The Reverse Finch - A Pop Culture TL

TehIrishSoap

Banned
After a couple of false starts, I've decided to throw my weight behind a proper pop culture timeline.
I've learned from past mistakes/not doing research/general boredom, this is something I figure I'd give a shot!
Enjoy this alternate universe where Heath Ledger lived.

TMZ NEWSFLASH:

HEATH LEDGER HOSPITALISED FOLLOWING SUSPECTED DRUG OVERDOSE

MORE TO FOLLOW - January 22nd, 2008

"If we lost Ledger in '08, we would have been robbed of one of the great acting talents of a generation. He's quite simply the greatest living actor today, and based on the work he's shown behind the camera too he's on track to become one of our great actor-directors like Redford or Eastwood." - Mark Kermode speaking in 2018 about The Dark Knight's 10th anniversary.
Heath Andrew Ledger (born 4 April 1979) is an Australian actor and director. After performing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger left for the United States in 1998 to further develop his film career and has in the process been described as "Australia's greatest cultural export since INXS or Crocodile Dundee"
His work includes 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Monsters Ball (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasuss (2009), Contagion (2011), Mad Max: Fury Road (2013), Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2014), the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015-2019), and most recently played as Edward VIII in British period drama A Royal Reign (2018) as well as a recurring role in Netflix's hit animated series Strung Out.
He is also known for directing films such as Bounce (2012), Play God (2014) and Beds Are Burning (2017) a concert film about the Australian rock band Midnight Oil.
His upcoming projects include a TV series about Harold Holt's disappearance for HBO and a return to the superhero genre with X-Men: Rebirth (2020) - Heath Ledger's ATL Wikipedia page, December 2018
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
THE DARK KNIGHT RELEASE DELAYED UNTIL NOVEMBER
In a press release today, Warner Brothers announced that The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, has seen its release delayed until Friday, November 28th - a full four months after it's intended release date of Friday, July 18th.
While the studio didn't give a specific reason for the film's delay, it is widely believed this is to accommodate Heath Ledger's rehabilitation process, so as to allow him to fully participate in the film's no doubt grueling publicity tour.
This move has already seen a domino effect in the film release slate for the rest of the year, with The Wachowski's Speed Racer adaptation being pushed to the Dark Knight's original release date of July 18, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire bumped up to an August 15th release berth, Fox's Max Payne adaptation promoted to the Memorial Day weekend slot, Steven Soderbergh's Che given an October 17th release, and Frank Miller's The Spirit has been pushed to a February 6th, 2009 release.
Expectations for the film were already sky-high, but Warner Brothers pushing it to a November release slot implies they want to give it an Oscar push.
According to an unnamed studio insider, "studios were already scared of The Dark Knight, but now they're terrified because it's making a power play for the winter months."
Superhero films are usually a summer tentpole but by subtly implying that this is no ordinary superhero film, WB may have just pushed The Dark Knight into becoming an outright cultural phenomenon. - The Hollywood Reporter article, February 21st, 2008

No Country For Old Men sweeps, Ellen Page breaks Best Actress age record
The 80th Academy Awards saw The Coen Brothers No Country For Old Men take home five of the big awards of the night - Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and Cinematography (1)
While No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood were exchanging blows all awards season (indeed, Blood took him Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Original Score for Jonny Greenwood (2) and Best Art Direction) the big story of the night was 21-year old Canadian actress Ellen Page taking home the Oscar for Best Actress for her leading turn in Jason Reitman's Juno.
Page is now the youngest person to win an Oscar for Best Actress, dethroning Marlee Martin's performance for 1986's Children Of A Lesser God in the process.
Other highlights of the night include Glen Hansard dropping a f-bomb into his acceptance speech after winning Best Original Song for Once (I can't believe I just beat Eddie Fuckin' Vedder!" (3)) Brad Bird's touching acceptance speech while winning Best Animated Feature for Ratatouille and Cate Blanchett, prior to reading out the nominees for Best Art Direction, leading the room into a round of applause after wishing fellow Australian actor Heath Ledger well following his January hospitalisation. - BBC'S 80th Academy Awards Round-Up, Monday, February 25th, 2008.

Michelle Williams spotted leaving rehab center!!
Heath Ledger's ex Michelle Williams was spotted leaving the rehab center that ex-beau Heath Ledger is reported to be staying in, according to our sources.
The couple were reported to have split in September 2007 following continued arguments surrounding Heath's drug use in their Brooklyn apartment, but are reported to have reconciled since Heath's brush with death in January - TMZ.com report, March 2008

(1) - Deakins wins a full 10 years before OTL!
(2) The Academy change their rules surrounding what's eligible for scoring categories. Greenwood missed out on a technicality OTL because of rules surrounding pre-recorded music and pre-existing material, but that's rectified here.
(3) Ditto with Eddie Vedder. His songs for Into The Wild, while winning the Golden Globes and most of the precursors, were deemed ineligible for the Oscars.
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
In which we start seeing the first show of the flapping butterfly wings...

IRON MAN TAKES OFF TO 102 MILLION DOLLAR OPENING
Paramount's Iron Man has shattered even it's own lofty expectations, raking in 102 million dollars domestic in its opening weekend. (1)
The film has also already cleared 15 million pounds in the United Kingdom, an additional 10 million dollars in Australia, and took in 8 million in South Korea, and will be a strong player for the rest of May in the Asian markets in particular, according to projections as Warner Brothers' Speed Racer has been pushed to July in all major world markets.
The path looks clear for the Robert Downey Junior vehicle to clear 350 million domestic - it's only major competition (Disney's Narnia sequel) doesn't arrive until May 16th, and Paramount's own Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull poised to clinch the 4-day weekend of May 23rd. - The Hollywood Reporter box-office report, Monday, May 5th, 2008.

IRON MAN HOLDS STRONG, REPORTS 43% DROP IN SECOND WEEKEND
Following positive critical reviews and fan excitement spreading word-of-mouth of Samuel L Jackson's cameo appearance in a post-credits scene, Iron Man took in a second week atop the American box office.
The film took in 58.1 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to just shy of 200 million dollars in a mere 10 days.
With Universal's The Incredible Hulk due in June, Marvel's may have just ushered in a new era of cinematic universe continuity. - Variety report, Sunday, May 11th, 2008.

SUPERMAN RETURNS SEQUEL ANNOUNCED, BRANDON ROUTH AND BRYAN SINGER TO RETURN
In a move that few had predicted, Warner Brothers today announced they have green-lit a sequel to 2006's Superman Returns, with Brandon Routh set to return to the role, with Bryan Singer still in the director's chair.
Following news of Marvel's inter-connected cinematic universe spreading, one may wonder if this is Warner Brother's attempt to create their own inter-connected universe (2). - EMPIREONLINE.COM REPORT, MAY 21ST, 2008

FIRST LOOK AT HEATH LEDGER'S JOKER TEASED IN VIDEO GAME TRAILER, FULL DARK KNIGHT GAMEPLAY REVEAL AT E3 - Ign.com E3 preview article (3)
"LAUGHING CRATES" SENT TO PROMINENT FILM CRITICS (4) -
THE DARK KNIGHT TO PREMIERE AT VENICE FILM FESTIVAL IN AUGUST (5) - Variety report, dated June 2nd, 2008.

(1) A 4 million dollar increase from OTL's 98 million!
(2) Curveball! Yep, the bigger hit of Iron Man ATL has given Warner Brothers pause for thought.
(3) Hmm.. what could a certain Australian developer be up to....
(4) Think OTL's Dante Inferno crates, but with Joker trappings.
(5) Hey, stranger things have happened.
 
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TehIrishSoap

Banned
Well Seymour I made it, despite your bad internet connection...

PANDEMIC'S DARK KNIGHT GAME BLOWS AWAY E3 AUDIENCE, 12TH DECEMBER RELEASE DATE CONFIRMED - Ign.com's E3 2008 coverage

STARSHIP TROOPERS THE GAME ANNOUNCED BY UBISOFT, PAUL VERHOEVEN TO OVERSEE PROJECT - Gamespot.com's E3 2008 coverage

"The Incredible Hulk was coming like 6 weeks after Iron Man, it exists in the same universe but it feels like a season of TV crammed into one movie, Norton is great but has nothing to do, Liv Tyler is just a pale imitation of Jennifer Connoly, Tim Roth is pretty miscast, and if it wasn't for RDJ showing up at the end this movie would be forgotten. Ang Lee must have been watching this film somewhere screaming "I WAS RIGHT YOU FOOLS! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND NOT ACTION!" - 10 Years Of The MCU, A Retrospective - April 2018 Indiewire article

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $160,806,913
Foreign: $140, 842, 212
= Worldwide: $301,649,125
- Box Office Mojo page for The Incredible Hulk (2008)

THE HAPPENING RECORDS BIGGEST SECOND WEEK DROP IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY - IMDB.com headline, Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET REBOOT ANNOUNCED FOR HALLOWEEN 2010; KEVIN BACON TO STAR AS ICONIC FREDDY KRUEGER (EXCLUSIVE) - BloodyDisgusting.com article, Wednesday, June 25th 2008.

HEATH LEDGER DISCHARGED FROM REHAB FACILITY, ASKS PRESS FOR PRIVACY - New York Post headline, Tuesday, July 1st, 2008.

"The decision to delay The Dark Knight's release actually helped the film. The film was in the can and we were about to roll out marketing materials in February, but Heath's unfortunate scare meant we had to kind of pull that. I can still remember some people saying that the summer of 2008 would be the summer the superhero movie dies, but I think the successes of Iron Man and Hulk helped my movie. Marvel basically drew first blood, so it was up to DC to deliver. Not to blow smoke up my own arse, but I like to think I did." - Christopher Nolan on the Empire podcast promoting The Great Train Robbery in 2016
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
In which we start seeing the first signs of impact caused by a certain winged insect..

FIRST SPEED RACER REVIEWS IN; CRITICAL CONSENSUS MIXED, DOES LITTLE TO QUELL DAMPEN ENTHUSIASM FOR PICTURE - Variety headline, Thursday July 10th, 2008

"Just saw Speed Racer and I feel like I've just dropped acid after eating too much Haloween candy. 11/10" - A 4chan post submitted to /b/ on the early hours of July 25th, 2008. This post would go viral and be seen as a contributing factor to the success of the movie.

"If you could see one movie this weekend, I'd make it Speed Racer. Mamma Mia is fun but that's a movie that will have a long life on TV in years to come. Speed Racer needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible!" - Peter Travers speaking on Good Morning America, July 25th 2008.

"The film's script is nothing special, the characters are pretty forgettable and I lament the fact that John Goodman was cast in a big budget movie and given nothing of note to do.... but the visual effects alone are worth the price of admission" - Excerpt from Roger Ebert's 2 1/2 star review of Speed Racer.

SPEED RACER OPENS TO 98 MILLION, BREAKS SPIDER-MAN 2'S RECORD FOR BIGGEST JULY OPENING - Hollywood Reporter headline, Sunday, July 27th, 2008.

IRON MAN FINISHES AMERICAN BOX OFFICE RUN WITH 380 MILLION DOLLARS - IMDB.COM headline, Monday, August 4th 2008.

HEATH SPOTTED LEAVING LATE NIGHT SPEED RACER SCREENING WITH NEW FLING - WHO IS THIS MYSTERIOUS GIRL? - TMZ.com headline, Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Uh, she's not interested in music or video games or... the three best movies this summer...
Dad: All right. What?
Mason: Tropic Thunder, Speed Racer and Iron Man.
Dad: Yeah, what about 'em?
Mason: She said they all sucked.
*a beat*
Dad: She said Speed Racer sucked? Forget her. Move on. That movie is a classic.
- Excerpt from Boyhood, (2014, Dir. Richard Linklater)
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
Woo! Laptop is fixed!
Let's get back to it.

"CHRISTIAN BALE SIGNS ON TO MICHAEL MANN FERRARI BIOPIC, HEATH LEDGER IN TALKS FOR UNDISCLOSED ROLE" - Hollywood Reporter headline, August 11th, 2008

"WATCHMEN TRAILER RELEASES ONLINE, SMASHES RECORD FOR MOST TRAILER VIEWS IN 24 HOURS" - IGN.com headline, August 15th 2008

"SLUMDOG ONE TO BEAT THIS OSCAR SEASON" - Peter Travers' review of Slumdog Millionaire

"HEATH SPOTTED PARTYING WITH THORPE IN BEIJING" - 7news headline, August 25th

"Speed Racer crosses over 300 million dollars domestic, China box office run penciled in for November" - Variety report, September 1st, 2008
 
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