AlternateFilmHistory

This week in 1988, the sequel BUCKAROO BANZAI AGAINST THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE hit the silver screen. The entire original cast and crew returned as Banzai & crew squared off against his arch enemy Hanoi Xan. A size able hit that has only grown in estimation since its release.

This week in 1989, David Cronenberg’s TOTAL RECALL landed on movie screens. Starring William Hurt as man tormented by dreams of a past on Mars. The future thriller had a Mars Sphinx, agents w/body guns, a sewer chase w/ Mars camels and grotesque mutants. It was a solid cult hit.

It’s Quentin Tarantino’s bday week. Flashback to Cannes 2001 when he surprise debuted his adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s western FORTY LASHES LESS ONE after filming in secret. The smash hit starred Sam Jackson & Adam Sandler as inmates sent to track down 5 dangerous criminals.

THE BATMAN, directed by & starring @BenAffleck, was released this week in 2018. It pitted the Caped Crusader against @JoeManganiello’s deadly Deathstroke. The latest Dark Knight version was a worldwide blockbuster hit. And boasted ace visuals from DP Robert Richardson.

Production began on RIdley Scott’s GLADIATOR 2: ECHOES IN ETERNITY this week in 2006. The fantastical sequel penned by rock star @nickcave followed Maximus trying to escape the afterlife. The surreal, unexpected follow up was divisive but w/ strong defenders.

This week in 1980 @alejodorowsky DUNE MESSIAH was released. The epic psychedelic sequel to his DUNE was stranger & more ambitious w/ a crazy star-filled cast & music by @QTangerineDream. It was a sizable hit despite its more dour story of Paul wrestling w/ his fate as Muad Dib.

David Fincher’s RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA was released this week in 2009. The cerebral sci-fi Arthur C. Clarke adaptation starred Morgan Freeman and depicted a team sent to investigate an ominous alien vessel in Earth’s atmosphere. It scored solid box office & an Oscar for VFX.

If ur into “Movies That Could Have Been”, check out the kick ass Mission Impossible podcast @LightTheFusePod. Episode 10 is a fun breakdown on all the Unmade Missions movies. And Episode 36 is a very cool dissection of the crazy, abandoned Oliver Stone’s MI:2 script.

Steven Spielberg’s OLDBOY starring Will Smith was unleashed in theaters this weekend in 2012. More a reimagining of the original manga than a remake, Spielberg’s take is filled w/ violent, bold sequences to rival the original and was a fascinating departure for his filmography.

Shazam!!! CAPTAIN MARVEL arrived in 2004 this week for a super Thanksgiving premiere. Written by legendary screenwriter William Goldman & directed by @RealRonHoward, the DC hero & his alter ego Billy Batson squared off against evil Dr. Sivana in his silver screen debut.

This weekend in 1995, Ridley Scott’s THE HOT ZONE was released. Inspired by true events, it starred Robert Redford and Jodie Foster as virologists racing to stop an Ebola epidemic. The competing OUTBREAK finished first but audiences still made THZ a lucrative and acclaimed hit.

Production began on Paul Verhoven’s CRUSADE on this day in 1994. The violent, over the top biblical blockbuster starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a knight on the First Crusade. The graphic battles mixed w/ dark political satire was a massive success despite religious controversy.

This Friday in 1995, Julien Temple’s SPEED RACER hit the streets. Starring Johnny Depp as Speed, Henry Rollins as Racer X & penned by newcomer JJ Abrams, the big budget translation of the Japanese cartoon was a hit with kids but wasn’t quite the great movie fans hoped for.

This weekend in 2001, George Romero’s RESIDENT EVIL hit movie screens. Set in the game’s Spenser Mansion & centered on Jill Valentine, Romero’s faithful adaption brought his signature zombie horror mixed with social commentary. The film’s success spawned several RE sequels.

BUBBA NOSFERATU premiered today in 2006. Like it’s predecessor, the sequel to cult classic BUBBA HO-TEP was directed by @DonCoscarelli & starred @GroovyBruce as Elvis Presley w/ Paul Giamatti as Colonel Tom Parker pitted against She-Vampires on the set of a fictional Elvis pic.

Happy bday @RealGDT! His THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY was released in 2011 w/ its concluding sequel the next year. GDT’s version of LOTR had a more operatic, fairy tale take & used practical animatronics including Smaug the dragon. It was a critical & box office award winner