Ricardo Bravo at 2015-04-10 14:03:20:

OK, this is me going nuts. I once read an article on a reputable economics theory magazine which tried to answer the question of what would have happened if Christopher Columbus had fallen from the edge of the world (hopefully, not to be taken seriously). But that got me thinking, what would have happened in the Americas if the Europeans had not arrived. Would they Aztec, Maya and Inca empires have imploded or would they had achieved a level of development as advanced as the European of that age. So picture a very different Europe where Columbus never made it back. It's the middle of the 1600s, and Europe is in constant war between the empires of Northern and Southern Europe for the control if the spice routes to the East. All of a sudden, three thousand ships arrive from the west; an all out invasion from the technologically advanced Aztec empire. It's war... and it ain't gonna be pretty. Damn!

blueneumann at 2015-04-10 14:16:04:

You might also consider the new series on Amazon "Man In the High Castle," which takes place in Nazi-controlled America in the 60s. I had actually been thinking of Alternate History b/c when I was visiting family on Thanksgiving, and I had mentioned to my cousin Efe (who's a history major) why I thought it was insane that they had never made a feature based on one of Harry Turtledove's novels. I showed her a bunch of his covers and they're so weirdly insane and eye-catching (JFK using a 90s computer, Einstein in the cockpit of a fighter jet, the Allied Leaders standing in front of a strange alien weapon) that it seems strange that we haven't seen one of those flicks yet. Seriously, Google Image Search those covers. I wonder if it has to do with Turtledove being reluctant to adapt his stuff, it's usually detailed and probably deeply researched and I can understand a movie having to take some liberties, but why not create something new just for that format? The dude just pumps out books. Maybe it's an issue of the audience needing a certain amount of knowledge. While I really dug the detailed alternate history in the Watchmen books (down to little things like plug-in parking meters for the electric cars, comic books being all about pirate adventures since super-heroes are so common), I honestly wonder how much of the general audience knew that it was an alternate history... the movie was so stylish it never really FELT like it was taking place in the 80s, and I can see some of the audience being young enough to not remember certain details... and Alan Moore's all about the little details. I suppose that Cowboys and Aliens might qualify as alternate history. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, same deal. There was also a show called Sliders where this group of lost inter dimensional travelers go to a new alternate world every week (your basic "Star Trek" engine, where each planet is just a different Earth). There they encounter scenarios like geniuses being the equivalent of superstar basketball players, one where the Communists rule the world (and "The People's Court" is a slightly different show), a world where America is still British until the Revolution kicks off with our gang in the center of it, that sort of thing. I think a big issue is that history is so full of little details and cause and effects, and covers a wide range of people and time that it's hard to focus on something sleek and elegant enough to turn into a movie. It's another reason I think Turtledove's books (or at least his covers) would be good fodder, they stand out, you get it, it's Saving Private Ryan meets Independence Day, or it's the Civil War but in a fantasy kingdom (and hey, unlike the book version of "The War Between The Provinces," with a movie you can see in every frame that Avram is Abe Lincoln). I'm actually reminded now of this video game series, Command and Conquer, particularly the cast trailer for Red Alert 3. Dig this cast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn6oXhpkP-0 the game deals with three Soviets going back in time and killing Einstein and now WWII is still going on between three extremely powerful and technologically advanced powers, and seriously, look at that cast, I would totally watch this as a movie. Maybe a screwball, Doctor Strangelove-ian take is a good way to make Alt History mainstream. Or maybe another way to make it work is YA... even Turtledove did some YA fiction, but instead of the story taking place in some dystopian future, what if it takes place in an alternate version of the United States?