1. My apologies for the delay in responding! A great new update, as always. For some more specific thoughts:
2. In addition to
Superman finishing ahead of
Grease bolstering science-fiction and superhero films, it's very likely that it would further hobble movie musicals.
Grease was as sure-fire a hit as could be mustered in that genre during the late 1970s, and it
not topping the box-office for the year (the last time that a musical has ever done so, IIRC, at least stateside) would likely give many executives pause in green-lighting other, similar projects (including the wider
Grease franchise, which IOTL bombed with the second film).
3. I hope this doesn't mean you're planning on butterflying the movie I
think you're planning on butterflying
But will that be soon enough?
4. Not too many rock-and-rollers made Bond themes IOTL. What I'm imagining ITTL is something between "Thunderball" (performed by Tom Jones) and "Live and Let Die" (performed by Wings). David Bowie, on the other hand, is no stranger to film soundtracks, so I'm sure he'll make it somewhat more Bond-like than Elvis alone would have managed. That still tickles me, though, the possibility of a Bond theme with "
uh-uh-huh" sprinkled throughout the lyrics.
5. Ford was exceptionally busy in the late 1970s IOTL, as well, though certainly not to this extent. I worry that he'll get burnout, especially if he carries on with that pace into the 1980s (as he did IOTL;
Empire,
Raiders,
Blade Runner,
Jedi,
Temple of Doom,
Witness...). Yes, he's a great everyman, but still.
6. Allow me. IOTL, Jon Voight won Best Actor for yet
another of the many Vietnam films of the late 1970s (
Coming Home, about a disabled veteran who falls in love with Hanoi Jane herself), and De Niro would not win Best Actor until two years later, for his turn as Jake LaMotta in
Raging Bull.
Superman did
not win Best Original Score (despite easily being Williams' most famous non-Spielberg, non-Lucas assignment) - Giorgio Moroder won for
Midnight Express instead. (A disco song - "Last Dance", sung by his frequent collaborator Donna Summer, also won for Best Original Song that year). Interestingly, Film Editing went to
The Deer Hunter, not
Superman, IOTL.
7. Amazing, when you
really look at it, how strong a year for film 1979 really was.
All of those films are remembered today, though there
are a couple of high-profile duds (
The Motionless Picture, of course, not to mention
Rocky II - everyone remembers
III and
IV better, and for good reason - at least they were glorious 1980s cheese).
8. Praising Irvin Kershner. Another
fantastic sign. Here's hoping that
he has a better career ITTL, though I have a good feeling about that.
Very pleased to have been right on that front!
9. Glad to hear about George and Marcia sticking together. To be honest, I really don't see them divorcing if George doesn't turn into
Jorge, though that's obviously your call.
10. Keep up the good work!
