This is a tasteless theoretical exercise I used to toss around with my employees at the video store. It is sort of along the lines of questions like, "If you could go back in time and kill Hitler to prevent WWII, would you?" only with a cinematic twist. The goal is to snip a "problem" at the root by taking out the person responsible. But you want to disconnect the earliest chain possible. Here's an example:
Problem: Personally, I hate the fact that filmgoers tend to associate bigger budgets with better movies, AKA The Blockbuster.
Solution: While one could argue that Blockbusters have existed as long as the big studios (
Gone With the Wind, etc), I tend to think it was under control until the release of
Jaws in 1975. Now I happen to like
Jaws, but if I could, I would go back in time and assassinate Steven Spielberg to prevent that film from having been made as that, in turn, will prevent Jerry Bruckheimer-types from taking over the world.
Got it? Who would
you kill to prevent the downfall of cinema?!?! After a few drinks...