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Jul 6, 2026 1 hr 6 min

Independence Day

from WHAT WENT WRONG

‘Independence Day’ was a runaway hit in the summer of 1996, elevating Will Smith to full blown movie star status, and cementing Roland Emmerich as a major action movie director. But Emmerich and co-writer Dean Devlin had a rocky road to alien domination. This week, Chris and Lizzie discover how Tim Burton’s competing ‘Mars Attacks’ almost canceled out ‘Independence Day’, why the studio didn’t want to cast Will Smith, and how the United States Government threw a major wrench in the works. Plus we reveal how Jeff Goldblum’s most famous line from ‘Jurassic Park’ snuck into the film, and why Bill Pullman’s speech has no business being as excellent as it is.

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Independence Day

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This episode is 1 hour and 6 minutes long.

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This episode was published on July 6, 2026.

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