"To Introduce our Guest Star, that's What I'm Here to Do..." The Hensonverse Fan Contribution Thread
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
- Start date
NHL relocations since the PoD:
1980: Atlanta Flames->Calgary Flames
1982: Colorado Rockies->New Jersey Devils
1995: Quebec Nordiques->Phoenix Coyotes[1]
1996: Winnipeg Jets->Colorado Avalanche
1997: Edmonton Oilers->Houston Roughnecks
2000: Pittsburgh Penguins->Atlanta Thrashers[2]
2002: Buffalo Sabres->Portland Navigators[3]
2008: New York Islanders->Cleveland Monsters[4]
2011: Florida Panthers->Edmonton Oilers[5]
Notes:
[1]The Nordiques were purchased by Peter Karmanos in 1994 and moved to America West Arena(which was built for hockey ITTL). Due to Karmanos’s obsession with all things Red Wings, their jerseys will look something like this(the shoulder patch will be two hockey stick-shaped cacti crossed). Sorry for butterflying the Kachinas.
[2]Because the NHL only adds two teams here, Columbia purchases the Pens out of bankruptcy in 1999.
[3]Paul Allen purchased them from the NHL in 2002; attendance was declining because of the Mariners’ move to Buffalo.
[4]After Norm Green sells the North Stars to Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner in 1992, the league implements stronger background checks on prospective owners. This means John Spano never buys the Islanders, so without the lucrative TV deal he signed, they move in 2008.
[5]The Panthers go bankrupt in 2009.
1980: Atlanta Flames->Calgary Flames
1982: Colorado Rockies->New Jersey Devils
1995: Quebec Nordiques->Phoenix Coyotes[1]
1996: Winnipeg Jets->Colorado Avalanche
1997: Edmonton Oilers->Houston Roughnecks
2000: Pittsburgh Penguins->Atlanta Thrashers[2]
2002: Buffalo Sabres->Portland Navigators[3]
2008: New York Islanders->Cleveland Monsters[4]
2011: Florida Panthers->Edmonton Oilers[5]
Notes:
[1]The Nordiques were purchased by Peter Karmanos in 1994 and moved to America West Arena(which was built for hockey ITTL). Due to Karmanos’s obsession with all things Red Wings, their jerseys will look something like this(the shoulder patch will be two hockey stick-shaped cacti crossed). Sorry for butterflying the Kachinas.
[2]Because the NHL only adds two teams here, Columbia purchases the Pens out of bankruptcy in 1999.
[3]Paul Allen purchased them from the NHL in 2002; attendance was declining because of the Mariners’ move to Buffalo.
[4]After Norm Green sells the North Stars to Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner in 1992, the league implements stronger background checks on prospective owners. This means John Spano never buys the Islanders, so without the lucrative TV deal he signed, they move in 2008.
[5]The Panthers go bankrupt in 2009.
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@newsgeeking: please do not post partial contributions here. The NHL stuff is fine, but please take it to a PM until you have a fully completed post before putting it here. This thread is for completed posts only, not running drafts.
War (good God, y'all) What is it Good For? The Hollywood Box Office (say it again)!
New
Top 10 War Movies of the 2000s
From Five and Five: Top and Honourable Netsite, July 7th 2020
5) Chosin (2005)
Released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Edward Zwick, this historical epic/war film tells the tale about a squad of US Marines and their fight to escape a Chinese encirclement during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, in spite of the challenges posed by the difficult terrain, the bitter Korean winter taking it’s toil on both man and machine as well as the prejudices many of the characters hold towards three of the main characters, Terrence Howard’s Private First Class Henry Travis, Tyrese Gibson’s Private Nathaniel Jameson and Derek Luke’s Private Cameron Franklin, in spite that the US military is undergoing a desegregation process, with Arliss Howard’s Captain Aldrich very intolerant, with even Brad Pitt’s Gunnery Sergeant Fuller, Steve Zahn’s Corporal O’Malley and Sean Patrick Flanery’s PFC Durand, who are not outright full-on bigots, displaying varying casual attitudes of intolerance mixed in with respect for their skills as Marines.
The violence is intense, with characters not only sustaining horrific injury from enemy fire, but there’s a scene (which we don’t recommend anyone eat anything while watching) with Marines being treated for frostbite, and doctors cutting off the frozen limbs.
But no words can describe how the Hans Zimmer score just makes your heart sour when Durand, wordlessly, embraces Franklin, relieved to be alive, after Durand and Franklin (who having been forced to survive together) manage to escape and fight their way back to friendly lines.
Although historians will debate over the varying degrees of historical accuracy, Chosin is a great film, and a great look into what many considered a long forgotten conflict[1].
4) Samar (2008)
Released by 20th Century Studios and directed by Shaun Bakerson-Drake, this depiction of one of the greatest last stands in history, during WW2’s Battle of Leyte Gulf, is stunning to behold, with amazing production design and cinematography, intense battle sequences and an amazing score by James Horner.
Produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, with Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment cooperating with Bakerson-Drake’s production company, The Torch Entertainment Productions, Samar focuses on multiple viewpoints, one on the Japanese high command as they plan to attack the American landings at the Philippines by luring away Admiral Halsey’s Third Fleet, one on the perspective of Haruhiko Yamanouchi’s Admiral Takeo Kurita as he makes his way with his fleet towards Leyte, one on the perspective of Scott Glenn’s Clifton “Ziggy” Sprague as he leads “Taffy 3”, one on Zahn McClarnon’s Ernest Evans as he commands the USS Johnston, one on James Marsden's Petty Officer Second Class Patrick Van Cleave as the audience's view amongst the crew of the Johnston and one on Colin Hanks' Lieutenant Gordon Brooks, pilot of an Wildcat on board the USS Gambier Bay.
Like with Cameron’s Titanic, the film does a spectacular job in bringing the USS Johnston, the central ship of the story, to life by using authentic sets (built with the help of scans of the USS Kidd museum ship), miniatures developed by Thunderbird Studios and the CGI of Digital Domain.
And despite the multiple characters, the script did manage to balance them out well and make good use of the 176-minute runtime, making a great hit and adding another feather to Bakerson-Drake’s cap, although many critics tried to poke holes at any little bit they could find, including at how “Hollywoodized” many lines and actions were in the film (despite the fact that much of the events in the film really actually happened and the quotes in the film were actually said at the battle!)[3].
3) Angels of Death (2002)
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and (the second one on this list) directed by Shaun Bakerson-Drake, it was the first theatrical production produced by his The Torch Entertainment Productions after it was founded the previous year.
Set on the Eastern Front of the Second World War, Angels of Death gets the look and feel of the Eastern Front right and is inspired by real events with many of it’s characters taking inspiration from real Soviet snipers, as it tells the story of Rachel Weisz’s Tatiana Komova, who suffers tragedy when the Germans arrive at her town and kill her family, before she joins the Red Army, in which she eventually becomes a sniper under the guidance of Natalya Shakirova (played by Sophie Marceau), and Alexei Vavilov (played by Jamie Bamber).
Of course, after Tatiana and Natalya becomes renowned in their efforts, the Germans aren’t taking their actions lying down and send in Major Erik Wolf (played by Christopher Lambert), a German sniper who is tasked by his superior Colonel Roland Adler (played by Karel Roden) to take out the titular “Angels” in the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad, leading to a game of cat-and-mouse as Tatiana seeks the opportunity to take out Adler, who she identifies as being responsible for killing her family.
An atmospheric, thrilling, if somewhat dramatised film, it does quite a good job at bringing to attention events on the Eastern Front, an event rarely covered in Western media[4].
2) Going Over the Top (2009)
A co-production between Working Title Films, StudioCanal, Constantin Film AG, and Universal Pictures, this WW1 film directed by Paul Greengrass depicts two British (Daniel Radcliffe as Henry Marson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as William Collings) and two German soldiers (Daniel Brühl as Georg Moldenhauer and David Kross as Johannes Petermann) as they experience combat and life within the Trenches of the Western Front from their sides.
Greengrass manages to cave a magnificent story as we watch both sides, with the movie cutting from the British side to the German side at varying times in the film to give perspective on how despite the fact that the two sides are opponents to each other, they actually have a lot in common, in that they were kids who signed up for the adventure of serving their country, only to be brought into what can only be described as “hell on Earth”. And oh boy, does Greengrass manage to capture the conditions correctly. Worth putting on your list of favourite WW1 films if you have one[5].
1) Trafalgar (2005)
Produced by Scott Free Productions, StudioCanal and Pathé and distributed by Paramount Pictures and directed by Ridley Scott, this depiction of the events of the most infamous battle in naval history, on the 21st of October 1805, rightfully takes the top spot on this list due to it’s authentic portrayal of Napoleonic warfare at sea and it’s uniqueness.
There’s just no other film quite like it and only a director such as Ridley Scott would have been able to pull off such a movie, with such high praise by the critics for it’s performances of Guy Pearce’s Horatio Nelson, Brian Cox’s Thomas Hardy, Tchéky Karyo’s Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, Alfred Molina’s Federico Gravina[6] as well as the intense battle sequences, it’s production design, the cinematography, the impressive Hans Zimmer score and the authentic look, feel and sounds of Napoleonic warfare at sea[7].
Five Honourable Mentions:
[1] Chosin (the same one mentioned here) receives positive reviews and is a box office hit, not to mention earning accolades (the Academy Awards especially) and sparking a surge in more Korean War films to be greenlit.
[2] Other cast members of Samar include Mark Rolston as Rear Admiral Ralph Ofstie, Tom Sizemore as Commander Leon S. Kintberger, Eion Bailey as Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland, Donnie Wahlberg as Commander William Dow Thomas, Michael Fassbender as Lieutenant Robert Hagen, Lucas Till as Gunner’s Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Jisaburō Ozawa, Clyde Kusatsu as Shōji Nishimura, Jun Kunimura as Kiyohide Shima, Sonny Chiba as Tomiji Koyanagi and Hiroyuki Sanada as captain of the Yukikake.
[3] Receives positive reviews and makes a decent profit, not to mention being quite received well by historians for it’s depiction of the Battle of Samar (despite the odd one or two historical inaccuracy here and there) as well as winning Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.
[4] Received mixed reviews, in which critics will take note on the acting not being up to scratch, and thus will barely make $98 million out of it’s $68 million budget.
[5] A commercial and critical success which earns many accolades from the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards.
[6] Other cast members include in the main cast include Jeremy Irons, Orlando Bloom, David Thewlis, Jude Law, Kenneth Branagh, Clive Owen, Michael Sheen and Heath Ledger.
[7] Critically well received and earning many accolades from the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards, the film will be make around $216 million out of it’s budget of $150 million.
[8] Pretty much the same film as OTL.
[9] In OTL, this film was in discussion as late as August 2000, and Fincher stating that he wanted to direct it in January 2009, with Brad Pitt attached to play the role of Fertig.
[10] Cast members of this Midway (which is pretty similar to OTL, but with a few scenes changed and different scenes included) include Zachary Quinto as Richard “Dick” Best, Karl Urban as C. Wade McClusky, Hugo Weaving as John S. Thach, Dennis Quaid as Edwin T. Layton, Woody Harrelson as Chester Nimitz, William Baldwin as Raymond Spruance, Mark Rolston as William Halsey, Hiro Kanagawa as Isoroku Yamamoto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chūichi Nagumo and Yuji Okumoto as Tamon Yamaguchi.
[11] Yes this passion project of Roland Emmerich had been in his mind since the 1990s and William Goldman was interested in the project, but when executives at Sony Pictures balked at the proposed budget, he instead had to direct The Patriot and put the project on hold until he had to raise the money independently, and thus only began development in 2017.
[12] In OTL, Tom Clancy had been in negotiations with Universal Pictures in 1992 to write his first screenplay, 73 Easting, the rights of the story being secured by Vecchio Productions, who was set to have been co-produced with McTiernan's own Tongue River Productions.
From Five and Five: Top and Honourable Netsite, July 7th 2020
5) Chosin (2005)
Released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Edward Zwick, this historical epic/war film tells the tale about a squad of US Marines and their fight to escape a Chinese encirclement during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, in spite of the challenges posed by the difficult terrain, the bitter Korean winter taking it’s toil on both man and machine as well as the prejudices many of the characters hold towards three of the main characters, Terrence Howard’s Private First Class Henry Travis, Tyrese Gibson’s Private Nathaniel Jameson and Derek Luke’s Private Cameron Franklin, in spite that the US military is undergoing a desegregation process, with Arliss Howard’s Captain Aldrich very intolerant, with even Brad Pitt’s Gunnery Sergeant Fuller, Steve Zahn’s Corporal O’Malley and Sean Patrick Flanery’s PFC Durand, who are not outright full-on bigots, displaying varying casual attitudes of intolerance mixed in with respect for their skills as Marines.
The violence is intense, with characters not only sustaining horrific injury from enemy fire, but there’s a scene (which we don’t recommend anyone eat anything while watching) with Marines being treated for frostbite, and doctors cutting off the frozen limbs.
But no words can describe how the Hans Zimmer score just makes your heart sour when Durand, wordlessly, embraces Franklin, relieved to be alive, after Durand and Franklin (who having been forced to survive together) manage to escape and fight their way back to friendly lines.
Although historians will debate over the varying degrees of historical accuracy, Chosin is a great film, and a great look into what many considered a long forgotten conflict[1].
4) Samar (2008)
Released by 20th Century Studios and directed by Shaun Bakerson-Drake, this depiction of one of the greatest last stands in history, during WW2’s Battle of Leyte Gulf, is stunning to behold, with amazing production design and cinematography, intense battle sequences and an amazing score by James Horner.
Produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, with Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment cooperating with Bakerson-Drake’s production company, The Torch Entertainment Productions, Samar focuses on multiple viewpoints, one on the Japanese high command as they plan to attack the American landings at the Philippines by luring away Admiral Halsey’s Third Fleet, one on the perspective of Haruhiko Yamanouchi’s Admiral Takeo Kurita as he makes his way with his fleet towards Leyte, one on the perspective of Scott Glenn’s Clifton “Ziggy” Sprague as he leads “Taffy 3”, one on Zahn McClarnon’s Ernest Evans as he commands the USS Johnston, one on James Marsden's Petty Officer Second Class Patrick Van Cleave as the audience's view amongst the crew of the Johnston and one on Colin Hanks' Lieutenant Gordon Brooks, pilot of an Wildcat on board the USS Gambier Bay.
Like with Cameron’s Titanic, the film does a spectacular job in bringing the USS Johnston, the central ship of the story, to life by using authentic sets (built with the help of scans of the USS Kidd museum ship), miniatures developed by Thunderbird Studios and the CGI of Digital Domain.
And despite the multiple characters, the script did manage to balance them out well and make good use of the 176-minute runtime, making a great hit and adding another feather to Bakerson-Drake’s cap, although many critics tried to poke holes at any little bit they could find, including at how “Hollywoodized” many lines and actions were in the film (despite the fact that much of the events in the film really actually happened and the quotes in the film were actually said at the battle!)[3].
3) Angels of Death (2002)
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and (the second one on this list) directed by Shaun Bakerson-Drake, it was the first theatrical production produced by his The Torch Entertainment Productions after it was founded the previous year.
Set on the Eastern Front of the Second World War, Angels of Death gets the look and feel of the Eastern Front right and is inspired by real events with many of it’s characters taking inspiration from real Soviet snipers, as it tells the story of Rachel Weisz’s Tatiana Komova, who suffers tragedy when the Germans arrive at her town and kill her family, before she joins the Red Army, in which she eventually becomes a sniper under the guidance of Natalya Shakirova (played by Sophie Marceau), and Alexei Vavilov (played by Jamie Bamber).
Of course, after Tatiana and Natalya becomes renowned in their efforts, the Germans aren’t taking their actions lying down and send in Major Erik Wolf (played by Christopher Lambert), a German sniper who is tasked by his superior Colonel Roland Adler (played by Karel Roden) to take out the titular “Angels” in the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad, leading to a game of cat-and-mouse as Tatiana seeks the opportunity to take out Adler, who she identifies as being responsible for killing her family.
An atmospheric, thrilling, if somewhat dramatised film, it does quite a good job at bringing to attention events on the Eastern Front, an event rarely covered in Western media[4].
2) Going Over the Top (2009)
A co-production between Working Title Films, StudioCanal, Constantin Film AG, and Universal Pictures, this WW1 film directed by Paul Greengrass depicts two British (Daniel Radcliffe as Henry Marson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as William Collings) and two German soldiers (Daniel Brühl as Georg Moldenhauer and David Kross as Johannes Petermann) as they experience combat and life within the Trenches of the Western Front from their sides.
Greengrass manages to cave a magnificent story as we watch both sides, with the movie cutting from the British side to the German side at varying times in the film to give perspective on how despite the fact that the two sides are opponents to each other, they actually have a lot in common, in that they were kids who signed up for the adventure of serving their country, only to be brought into what can only be described as “hell on Earth”. And oh boy, does Greengrass manage to capture the conditions correctly. Worth putting on your list of favourite WW1 films if you have one[5].
1) Trafalgar (2005)
Produced by Scott Free Productions, StudioCanal and Pathé and distributed by Paramount Pictures and directed by Ridley Scott, this depiction of the events of the most infamous battle in naval history, on the 21st of October 1805, rightfully takes the top spot on this list due to it’s authentic portrayal of Napoleonic warfare at sea and it’s uniqueness.
There’s just no other film quite like it and only a director such as Ridley Scott would have been able to pull off such a movie, with such high praise by the critics for it’s performances of Guy Pearce’s Horatio Nelson, Brian Cox’s Thomas Hardy, Tchéky Karyo’s Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, Alfred Molina’s Federico Gravina[6] as well as the intense battle sequences, it’s production design, the cinematography, the impressive Hans Zimmer score and the authentic look, feel and sounds of Napoleonic warfare at sea[7].
Five Honourable Mentions:
- Downfall (2004). Released by Constantin Film AG and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, this film about Hitler’s final days in the the Führerbunker in Berlin, while still debated, is notable for Bruno Ganz’s critically acclaimed performance as the infamous dictator, Bernd Eichinger’s screenplay and of course, the numerous parody videos on the internet[8].
- The Red Badge of Courage (2007). Released by MGM and directed by Ron Howard, the third adaptation of Stephen Crane’s 1895 war novel, starring Shia LeBeouf as Henry Fleming, is just spectacular to behold in it’s battle sequences and it’s critically acclaimed performances.
- They Fought Alone (2009). Released by TriStar Pictures and directed by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt in a biopic about Wendell Fertig, the civil engineer turned resistance leader in the Philippines during the Japanese invasion[9].
- Midway (2006). Released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Roland Emmerich, an all-star cast[10] populate this passion project[11] about the Battle of Midway.
- 73 Easting (2003). Released by Universal Pictures and directed by John McTiernan, Tom Clancy finally gets around to his first original screenplay about three US captains (who clash with their Vietnam veteran superiors) leading the assault on the Republican Guard at the Gulf War’s Battle of 73 Easting, “the last great tank battle of the 20th century”[12].
[1] Chosin (the same one mentioned here) receives positive reviews and is a box office hit, not to mention earning accolades (the Academy Awards especially) and sparking a surge in more Korean War films to be greenlit.
[2] Other cast members of Samar include Mark Rolston as Rear Admiral Ralph Ofstie, Tom Sizemore as Commander Leon S. Kintberger, Eion Bailey as Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland, Donnie Wahlberg as Commander William Dow Thomas, Michael Fassbender as Lieutenant Robert Hagen, Lucas Till as Gunner’s Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Jisaburō Ozawa, Clyde Kusatsu as Shōji Nishimura, Jun Kunimura as Kiyohide Shima, Sonny Chiba as Tomiji Koyanagi and Hiroyuki Sanada as captain of the Yukikake.
[3] Receives positive reviews and makes a decent profit, not to mention being quite received well by historians for it’s depiction of the Battle of Samar (despite the odd one or two historical inaccuracy here and there) as well as winning Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.
[4] Received mixed reviews, in which critics will take note on the acting not being up to scratch, and thus will barely make $98 million out of it’s $68 million budget.
[5] A commercial and critical success which earns many accolades from the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards.
[6] Other cast members include in the main cast include Jeremy Irons, Orlando Bloom, David Thewlis, Jude Law, Kenneth Branagh, Clive Owen, Michael Sheen and Heath Ledger.
[7] Critically well received and earning many accolades from the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards, the film will be make around $216 million out of it’s budget of $150 million.
[8] Pretty much the same film as OTL.
[9] In OTL, this film was in discussion as late as August 2000, and Fincher stating that he wanted to direct it in January 2009, with Brad Pitt attached to play the role of Fertig.
[10] Cast members of this Midway (which is pretty similar to OTL, but with a few scenes changed and different scenes included) include Zachary Quinto as Richard “Dick” Best, Karl Urban as C. Wade McClusky, Hugo Weaving as John S. Thach, Dennis Quaid as Edwin T. Layton, Woody Harrelson as Chester Nimitz, William Baldwin as Raymond Spruance, Mark Rolston as William Halsey, Hiro Kanagawa as Isoroku Yamamoto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chūichi Nagumo and Yuji Okumoto as Tamon Yamaguchi.
[11] Yes this passion project of Roland Emmerich had been in his mind since the 1990s and William Goldman was interested in the project, but when executives at Sony Pictures balked at the proposed budget, he instead had to direct The Patriot and put the project on hold until he had to raise the money independently, and thus only began development in 2017.
[12] In OTL, Tom Clancy had been in negotiations with Universal Pictures in 1992 to write his first screenplay, 73 Easting, the rights of the story being secured by Vecchio Productions, who was set to have been co-produced with McTiernan's own Tongue River Productions.
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Actual quotes from the Battle of Samar:
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
“Brace yourselves boys, we’re sucking them into ack-ack range!”
“(when Johnston is crippled and near sinking) Fire on that cruiser. Draw their fire on us and off the Gambier Bay.”
“(as the Japanese Centre Force finally calls it a day and runs) Damn it, they’re getting away!”
The fact that OTL Hollywood isn’t all over this fight is either baffling or disappointing.
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
“Brace yourselves boys, we’re sucking them into ack-ack range!”
“(when Johnston is crippled and near sinking) Fire on that cruiser. Draw their fire on us and off the Gambier Bay.”
“(as the Japanese Centre Force finally calls it a day and runs) Damn it, they’re getting away!”
The fact that OTL Hollywood isn’t all over this fight is either baffling or disappointing.