Comander of the Mouse and Lion and Moonwalker: A Michael Jackson TL

July 3rd to July 23 1985
July 3rd marked the release of Back to the Future; produced by Amblin and MJJ Enterprises and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer it grossed $395,000,000 on a $19 Million Budget. The film runs the same as OTL; Back to the Future struggled to make it to the screen as no studio wanted it, even Columbia Pictures who picked the script up. After Michael bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Michael and Steele bought the rights to the script in 1984 and after some changes, such as Marty's mom getting her named changed to Lorraine, Professor Brown being changed to Doc Brown, Doc Brown's pet becoming a Dog, and changing the climax to the clock tower scene from OTL, it was filmed and released to great acclaim. And if you're wondering ITTL Columbia sold Ishtar to Universal in order to make Big Trouble, it wouldn't all be bad for Columbia though.

July 7th saw ABC and Toei acquire the rights to Dragon Ball from Shonen Jump.

July 10th: Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome was released (in America only the film was released under the title Road Warrior 2: Beyond Thunderdome); the film grossed $42,000,000 on a $10,000,000 dollar budget and runs the same as OTL. The film received positive reviews.

July 12: Peter Tosh and Phil Spector go on the Today show to promote his new album "Peter Tosh" Explorers was released, released by Paramount, the film grossed $9,900,000 on a $25,000,000 budget, and received positive reviews.

July 13: Kinnikuman Showdown was released; produced by Toei Animation, dubbed by PolyGram, and released by Universal the film runs the same as OTL and received mixed reviews. The film grossed $3,000,000.

July 19: Day of the Dead was released, grossing $30,000,000 on a budget of $3,500,000. Released by Orion, it received mixed reviews.

July 23: TriStar was sold to Ted Turner, this was after a string of flops which culminated with The Legend of Billie Jean (which grossed 3,100,000 dollars).
 
Alright I'm hooked just to see how disney turns out. Although no beauty and the beast or lion king makes me a sad panda. Is there bany chance someone else could do these films instead?
 
Alright I'm hooked just to see how disney turns out. Although no beauty and the beast or lion king makes me a sad panda. Is there bany chance someone else could do these films instead?

Beauty and The Beast will be made by Bluth-Sulivan and will be released by Columbia Pictures (The first release after their acquisition by Sony) and instead of Lion King we get Jungle Emperor Leo (Released in 1994) which is produced by Tezuka Studios, dubbed by Handmade, and released by Warner Bros. (Not released under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment name due to George having concerns it would scare away older audiences).

George Harrison voices Leo and Mr. Mustache is voiced by John Cleese
 
July 23rd 1985
BBC News July 23rd 1985:

Sony, the Japanese electronics company, has announced it is acquiring the American Film Studio New Line Cinema; known for it's horror and B films, this isn't the only studio they are acquiring though. Sony has also acquired a 50% share in Lorimar, the television and film production studio who themselves own a 15% share in Warner Communications; Warner Communications themselves have been in strife for 4 years now and have received buyout offers from the following companies: CBS, Sony, Quaker Oats, KingWorld, Microsoft, Pioneer, Vivendi, Toho, and Phillips.

Also in the news Tokuma Shoten has acquired a 50% stake in Dark Horse Records, and has begun plans to buy WEA
 
What happened to John Lennon (Backstory)
During 1973 John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated, due to various issues that the Mind Games sessions made worse; Mind Games receiving mixed to negative reviews made things worse, and during the separation John formed a relation with May Pang (it should be mentioned that Yoko told May to be his companion). Lennon fell in love but he felt a need to try to fix things with Yoko; however everything failed (exacerbated by the Oldies but Mouldies sessions ). Despite this Lennon reconnected with Julian, and in 1975 John fired Phil Spector from Oldies but Mouldies and hired Quincy Jones, much to Yoko's displeasure; with things getting worse, John and Yoko divorced.

Oldies but Mouldies (Known IOTL as Rock 'N' Roll) was released by Motown in the US, CBS Records in Europe and Asia,and by EMI (Under Parlophone Records) in the UK; the album was released in 1977.

After Oldies but Mouldies John spent time training Julian to play guitar, reconnecting with Paul, and helping other artists; in 1982 he started recording a few songs and announced an album known as Fantasy which as we know is going to be called An Earthly Fantasy and will be released December 1985.
 
BBC News July 23rd 1985:

Sony, the Japanese electronics company, has announced it is acquiring the American Film Studio New Line Cinema; known for it's horror and B films, this isn't the only studio they are acquiring though. Sony has also acquired a 50% share in Lorimar, the television and film production studio who themselves own a 15% share in Warner Communications; Warner Communications themselves have been in strife for 4 years now and have received buyout offers from the following companies: CBS, Sony, Quaker Oats, KingWorld, Microsoft, Pioneer, Vivendi, Toho, and Phillips.

Also in the news Tokuma Shoten has acquired a 50% stake in Dark Horse Records, and has begun plans to buy WEA

Does Philips already own Magnavox at this point?

Also, has New Line already adopted this logo yet?
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During 1973 John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated, due to various issues that the Mind Games sessions made worse; Mind Games receiving mixed to negative reviews made things worse, and during the separation John formed a relation with May Pang (it should be mentioned that Yoko told May to be his companion). Lennon fell in love but he felt a need to try to fix things with Yoko; however everything failed (exacerbated by the Oldies but Mouldies sessions ). Despite this Lennon reconnected with Julian, and in 1975 John fired Phil Spector from Oldies but Mouldies and hired Quincy Jones, much to Yoko's displeasure; with things getting worse, John and Yoko divorced.

Oldies but Mouldies (Known IOTL as Rock 'N' Roll) was released by Motown in the US, CBS Records in Europe and Asia,and by EMI (Under Parlophone Records) in the UK.

After Oldies but Mouldies John spent time training Julian to play guitar, reconnecting with Paul, and helping other artists; in 1982 he started recording a few songs and announced an album known as Fantasy which as we know is going to be called An Earthly Fantasy and will be released December 1985.

What is George Harrison up to ITTL?
 
Does Philips already own Magnavox at this point?

Also, has New Line already adopted this logo yet?
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What is George Harrison up to ITTL?
Does Phillips own Magnivox? Yes.

Has New Line Cinema adopted that logo yet? No, they are using a print logo but not this one, which will be debuted in 1986 on the poster for Critters (UK only as they film's US release will be handled by United Artists); the logo will debut on City on Fire (the logo will be animated by Hanna Barbara ) and a fanfare will be used on The Dead. This version of the logo will be used until 1995; a CGI Version is used on Center Stage, though the logo will be Black and White to match the Carolco and Golden Harvest logos. The last film the '87 logo will be used on is Friday; the New Line logo will be byline-less until The Dead.

What's George Harrison up to? He's recording music and running Handmade; right now he and Isao Takahata are in Atlanta with a movie producer and media mogul named Ted Turner for a proposition involving adapting a book.
 
July 24th to August 2 1985
July 24th brought The Black Cauldron, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, to the screen; ITTL the film is uncensored, getting a PG-13 ITTL, and due to a film processing error opened with this logo
The original Laserdisc and VHS releases plastered it with the 1985 Logo. The film grossed $52,000,000 worldwide on a $24,000,000 budget and received positive reviews.

July 25: Christopher Reeve announces he won't do another Superman film; unannounced to the public, he struck a deal with Orion to distribute a passion project of his.

July 26: Kiss of the Spiderwoman is released by Orion, the film runs the same as OTL and grosses $12,000,000 whilst receiving positive reviews.

July 28: Fandango from ABC Motion Pictures, released by 20th Century Fox, was released; the plot is the same as OTL and the film received positive reviews making $15,000,000 on a $4,000,000 budget.

July 30: Hold Me by Laura Branigan was issued by Atlantic Records.

August 2: Brought 2 hits from Columbia Pictures (One Critically and Financially and one that was just Critically) : Fright Night and Sesame Street: Follow That Bird; Fright Night grossed 24 Million Dollars on a 7 Million Dollar Budget and it received positive reviews. Sesame Street: Follow That Bird was a film that like Fandango,Kush Grove (UA),Revolution (20th),The Colour Purple (MJJ under the MGM Label), The Mission (UA), Cobra (New Line), and The Frog Prince (New Line) was purchased from Warner Bros. The film runs the same with some exceptions: The Grouch Anthem's first notes play under the Columbia logo, which is in Anamorphic widescreen; there's no animation of Big Bird with any logos, and the scenes with Big Bird at the Dodo's house are tinted in greyscale. The film cost $15,000,000 and grossed $12,000,000 worldwide; despite this the film was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and the film gained a cult audience due to home video releases and broadcasts on PBS and HBO, a reissue of the film occurred in 1993 and it grossed 30 million .
 
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August 3rd to August 10th 1985
August 3rd: Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros.' Year of the Dragon was released; directed by Michael Cimino it received mixed reviews and only made $10,000,000.

August 4th: Night on the Galactic Railroad was released by Miramax in the US and MGM oversees; ITTL its more faithful to the book, it received good reviews in the UK but was panned in the US due to Miramax using a different voice cast and editing the film. The film grossed $18,000,000 worldwide against a $7,000,000 budget.

August 7th: Real Genius was released by United Artists, the Plot's the same as OTL. The film grossed $28,000,000 and received positive reviews.

August 10th: Peter Tosh is released; issued by Warner Bros. Records in the UK and Canada and by Elektra in the US and oversees. Originally planned as a double LP, Spector cut several songs and used his wall of sound technique on the album; using the original master tapes that were used to pitch the canned "Legalize It" album to Island, Columbia, and Virgin and new material that Tosh recorded in Stuttgart the album was produced by Spector in New York.

Track Listing:
1. Ketchy Shuby
2. Why Must I Cry
3. Burial
4. Brand New Second Hand

5. Till Your Well Runs Dry
6. Here Comes The Sun
7. You Can't Blame The Youth
8. Jah Guide
9. Pick Myself Up (ITTL it was written in 1976 and preformed once on the pitch tape that was sent to Columbia; the song was offered to Michael Jackson in 1981 for Thriller.)
10. Crystal Ball


The album received mixed reviews from music critics, just as Let it Be had 15 year prior; Paul McCartney, in an interview called it, "A waste of opportunity, I can hardly hear him." Rolling Stone especially had issue with Burial and You Can't Blame the Youth, "Violins permeate the songs, Spector can only conduct orchestras on tape I see."
George Harrison liked the cover of Here Comes the Sun, which remained mostly untouched by Spector.
"Peter Tosh" reached number 150 in the US and number 30 in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, West Germany, and the UK. It was a number 1 in Jamaica.
 
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August 11th to August 31 1985
Pee-wee's Big Adventure was released by Universal on August 11th, the only changes to the film are that Pee-wee sneaks into Universal's lot and meets Lew Wasserman at the end; the film grossed $125,000,000 on a $7,000,000 dollar budget and received positive reviews.

August 12: Agnes of God, produced by CBS Theatrical Films and released by United Artists and Orion, was released. The film runs the same as OTL and received mixed reviews, with a gross of $24,000,000 dollars.

August 26: Godzilla 1984 is released in Japan by Toho, in the UK and Europe by 20th Century Fox (Under the title the Return of Godzilla, which ITTL was the working title for the film.), and in the US by United Artists (Early video releases from Warner Home Video gave the film the title Godzilla Gaiden); the film grossed $59,000,000 million dollars worldwide against a 6 million dollar budget, the film received positive reviews and runs the same as OTL.

August 31: American Ninja was released by Cannon, runs the same as OTL; the film grossed $12,000,000 against a $1,000,000 budget. Freaky Styley by Red Hot Chill Peppers is released.

Track Listing
1. Jungle Man
2. Hollywood (Africa)
3. American Ghost Dance
4. If You Want Me To Stay
5. Nevermind
6. Freaky Styley
7. Blackeyed Blonde
8. The Brothers Cup
9. Battleship
10. Lovin' and Touchin'
11. Catholic School Girls Rule
12. Sex Rap
13. Thirty Dirty Birds
14. Yertle the Turtle.

The album received mixed to positive reviews, though Michael Jackson liked it and after hearing it wanted to sign Red Hot Chili Peppers to National Radio Records but the band declined; the rejection lead to Michael pushing harder to sign bands and other acts to his labels, and he did find success when Queen and Janet Jackson signed to National Radio Records in 1989
Nirvana signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Records in 1989, as this was because Sub Pop was partially owned by MJJ
 
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September 2nd to September 13 1985
September 2nd: Rocky Road begins airing on Superstation WTBS.

September 5th: Frank Wells picked up a script by the name "Dances With Wolves" that was written by Michael Blake.

September 7th: Star Wars Droids, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and Ewoks premiere on ABC.

September 8th: Sherry Lansing, former president of 20th Century Fox is made president of Tri-Star Pictures.

September 13th: After Hours is released; the plot runs the same as OTL. The film was produced by The Geffen Company and released by Warner Bros.; After Hours received positive reviews and grossed $10,000,000 against a $4,000,000 budget.
 
September 14th to October 2nd 1985
September 14th: Saw Taft sell Hanna-Barbera to Sony for $340,000,000 (Which was $200,000,000 more then Sony paid for New Line) when asked about the sale a Sony representative told the BBC, "It's Hanna-Barbera of course its worth a lot, its like if we wanted to buy Parlaphone no way in hell EMI would sell it cheap; we can turn them around though."

September 20th: Sony Pictures Entertainment is formed with its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina; Jeffery Katzenberg of Paramount heads the Division. Hanna-Barbera begins its reestablishing animation studios in the US, mainly in North Carolina and Washington.


September 27th: Taft sold Ruby Spears to Kadokawa; The Journey of Natty Gann is released. Plot: Same as OTL; Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film grossed $35,000,000 worldwide.

October 1st: Taft announces restructuring; the restructuring would move Taft's focus to television syndication and production.

October 2nd: Time Inc. and Kadokawa reach an 4 program deal; under the deal Ruby-Spears would produce 4 programs exclusively for HBO
 
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