An Alternate Rise of the Blockbuster

Glad this is back.:)

Coming back a bit late, I know.... (I somehow managed to lose track...:eek:)
ColeMercury said:
upcoming role in the Captain America movie as Dr Reinstein
By now, this obvious gaffe has been retconned in the book: it's Erskine.
ColeMercury said:
George Lazenby
A fascinating choice.;) It also sounds like I'd have liked "Spectre" better than any Bond film but OTL's "Never Say Never Again" or Craig's "Casino Royale";) (Not a Bond fan at all...:rolleyes: For the record, tho: Connery, Craig, Brosnan, & the others.)
ColeMercury said:
a Margaret Thatcher impersonator and a talking parrot.
:eek::eek::confused:
ColeMercury said:
Broccoli’s final selection was a surprising one: American actor James Brolin.
:eek: That's for sure. He'd have been my last choice. There were no good Brits? Scots? Irish? (Peter O'Toole too old?) Welshmen?
ColeMercury said:
Michaela Clavell replacing Lois Maxwell
:eek:
ColeMercury said:
Barbara Carrera made a fascinating Bond girl in the role of Domino Petachi, John Rhys-Davies was a surprisingly good villain in the role of Maximilian Largo
Two really good choices IMO. (Rhys-Davis I'll always remember from "Shogun", & Barbara from "Embryo":cool:...)

I do like that Lazenby beats Brolin, too (tho I disliked him only slightly less than Moore:rolleyes:). I also agree, this is a clear lesson: good writing is essential, & a director (& writer) need to play to their cast's strengths.
ColeMercury said:
Luke Skywalker's sister? So, someone who's born in the 1950s and looks like they could be related to Bill Mumy
Genetics being what they are, she doesn't have to resemble him at all.
Glen said:
How about Annette O'Toole?
I'm thinking of her from "Cat People". She seems pretty young. Unless you're thinking "Hollywood teenager".:p
ColeMercury said:
Spider-Man (starring Matthew Broderick as Peter Parker)
:eek: (Then again, not sure who I'd cast...:rolleyes: Fred Savage comes to mind. Neil Patrick Harris, too.)
ColeMercury said:
by that time he was able to speak with a flawless American accent in films
Somebody who didn't grow up speaking English will never have a "flawless" accent, & even Brits have a problem. (The only actor I've ever known get it right is Hugh Laurie.:cool::cool:)
ColeMercury said:
Just try it. I dare you.
I have, & it's hard.;)
ColeMercury said:
I've just severely altered Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or possibly butterflied it away completely.
:cool::cool:
ColeMercury said:
Eagle's Fury basically takes the cultural place of Red Dawn
Am I right this effectively brings Swayze's career to an end? (Tho I did like the fight in "Roadhouse"...)
ColeMercury said:
There are no Rambo sequels.
:cool::cool::cool: Thank you.:)
ColeMercury said:
Doctor Who
One day, I'm going to figure out why people like that. Then I'm going to die.:p
ColeMercury said:
Die Hard: Commando II (1988) is best known for being the first film appearance of actor Alan Rickman as the Russian terrorist leader Anton Grechko, who was widely considered to be the best part of a film that generally did not distinguish itself.

...more like its original conception -- less heist film, more terrorism thriller.
:mad: This gives Bruce Willis' career a severe blow, IMO. (Possibly a death blow...:eek: No "Sunset"?:eek: No "Pulp Fiction"? {I sense Quentin would use him anyhow.} No "12 Monkeys"?:eek: No "6th Sense"? OTOH, if "Striking Distance" & "Hudson Hawk" & "5th Element" never get made, I wouldn't cry.:p And if the "Die Hard" sequel plague is avoided, so much the better.:cool:)

It might also mean Dennis Franz doesn't end up in "NYPD Blue", no? (Was there any influence of his exposure in this?) It's evident the writing isn't as strong (Arnold isn't one for nuance:rolleyes:). It means a defining action flick of OTL never gets made, & the bar for *"Speed" is much lower (presuming it ever gets made TTL). (To be clear, I consider OTL "Die Hard" redefined the action film & set the bar much, much higher... Then "Under Siege" did it again {& gave Seagal his best film; a low bar, to be sure:p}. Then "Speed" pushed it up even farther.)
ColeMercury said:
Rambo still dies at the end of First Blood because there's less potential for a sequel
Does the Vietnam vet demographic not play into a sequel's chances?
Pyro said:
who is Spider-Man's antagonist in ITTL film? I am betting on Doctor Octopus since the original Green Goblin has been dead for over a decade at this point
Given the first film is liable to be an origin story, why not use Gobby?
Pyro said:
Clone Saga, which is likely butterflied now.
Why? Even allowing Harry hasn't put the suit on yet, I don't see a connection. And since Norman & Gwen are dead in the comics, why wouldn't the book's writer (don't recall who was doing the book at the time...:eek:) do it?

Actually, the OTL movie did one peculiar thing: they ignored Gwen entire, in favor of MJ...:confused:
Pyro said:
Wilson was played by a young and fairly obscure stage-and-occasionally-screen actor named Laurence Fishburne.
An excellent choice, even allowing you ignore that stupid Cosmic Cube origin.:rolleyes:
Hörnla said:
IMHO, Rambo dying at the end of First Blood will have enormous butterflies. ...This in turn will lift First Blood to the rank of a classic movie
Agreed. It could also establish Sly is capable of serious dramatic work, in the vein of "Copland' & "Get Carter", or "Cliffhanger" (OK, not a big stretch, but "not Rocky" & "not Rambo";)) much sooner than OTL.
 
phx1138 said:
ColeMercury said:
a Margaret Thatcher impersonator and a talking parrot.
:eek::eek::confused:
Have you ever seen For Your Eyes Only? I'm sorry to say that's completely OTL.

phx1138 said:
Genetics being what they are, she doesn't have to resemble him at all.

I'm thinking of her from "Cat People". She seems pretty young. Unless you're thinking "Hollywood teenager".:p
Have you read all the updates? The actress who plays Zara is Jamie Lee Curtis.

phx1138 said:
:eek: (Then again, not sure who I'd cast...:rolleyes: Fred Savage comes to mind. Neil Patrick Harris, too.)
They're both way too young! Savage is only nine years old and Harris is only 12 in the year of the film's release. Broderick, on the other hand, is 23.

phx1138 said:
Am I right this effectively brings Swayze's career to an end? (Tho I did like the fight in "Roadhouse"...)
No. Red Dawn is still made, in case that wasn't clear, but it's less of a cult classic.

phx1138 said:
:mad: This gives Bruce Willis' career a severe blow, IMO. (Possibly a death blow...:eek: [...])
Oh, really? :cool:
 
What about Michael J. Fox for Peter Parker? I realise that Family Ties is now on the air, but would they really pull a "Remmington Steele" on him just to be dogs in the manger?

For that matter, ColeMercury, what is your opinion about the rest of my casting choices?
 
What about Michael J. Fox for Peter Parker? I realise that Family Ties is now on the air, but would they really pull a "Remmington Steele" on him just to be dogs in the manger?

For that matter, ColeMercury, what is your opinion about the rest of my casting choices?

I would personally like to see what you come up with for the DC characters. And I would recomend that Cole use some if not all or most of your casting choices lol. Btw Cole when can we expect an update sorry if you already stated so...
 
Let's try this again. I find I can't improve on OTL choices of Christopher Reeve, Lynda Carter, Michael Keaton, and John Wesley Shipp for Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Barry Allen Flash, but here are my ideas for the rest:

Fred Gwaynne as Solomon Grundy
Al Lewis as Jarvis Tetch/Mad Hatter
Michael Douglas as Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Would have also worked as Tommy Elliot/Hush, except that he hadn't been created yet)
Sylvester McCoy as Alfred Wesker/Ventriloquist

Gilbert Godfried as Mr. Myxpitlk and/or Bat-Mite

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Bizarro (If you don't count Supermans III or IV)
Nicholas Cage as Toyman
David Spade as Prankster
Patrick Stewart as Braniac

Kelly LeBrock as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah III
Denise Crosby as any of the Silver Swans
Medusa Courtesy Jim Henson's Creature Workshop
Kevin Smith (of Hercules and Xena, not the famous director) as Ares

Katy Seagal (after six months in the gym) as Iris West
Bryan Brown as Captain Boomerang
Bruce Boxleitner as Hunter Zolomon/Professor Zoom
Grodd courtesy Jim Henson's Creature Workshop (If they have to use him at all)

Cary Elwes as Golden or Silver Age Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
Kevin Costner or Kiefer Sutherland as Bronze Age or later Ollie
Open Casting Call for Dinah Lance Jr./Black Canary II (Must combine the looks and voice of Deborah Harry or Madonna with the martial arts prowess of Cynthia Rothick)
David Rasche as Count Vertigo
Sylvester Stallone or Rober DeNiro as Eddie Fryers
Maggie Cheung as Shado

Kirk Cameron as Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm
Rebecca DeMornay as Killer Frost

Charlie Sheen as Hal Hordan
Sean Penn as Sinestro
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire Champion
Wesley Snipes as John Stewart
Lisa Bonet as Katma Tui
Burt Lancaster as Alan Scott
Drew Barrymore as Arisia
Various Alien Green Lanterns and the Guardians of the Universe courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Workshop.

Kirk Douglas as Jay Garrick

Scot Baio as Dick Grayson/Robin I/Nightwing II
Andrea Elson (Afterabout six months in a dojo and a weight room) as Kori'an'dir/Corie Anders/Starfire
Rob Stone as Garfield Logan/Beast Boy/Changeling
Winona Ryder as Rachel Ross/Raven
Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Victor Stone/Cyborg
Nancy McKeon as Donna Troiy/Wonder Girl I(II?)/Troia
Corey Feldman as Wally West/Kid Flash/Flash III
Corey Haim as Roy Harper/Speedy I/Arsenal
Tamilyn Tomita as Nguyen Ngoc Bich/Cheshire
Ned Beatty, Joe Don Baker, or Jon Voight as Brother Blood
Kyra Sedgwick as Teriza Markova/Terra
Ron Perlman as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
Bronson Pinchot as the voice of The Brain
Leslie Anne Warren as Madame Rouge
Monsieur Mallah courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Workshop
David Warner as Psimon
Trigon courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Workshop

David Caruso as Vic Sage/Question I
Chuck Norris as Richard Dragunowski/Dick Dragon
Michele B. Chan as Lady Shiva
Mako as Osensei

James Earl Jones in a lot of makeup by Stan Winston as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter

Steve James as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning I

Laurence Fishbourne as Michael Holt/Mr. Terrific II

Kevin Bacon as Arthur Curry/Orin/Aquaman
Geena Davis as Mera
Denzel Washington or Yaphet Koto as Black Manta
Ernie Hudson as Cal Durham
Kadeem Hardison as Kaldur'am/Cal Durham Jr./ Aqualad
Benji Gregory as Billy Batson
Vincent Price as The Wizard Shazam
The Ultimate Warrior (With a dye job) as Captain Marvel
Bill Kirchenbauer as Uncle Dudley
Vanessa Lindores as Mary Batson
Matt Skankman as Freddie Freeman
Bill Murray as Dr. Sivana
Jimmy Smits or Danny Trejo as Teth Adom/Black Adam
Mr. Mind and Tawky Tawny courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Workshop.

Nell Carter as Amanda Waller
Micheal Biehn as Rick Flagg
Billy Blanks as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger
Phoebe Cates as Eve Eden/Nightshade II
 
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Well, one upon a time, I had for an 80s Marvel Movieverse:

Michael J. Fox as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Willford Brimley as Uncle Ben
Betty White as Aunt May
Hulk Hogan as himself
Elizabeth Shue as Gwen Stacy
Molly Ringwald as Mary Jane Watson
Dann Florek as J. Jonah Jameson.
John Goodman as Otto Octavius/Dr.Octopus.
Jeffery Jones as Norman Osborne/Green Goblin
Ralph Macchio as Harry Osborne
Mickey Rourke as Flint Marko/Sandman
Rowdy Roddy Piper as MacDonald Gargan/Scorpion I
Charlie Sheen as Quintin Back/Mysterio I
Sam Neil as Kraven
Patrick Swayze as Eddie Brock/Venom

Jeff Speakman as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil
Tom Hanks as "Foggy" Nelson
Kelsey Grammer as The Owl
Lesley Ann Warren (after about a year in a dojo) as Elektra
The Gladiator (The Wrestler) as Himself
Liam Neeson as Bullseye
Arnold Scwartzenegger as Nuke

Scott Bakula as Bruce Banner
Dabney Coleman as General Ross
Natasja Kinski as Betsy Ross
Kris Kristofferson as Bruce Banner's Dad
Bruce Willis as The Abomination
Rick Moranis as The Leader

Telly Sevalas or Albert Finney as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin

Cynthia Rothick as Silver Sable.

Nancy Wilson from Heart (The Heavy Metal Band) as Typhoid Mary.

Brigitte Nielsen as Black Widow

Steven Segal as Frank Castle/Punisher
Cloiris Leachman as Joan the Mouse

Anne Ramsey as Ma Gnucci

I know Patrick Stewart was just born for Professor X, how about Christopher Lloyd as Magneto!
Mark Summers as Scot Summers/Cyclops
Kurt Russel as Wolverine (See Especially his roles in Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York to see what I mean)
Kim Catrall as Rogue
Lisa Welchel as Jean Gray
Tracy Gold as Kitty Pryde
Michael Keaton as Hank McCoy/Beast
Val Kilmer as Bobby Drake/Iceman
Holly Robinson as Storm
Stephanie Chow as Jubalee
Jimmy Sixkiller as Thunderbird I
Bolo Yeung as Sunfire
Sonny Chiba as Silver Samurai
Kenneth Branaugh as Sebastian Shaw
Matt Dillon as Warren Worthington III/Angel
Madonna as Emma Frost
King Kong Bundy as The Blob
Road Warrior Animal as The Sha'ir Gladiator
Denzel Washington as Bishop
Tim Thomerson as (Middle Aged) Nathan Gray/Cable
Jim Carrey as Deadpool

Mr. T. as Luke Cage
Michael Dutikoff as Danny Rand/Iron Fist
Tamylin Tomita as Colleen Wing
Kim Fields (After about a year in a dojo) as Misty Knight

Kelly LeBrock (after spending a year in a dojo) as either Jessica Drew/Spiderwoman or Psylocke.
Cary Elwes as Captain Brittain
Sting as Pete Wisdom

Lisa Ruddy as Squirrel Girl

William H. Macy as Mr. Immortal
Bob Saget as Doorman
Rosanne Barr as Big Bertha
Thomas F. Wilson as Flatman

Tom Cruise as Captain America
Kevin Costner as Hawkeye
Vincent D'Onofirio as Thor
Justine Bateman as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch
William Zabka as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver

Tommy Lee Jones as 40's Soldier and 60's Spy Nick Fury

Tim Thomerson as 80's SHIELD Director Nick Fury
Brian Dennehy as Dum Dum Dugan

Corrin Nemec as Speedball

Timothy Daly as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Ernie Hudson as Jim Rhodes
Jeff Bridges as Justin Hammer
Mako as Mandrin

Ted Danson as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
Kristy Swanson as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
Stacy Keach as Ben Grimn/Thing
Emillio Estavez as Johnny Storm/Human Torch II
For a lot of of these, I'm agnostic, but I've got to say:

Savalas is a perfect choice for Kingpin IMO.:cool:
Kenneth Branaugh as Sebastian Shaw: another really good choice.
Molly Ringwald as MJ?:confused::confused: Nothing like exotic enough. You need more supermodelish. (Elizabeth as Gwen is a nice touch, but even then... I think more Christie Brinkley. Kelly McGillis? Greta Scacchi?:cool: Gail O'Grady?:cool:)
Kristy Swanson as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman. An interesting choice, but IDK...
Kim Fields as Misty?:confused::confused::confused: You want Pam Grier or Tamara Dobson. (I know, too old...)
Betty White as Aunt May? IDK...
Kristoferson? OK, had they retconned Hulk's origin by then? (Never a fan...)
Brigitte Nielsen as Black Widow?:confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused: Again, Veronica? Greta with a dye job?
Kim Catrall as Rogue?:eek::confused::confused::confused: :confused: She's way too old.
Lisa Welchel as Jean Gray?:confused::confused::confused: Too blonde...but not a terrible choice for Gwen. I'm thinking more Marta DuBois with a dye job: tall & great looking. Kelly LeBrock? Veronica Hamel?:cool:
Tracy Gold as Kitty? IDK. I'm thinking Kristy McNicol.
Holly Robinson as Storm? She's not regal enough. Think Imam or Tyra.
Madonna as Emma Frost?:eek: She can't act... Kim Catrall, there, maybe.
Tom Cruise as Captain America?:confused::confused::confused::confused: Bruce Willis, maybe. Even Sly. Cruise is too small.
Ted Danson as Reed?:confused: What about Jon Cypher?
Also, for Ben, what about Charles Haid ("Hill Street")?
And who as Tessa? Kurt? Peter? (Too early for 'yana? Lilandra?)
 
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For a lot of of these, I'm agnostic, but I've got to say:
Molly Ringwald as MJ?:confused::confused: Nothing like exotic enough. You need more supermodelish.

You absolutely need a natural redhead in this role. Kelly LeBrock is too British, and Brigitte Nielsen is simply out.

And those candidates for Gwen you mentioned are just plain out.

Kristy Swanson as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman. An interesting choice, but IDK...
Kim Fields as Misty?:confused::confused::confused: You want Pam Grier or Tamara Dobson. (I know, too old...)

I think she'll be able to sell it after she spends that time in the dojo

Betty White as Aunt May? IDK...
Kristoferson? OK, had they retconned Hulk's origin by then? (Never a fan...)
Brigitte Nielsen as Black Widow?:confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused: Again, Veronica? Greta with a dye job?
Kim Catrall as Rogue?:eek::confused::confused::confused: :confused: She's way too old.

Claremont seems to have had Rogue pegged as early-mid 20s by 1985. But Catrall was convincing enough in the original Porky's. Somehow, I don't see why they would skew her much younger when Kitty's in the same film, and I'm certain they won't use the same plot as the 1999 movie.

Lisa Welchel as Jean Gray?:confused::confused::confused: Too blonde...but not a terrible choice for Gwen. I'm thinking more Marta DuBois with a dye job: tall & great looking. Kelly LeBrock? Veronica Hamel?:cool:

Okay, Hamel it is.

Tracy Gold as Kitty? IDK. I'm thinking Kristy McNicol.
Holly Robinson as Storm? She's not regal enough. Think Imam or Tyra.

We need someone who is convincing as a teenager, and pretty (in a Mazo Fever kind of way) but not to glamourous for Kitty.

There were several times during the run of 21 Jump Street that Robinson was plenty regal enough.

Madonna as Emma Frost?:eek: She can't act... Kim Catrall, there, maybe.

So long as you keep Sean Penn, or any other current or former flames off the set, and hire a director who can push her, she can put in a pretty darn good performance.

But I admit on the silver screen she is an acquired taste.

Tom Cruise as Captain America?:confused::confused::confused::confused: Bruce Willis, maybe. Even Sly. Cruise is too small.

But Willis and Stallone are even smaller! Camera angles to make him look big are even in Sly's contracts, which is why I'll never cast him as Steve or Frank.

Unfortunately, Emmilio Estavez and Chris O'Donnel are too young to work.

Ted Danson as Reed?:confused: What about Jon Cypher?
Also, for Ben, what about Charles Haid ("Hill Street")?
And who as Tessa? Kurt? Peter? (Too early for 'yana? Lilandra?)

Ted is the only person from that time I can picture making the gray temples work without being hokey.

As for these others, Alan Cumming is too young for Kurt, Arnold is too old for Piotr, and the only candidates for Lilandra I can come up with are rock stars I don't think can act.
 
Kalvan said:
You absolutely need a natural redhead in this role.
I'll go along with that.
Kalvan said:
Kelly LeBrock is too British
I'll leave off LeBrock, since the only redhead (& not AFIAK natural) I can think of is Tanya Roberts.:eek: Hmm... Phoebe Cates?
Kalvan said:
Brigitte Nielsen is simply out.
I don't recall suggesting her.:rolleyes:
Kalvan said:
And those candidates for Gwen you mentioned are just plain out.
Why? You want gorgeous, right? And talented? Elizabeth, much as I like her (& I really do:cool::cool:), doesn't have the class Gwen had.
Kalvan said:
I think she'll be able to sell it after she spends that time in the dojo
I don't see her having the presence she'd need.
Kalvan said:
Claremont seems to have had Rogue pegged as early-mid 20s by 1985. But Catrall was convincing enough in the original Porky's.
I didn't think so, myself.
Kalvan said:
Somehow, I don't see why they would skew her much younger when Kitty's in the same film, and I'm certain they won't use the same plot as the 1999 movie.
The question really is, when do we meet Rogue? Since the film doesn't really depend on her having fought Carol... So good chance IMO she'd be younger.

There's a prospect of Charles recruiting a whole different squad of "new X-Men" instead of the "old new gang", & ending up with no Wolvie at all.:eek:
Kalvan said:
We need someone who is convincing as a teenager, and pretty (in a Mazo Fever kind of way) but not to glamourous for Kitty.
Agreed. I was looking for the "cute butch" McNicol does. She might be too old by then... Nancy McKeon too old, too? Alyssa Milano? Danielle Fishel ("Boy Meets World")?
Kalvan said:
There were several times during the run of 21 Jump Street that Robinson was plenty regal enough.
Recall how tall 'roro was. If she's under 5'10", she's too short IMO. You need somebody who does leonine, & preferably somebody who has learned that very upright model's walk. (You'd probably have to train her out of placing her feet that way, tho, or be careful how you shoot it...:rolleyes:)
Kalvan said:
So long as you keep Sean Penn, or any other current or former flames off the set, and hire a director who can push her, she can put in a pretty darn good performance.

But I admit on the silver screen she is an acquired taste.
Not acquired by me.:rolleyes: Nor do I desire to.
Kalvan said:
But Willis and Stallone are even smaller! Camera angles to make him look big are even in Sly's contracts, which is why I'll never cast him as Steve or Frank.
I'm seeing Sly as Rocky, & thinking he can do it. As I think about it, tho, let me steal one from vultan: Bruce Campbell. (Actually, OTGH, a double in the suit & dubbing would do nicely...:rolleyes:)
Kalvan said:
Ted is the only person from that time I can picture making the gray temples work without being hokey.
For me, Ioan Gruffudd was perfectly cast.
 
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Let's try this again. I find I can't improve on OTL choices of Christopher Reeve, Lynda Carter, Michael Keaton, and John Wesley Shipp for Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Barry Allen Flash, but here are my ideas for the rest:

[...]
I appreciate the effort you've put into this -- I'm not really a comic-book guy, so it's nice to have the opinion of someone who knows what they're talking about. Although I can't help notice that you have casting suggestions for roles that I have already cast...

Anyway, you need to take this to the stickied Pop-Cultural Timelines Thread. I'm not going to use all of these (and probably won't bother to address most of them, to be honest) but this list would be VERY useful to other people who are writing their own pop-culture timelines.

Btw Cole when can we expect an update sorry if you already stated so...
Hopefully some time this week. I have nothing but free time right now, so chances are good I'll bother to write something.
 
Kirk Cameron as Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm

That's awesomely hilarious, although you'll need him to be cast before 1988, when he converts to evangelical Christianity and becomes a notorious prima donna, demanding G-rated rewrites on the set of Growing Pains to eliminate very modest 'racy' scenes, such as kissing his on-screen girlfriend.
 
That's awesomely hilarious, although you'll need him to be cast before 1988, when he converts to evangelical Christianity and becomes a notorious prima donna, demanding G-rated rewrites on the set of Growing Pains to eliminate very modest 'racy' scenes, such as kissing his on-screen girlfriend.

So that's when that happened. Well, I'm glad I Didn't cast him as Roy, Wally, or Pyro from X-Men! :D

BTW, what do any of you think of my other casting choices?
 
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Am I right this effectively brings Swayze's career to an end? (Tho I did like the fight in "Roadhouse"...)

I am not so sure, as long as he manages to get into either "Dirty Dancing" or "North & South", he will be famous.

This gives Bruce Willis' career a severe blow, IMO. (Possibly a death blow...:eek: No "Sunset"?:eek: No "Pulp Fiction"? {I sense Quentin would use him anyhow.} No "12 Monkeys"?:eek: No "6th Sense"? OTOH, if "Striking Distance" & "Hudson Hawk" & "5th Element" never get made, I wouldn't cry.:p And if the "Die Hard" sequel plague is avoided, so much the better.

Did I mention before that with a bit of luck, Willis should have a good chance to make a career between comedy and drama.

Does the Vietnam vet demographic not play into a sequel's chances?

Prequel maybe....but dead is dead.
 

Glen

Moderator
That's awesomely hilarious, although you'll need him to be cast before 1988, when he converts to evangelical Christianity and becomes a notorious prima donna, demanding G-rated rewrites on the set of Growing Pains to eliminate very modest 'racy' scenes, such as kissing his on-screen girlfriend.

Given the early POD it would also be easy to delay or even eliminate his conversion (I would suggest delaying as he probably would have a Come to Jesus moment at some point).
 
Update #15 -- four movies, in chronological order of release.

---

Operative (1985)

LeVar Burton only had a fairly brief appearance in The Star Wars – Chapter IV: The Sith Strike Back, appearing only for a few scenes near the beginning and then the closing scene. This was because Burton had other filming commitments that overlapped with both the beginning and end of The Sith Strike Back’s shooting schedule. The former was the television miniseries adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End, in which Burton starred as Jan Rodricks. The latter was also a starring role, in a feature film that would turn out to be Burton’s next big hit: Sam Turner in Operative.

Both roles were an attempt by Burton to counteract any typecasting as a caustic wisecracker – he had become famous playing these types of roles with Mr Clean and Han Solo, even though in real life he was one of the nicest people you’d ever meet. Sam Turner was a different type altogether: the serious stoic hero.

Operative was centred around the War On Drugs, with Turner (the titular operative) on a mission for the United States government to bring down the new leader of a South American dictatorship who aims to legitimize the drug lords and assist in their selling to Americans. The film’s tone was not gunsploitation (for one thing, Burton didn’t have the required physique), but instead was more similar to a heist film: Turner’s method is to turn the dictator and the drug lords against each other through trickery. Burton had beat out many other actors for the role of Turner, including Richard Hatch (whose television series Adama’s Ark, in which he played Captain Apollo, had recently been cancelled after six television movies and three regular seasons). The character Turner also had two sidekicks: Silvia Cortez, the stunningly beautiful double-agent whose family had been killed by the drug lords, and Jerry Wells, the comic-relief computer expert whose ludicrous hacking skills probably ended up dating the film more than anything else.

While Operative was originally scheduled for release in December 1984, it was delayed to April 1985 so as not to “step on the toes” of Beverly Hills Cop (despite the fact that one was a comedy and the other an action drama). Still, Operative turned out to be very popular when it was released, with $107 million gross and strong performance on home video. It also proved that LeVar Burton could carry a blockbuster outside of The Star Wars. Critical reaction was generally favourable; more than one reviewer called Operative “The Mission: Impossible of the ‘80s”. This became amusing in retrospect when, likely due to the influence of Operative itself, the very popular revival of Mission: Impossible debuted on TV during the 1988 Writers’ Strike.

Ultimately, two sequels were made which sent Turner and Wells to different parts of the world – both were successful, though Operative 2 was hurt by its subject matter (secret meddling in other nations’ affairs by unaccountable American agents) appearing uncomfortable in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal.

Dune (1985, 1986)

When Ridley Scott left the production of the film adaptation of Dune, producer Dino De Laurentiis was disappointed. They had just spent a year working on the planned two films together with screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer and had only just produced first-draft scripts Scott was happy with. But they still had years of development ahead of them, and Scott had wanted some work to bury himself in after his older brother’s death. So Scott had gone off to direct Batman – and De Laurentiis wasn’t going to wait for him.

After several rounds of failed negotiations with various directors, Scott’s eventual replacement was Irish filmmaker John Boorman, who had just released his Arthurian epic Excalibur. Boorman, who had previously been attached to an ultimately aborted film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, was eager to meet the challenge of adapting Frank Herbert’s book to the screen. However, the first thing he did was to throw out Wurlitzer’s screenplay, as he wished to make one long picture rather than have it split into two films – and so the writing process began all over again. And when Boorman’s first draft screenplay was finally ready, De Laurentiis didn’t like it – and neither did Frank Herbert. In 1983, after many rewrites, disputes, arguments and fights, Boorman finally quit the project in disgust.

Fortunately, Ridley Scott’s Batman was close to finishing and De Laurentiis was able to bring Scott back. Upon taking the director’s chair once again, Scott went back to his plan to split Dune into two films. However, Boorman’s contibution was not ignored entirely: the new screenplay, written by David Peoples (one of the writers on Batman), had Wurlitzer’s draft as its basis but also incorporated some of Boorman’s work as well as including new material. At long last, they had a workable script and were good to go.

The central role of Paul Atreides attracted the attention of many up-and-coming young actors, all of whom wanted to work with the director of Alien and Batman. The final two choices were Charlie Sheen and Tom Cruise (who, incidentally, had recently worked together in Coppola’s The Outsiders) – in the end Sheen was selected to play Paul, while Cruise got the consolation-prize role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.

Both Dune films were shot back-to-back, with the filming period taking up nearly six months of 1984. Its two halves were released six months apart – Dune: Part I in December 1985 and Dune: Part II in June 1986 – with each film being 105 minutes long.

Mainstream critics and devotees of the novel alike were impressed by the look and technical quality of the film while being dissatisfied with the story – although for entirely opposite reasons. Mainstream consensus was that while the films weren’t particularly hard to follow, they were rather self-important and bogged down by the presence of too many subplots; more than one viewer was heard to snidely comment “I preferred this when it was called ‘The Star Wars’”, although admittedly they were among the less literate of the audience. But for fans of the book, the films felt too pedestrian, not mythic enough, and neglected too many subplots and details of the original story.

Altogether, Dune had cost $60 million to adapt to film. Dune: Part I grossed $63 million, which seemed promising. But Reduced Sequel Success Syndrome hit Dune: Part II hard, and it only grossed $22 million. Amortised over both pictures, the Dune films were profitable but disappointing.

Ridley Scott would move on to smaller films for some years afterwards. Both Sheen and Cruise would go on to become major Hollywood stars – Cruise as the lead in Martin Brest’s 1986 film Top Gun (which ended up being released a month before Dune: Part II despite being filmed a year later), and Sheen as the main character in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Platoon.

Highlander (1986)

Highlander’s first draft script was written by Gregory Widen as a homework assignment for film school. The story was then sold to producing duo Peter S Davis and William N Panzer, who saw how it could be made into a successful film: it was a fascinating blend of the historical-epic and urban-fantasy genres, driven by action along with drama, which had big ideas but could be made on a relatively low budget.

For director, Davis and Panzer hired actor-turned-director Leonard Nimoy on the strength of his recent adaptation of Childhood’s End; Highlander would be Nimoy’s first feature film behind the camera. Widen’s screenplay was rewritten by Peter Bellwood & Larry Ferguson; Nimoy also had some input on the story, but as this was only his first film it was fairly minimal.

The central role of Connor Macleod was open to auditions; among those who tried for the role was Mark Hamill, who had just had his breakout role as Kyle Reese in The Terminator. During his audition Hamill demonstrated his skill with voices and accents, and Nimoy was sold: Hamill got the part, and it was written into the script that Macleod would speak in a Scottish accent as “Connor Macleod” and an American accent as “Russell Nash”. Nimoy was heard to remark that Hamill’s was the best fake Scottish accent he’d ever heard.

Connor’s mentor Ramirez would be played by Sean Connery – an expensive bit of stunt casting intended to draw audiences to the film. Connor’s present-day love interest Brenda Wyatt was played by Nina Axelrod; the main antagonist, known only as The Kurgan, was played by Clancy Brown.

Filming took place from April to July 1985. Scenes set in the Scottish highlands were shot around Glencoe as well as at locations in rural Wales; modern-day scenes were shot both on location in New York and in studios in London. The film’s musical score was composed by Michael Kamen.

Highlander was released in mid-March 1986 in the United States and a month later internationally. It’s likely that opening-weekend viewers were drawn mainly by the names of the people involved and curiosity about the strange premise (“Spock directs Kyle Reese, James Bond and Rachael Tyrell in a movie about immortal people cutting each other’s heads off”) but positive word-of-mouth spread and the film opened strongly in the United Kingdom. Made for $15 million, Highlander made $52 million worldwide; subsequent extremely strong performance on home video guaranteed a sequel.

But, of course, a sequel was no easy feat: Highlander’s ending had apparently left no room for continuing the story. For some time, the plan was to instead make a prequel: a story set entirely in the past, in the gap between Heather’s death and Macleod’s arrival in America that the first film had not explored. This plan lasted until Nimoy, who had returned as director with the condition of greater input on the second film, came up with an idea for a genuine sequel. This would build on the first film, raise the stakes, and best of all allow them to bring back Sean Connery and Clancy Brown. Highlander II was going to explain where the Immortals came from – and it would show that behind the fight for the Prize, there was something much greater…

Space Quest (1986)

Space Quest began in early 1985 as a serious attempt to revive the stillborn third Star Trek film by none other than Eddie Murphy. Murphy was an enthusiastic Trekkie, and with his newfound clout following the massive success of Beverly Hills Cop, Murphy spearheaded the effort to bring Star Trek back so that he himself could guest-star in the film.

Unfortunately for Murphy, he found that he had few allies in his efforts. The studio heads were against the idea, thinking that it made little business sense to mix a wildly successful money-spinner like Eddie Murphy with a defunct franchise like Star Trek. Furthermore, Gene Roddenberry himself was opposed to the idea: he had accepted that Star Trek was over and had moved on, and didn’t want to see it revived merely as Murphy’s latest comedy. But the final strike against it was that the main cast also declined to participate – George Takei renewed his objections that had kept him from appearing in The Time Paradox; Leonard Nimoy had similar objections, and in any case was busy directing Highlander; even William Shatner was uninterested, preferring to continue working on TJ Hooker. That was what made Murphy give up – Star Trek without Spock (as it was for the second film) was questionable enough, but Star Trek without Spock or Kirk was not Star Trek at all.

Even though Star Trek was officially dead, again, Murphy still wanted to make his vision of standing on the Enterprise bridge a reality. So he decided – if he couldn’t be on the Enterprise bridge, he’d get on the next best thing. And so he switched to plan B, and made a new pitch to Paramount Pictures – and Space Quest was born.

Space Quest was not, strictly speaking, a parody of Star Trek: it would be more accurately described as a comedic rip-off. The humour was entirely for its own sake rather than mocking the source material, and the many tropes from the original show which reappeared in Space Quest (godlike aliens, distant civilizations exactly like a historical era of Earth, green-skinned sexy alien women, abundant red-shirt deaths) were there for the purpose of affectionate tribute. (And also so Murphy got to fuck a green bitch.)

Murphy’s story was expanded into a screenplay by writers Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes. The main character, to be played by Murphy, was a scientist posted to a remote planetary outpost who gets caught up in the main adventure and becomes a hero. Also prominently featured was the starship Endeavor, commanded by Captain Timothy R Drake (so named entirely to justify including the line “He’s dead, Tim”). Captain Drake was something of a Miles Gloriosus figure who would be incapacitated halfway through the film, allowing Murphy’s character to take command of the ship; he was played by Roger Moore, who had pursued a new career direction as a comedy actor (for which he had a natural aptitude).

Aside from Moore, many other famous actors who were fans of Star Trek were given major roles in Space Quest, including Christopher Lloyd and Whoopi Goldberg. The identity of the actor who played the main villain Klag (a role involving heavy prosthetic makeup and only seen via viewscreen) was kept secret and went uncredited, but ended up leaking to the public: it was in fact Michael Jackson, who had resolved to seriously pursue an acting career beginning that same year with the role of Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth.

While still popular, Space Quest earned returns just under than those of 48 Hrs, and was something of a step back for Murphy’s career. Reactions to Space Quest were strongly divided between either adoring or hating it. Most of Star Trek fandom embraced the film, appreciating the obvious affection with which it was made – some jokingly called it “The best Star Trek movie of the three”. However, the film very unpopular with Trekkies who did not like Eddie Murphy – and with Eddie Murphy fans who did not like Star Trek. Most people who had grown up with the show appreciated the film, but those who were entirely unfamiliar with Star Trek did not get much of the humour. There was also the fact that the science-fiction trend the movie was satirizing had been over for several years, with the exception of The Star Wars; Mel Brooks’ 1987 superhero-movie parody Supertights was considered much more timely.

No one really knows what Gene Roddenberry thought of Space Quest, or indeed if he ever saw the film. Star Trek’s demise was still a sore point for him, and at the time of his release he had fully thrown himself into developing the new television project that would be his last hurrah…

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Notes: I'm glad to have this finally written and updated and everything. A major reason for the delay was I couldn't think of a name for the film Operative. Sorry about that.

If you're reading the reason why Operative's release is delayed and thinking "Hmm, that's rather racist" -- yes. Yes it is.

In OTL, the revival of Mission: Impossible aired for two seasons, 1988 to 1990 -- and the second season was shortened. In TTL, it's longer. Significantly longer. Oh, and in case you didn't get the implication in the last paragraph, the Iran-Contra scandal turns out to be a bigger deal.

Ridley Scott did indeed want to split Dune into two films during the year he was in charge. That probably would've been better than David Lynch's approach, which was to make one long confused incoherent movie.

John Boorman's version of Lord of the Rings was... well, suffice to say that if you think the Peter Jackson movies deviate from the source material too much, if Boorman's version had come to the screen you'd be calling for his head. I figure his approach to Dune would be much the same.

Martin Brest directs Top Gun because Tony Scott is busy making a film adaptation of The Vampire Lestat. Butterflies push production of Platoon back a year.

To those of you who are pissed off at me for eliminating Queen's soundtrack for Highlander: I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY. But from what I could gather, the Queen soundtrack was Russell Mulcahy's idea. If Nimoy directs, no Queen. No "Who Wants to Live Forever", no "Princes of the Universe".

The nice thing about writing timelines is that I can make people do what I want them to. In this case, I'm making Leonard Nimoy have my idea for Highlander II.

In OTL, when Star Trek was actually a big success in the early '80s, Eddie Murphy lobbied hard to get cast in Star Trek IV. They wrote him in, but he then withdrew and made The Golden Child instead; his part was rewritten into the love interest Dr Gillian Taylor.

If you're thinking it's a little odd for Murphy to be making a story pitch at all, well, Murphy in OTL came up with the stories of Beverly Hills Cop II and Coming to America. So it's not exactly an unprecedented idea. Incidentally, Meerson & Krikes in OTL were the ones who wrote the screenplay draft of Star Trek IV with Murphy's character in it.

Roger Moore is following the same sort of career path as Leslie Nielsen. And Michael Jackson playing Jareth actually nearly happened in OTL.

Supertights replaces Spaceballs because Star Wars is less of a phenomenon, and superhero movies are wildly popular in TTL. I'd like to think that Bill Pullman still plays the lead. Maybe Brooks can play the parody-analogue of Perry White?

Gene Roddenberry's new TV show is for a future update to reveal. But the next update will be about the Battle of the Bonds: Round 2.
 
Wow Cole. You introduced Galaxy Quest 13 years ahead of schedule. I hope Star Trek: TNG is received as well as it was ITTL. It's difficult to imagine life without TNG. As for the next Battle of the Bonds, if there's anything relating to what happened IOTL replacing Roger Moore and the same actors involved, I hope that things happen differently ITTL. I hope you get where I'm coming from.
 
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