Summary
Overview
Marina Hyde and Richard Osman explore the biggest comebacks in entertainment history, examining how stars and shows resurged from obscurity or failure to achieve massive success. They cover film, television, music, books, and comedy, analyzing what defines a true comeback and celebrating those who found new success after being written off.
Defining Comebacks
Marina and Richard establish the parameters for what constitutes a true comeback at the beginning of their discussion, agreeing that someone must have fallen out of public taste through indifference or scandal before resurging. They debate whether certain figures truly fit the definition throughout their conversation.
- To qualify as a comeback, you have to have fallen out of the public taste for one reason or another - scandal or indifference
- Indifference is described as the greatest enemy in showbiz
" If you're talking about a comeback, what is a comeback? In my view, you have to have fallen out of the public taste for one reason or another. It could be scandal, or it could just be a matter of everybody's moved on from you. Indifference, the greatest enemy in showbiz. "
Movie Comebacks: From Obscurity to Stardom
Richard and Marina discuss the greatest film comebacks, debating whether certain actors truly experienced career lows before resurging. Marina champions Joan Crawford's remarkable two-phase comeback, first with Mildred Pierce and later with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. They also examine John Travolta's Pulp Fiction renaissance, Robert Downey Jr.'s transformation into Iron Man, and the western genre's surprising resurrection through Taylor Sheridan's shows like Yellowstone.
- John Travolta was doing TV movies in the 80s before Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction and made him cool again
- Joan Crawford was labeled 'box office poison' at MGM, moved to Warner Brothers, won an Oscar for Mildred Pierce, then came back again in 1962 with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane
- Robert Downey Jr. had to be drug tested every day before his comeback and went on to have the greatest run of massive hits in Hollywood history
- The western genre was considered dead after Heaven's Gate but has been resurrected through Taylor Sheridan shows like Yellowstone, which are essentially westerns in modern settings
" Women got written off in such an extreme way in that era, more even than now by a long way, and through sheer force of will and force of nature, she pushes her way all the way back. For me, she is the ultimate combat machine in movies. "
" Westerns have never been bigger. They are the biggest shows on TV. The western sensibility is not dead at all. "
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