Here it goes for the alternate Tate Murders... On a lighter note, you will discover the second actor to portray James Bond ITTL.
Straight out of development hell - An alternate history of cinema
- Thread starter MaskedPickle
- Start date
You Only Live Twice (1969), by Brian G. Hutton
Above all, the preparation of a new installment in the James Bond series was somehow different in 1968, as it meant the quest for a new Agent 007.
As Sean Connery enjoyed a post-Bond career with his leading role in The Thomas Crown Affair, plans to convince him to reverse his decision faltered immediately. [1] Albert Broccoli and his minions had to acknowledge that, at the contrary of most announcements, “Sean Connery wasn’t James Bond anymore”. After early plans were made with recruiting American Batman star Adam West [2] or Dutchman Hans De Vries, it was decided that the most famous fictional hero that Britain had in the world ought to be an Englishman. Timothy Dalton, noticed for his role as Philip II of France in The Lion In Winter, was considered, but he insisted that he was only 22 and had already signed on to John Boorman’s Guildenstern and Rosencrantz Are Dead. The runners-up finally were Terence Stamp, Michael Caine John Richardson and Jeremy Brett. Terence Stamp wanted to take the series into a darker tone, which displeased the producers; Michael Caine feared to be typecasted, having enjoyed his breakthrough with The Ipcress File; John Richardson had only One Million Years B.C. as a major credit, and Jeremy Brett had only television works on his resume, besides My Fair Lady. Nevertheless, said one of the producers, “one of them had this classy look that had made Sean Connery’s fame, all underlined by this unknown and almost sadistic violence that characterized Bond.” In early 1968, Jeremy Brett finally signed to become the next 007. [3]
Jeremy Brett, the new James Bond.
With a Bond recast, the series’ screenwriter, Richard Maibaum, was left to a dubious choice: if the next film was to be You Only Live Twice, that begins with an alcoholic Bond, left broken by the killing of his wife and thirsty with vengeance, how to convince the audience that Sean Connery in the previous film and Jeremy Brett were the same people? [4] It was ultimately decided to follow the novel, and to show signs of James Bond’s grief and depression, but not to mention explicitly his wife. Instead of his state of depression, the pre-credits introduction would see Bond botching an assignment and lets a sniper disguised as a cellist escape, is inspired by Ian Fleming’ short novel The Living Daylights. [5] The final script had James Bond sent to Japan on a secondary assignment, and have the mission of assassinating Guntram Shatterhand, a drug trafficker and religious guru, that is revealed to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The second half of the movie would consist of James Bond single-handedly raiding Blofeld’s castle, located on a Japanese volcano, and killing him in an epic swordfight, with Blofeld in samurai attire. The idea of an amnesiac James Bond, living as a Japanese fisher and going to the Soviet Union, was dropped from the script. [6]
If James Bond had to be replaced, the producers wanted to have the villain return. Peter Cushing had been lauded for his portrayal of the evil mastermind Blofeld in OHMSS, so they tried to convince Cushing to return to the Bond franchise, even if his contract was only made for one movie. Cushing persistently refused, claiming that he was bound to his contract with Hammer studios, that continued to draft him into countless Frankenstein flicks. The truth is that the filming of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had been exhausting to him, and that he didn’t wanted to travel to Japan for the filming. After Christopher Lee and Charles Gray rebuked the filmmakers, the studios finally hired French Swiss actor Howard Vernon. Born to an American mother and fluent in an accentless English, Vernon had accessed to fame for his portrayal of a Francophile and pacifist German officer in Jean-Pierre Melville’s debut Le Silence de la Mer. Since then, Vernon had compromised himself in Spanish and French Z-movies directed by Jesus Franco. Delighted with the prospect to play a Bond villain and to take a leave from nudies and slasher movies, Howard Vernon gave his sinister looks to the archvillain. [7] Ilse Steppat returned in her last film role as Blofeld’s henchwoman and lover, Irma Bunt: she would die of a heart attack during post production. [8]
Swiss actor Howard Vernon
The Japanese Toho Studios, contracted by Eon Productions, gave the Japanese actors for the movie that was, for the first time ever, to be set in one country only: Japan. Japanese stock actresses Mie Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi were cast as the James Bond girls, the first as Aki, who dies early in the movie, and the second as Kissy Suzuski, Bond’s love interest who saves his life after Blofeld’s lair has collapsed, and is also hinted to be pregnant with James’ child. [9] Australian actor Rod Taylor, of Time Machine and The Birds’ fame, joined the cast as Australian agent Dikko Henderson, who introduces 007 to Japanese lifestyle and later partners with him; ironically, Taylor had been proposed the role of James Bond by the time of Dr. No, before Sean Connery was found. [10] But the more prestigious screenname came from Japan: Akira Kurosawa’s creature, Toshiro Mifune, agreed to be cast as the head of Japanese secret services, the very nationalistic and adventurous Tiger Tanaka. His very high salary and his receiving top billing for his Western debut helped to convince Mifune; some said that, still in his grudge against Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune wanted to start his European career with a bang, after the critical success Runaway Train enjoyed the year after. Toshiro Mifune insisted to recite his English lines phonetically, but he was always dubbed in post production. [11]
For director, the producers were confused. They had been dissatisfied with Peter Hunt’s overly long, albeit successful, Bond movie (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball) had other commitments, Guy Hamilton was busy with the making of Battle of Britain. Lewis Gilbert, once contacted for OHMSS, had obtained lasting fame with Oliver! and rebuked the filmmakers’ offers. [12] The producers finally decided to go with another breakthrough: casting an American director. Even if it seemed an heresy to Bond fans, Brian G. Hutton, known for a few Hollywood flicks, was taken as a yes man by Eon Productions. For the anecdote, Hutton had been contacted to make Where Eagles Dare; actor Richard Attenborough finally landed the part, in his directorial debut. His bad relations with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood on set convinced Attenborough that his war movie venture would be the last time he went behind the camera. [13] Directors of photography Freddie Young and Michael Reed were added to the show, respectively for the Japanese and the studio settings. John Barry returned to the franchise, persuading Aretha Franklin to perform the theme song. Her deep voice added to the melancholy of the whole filming. [14]
Filming began in Japan in October 1968, in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kyushu island, the latter one for Blofeld’s castle built on a volcano and the fisher’s village, where James Bond is trained into masquerading as a Japanese fisherman. Even if everything went well, the language barrier and filming conditions proved to be grueling, convincing the producers to resume filming in Pinewood studios, most particularly for the opening scene and the grueling interiors of Blofeld’s lair, all in a very Japanese daimyo fashion. But the most particular came from the new Bond, Jeremy Brett. Dedicated to his work, Brett tried to put all his efforts into portraying the most accurate Bond that could be done. Even if his wife’s death is not addressed, his James Bond seems to have been broken by it: both gloomy and dangerous, he proves as ruthless as Sean Connery could be in Dr. No, killing without hesitating. His methods proved to be very close to those of the amoral and ninja-like Tiger Tanaka; he patiently folds into the Japanese culture, in order to better trap his worst enemy, Blofeld. That’s how Jeremy Brett insisted into doing his own stunts, learning martial arts such as kung fu to defeat Blofeld’s henchmen in his Garden of Death, set with countless traps. Brett nearly died when the autogyro James Bond uses to climb Blofeld’s castles and defeat his helicopters, the Little Nellie, crashed during takes. Director Brian G. Hutton convinced him to let a trained aviator do the Little Nellie passage. Jeremy Brett then broke three of his ribs during the final sword fight against Blofeld (portrayed not by the aged Howard Vernon, but a Japanese stuntman in full samurai attire), after a bad fall. He nevertheless completed the sequence, to the crew’s disapproval. [15]
Model of Blofeld's samurai armor
That a James Bond was a box office success wasn’t great sorcery: as always, You Only Live Twice was the ninth top grossing film of 1969 [16], throughout the world. The success that was not as predictable was the critical one, more over the new James Bond, Jeremy Brett. The critics mostly followed, even if they complained that Brian G. Hutton’s action-packed filming didn’t carried the same magic that his British counterparts, and that the exoticism related to the Bond movies didn’t played out, being centered on Japan only. The public was also unsettled by the darkening of the James Bond series, made evident by the tragic end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and proven more by James Bond’s drive for revenge. Jeremy Brett was applauded for his tragic portrayal, managing to stay a classy killing machine and, furthermore, to stand the challenge of taking the role from Sean Connery.
Jeremy Brett had a three-film contract, and he had already plans for the next installment: The Man With The Golden Gun…
INFORMATIONS :
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli
Written by Richard Maibaum
Music by John Barry (Aretha Franklin for the theme song You Only Live Twice)
Cinematography by Freddie Young and Michael Reed
Editing by John Glen
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) December, 18 1969
-Jeremy Brett as James Bond
-Toshiro Mifune as Tiger Tanaka
-Howard Vernon as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
-Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt
-Rod Taylor as Dikko Henderson
-Mie Hama as Aki
-Akiko Wakabayashi as Kissy Suzuki
-Bernard Lee as M
-Desmond Llelywyn as Q
-Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
Author’s footnotes :
1 – IOTL, Connery’s career went in the doldrums after James Bond, convincing him to return once as the British secret agent and to accept movies that didn’t focused on him, such as ensemble cast pieces like Murder on the Orient Express or…things like Zardoz.
2 – That’s not a joke.
3 – For non-British and/or young audiences, Jeremy Brett is best known for having played one of the most accurate portrayals ever of Sherlock Holmes for British television. No, it’s not Benedict Cumberbatch.
4 – Diamonds Are Forever, which sees Connery returning after George Lazenby, totally obliterates the death of James Bond’s wife, even if it’s mentioned again in the series, in For Your Eyes Only, Licence to Kill and Skyfall.
5 – Many thanks to the self-proclaimed Bond geek, Stolengood, for this idea.
6 – That’s how the novel You Only Live Twice ends, after he has fathered a child with his love interest, Kissy Suzuki.
7 – I really considered recasting Peter Cushing as Blofeld, but in the novels, Blofeld changes his appearance each time thanks to surgical operations, a device plot that is reused in the movies.
8 – Karin Dor’s Helga Brandt was a stand-in to Irma Bunt in OTL You Only Live Twice.
9 – They reversed the roles IOTL due to their compared knowledges of English; butterflies allows Akiko Wakabayashi to better understand English by the time of filming.
10 – IOTL, Australian agent Henderson was played by a very British actor, Charles Gray, who went to be cast again in the Bond series, not as a friend, but as a foe: Blofeld himself, in Diamonds Are Forever.
11 – This always happened to Toshiro Mifune.
12 – He directed three Bond movies IOTL: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker.
13 – So here is butterflied Richard Attenborough’s directing career. But his movies are not… Nor his acting. So goes the “no-Yankee director” rule for the James Bond series, that will help to cement further talents, way before Sam Mendes’ artistic take on Bond.
14 – John Barry wanted Aretha Franklin for the score, while Cubby Broccoli proposed her friend Frank Sinatra, who then put forward his daughter.
15 – Jeremy Brett put all his energy IOTL to portray “the best Sherlock Holmes ever”. One could think he would put the same effort into James Bond, portraying him in a darker mood, closer to Sean Connery’s acting in the early movies and more so, to the books.
16 – One place further than IOTL
« You only live twice, Mr. Bond. »
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Above all, the preparation of a new installment in the James Bond series was somehow different in 1968, as it meant the quest for a new Agent 007.
As Sean Connery enjoyed a post-Bond career with his leading role in The Thomas Crown Affair, plans to convince him to reverse his decision faltered immediately. [1] Albert Broccoli and his minions had to acknowledge that, at the contrary of most announcements, “Sean Connery wasn’t James Bond anymore”. After early plans were made with recruiting American Batman star Adam West [2] or Dutchman Hans De Vries, it was decided that the most famous fictional hero that Britain had in the world ought to be an Englishman. Timothy Dalton, noticed for his role as Philip II of France in The Lion In Winter, was considered, but he insisted that he was only 22 and had already signed on to John Boorman’s Guildenstern and Rosencrantz Are Dead. The runners-up finally were Terence Stamp, Michael Caine John Richardson and Jeremy Brett. Terence Stamp wanted to take the series into a darker tone, which displeased the producers; Michael Caine feared to be typecasted, having enjoyed his breakthrough with The Ipcress File; John Richardson had only One Million Years B.C. as a major credit, and Jeremy Brett had only television works on his resume, besides My Fair Lady. Nevertheless, said one of the producers, “one of them had this classy look that had made Sean Connery’s fame, all underlined by this unknown and almost sadistic violence that characterized Bond.” In early 1968, Jeremy Brett finally signed to become the next 007. [3]
Jeremy Brett, the new James Bond.
With a Bond recast, the series’ screenwriter, Richard Maibaum, was left to a dubious choice: if the next film was to be You Only Live Twice, that begins with an alcoholic Bond, left broken by the killing of his wife and thirsty with vengeance, how to convince the audience that Sean Connery in the previous film and Jeremy Brett were the same people? [4] It was ultimately decided to follow the novel, and to show signs of James Bond’s grief and depression, but not to mention explicitly his wife. Instead of his state of depression, the pre-credits introduction would see Bond botching an assignment and lets a sniper disguised as a cellist escape, is inspired by Ian Fleming’ short novel The Living Daylights. [5] The final script had James Bond sent to Japan on a secondary assignment, and have the mission of assassinating Guntram Shatterhand, a drug trafficker and religious guru, that is revealed to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The second half of the movie would consist of James Bond single-handedly raiding Blofeld’s castle, located on a Japanese volcano, and killing him in an epic swordfight, with Blofeld in samurai attire. The idea of an amnesiac James Bond, living as a Japanese fisher and going to the Soviet Union, was dropped from the script. [6]
If James Bond had to be replaced, the producers wanted to have the villain return. Peter Cushing had been lauded for his portrayal of the evil mastermind Blofeld in OHMSS, so they tried to convince Cushing to return to the Bond franchise, even if his contract was only made for one movie. Cushing persistently refused, claiming that he was bound to his contract with Hammer studios, that continued to draft him into countless Frankenstein flicks. The truth is that the filming of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had been exhausting to him, and that he didn’t wanted to travel to Japan for the filming. After Christopher Lee and Charles Gray rebuked the filmmakers, the studios finally hired French Swiss actor Howard Vernon. Born to an American mother and fluent in an accentless English, Vernon had accessed to fame for his portrayal of a Francophile and pacifist German officer in Jean-Pierre Melville’s debut Le Silence de la Mer. Since then, Vernon had compromised himself in Spanish and French Z-movies directed by Jesus Franco. Delighted with the prospect to play a Bond villain and to take a leave from nudies and slasher movies, Howard Vernon gave his sinister looks to the archvillain. [7] Ilse Steppat returned in her last film role as Blofeld’s henchwoman and lover, Irma Bunt: she would die of a heart attack during post production. [8]
Swiss actor Howard Vernon
The Japanese Toho Studios, contracted by Eon Productions, gave the Japanese actors for the movie that was, for the first time ever, to be set in one country only: Japan. Japanese stock actresses Mie Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi were cast as the James Bond girls, the first as Aki, who dies early in the movie, and the second as Kissy Suzuski, Bond’s love interest who saves his life after Blofeld’s lair has collapsed, and is also hinted to be pregnant with James’ child. [9] Australian actor Rod Taylor, of Time Machine and The Birds’ fame, joined the cast as Australian agent Dikko Henderson, who introduces 007 to Japanese lifestyle and later partners with him; ironically, Taylor had been proposed the role of James Bond by the time of Dr. No, before Sean Connery was found. [10] But the more prestigious screenname came from Japan: Akira Kurosawa’s creature, Toshiro Mifune, agreed to be cast as the head of Japanese secret services, the very nationalistic and adventurous Tiger Tanaka. His very high salary and his receiving top billing for his Western debut helped to convince Mifune; some said that, still in his grudge against Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune wanted to start his European career with a bang, after the critical success Runaway Train enjoyed the year after. Toshiro Mifune insisted to recite his English lines phonetically, but he was always dubbed in post production. [11]
For director, the producers were confused. They had been dissatisfied with Peter Hunt’s overly long, albeit successful, Bond movie (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball) had other commitments, Guy Hamilton was busy with the making of Battle of Britain. Lewis Gilbert, once contacted for OHMSS, had obtained lasting fame with Oliver! and rebuked the filmmakers’ offers. [12] The producers finally decided to go with another breakthrough: casting an American director. Even if it seemed an heresy to Bond fans, Brian G. Hutton, known for a few Hollywood flicks, was taken as a yes man by Eon Productions. For the anecdote, Hutton had been contacted to make Where Eagles Dare; actor Richard Attenborough finally landed the part, in his directorial debut. His bad relations with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood on set convinced Attenborough that his war movie venture would be the last time he went behind the camera. [13] Directors of photography Freddie Young and Michael Reed were added to the show, respectively for the Japanese and the studio settings. John Barry returned to the franchise, persuading Aretha Franklin to perform the theme song. Her deep voice added to the melancholy of the whole filming. [14]
Filming began in Japan in October 1968, in Tokyo, Kyoto and Kyushu island, the latter one for Blofeld’s castle built on a volcano and the fisher’s village, where James Bond is trained into masquerading as a Japanese fisherman. Even if everything went well, the language barrier and filming conditions proved to be grueling, convincing the producers to resume filming in Pinewood studios, most particularly for the opening scene and the grueling interiors of Blofeld’s lair, all in a very Japanese daimyo fashion. But the most particular came from the new Bond, Jeremy Brett. Dedicated to his work, Brett tried to put all his efforts into portraying the most accurate Bond that could be done. Even if his wife’s death is not addressed, his James Bond seems to have been broken by it: both gloomy and dangerous, he proves as ruthless as Sean Connery could be in Dr. No, killing without hesitating. His methods proved to be very close to those of the amoral and ninja-like Tiger Tanaka; he patiently folds into the Japanese culture, in order to better trap his worst enemy, Blofeld. That’s how Jeremy Brett insisted into doing his own stunts, learning martial arts such as kung fu to defeat Blofeld’s henchmen in his Garden of Death, set with countless traps. Brett nearly died when the autogyro James Bond uses to climb Blofeld’s castles and defeat his helicopters, the Little Nellie, crashed during takes. Director Brian G. Hutton convinced him to let a trained aviator do the Little Nellie passage. Jeremy Brett then broke three of his ribs during the final sword fight against Blofeld (portrayed not by the aged Howard Vernon, but a Japanese stuntman in full samurai attire), after a bad fall. He nevertheless completed the sequence, to the crew’s disapproval. [15]
Model of Blofeld's samurai armor
That a James Bond was a box office success wasn’t great sorcery: as always, You Only Live Twice was the ninth top grossing film of 1969 [16], throughout the world. The success that was not as predictable was the critical one, more over the new James Bond, Jeremy Brett. The critics mostly followed, even if they complained that Brian G. Hutton’s action-packed filming didn’t carried the same magic that his British counterparts, and that the exoticism related to the Bond movies didn’t played out, being centered on Japan only. The public was also unsettled by the darkening of the James Bond series, made evident by the tragic end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and proven more by James Bond’s drive for revenge. Jeremy Brett was applauded for his tragic portrayal, managing to stay a classy killing machine and, furthermore, to stand the challenge of taking the role from Sean Connery.
Jeremy Brett had a three-film contract, and he had already plans for the next installment: The Man With The Golden Gun…
INFORMATIONS :
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli
Written by Richard Maibaum
Music by John Barry (Aretha Franklin for the theme song You Only Live Twice)
Cinematography by Freddie Young and Michael Reed
Editing by John Glen
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) December, 18 1969
-Jeremy Brett as James Bond
-Toshiro Mifune as Tiger Tanaka
-Howard Vernon as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
-Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt
-Rod Taylor as Dikko Henderson
-Mie Hama as Aki
-Akiko Wakabayashi as Kissy Suzuki
-Bernard Lee as M
-Desmond Llelywyn as Q
-Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
Author’s footnotes :
1 – IOTL, Connery’s career went in the doldrums after James Bond, convincing him to return once as the British secret agent and to accept movies that didn’t focused on him, such as ensemble cast pieces like Murder on the Orient Express or…things like Zardoz.
2 – That’s not a joke.
3 – For non-British and/or young audiences, Jeremy Brett is best known for having played one of the most accurate portrayals ever of Sherlock Holmes for British television. No, it’s not Benedict Cumberbatch.
4 – Diamonds Are Forever, which sees Connery returning after George Lazenby, totally obliterates the death of James Bond’s wife, even if it’s mentioned again in the series, in For Your Eyes Only, Licence to Kill and Skyfall.
5 – Many thanks to the self-proclaimed Bond geek, Stolengood, for this idea.
6 – That’s how the novel You Only Live Twice ends, after he has fathered a child with his love interest, Kissy Suzuki.
7 – I really considered recasting Peter Cushing as Blofeld, but in the novels, Blofeld changes his appearance each time thanks to surgical operations, a device plot that is reused in the movies.
8 – Karin Dor’s Helga Brandt was a stand-in to Irma Bunt in OTL You Only Live Twice.
9 – They reversed the roles IOTL due to their compared knowledges of English; butterflies allows Akiko Wakabayashi to better understand English by the time of filming.
10 – IOTL, Australian agent Henderson was played by a very British actor, Charles Gray, who went to be cast again in the Bond series, not as a friend, but as a foe: Blofeld himself, in Diamonds Are Forever.
11 – This always happened to Toshiro Mifune.
12 – He directed three Bond movies IOTL: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker.
13 – So here is butterflied Richard Attenborough’s directing career. But his movies are not… Nor his acting. So goes the “no-Yankee director” rule for the James Bond series, that will help to cement further talents, way before Sam Mendes’ artistic take on Bond.
14 – John Barry wanted Aretha Franklin for the score, while Cubby Broccoli proposed her friend Frank Sinatra, who then put forward his daughter.
15 – Jeremy Brett put all his energy IOTL to portray “the best Sherlock Holmes ever”. One could think he would put the same effort into James Bond, portraying him in a darker mood, closer to Sean Connery’s acting in the early movies and more so, to the books.
16 – One place further than IOTL
Great to see another update, MaskedPickle! Your take on You Only Live Twice is fascinating and it's good to see somewhat more "authentic" Japanese trappings than IOTL - though it's a shame that TTL will in all likelihood never see the finest Sherlock Holmes ever to grace the screen (yes, I'm a big fan of Brett's portrayal). If Brett sticks around as Bond, of course, one wonders what will become of Roger Moore, who up until his casting as Bond was best known as The Saint...
The Magnificent Movies
The Loners, by Dennis Hopper. Starring Peter Fonda as Captain America, Dennis Hopper as Billy and Rip Torn as George Hanson. Nothing is much different from the OTL film, excepts it retains its original title, and as Jack Nicholson already became a star on his own right, Rip Torn manages to land the role of George Hanson, avoiding further brawl with Dennis Hopper. Hopper and Fonda make a major media sensation on the Croisette when the two ragged hippies win the Palme d’Or in the Cannes Film Festival for their road trip movie, that still has the same success.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by John Boorman. Starring Christopher Plummer as Rosencrantz, Terence Stamp as Guildenstern, Peter O’Toole as the Lead Player, Timothy Dalton as Prince Hamlet, Laurence Olivier as King Polonius. John Boorman remained in Britain to make this adaptation of Tom Stoppard’s existentialist play, and he was right ! Starring two old thespians (Peter O’Toole as the Lead Player, and Laurence Olivier as King Polonius) and three rising stars (Christopher Plummer and Terence Stamp as the two messengers, and Timothy Dalton as Hamlet), the movie establishes John Boorman as a major director, wins the Golden Bear in Berlin and earns Plummer a Golden Globe for Best Actor. The studios soon turn to Boorman for a major book adaptation…
True Grit, by George Roy Hill. Starring Charles Bronson as Rooster Cogburn, Mia Farrow as Mattie Ross, Burt Reynolds as La Boeuf, Gary Lockwood as Lucky Ned Pepper. John Wayne, too occupied with helping his friend Ronald Reagan at winning the Presidency in 1968, can not land the role of Rooster Cogburn : it’s Charles Branson who manages to make a career rebound with the role of the eyepatch-wielding sheriff. Mia Farrow is cast as she is not worried by George Roy Hill’s acting methods, based on her fame as Frank Sinatra’s wife (who divorces her as she resumes her acting career, as IOTL for Rosemary’s Baby), and young Hollywood stars Burt Reynolds and Gary Lockwood use True Grit as a vehicle. Even if it’s a box office success, the somewhat classic western is snubbed by critics, who suscribe to The Sundance Kid and The Diamond Story instead. Mia Farrow nevertheless wins the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The Illustrated Man, by John Frankenheimer. Starring Harrison Ford as Carl, Sondra Locke as Felicia. The first setback in Harrison Ford’s rising stardom : making a foray into science fiction in this Ray Bradbury adaptation, the movie is still a blunder ITTL and shows that Harrison Ford’s name is not enough to score big at the box office. Having refused The Sundance Kid to do this movie also dazzles the young Harrison Ford.
Hello, Dolly !, by Stuart Rosenberg. Starring Doris Day as Dolly Levi, Sandy Duncan as Minnie Fay, Gregory Peck as Horace Vandergelder, Ann-Margret as Irene Molloy. Stuart Rosenberg undertakes Hello, Dolly ! under Gene Kelly producing : it’s a major success, allowing Doris Day to thwart her finance problems and to Gregory Peck to had another success to his deeds. It wins the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Score, while Rosenberg and Doris Day wins the Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Actress respectively.
Model Shop, by Jacques Demy. Starring Harrison Ford as George Matthews, Anouk Aimée as Lola. Ford, in the same time, makes his venture into musicals, under the patronage of none other than Jacques Demy, in his Los Angeles experience. If Harrison Ford gets a much publicized affair with Anouk Aimée, Model Shop is a better success ITTL, riding on Ford’s popularity, but still is one of the lesser turns of Demy’s filmography.
Just in passing : in 1969, some moviegoers could notice the film debut of one Martin Scorcese, with Honeymoon Killers, and others in a strange black comedy by film student Penelope Spheeris, Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales, making the debut of a comedian called Richard Pryor.
The Loners, by Dennis Hopper. Starring Peter Fonda as Captain America, Dennis Hopper as Billy and Rip Torn as George Hanson. Nothing is much different from the OTL film, excepts it retains its original title, and as Jack Nicholson already became a star on his own right, Rip Torn manages to land the role of George Hanson, avoiding further brawl with Dennis Hopper. Hopper and Fonda make a major media sensation on the Croisette when the two ragged hippies win the Palme d’Or in the Cannes Film Festival for their road trip movie, that still has the same success.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by John Boorman. Starring Christopher Plummer as Rosencrantz, Terence Stamp as Guildenstern, Peter O’Toole as the Lead Player, Timothy Dalton as Prince Hamlet, Laurence Olivier as King Polonius. John Boorman remained in Britain to make this adaptation of Tom Stoppard’s existentialist play, and he was right ! Starring two old thespians (Peter O’Toole as the Lead Player, and Laurence Olivier as King Polonius) and three rising stars (Christopher Plummer and Terence Stamp as the two messengers, and Timothy Dalton as Hamlet), the movie establishes John Boorman as a major director, wins the Golden Bear in Berlin and earns Plummer a Golden Globe for Best Actor. The studios soon turn to Boorman for a major book adaptation…
True Grit, by George Roy Hill. Starring Charles Bronson as Rooster Cogburn, Mia Farrow as Mattie Ross, Burt Reynolds as La Boeuf, Gary Lockwood as Lucky Ned Pepper. John Wayne, too occupied with helping his friend Ronald Reagan at winning the Presidency in 1968, can not land the role of Rooster Cogburn : it’s Charles Branson who manages to make a career rebound with the role of the eyepatch-wielding sheriff. Mia Farrow is cast as she is not worried by George Roy Hill’s acting methods, based on her fame as Frank Sinatra’s wife (who divorces her as she resumes her acting career, as IOTL for Rosemary’s Baby), and young Hollywood stars Burt Reynolds and Gary Lockwood use True Grit as a vehicle. Even if it’s a box office success, the somewhat classic western is snubbed by critics, who suscribe to The Sundance Kid and The Diamond Story instead. Mia Farrow nevertheless wins the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The Illustrated Man, by John Frankenheimer. Starring Harrison Ford as Carl, Sondra Locke as Felicia. The first setback in Harrison Ford’s rising stardom : making a foray into science fiction in this Ray Bradbury adaptation, the movie is still a blunder ITTL and shows that Harrison Ford’s name is not enough to score big at the box office. Having refused The Sundance Kid to do this movie also dazzles the young Harrison Ford.
Hello, Dolly !, by Stuart Rosenberg. Starring Doris Day as Dolly Levi, Sandy Duncan as Minnie Fay, Gregory Peck as Horace Vandergelder, Ann-Margret as Irene Molloy. Stuart Rosenberg undertakes Hello, Dolly ! under Gene Kelly producing : it’s a major success, allowing Doris Day to thwart her finance problems and to Gregory Peck to had another success to his deeds. It wins the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Score, while Rosenberg and Doris Day wins the Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Actress respectively.
Model Shop, by Jacques Demy. Starring Harrison Ford as George Matthews, Anouk Aimée as Lola. Ford, in the same time, makes his venture into musicals, under the patronage of none other than Jacques Demy, in his Los Angeles experience. If Harrison Ford gets a much publicized affair with Anouk Aimée, Model Shop is a better success ITTL, riding on Ford’s popularity, but still is one of the lesser turns of Demy’s filmography.
Just in passing : in 1969, some moviegoers could notice the film debut of one Martin Scorcese, with Honeymoon Killers, and others in a strange black comedy by film student Penelope Spheeris, Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales, making the debut of a comedian called Richard Pryor.
42nd Academy Awards results :
Best Picture : The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Director : Syndey Pollack, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Actor : Steve McQueen, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Actress : Mia Farrow, True Grit
Best Supporting Actor : David Niven, Man’s Fate
Best Supporting Actress : Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower
Best Original Screenplay : William Goldman, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Adapted Screenplay : Han Suyin, Man’s Fate
Best Foreign Language Film : Z, Costa Gavras (Algeria)
Best Original Score : Burt Bacharach, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Original Song Score : Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman, Hello, Dolly !
Best Original Song : Burt Bacharach and Ray Stevens, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy)
Best Costume Design : Margaret Furse, Anne of the Thousand Days
Best Art Direction : Hello, Dolly !
Best Cinematography : Jack Hildyard and John Alcott, Frenzy
Best Sound Mixing : William Edmondson and David Dockendorf, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Film Editing : Lou Lambardo, The Diamond Story
Best Visual Effects : Downhill Racer
27th Golden Globe Awards:
Best Actor-Drama: Christopher Plummer, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Best Actor-Musical or Comedy: Richard Burton, Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Best Actress-Drama: Liv Ullmann, Man’s Fate
Best Actress-Musical or Comedy: Doris Day, Hello, Dolly!
Best Director: Stuart Rosenberg, Hello, Dolly!
Best Film-Drama: Man’s Fate
Best Film-Musical or Comedy: Hello, Dolly!
Best Foreign Film (Foreign Language): Satyricon, Federico Fellini (Italy)
Best Screenplay: William Goldman, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quayle, Anne of the Thousand Days
Best Supporting Actress: Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower
Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Festival): The Loners, Dennis Hopper
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, John Boorman
Best Picture : The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Director : Syndey Pollack, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Actor : Steve McQueen, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Actress : Mia Farrow, True Grit
Best Supporting Actor : David Niven, Man’s Fate
Best Supporting Actress : Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower
Best Original Screenplay : William Goldman, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Adapted Screenplay : Han Suyin, Man’s Fate
Best Foreign Language Film : Z, Costa Gavras (Algeria)
Best Original Score : Burt Bacharach, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Original Song Score : Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman, Hello, Dolly !
Best Original Song : Burt Bacharach and Ray Stevens, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy)
Best Costume Design : Margaret Furse, Anne of the Thousand Days
Best Art Direction : Hello, Dolly !
Best Cinematography : Jack Hildyard and John Alcott, Frenzy
Best Sound Mixing : William Edmondson and David Dockendorf, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Film Editing : Lou Lambardo, The Diamond Story
Best Visual Effects : Downhill Racer
27th Golden Globe Awards:
Best Actor-Drama: Christopher Plummer, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Best Actor-Musical or Comedy: Richard Burton, Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Best Actress-Drama: Liv Ullmann, Man’s Fate
Best Actress-Musical or Comedy: Doris Day, Hello, Dolly!
Best Director: Stuart Rosenberg, Hello, Dolly!
Best Film-Drama: Man’s Fate
Best Film-Musical or Comedy: Hello, Dolly!
Best Foreign Film (Foreign Language): Satyricon, Federico Fellini (Italy)
Best Screenplay: William Goldman, The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quayle, Anne of the Thousand Days
Best Supporting Actress: Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower
Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Festival): The Loners, Dennis Hopper
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, John Boorman
1969 ends here, folks. Now let's unfold a new decade, full with new beginnings.
-I have seen here very few feedback, and I am actively wondering if people are interested in this timeline. If I can improve it, please tell me.
So, what is designed for 1970 is:
-An inspirational man of war.
-An inspirational man of peace.
-A liar who lives for a long time.
-The story of a pregnancy.
-How to have fun in wartime.
-How not to have fun during a disease.
-How to deal with monkeys, once and for all.
-How to deal with your life.
-I have seen here very few feedback, and I am actively wondering if people are interested in this timeline. If I can improve it, please tell me.
So, what is designed for 1970 is:
-An inspirational man of war.
-An inspirational man of peace.
-A liar who lives for a long time.
-The story of a pregnancy.
-How to have fun in wartime.
-How not to have fun during a disease.
-How to deal with monkeys, once and for all.
-How to deal with your life.
Just to say I'm new to this TL but having read it all the way through I'm really loving it
I think I will reboot this TL or put it on hold until I've got enough years prepared: I put a lot of energy in this TL, but the updates are too scarce to convince people to give feedback.
Can you give me any advices to help it go better?
I'm also preparing new TLs about Napoleon and President Dewey.
Can you give me any advices to help it go better?
I'm also preparing new TLs about Napoleon and President Dewey.
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You have to keep this going and not reboot it. You need to promote this more also.
Place this on hold until you have enough updates to keep this going on a regular basis.
Place this on hold until you have enough updates to keep this going on a regular basis.
I would recommend you put it on hold until you've built up a sufficient backlog. I wouldn't reboot it unless you feel the need to change some of the posts you've already done - and I certainly don't see any reason to do that. And don't forget to post in the Pop Culture Timelines Go-To Thread when you make a new update
