Special Features

One of the most reviled films of all time, 'Battlefield Earth' lost $73 million and almost killed John Travolta's career for a second time following his 'Pulp Fiction' comeback. So what went wrong? Pretty much everything. A pet project of vocal Scientologist Travolta, this adaptation of the sci-fi novel by the religion's controversial founder L. Ron Hubbard wanted to be the next 'Star Wars.' Inste

It cost a whopping $241 million to make this 2005 adventure film, which earned a respectable but disappointing $120 million at the box office. Big-name draws Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz starred, but production costs just kept on piling up. (One cost reportedly included bribes to the local government in Morocco.) Clive Cussler, writer of the original work, battled for years with the produ

An early career misfire for Antonio Banderas, this $160 million movie only earned back around $60 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest bombs ever. Part of the problem was the massive reedits the film, which originally went by the far more memorable title 'Eaters of the Dead,' underwent after test audiences rejected it. Costar Omar Sharif was so embarrassed by the film, he actually retir

Then: Zachary Mabry (aka Spanky's little brother Porky and Buckwheat's sidekick) was seriously one of the cutest kids on 'The Little Rascals.' Turns out that the 4-year-old child actor was a bit of a rascal in real life. Reminiscing on the scene where Alfalfa is on trial for burning down the club house, Bagley admits to playing a trick on Bug Hall's character by pulling out a piece of his chair so

Comic book heroes and villains die and come back to life often, but only one death was dictated entirely by the fans. Robin has died and been replaced several times throughout the series, but in 1988, Jason “Robin” Todd’s fate was left in the hands of his supposed fans. The “Death in the Family” storyline featured Robin finding his birth mother in Ethopia only to discover that she had turned him o

The world of Batman officially became a cultural touchstone when it leapt off the page and became a massive television hit in the 1960s. Not only did Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) become overnight celebrities, but the villains who got in on the act are also remembered and revered for their work on the campy superhero show. Singer Frank Sinatra reportedly wanted to be Batman’s main foe b

The Harvard Lampoon is well known for their on-campus pranks and one of their most famous capers involved Burt Ward’s infamous tights. Ward was invited to speak at Harvard in the 1980s, mostly as a prank by some students to see if the staff would go for it. Ward accepted and spoke before a student body of 250 students and as a special surprise, he also brought the costume he wore on the TV show on

'Batman' only lasted three seasons after the novelty wore off and ABC decided to cancel the campy series. However, there was a chance that another network might be interested in picking up the show, so ABC kept the iconic set in place as they waited for offers. A couple of weeks passed and no offers materialized, so the network ordered that Batman’s “Bat Cave” and other sets be demolished to make

1989's 'Batman' was a massive blockbuster that brought an edgier and darker tone to pop culture’s view of the character, thanks in part to Tim Burton’s vision. Unfortunately, it took years to draft a script for the film that Warner Bros. deemed acceptable. One version (written by screenwriter Sam Hamm) included Robin, a role Burton offered to the then-19-year-old Kiefer Sutherland. Sutherland said

Another actor who lost out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to appear in the massive 'Batman' franchise was the notorious Sean Young who was originally cast as Vicki Vale, the reporter who becomes Bruce Wayne’s love interest. While Young was Burton's first choice to play Vicki, the actress broke her arm while practicing some horseback riding for an action sequence that ended up being deleted from th

Any pop culture property that involves two men or women living together for an extended period of time seems to automatically attract theories about a homosexual relationship. The questions about the Dynamic Duo’s “questionable” relationship actually date back to one man: Dr. Fredric Wertham. In the 1950s, the psychologist was to comic books what Jack Thompson is to video games. Wertham led a mass

Christopher Nolan’s brilliant revival of the Batman film series after the dismal releases of Joel Schumacher’s ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Batman & Robin’ breathed new life into a movie hero that most thought would never again see the light of day (or the dark of night). It also attracted threats of an interesting lawsuit. The mayor of Batman, Turkey threatened to sue Nolan and Warner Bros. for infr

Amateur vigilantes aren’t just limited to the big screen. In fact, major cities all over the world have costumed vigilantes roaming the streets. Becoming as well-equipped and trained as Batman, however, costs more than a ski-mask and a set of hockey pads...

It’s possible that Indiana Jones could've been Ford’s only iconic movie role too, if Burt Reynolds hadn’t turned down the opportunity to play Han Solo in ‘Star Wars.’ Al Pacino, Nick Nolte and Christopher Walken were all considered for the role, but it finally went to self-taught carpenter and galactic anti-hero, Ford. Can you imagine Christopher Walken asking Chewie to make the jump to light spee

Of course, Connery appeared in the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,’ but can you picture Tom Selleck in the title role? Selleck was originally cast as the dashing archeologist in ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ but had to turn down the role because of his contractual obligation to his hit show ‘Magnum P.I.’ Harrison Ford, who was Spielberg’s first choice, took over, and m