Pop Culture Timelines Go-To Thread

[ColeMercury]

I need a little help. If you read my timeline you'll see that I've got LeVar Burton acting in high-profile movies early on in his career, first with a supporting role in Apocalypse Now and then as Han Solo in the alternate Star Wars. Now, the thing is I want him to start starring in films outside of Star Wars (at least one between each film)... but I'll be damned if I can actually think of any. These films should be in contrast to his role as Han, and show him as a serious and intelligent person rather than snarky and cocky.

I did have an idea that I was going to put in the next update... but then I realised that he was just too damn young for the role. So, anyone got any ideas?

[Electric Monk]

Not much off the top of head (Wiki has lists of films released each year) but for fun I'm throwing out Blade Runner.

[ColeMercury]

Same problem. Remember he's only in his early-to-mid-twenties.

[Electric Monk]

Originally Posted by ColeMercury

Same problem. Remember he's only in his early-to-mid-twenties.

You'd have to rewrite part of the movie but world weary detective can be replaced by new guy. Expand the role for Olmos (maybe give him narration) and there's stuff to use. Or add/change a charactor and throw a little Training Days vibe in.

Honestly most Hollywood roles at the time for people of his age simply don't work for what you want. Which I imagine you've noticed, if you're looking throughout OTL list of movies in those years.

[ColeMercury]

You're right. I'll have to re-organise things a bit, to make his rise a bit less meteoric: I'll make it so he's in demand for supporting roles but not as a central star. (There is one thing I've decided to make him the central star in, which fits a lot better than my old idea, but it'll be a bit of an exception.)

I actually think this will fit a little better with what will happen to Burton in the long-term, too.

[Andrew T]

Originally Posted by Brainbin

The Simpsons, as a series, as a genre trailblazer, as a touchstone of popular culture, is probably one of the most influential programs to have ever aired, and the cumulative effect of that influence is inestimable.

It'll butterfly away the career of Conan O'Brien, for one.

[Gregg]

Originally Posted by ColeMercury

I did have an idea that I was going to put in the next update... but then I realised that he was just too damn young for the role. So, anyone got any ideas?

Although he's a fair bit younger than David Naughton, Burton is actually closer to the right age to play the lead in An American Werewolf in London. I think the scheduling is right for him to do that during downtime from Star Wars.

I do think he's too young for Blade Runner and I don't think the role could be re-written. Han Solo was originally a cabin boy so I can see TTL having him that way, but Deckard being cyncially, emotionally dead and something of a failure, is part of the point.

If Ford hasn't done Han Solo, then he might not get Blade Runner either - and without Ford as an option, I think Ridley Scott makes whatever changes he needs to to get Dustin Hoffman to commit. Which might work well in the film's favour. Ford brought the baggage of fast-paced blockbusters and Warner duly promoted it as an action film, so a lot of people didn't get what they expected. With Dustin Hoffman in the lead, the marketing will be different and expectations will be different - so it might be more of a success.

[ColeMercury]

Originally Posted by Gregg

Although he's a fair bit younger than David Naughton, Burton is actually closer to the right age to play the lead in An American Werewolf in London. I think the scheduling is right for him to do that during downtime from Star Wars.

YOU'RE A GENIUS.

Originally Posted by Gregg

I do think he's too young for Blade Runner and I don't think the role could be re-written. Han Solo was originally a cabin boy so I can see TTL having him that way, but Deckard being cyncially, emotionally dead and something of a failure, is part of the point.

Yeah, that was what I thought too. Deckard in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was even older than in the film.

Originally Posted by Gregg

If Ford hasn't done Han Solo, then he might not get Blade Runner either - and without Ford as an option, I think Ridley Scott makes whatever changes he needs to to get Dustin Hoffman to commit. Which might work well in the film's favour. Ford brought the baggage of fast-paced blockbusters and Warner duly promoted it as an action film, so a lot of people didn't get what they expected. With Dustin Hoffman in the lead, the marketing will be different and expectations will be different - so it might be more of a success.

The butterflies go much deeper than that.

[Brainbin]

Originally Posted by Andrew T

It'll butterfly away the career of Conan O'Brien, for one.

Not exactly - his entire tenure with Saturday Night Live preceded his stint on The Simpsons - he was even able to create and develop his "Lookwell" pilot prior to working on the show. I do agree that it probably helped in getting him the shot at Late Night, but he still would have been working as a writer/producer in the industry without it - though who knows where he would eventually find himself?

But assuming that the Late Night Wars proceed on schedule, who will replace Letterman? Will he (or perhaps she) survive long-term? IOTL, Conan was renewed only in 13-week increments for the first couple of years. Who knows if his TTL replacement will be so lucky? We could have a revolving door at Late Night, with one hapless host after another. And then there's the second Late Night Wars - if the post-Tonight Show slot becomes a wasteland, who says that Leno will be pressured into "retirement", only to resurface once more? He'll probably enjoy an uninterrupted reign ITTL - that is, assuming the circumstances of his rise over Letterman (debated, but generally accepted to be Hugh Grant appearing on the show following his encounter with a prostitute) still happen. If that's butterflied away, we could be looking at a radically different late-night landscape.

These are the kinds of things that I love about pop culture timelines

[vultan]

Goodness gracious, I miss this site for a couple of days due to real life, and this much happens?

Andrew T, your timeline looks fabulous, and I'll add it to the list pronto (though is it ironic that I happened to be listening to "The Boys of Summer" while I read your first post for your timeline?)

[vultan]

Hey, guys, I'm not going to be able to edit my initial post forever, so suggestions on what to do after that?

[Brainbin]

With one day to go, create a new post and link to it. Not the best solution, and you'll have to do it again each month, but it's all we have.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by vultan

Hey, guys, I'm not going to be able to edit my initial post forever, so suggestions on what to do after that?

Ask a moderator to edit it - we can edit posts indefinitely....

[vultan]

Originally Posted by Glen

Ask a moderator to edit it - we can edit posts indefinitely....

Alright.

Glen, would you be so kind?

[Electric Monk]

Originally Posted by Glen

Ask a moderator to edit it - we can edit posts indefinitely....

What that amazing dude said (after reading your timelines which I have never commented on because… awesome! It's a moderate hassle but it beats the link to the next post thing. I just wish the *code* function worked better. (Also I want Strikethrough .)

[ColeMercury]

An Alternate Rise of the Blockbuster is updated.

Special thanks to Gregg for the American Werewolf in London idea -- it was just what I needed.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by vultan

Alright.

Glen, would you be so kind?

Best way is for you to send me in a PM the edit, which I can then cut and paste into the first post.

[Brainbin]

And now, another update to That Wacky Redhead! You may just find it to be a sporting one!

[Ace Venom]

I'm now doing one of these called In the Heart of Metal. In this timeline, I'm exploring possible butterflies of what could have happened if Ozzy Osbourne had died in 1982 rather than Randy Rhoads.

[Andrew T]

Originally Posted by vultan

Andrew T, your timeline looks fabulous, and I'll add it to the list pronto (though is it ironic that I happened to be listening to "The Boys of Summer" while I read your first post for your timeline?)

Thanks for the kind words -- feel free to poke around and offer suggestions!

I think "The Boys of Summer" is one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s, and I hope there's some way to save it ITTL.