Mario Goes Hollywood: A Collaborative Timeline

[Megafighter3]

The tough part with this casting is getting actors that can still pass for teenagers. I'm gonna say that 25 would be a good cut-off, so we can run with NPH and Silverstone.

 

[Megafighter3]

Godzilla

Directed By: Roland Emmerich
Produced By: Dean Devlin
Written By: Roland Emmerich/Dean Devlin
Based On: Godzilla by Toho

Cast

Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos
Jean Reno as Phillipe Roaché
Maria Pitillo as Audrey Timmonds
Hank Azaria as Victor "Animal" Palotti
Harry Shearer as Charles Caiman
Nancy Cartwright as Caiman's Secretary
Michael Lerner as Mayor Ebert
Lorry Goldman as Gene
Frank Welker/Gary A. Hecker as Creature Vocal Effects

Release Date: May 19, 1998
Budget: $150 million
Box Office: $188 million​

So, it's the OTL film, but with one minor change... it uh... didn't do so well in theaters. We'll get to why in the next post, this was more for posterity.

 

[Megafighter3]

Rampage

Directed By: Jan de Bont
Produced By: Paramount
Written By: Ted Elliot/Terry Rossio
Based On: Rampage by Midway

Cast

Neil Patrick Harris as George Colin
Alicia Silverstone as Lizzie Nauman
Halle Berry as Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Veronica
Christopher Lloyd as Eustace DeMonic
Michael Ironside as Col. Vernon Colin

Release Date: May 26, 1998
Budget: $120 million
Box Office: $428 million​

This probably didn't help Mario 4 either, but yeah, this was the Amerikaiju movie to see in 1998. The plot is the most 90s thing you could think of as two Illinois teens, George and Lizzie, are doing what teens do in the 90s. During this time, there's a lot of advertising for the newest flavor of Scum Soda. Despite the name, the brand is hugely popular in this world, but there's a... small problem with the new drink. One that tends to get bigger. See, the good folks at ScumLabs, the company behind Scum Soda and several other products, has discovered a strange substance inside a meteor and despite clearly not passing any sort of FDA safety test, mix it into the new Scum Soda. This turns out really bad for Lizzie, who basically drinks a can of Scum for breakfast.

The changes start small, with her breaking out in scales and her eyes turning yellow, but soon enough, she starts growing bigger and taller and soon we're in the fun part as Lizzie fully mutates into a giant lizard monster and starts tearing up Chicago. Going on a rampage, if you will. George follows the trail of destruction, trying to talk Lizzie down to no avail. She's soon under attack by a PMC unit sent by ScumLabs to take her down and cover up the events, led by George's dad, Col. Vernon. The military proves ineffective, as they should in a kaiju film, though ScumLabs CEO Eustace DeMonic is insistent on taking down the monster in spite of warnings by Dr. Veronica.

Soon, George ends up captured by ScumLabs, but Dr. Veronica helps him escape and offers him a chance to stop Lizzie, but there's a risk. The cure for the additive isn't fully ready, so George will need to stall Lizzie until Dr. Veronica can get it in the air. To do so, George will need to take a concentrated dose of the mutagen that changed Lizzie, transforming him, while also wearing an inhibitor collar to keep him under control. George agrees, but Col. Vernon tries to put a stop to the plan. The colonel intends to use a high-yield explosive to finish Lizzie off as she tears through the Midwest. George manages to talk him out of the plan and to help launch the cure so both he and Lizzie will turn back into humans. Vernon, who had spent most of the movie in antagonistic relationship with his son, agrees to the plan and even knocks DeMonic out on the way there.

The climax is a big monster brawl, using a blend of suits, miniatures, and small doses of CG where applicable. The fight is praised among kaiju fans as one of the best, with George and Lizzie throwing everything they can at each other and upending the Twin Cities in the process. Col. Vernon flies the jet that launches the cure, spraying down both of the monsters and reverting them to humans. The fight ends, the people cheer, George and Lizzie are flown back to Chicago and all's well that ends well. Though just before the credits, while George and Lizzie are dumping out their leftover Scum, George shakes a can and it sprays everywhere. While he and Lizzie go to get a mop, George's dog Ralph walks over to the spill and starts licking up some of the soda...

The movie was met with surprisingly positive public reception in spite of the goofiness of the premise, helped by many having seen the earlier release of Godzilla and finding this to be a much more enjoyable experience. The film has a bright, colorful visual appearance and the effects manage to look better than the big G's American film in spite of a lower budget. The film especially garnered praise among kaiju fans, even getting featured on James Rolfe's second Monster Madness Godzilla-thon despite not being a Godzilla film. In his words, it felt more like Godzilla than the other 1998 Godzilla movie.

The film also was praised by executives at Toho, who felt it better captured the spirit of their monster and made a point to switch the Godzilla rights over to Paramount as quickly as possible and away from TriStar. Plans for a sequel were offered, but it was decided instead to have the series continue on TV as an animated series (you can pick the channel for that.) Meanwhile, plans for an animated Godzilla series were cancelled following the box office failure of that movie.

So, that should cover us for Rampage. Now, we turn it over to @Pyro to see what he's got cooking for Sonic's second movie.

 

[eldandythedoubter]

So, that should cover us for Rampage. Now, we turn it over to @Pyro to see what he's got cooking for Sonic's second movie.

This is as close as I can get to a Platypus signal.

 

[Pyro]

I'll get started on it tomorrow morning after I get some sleep. However, the Sonic sequel will most likely be an adaptation of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

 

[eldandythedoubter]

Okay

 

[Nivek]

you can pick the channel for that

That Is a Easy series for UPN or Nick(both even)

 

[Pyro]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Directed By: Hajime Kamegaki
Written By: David Hayter and Joss Whedon
Produced By: SEGA/DreamWorks/Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Based On: Sonic the Hedgehog by SEGA

Cast

Jaleel White as Sonic the Hedgehog/Metal Sonic
Alex D. Linz as Miles "Tails" Prower
Terrence C. Carson as Knuckles the Echidna
Christina Ricci as Amy Rose
Tim Curry as Dr. Ivo Robotnik

Release Date: June 26, 1998
Budget: $52 million
Box Office: $375 million​

The runaway (pun intended) success of the first Sonic the Hedgehog film and the sequel hook all but guaranteed that the Blue Blur would return to the silver screen, though there be hiccups along the way. Sonic 2 would proceed without Ted Elliot and Terry Rossoin who were both already too committed to Rampage to participate in the production and Dreamworks thus brought on screenwriter (and Solid Snake voice actor) David Hayter on board. However, executives were not completely satisfied with the script and hired Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon to polish it, which added some needed wit as well as make Amy Rose less a damsel in distress and a more proactive player in the story.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is--for all intents--an adaptation and expansion of the third video game (Sonic 3 & Knuckles) where throwaway details such as the mural from Hidden Palace Zone play a central role in the story. The film begins with the Death Egg crashing into Angel Island with Dr. Robotnik exploring the surrounding area and stumbling upon both the mural and the Master Emerald when the island's guardian, Knuckles, confronts himself. Dr. Robotnik deceives Knuckles into believing that he's a kindly scientist and informs the doctor of the prophecy behind the mural. His long-lost civilization predicted the coming of a great evil that would claim the Master Emerald and doom their home. Robotnik notices a physical similarity between the "hero" of the mural, and twists the truth so that he convinces the naive Knuckles into believing Sonic is the great evil that's coming to steal the Master Emerald.

What follows is a noticeably faithful adaptation where Knuckles steals the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic and his friends at Robotnik's request and runs interference while the Doctor repairs the Death Egg. This culminates in the fated showdown between Sonic and Knuckles before Robotnik reveals his true intentions and steals the Master Emerald, forcing the Blue Blue and Rad Red to combine forces to save Angel Island and destroy the Death Egg. An upgraded and almost T-1000 like Metal Sonic makes his return for a battle royale with Knuckles, Tails, and Amy in the Sky Sanctuary while Sonic pursues Robotnik for a confrontation in outer space.

The increased production budget gave the second film a noticeably higher quality of animation that many critics noted rivaled and even exceeded Disney's Mulan in some parts, particularly the "Doomsday" sequence where Super Sonic chases a fleeing Robotic through a meteor swarm. However, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 made slightly less than its predecessor, but was highly profitable nonetheless. One observation made by fans and critics was the absence of the Buzzbomber and Motobug, which was well-received as they were a point of contention with latter and the slightly more serious tone brought in from their absence demonstrated a film that was growing up with its audience.

Many fans wondered what Sega and Dreamworks had in store and would be pleased when they saw the mid-credits scene where a deactivated Metal Sonic lay buried under the rubble of Sky Sanctuary when his eyes flcker back on--setting up the plot for the final film in the trilogy.

 

[Megafighter3]

Good news is Ted and Terry will be back for the third Sonic. While I had plans for a Rampage trilogy, I feel like the series will working better as an animated TV show from here, so that's where Rampage will continue either in 1999 or 2000. So, apart from a brief piece for Dragonheart 2: A New Beginning, we just gotta do Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

 

[tornadobusdriver]

Unlike the first one. MK: Annihilation will need major changes. I quite like the idea of merging the stories of 2 and 3

 

[Megafighter3]

Alright, so who are we bringing back for Annihilation?

• First off, Paul W.S. Anderson will be back in the director's chair with Leonetti staying as DP.
• We need to make sure we get Kevin Droney back on writing for this. He did good work with the first movie and it would suck to lose him. We can also bring on John Tobias for writing, but no one else.
• Larry Kasanoff will remain in strictly a producer role.
• Unlike OTL, we will be bringing back the first movie's cast.
  • Robin Shou as Liu Kang
  • George Takei as Raiden
  • Linden Ashby as Johnny Cage
  • Bridgette Wilson as Sonya Blade
  • Ming-na Wen as Kitana

What's coming in? Well... jeez, there are a lot of characters listed, so I imagine with the changes, there's probably gonna be a culling of characters.

• Shao Khan
• Sindel
• Jax
• Cyrax
• Mileena
• Nightwolf
• Smoke
• Sub-Zero (the younger Sub-Zero)
• Scorpion
• Jade
• Baraka
• Sheeva
• Motaro
• Ermac

Just... yeah, we're gonna need to take the hacksaw to this one. Also, gonna say it. No CGI monster battle to end the movie, make that absolutely clear.

 

[tornadobusdriver]

I say Sheeva and Motaro could maybe be cut. Maybe Cyrax.

I like the idea of Michelle Yeoh as Sindel and Kelly Hu as Mileena

 

[Nivek]

I say Sheeva and Motaro could maybe be cut. Maybe Cyrax.

I like the idea of Michelle Yeoh as Sindel and Kelly Hu as Mileena

Nice choices buddy, shao Khan we need one looks the part and act...or we use a bodybuilder/figther and give him a serious actor as His VA? That Is other.

 

[Megafighter3]

Nice choices buddy, shao Khan we need one looks the part and act...or we use a bodybuilder/figther and give him a serious actor as His VA? That Is other.

The first movie had Frank Welker dub the voice, so maybe use the latter option.

 

[Megafighter3]

Alright, so cutting out Sheeva and Motaro (though man, imagine Chyna as Sheeva) and maybe drop Cyrax and Smoke.

Also, did you know that Rain was in the movie? He gets killed by Shao Kahn for not killing Kabal and Kurtis Stryker. Goddamn, this movie...

Like, I think the best way to deal with the overstuffed cast is to make sure that everyone has something to do. If you're gonna have a character, they need someone to fight against and a reason to fight them. I'm gonna make the call that Raiden is gonna stay in the mentor role rather than fight. So, the four major players, as I see it, are gonna be Jax, Kitana, Sonya and Liu Kang. Johnny Cage is gonna die,but it will most likely be later and be more dignified. Maybe add in the second Sub-Zero as a heroic figure.

 

[Megafighter3]

Alright, let's do the split down the middle of the cast.

Raiden - Shinnok: Both act more on the sidelines, leaving Raiden still in the mentor role while Shinnok acts as the Emperor to Shao Kahn's Darth Vader.

Liu Kang - Shao Kahn: The obvious climax for the movie, facing Earthrealm and Outworld champions against one another.

Kitana - Mileena: It was either her or Sindel and I dunno, if we got a third movie, we can save Sindel for that (though she is gonna be in this movie.) So instead with have Mileena made to be a replacement for Kitana. Let them fight it out.

Sonya - Baraka: Working idea, but during the breakout of an Outworld prison by Sonya, Johnny and Jax, Johnny sacrifices himself to let them escape, Baraka killing him. Sonya gets her payback later.

Jax - Kabal: Both Jax and Kabal are found in the Outworld Prison, both were captured for "recruitment" but Jax was after Kabal to finish what Sonya started with Kano in taking down Black Dragon.

Sub-Zero - Scorpion: The second Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang, seeks to avenge his fallen older brother, facing off against a resurrected Scorpion. After both ninjas served under Shang Tsung, Scorpion reveals it was through brainwashing and that his goal is to destroy the Lin Kuei. Ya know, Scorpion stuff.

We can work in Jade and Nightwolf as fighters that Raiden seeks out to help build an army to face off against Shinnok's forces, have them face off against Liu Kang and Kitana.

This is mostly just me spitballing what I can.

 

[eldandythedoubter]

Well for Kabal, Stryker, and Rain. Could we use them in the MK TV series that starts up in 99?
For that show, instead of being a full prequel, have Conquest be a Chronicles of the MK Universe, expanding the movie's universe.

 

[Megafighter3]

Well for Kabal, Stryker, and Rain. Could we use them in the MK TV series that starts up in 99?
For that show, instead of being a full prequel, have Conquest be a Chronicles of the MK Universe, expanding the movie's universe.

I like the sound of that. I'll still keep the Jax-Kabal fight for the movie, but having an episode or two of MK: Chronicles be dedicated to before the prison fight (maybe their capture and time spent with them getting their robot arms and respirator) would be nice. As for other characters like Rain, Stryker, Nightwolf, Jade and Ermac, they can be built up or used in Chronicles so more time can be focused on the main cast in the movie. Have them be cameos in the movie as people recruited to Raiden's army by the main characters (I had an idea of a scene where Sonya is trying to recruit Stryker based on their past in Special Forces. Stryker agrees to join... if she can get him Johnny's autograph.)

Other than that, let's have a look at casting this bad boy.

• Liu Kang: Robin Shou
• Raiden: George Takei
• Johnny Cage: Linden Ashby
• Sonya Blade: Bridgette Wilson
• Kitana: Ming-na Wen
• Jax Briggs: Michael Jai White
• Sub-Zero: Brandon Lee
• Shao Kahn: (Voice of Frank Welker)
• Shinnok:
• Baraka: Doug Jones
• Mileena: Kelly Hu
• Sindel: Michelle Yeoh
• Kabal:
• Scorpion: J.J. Perry
• Nightwolf: (Cameo)
• Jade: Thuy Trang (Cameo)
• Stryker: (Cameo)

 

[Nivek]

Kabal

We're going to use pre and post transformation kabal? Would be easier the later as we would need only a good suit actor and VA too, the former..ideas for actions guys?

Shinnok

We're getting thin asian elder guy...maybe a english speaker HK actor?

 

[Megafighter3]

We're going to use pre and post transformation kabal? Would be easier the later as we would need only a good suit actor and VA too, the former..ideas for actions guys?


We're getting thin asian elder guy...maybe a english speaker HK actor?

The movie is just post-transformation Kabal.