The Franchise finds its footing

Finding a quiet place for ourselves requires time away from distractions. On the set of Tecto: Eye Of The Storm, Daniel (Himesh Patel) embraces distractions with a cleansing breath—“cleansing breath,” in this instance, meaning “pulls from his vape”—and a proper scream. Inner peace achieved?   

Peace is a currency that comes in short supply in the second episode of The Franchise, HBO’s bone-dry satire on superhero-movie productions and the poor dopes who toil within them. Watch how Patel maneuvers through this episode, pouncing off one emotional calamity after the next with the agility of a half-awake panther. Peace, for him, is compromise. The job is what matters, so personal dignity, say nothing of that Eraserhead DVD with director’s commentary in his desk, will have to wait until after the wrap party—should the day ever arrive. 

Daniel’s vape must have something in it that gives him brief glimmers of clarity. The last-minute pre-dawn production meeting has been canceled. (Are these mind games from Maximum’s new producer? We’ll see.) But cast and crew need not shuffle off to set feeling dejected. It’s stunt day, and everyone needs to put their best face forward for the powers that be. Daniel takes that canceled meeting and flips it into a pep talk. “Forward cinema,” he declares, zooming out of the room to the sound of soft, unconvinced applause. The man is trying, people.

Anita (Aya Cash), Tecto’s newest producer, has tossed a shroud over production before the sun had a chance to crest over the horizon. If it seems calmer on set today, that’s because everyone’s quietly freaking out. Adam’s (Billy Magnussen) genial “What’s happening?” to Daniel, for instance, isn’t a greeting but a plea for clarity. “Are we being x-rayed?” he asks, a vein slowly rising on his forehead. “Because when an x-ray shows something weird, you cut out the tumor and replace it with Kit Harington”—or, as Dag (Lolly Adefope) suggests, one of the Skarsgårds. (It doesn’t really matter which one.)  

Adam’s right to lose his cool; he’s given up his “top of the line” dog for this role, and as we discover a little further into this week’s episode, he’s not just worried about losing this gig to Jon Snow. It’s because he’ll be made to look like an asshole on his way out by circumstances far beyond his control. 

Adam’s not alone in his insecurities. Dag has yet to acclimate to the frantic rhythms of Maximum Studios and seems to be asserting herself in a manner disruptive to the protocols of Tecto. She’s equal to just about everyone in the snark department, but her delivery of tension-breaking yuks always lands with a thud. Humorless professionalism, mixed with Maximum’s knack for soul-deadening workplace dread, doesn’t allow good-natured ribbing. The jokes come easy when her job isn’t on the line, but with the advent of Anita, Tecto’s newest adversary, Daniel’s is. And as Peter (Richard E. Grant) not-so helpfully points out, maybe Adam’s, too. Warner Bros. still has Harington’s number on a Rolodex somewhere. Tick, tick, tick.

“Scene 36: The Invisible Jackhammer” finds the crew of Tecto: Eye Of The Storm on Day 35 of a 117-day production. As I’ve established, it’s make-or-break for Daniel. He’s taking it in stride. One of his goals for the day is to ensure no one dies, which feels doable, yet Peter manages to cast doubt over those prospects, as spinal x-rays say the aging thespian is only good for three hoists on the crane. Does this foreshadow a wrap for Peter? Adam could only hope.

As for Eric (Daniel Brühl), the genius director of Tecto (and purportedly pen pals with Chris Nolan), stunt day is already a disaster. Anita has nixed most of his Moss Men extras—crucial to Maximum’s bottom line and lethal for the epic sweep of Eric’s latest scene. “[I need a] crowd of Moss people stretched out to the horizon! Daniel—I have five.” As 1st Assistant Director, Daniel’s job is to make miracleshappen; luckily, conjuring a sea of Moss is a cinch for current digital wizardry. Difficult, yes. Soul-crushing? For sure. But impossible? “I can make a crowd of five look like five thousand,” Daniel assures his director. Love that confidence. (I’ll come back to this.)

As for the stunt itself, it sounds exciting as far as these superhero jobs go: A legion of Moss Men will swarm Tecto (Magnussen) and the Eye (Grant) just as our hero produces his invisible jackhammer and blasts the two into the sky. The problem is that the jackhammer as a rocket device is stupid (comic accuracy is poison for live-action adaptations), and while Daniel will only acknowledge this from the safety of his quiet place, Eric believes in the power of the jackhammer. This brings us back to Dag, who, two days into her new job, has yet to contribute anything meaningful as 3rd AD and feels compelled to comment on this ridiculous contrivance. 

Before Dag takes her first steps into a bigger, more frightening world, she is brought to an abrupt halt by Daniel, who helpfully(?) explains that their job is to keep the train running, regardless of whatever daft ridiculousness Maximum brings on board. Invisible jackhammer? That’s the biz. Later, after rifling through his desk, Dag asks her harried and harassed boss, “Have you ever thought, ‘Am I killing cinema?'” One wonders what Dag hopes to accomplish here on the set of Maximum’s, I don’t know, thirtieth tentpole superhero movie. Are her introspective (if rude) questions contributing to the production (such as it is) or only making a bad situation worse? “Blood on our hands?” What is Dag on about?

In a graceless bit of development, The Franchise takes Dag’s morbid cue and lets Daniel reveal that there was, in fact, a 3rd AD before her; his name was Jim, and he killed himself early into Tecto’s production. If this is true (Patel’s face during the scene is a mesmerizing blend of stifled laughter and deep sorrow, so I say the jury’s out), then there are dramatic stakes on the set of Tetco that go far beyond knocking out yet another cape movie. Or not! I’ve yet to figure out how deeply we should care about these characters. 

For now, let’s pivot to Anita’s office, where she helpfully appraises us on the nature of her relationship with Daniel. They were “fucking pretty successfully for six months” before she cheated on him with one of those pesky Australian leading men. Today is Anita’s big debut as Tetco’s lead producer, and she intends to make a big show of it by giving Daniel an earful in front of Eric, his cast, and his crew. At least she had enough respect for her 1st AD to warn him ahead of his public thrashing—after all, Anita did describe their former sex life as “successful,” so she’s at least aware of Daniel’s better qualities. 

Stunt day begins anew with a maudlin briefing with Jamie, the VFX “pixel wizard” (Waleed Akhtar), who’s been asked/told to whip up 80 Moss Men for the big Tecto/Eye escape scene, which spells doom for Jamie’s home life. (“My wife says it’s like I’ve been dead for three months!”) Here’s another instance where The Franchise digs into the toll ceaseless tentpole filmmaking takes on workers. Jamie says the job can be done, but it will be expensive, the rush will ensure the final shot looks like shit, and accomplishing this crud may, in Jamie’s words, “actually kill me.” All this effort comes from human suffering, it’s true, but there’s a superhero movie to be made. The next thing we see following Jamie’s misery is Anita’s unblinking gaze, ensuring Daniel runs this piece without any further hang-ups. (Has she met the cast?)

Directed by Liza Johnson and written by Tony Roche, “Scene 36: The Invisible Jackhammer” sees The Franchise find its footing by removing the terra firma under its characters. The more invested we become, the worse everyone’s situation seems to be. The surprising “Jim” revelation, which appears to be repeating to some extent for that poor VFX fellow (you’re doing great, Jamie, hang in there), exemplifies the pitiful morale on Tetco. It’s a rot so overwhelming that middle management has begun to feel it, as Anita discovers in a later scene with Maximum’s top producer, Pat (Darren Goldstein). 

Anita is willing to support Daniel’s vision for Tecto and his desire to scrap that invisible jackhammer—despite its transparency, it looks stupid even in the comics—and takes these gripes to Pat. Instead, she discovers how close to the abyss Maximum truly is: The Sisters Squad, another Maximum miss-in-the-making, has been mothballed due to pre-production havoc, news that bodes poorly for Tetco: Eye Of The Storm should Daniel, and now Anita, fail to pull this production together. (“Fewer releases! Seems we gave the fans too much content, and they choked on it,” Pat chuckles.) 

By episode’s end, Daniel and Anita have set aside their history and are finally on the same page, manager and subordinate steering a sinking ship towards some seriously choppy waves. Crisis and a healthy fear of failure make strange bedfellows; luckily, these two are no strangers in that regard.

Stray observations 

• • I realize abusing the word “literally” is just a part of how people speak now, but the way British people say it will never not be funny to me. 
• • Does “Wikilegs” exist? Somebody who isn’t me look that up. 
• • Daniel to Eric: “A sharp cut for a sharp mind!” Brühl looked adorable getting his haircut, like a boy just before his first day of school. “Director’s cut!” Steph (Jessica Hynes) replies.
• • I’m trying to make out the titles of the other Maximum posters in Anita’s office: Toothcomb: Ephemeral Infinitude, Plethora: Beyond The Nadir (if only), and… Skullsteppers [something out of focus].
• • “Can we use any of that?” “No, Adam, your face was sneezy and unusable!”
• • Shane, Maximum’s bigger, more disruptive Kevin Feige, continues to loom over production but remains offscreen. (He’s presumably prepping his next Comic-Con announcement.) I’d previously thought Pat was The Franchise‘s Fiege surrogate, though I figure a show this broad can afford two of them.
• • Peter: “I haven’t thought about that poor little bugger for thirty years! Or David Mamet, for that matter.”
• • Some questions on my way out: Are Anita and Daniel one drink away from a cathartic reprise of their successful past? Does Dag really need those headphones or is she merely asserting herself on set? Are you enjoying the Depends-able Moss Man?