ready.

Oh, God.

That's right.

For the listeners only, we're looking at a female cyclo with a really long tongue.

It's like a foot long, and she's about to lick someone.

Was that done in post, or was that like, that looks like very bad CGI to me, just from the screenshot?

That's computer generated.

So we can't blame it all on costume department.

Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

Yes.

I will say there were so many, like so few women in this.

You're telling me it didn't pass the Bechtel test?

It didn't.

It really didn't.

No, but it was kind of like by far, almost everyone was white.

It was, yeah, yeah.

This movie is not a good movie.

Yeah.

I mean, it was 2000.

So that all tracks.

That tracks.

It was a different time, people.

It was a different time for sure.

We passed John Travolta as a scary white dude alien with dreadlocks.

Like, that's just what they were doing back then.

No.

they were doing that a lot back then

yeah now all the man animals which is what these cyclos call humans wear tattered rags and have long braided hair here's barry pepper as johnny good boy okay

sexy

yeah

why are their nose plugged well because because then they're in the dome where the aliens can breathe but the humans can't breathe right okay right obviously let's just wear this cool little nose plug that has a long string like our everyone's long hair.

Okay, I'm getting the picture.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's giving water world, but on land.

It is giving water world.

You're so right.

So next up, the cinematography.

The film is famous for its Dutch angles, which is where the camera is tilted.

Now, at the beginning of production, director Roger Christian decides the movie has to be filmed at an angle to make it feel more like a comic book.

Oh, sure.

That classic thing.

Right.

You gotta do that.

Yeah, he even almost fires a second unit cinematographer for not using Dutch angles.

Roger also decides that every scene should end with a wipe.

What?

Every scene?

Every scene.

Wow.

I can't wait to watch this movie.

This is so exciting.

Yeah.

Now, look, our legal team has gone back and forth over how much we can show you of the movie, not because of fair use or anything like that, but because we don't want you two to sue us for traumatizing you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But here's a sizzle reel.

They must be able to fly.

Man-animals can't fly.

No!

No!

No!

Hungry, little fella!

Dogs did prove to be more cooperative than the man-animals.

For some reason, they weren't as useful when it came to manual labor.

You have been quite a challenge, Raphrain.

We've decided to keep you here for another 50 seconds.

With endless options for renewal with endless options for renewal with endless options for renewal

They said rat brain

in this movie they all they said was rat brain and man animals They said it like a thousand times Wow.

Okay, the Dutch angles are really powerful.

I do think that was the right choice.

Yeah

Really powerful It felt like reading a comic book.

Yeah, it felt like reading in general when they're about to drop the guy and then the other, sorry, the man animal and the other man animals go, no, no, no, no.

Okay, sure.

Why not?

Strong choice.

Yeah, strong choices.

Yeah.

Now, you may have also noticed some terrible CGI in those clips.

No, I didn't notice any terrible CGI.

No, it was seamless.

I loved it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The movie is dripping with it.

This is in part because nine production houses are commissioned to do the VFX, which leads to a lot of inconsistencies.

Oh my God.

Inexplicably, there is also a lot of slow-moo, especially during action sequences.

Yes, there is.

It makes it more impactful.

Listen, we're just lowly comedians.

We're not professional movie critics.

What do we know?

So true.

It felt like it was trying to be the Matrix at parts, but I don't know if that, did they come out at the same time?

Yeah, what year was this?

2000.

This was 2000.

When was The Matrix?

It came out in in 1999.

It just felt like certain scenes were just like fully stealing from us, but I don't know if that's true.

So we may not be movie critics, but what do we think they thought about Battlefield Earth?

I think they loved it.

I think they loved it.

They loved it.

Everyone loved it.

They were obsessed.

Huge success.

Wow.

You're absolutely correct.

And here's movie critic legend Roger Ebert and his co-host, Richard Roper.

There's just no joy in Battlefield Earth.

This movie is not fun.

I think, although I'm not sure, that the movie thinks the extreme stupidity of Turrell is amusing.

I mean, here's one of the leaders of a conquering race, and he doesn't even know what kind of food humans eat.

Nothing's consistent in this story.

Sometimes people are smart, sometimes they're stupid.

But no matter which it is, it's always unpleasant to look at.

This is one of the ugliest movies I've seen, and also the computer-generated effects.

It's just everything looks like it has a fungus growing on it.

Truly awful, truly awful.

Wow.

Jeez, they called that movie ugly.

Damn.

One of the ugliest movies I've ever seen.

Yikes.

If a really bad movie does have any charm, it's because it's like fun and campy and it's like so bad it's good.

And then there are some movies that are just so bad that they're not good at all.

Yeah.

I agree.

Absolutely.

Well, with that kind of publicity, how do we think the movie does opening weekend?

So well.

Breaks records.

Maybe.

In which direction the darkness is.

Which direction?

Yeah, abysmally, despite being shown on over 3,300 screens, it makes only about $12 million.

How much did it cost?

$75 million.

Oh, hate to see that.

That's a tough investment.

Yeah.

And then also, Travolta becomes a huge punchline.

Oh,

I know.

Poor guy.

In 2004, a lawsuit reveals that Samaya embezzled half of the film's budget, basically conning that German company Entertainment out of $31 million.

Oh my God.

Poop.

Holy poop.

Holy poop.

Yeah.

Holy durre.

Here's a question, though.

Do you think if that $31 million had been spent on production, it would have saved Battlefield Earth?

I'm not sure that was the problem.

Yeah.

I mean, they had nine different VFX houses.

They had millions of dollars.

Like, ooh.

Yeah.

Well, in 2001, Battlefield Earth sweeps the Golden Raspberry Awards,

winning worst picture and worst actor for Travolta.

Yeah.

And so Travolta has to, once again, rebuild his career.

And he never admits that Battlefield Earth is bad.

Wow.

Still to this day.

Has he seen it?

Probably not.

So let's do a little, where are they now?

Please.

At the 2010 Golden Raspberries, it won worst picture of the decade.

Wow.

Yeah.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Battlefield Earth's tomato meter score is currently 3%.

Wow.

That's high for that.

Yikes.

Yeah.

Where's that three coming from?

They earned that.

Who liked this?

The planned sequel for Battlefield Earth obviously never was made.

Until today.

Surprise!

We're making it.

We're making it.

Now, since Battlefield Earth, Travolta has had more ups and downs personally and professionally but no matter how many bad movies travolta makes we'll always forgive him yeah because we'll always have battlefield earth because we'll always have battlefield earth and a hairspray hairspray oh i forgot about hairspray oh how could you forget about hairspray crazy turnbret the craziest role of all time for him for him yeah

i don't know i don't know so here on the big flop we try to be positive people and end on a high so are there any silver linings that you can think of that came about from Battlefield Earth?

Oh, dozens come to mind immediately.

Sure, sure.

One of them being this podcast episode.

Thank you.

It's good to learn for other filmmakers, learn from the mistakes.

Yes.

What

to do?

So very good for that.

It makes you appreciate other movies that use CGI well.

Yes.

There we go.

That's a good one.

There we go.

I love that.

I think it prepped John Travolta for all of the mockery of Adele Dazim.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, thick skin by that point.

Thick, thick skin by that.

I'm trying to have thick skin.

Yeah.

You know, I also think that plenty of people really do enjoy watching bad movies.

And so they must be real happy that this exists.

Totally.

Totally.

For sure.

Even though it's so ugly and not fun to look at.

I'm sure it's still a blast.

Yeah.

Well, now that you both know about Travolta's journey through Battlefield Earth, would you consider this a baby flop, a big flop, or a mega flop?

Listen, if it won worst movie of the decade, I feel like that's a mega flop right there.

I agree.

Mega flop.

Also, just that it took like 20 years and he really believed in it.

And then it was so embarrassing.

Yeah.

Mega flop.

Mega.

Well, thank you so much to our battle-hardened guest, Cassie Wilson and Katie Marowich for joining us here on The Big Flop.

And of course, thanks to all of you for listening and watching.

If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a rating or review or subscribe.

We'll be back next week with another flop.

Remember when content houses were all the rage?

We're diving deep to see what all the hype was about.

It's the TikTok content machine that was Hype House.

Bye.

Whoa, bye.

Bye.

If you like the big flop, you can listen early and ad-free on Wondery Plus.

Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.

Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

The Big Flop is a production of Wondery and At-Will Media, hosted by Misha Brown, produced by Sequoia Thomas, Harry Huggins, and Tina Turner.

Written by Anna Rubinova and Luke Burns.

Engineered by Zach Rapone, with support from Andrew Holtzberger.

The video podcast is edited by Olivia Vessel.

Managing producer is Molly Getman.

Executive producers are Kate Walsh and Will Malnotte for At Will Media.

Legal support by Carolyn Levin of Miller, Korzynik, Summers, and Raymond.

Senior producers for Wondery are Adam Azaraff, Matt Beagle, and Jennifer Klein Walker.

Managing producer is Sarah Mathis.

And the senior managing producer is Callum Plus.

Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freesong Sync.

Theme song is Sinking Ship by Cake.

Executive producers are Lizzie Bassett, Dave Easton, and Marshall Louie for Wondering.