Making movies is hard. Making superhero movies? Even harder. Making superhero movies in Armenia, with a crew on the verge of mutiny and a director teetering on the brink? That’s the comedically excruciating premise of “Scene 113: The Bridge,” the seventh episode of HBO’s The Franchise, airing Sunday, November 17th.
This week, the on-location shoot in Armenia isn’t exactly the tourism advertisement the studio might have hoped for. Instead of sweeping vistas and cultural immersion, we’re getting a front-row seat to a production meltdown. Eric (Daniel Brühl), already frayed by the relentless barrage of bad press, finally snaps, unleashing his pent-up frustration on set. (Let’s be real, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Maybe not on a multi-million dollar film set, but still.) With Eric sidelined, Dan (Himesh Patel) steps up to fill the directorial void, which could either be a stroke of genius or a complete disaster.
Meanwhile, Dag (Lolly Adefope), the unlikely hero/scapegoat of this week’s installment, finds himself thrust into the role of First AD. And naturally, that’s exactly when everything goes pear-shaped. A stunt goes horribly wrong, unleashing on-set pandemonium that even the most seasoned disaster movie director couldn’t conjure. Let’s just say Michael Bay would be proud. Or maybe hiding under his chair.
“Scene 113: The Bridge” looks to be a potent cocktail of workplace dysfunction, creative differences, and the sheer absurdity of Hollywood colliding with reality. As the title suggests, this episode could be a turning point – pushing the characters, and the production, to their breaking point. Will they manage to salvage the scene, or will the whole thing collapse like a poorly constructed bridge? One shudders to consider the insurance paperwork.
Tune in to HBO this Sunday at 10:00 PM to witness the mayhem.
