Movies of an Alternate Universe

Movies are so much a product of the exact time in which they get made. A film project can spend decades in development, but when it comes out the other side, it probably bears little resemblance to what it was initially conceived as.

For example, Katherine Heigel's latest comedy One for the Money was optioned by Tri-Star back in 1994. Had the film been put into production 18 years ago, it could have potentially starred someone like Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder or Alicia Silverstone as its protagonist Stephanie Plum. It would've been just as crap as it is now, but it may have recouped more than $26 million of its projected $40 million budget. Likewise, had George Lucas made his superfluous Star Wars prequel today instead of in 1999, he would have cast the now ubiquitous Michael Fassbender as Obi-Wan Kenobi over the then ubiquitous Ewan McGregor.

In order to visualise this concept, one has to turn to the artistic skills of Peter Stults and Sean Hartter, who on their respective blogs, revise the historic timeline in which a particular movie was made, reimagining a different director and cast for the film, but utilising an appropriate poster style for the period its been reworked. So instead of Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 arthouse thriller Drive starring Ryan Gossling, it now becomes a '50s John Ford directed melodrama with James Dean in the lead role. Even The Hangover is refurbished as a Rat Pack vehicle headlining Dean Martin.

The fun possibilities to be had are endless. If only the same could be done with Hong Kong and Indian cinema, though I fear the people of those countries are too busy making money than to bother engaging in unpaid creative endeavours of this kind.