Courtesy of HBOFrom creators Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci and Sam Mendes comes this satirical scripted comedy about the making of a movie featuring a lower-tier superhero on the fringes of a high-profile cinematic universe. The film is over budget, behind schedule and on the verge of collapse.
In The Franchise (premieres Sunday, Oct. 6, at 10pm ET/PT on HBO) Himesh Patel (Yesterday) stars as Daniel, the stressed-out first assistant director who’s sacrificing mind, body and soul to keep the production going forward.
“I think there’s so much absurdity about what we do for a living,” Patel says about Hollywood poking fun of itself in The Franchise. “As an actor, there’s so much stuff that’s absurd, but I think none more so than this, all the high-stakes world of big blockbuster filmmaking.”
Some situations Daniel finds himself in are so preposterous, they must be based in reality. “There was a lot of stuff throughout the series that we’d read, and we’d ask Jon and any of the other writers, ‘What is this based on? This seems really absurd.’ And they’re like, ‘No, this is based on some research we did, some stuff we heard.’ And it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
The impressive cast also includes Daniel Brühl (The Alienist), who plays the film’s director and self-described “weird, difficult guy.” Billy Magnussen (Made for Love) is fragile actor Adam, who suits up as superhero Tecto and wields his mighty Invisible Jackhammer. Richard E. Grant is delightfully self-deprecating as a pompous thespian who thinks this movie is beneath him. Aya Cash (You’re the Worst) is Anita, the replacement producer who had an affair with Daniel years earlier.
Still, there’s no business like show business. “[Daniel’s] going through a divorce, he’s got this child that he barely sees and this film is falling apart at the seams,” Patel says. “And yet he’s not choosing to prioritize his health or the health of his personal life. He’s coming back to work every day because I think he does love it.”
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