Author Topic: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)  (Read 1709 times)

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Mac

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #45 on: March 17, 2012, 08:57:31 am »
uh.... wow


yea baby
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #46 on: March 18, 2012, 02:28:20 am »
IMAX Trailer

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #47 on: March 18, 2012, 07:35:34 am »
The repeating 'scream' / echo at the end brought a tear to my eye.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #48 on: March 18, 2012, 05:28:03 pm »
Genius, I'm so psyched.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #49 on: March 19, 2012, 06:34:37 am »
Ridley Scott Says There Will Be A Second 'Prometheus' Film "If We're Lucky," Plus U.K. Trailer


Quote
If you'd like to cynically file this one under "no **** Sherlock," we won't entirely blame you, but hear us out for a second. Way back when "Prometheus" was first announced circa March 2010, it wasn't "Prometheus." Written by Jon Spaihts and conceived then as a full-blown prequel to 1979's “Alien,” when the announcement first arrived, Ridley Scott himself corrected journos that had asked about the prequel during “Robin Hood” press. “Prequels, two films," he stressed, noting both would be shot in 3D but wouldn’t be shot back to back.

Things then changed. The “Alien” prequel was then rewritten and reconceived by “Lost” writer Damon Lindelof and became “Prometheus,” a film that, according to Scott, audiences would able to “recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak.”

Even though strands of a xenomorph -- or a type of xenomorph, the H.R. Giger work is unmistakable -- are clearly visible in the trailer (or at least visible when you freeze the frame), this weekend at WonderCon in Anaheim, Scott and Lindelof continued to distance “Prometheus” as being a proper prequel to “Alien.”

However, Scott did circle back to the idea of two films at the WonderCon panels. "It evolved into another universe," Scott told the WonderCon crowd about the original intentions for the “Alien” prequel and how it morphed into “Prometheus.” "If we're lucky, there'll be a second part. It does leave you with some nice open questions."

Now, that’s where we really get into the potential “duh,” but we’re glad to hear that this sequel idea -- word of which many assumed had gone away when the film concept was retooled -- still survives. Of course Scott’s “lucky,” comment means if “Prometheus” does well at the box office and justifies its existence (the budget has been reported to be in the $200+ million dollar range).

A side note of interest. While at Comic-Con 2011, Lindelof said that “Prometheus” was “literally designed for 3D,” there’s very little by way of the recent marketing that pushes the 3D angle. Then again, that appears to be the norm these days as studios shy away from promoting 3D as their main focus and back to the content itself (never a bad thing). And while Scott also said he was cutting a PG-13 and R-Rated cut of the film, the greenband nature of the new trailer suggests the R-rating was a pie in the sky idea.

And if you’re not convinced that “Prometheus” is not an “Alien” prequel, according to Lindelof at WonderCon, one of the reasons the film did evolve was because the original script felt too familiar to the director. “I want to do Sci-Fi again, but I think this movie is too close to 'Alien,' ” Lindelof explained, recalling what Scott said in their first meeting together.

Another idea Lindelof reiterated from past statements about the film -- that we admittedly kind of love -- is the idea that prequels are often pretty damn boring because you know the outcome of them.

“Often there is an inevitability to watching a prequel,” he said. “So, If the ending of this movie is just going to be the room that John Hurt walks into that has eggs there is nothing interesting in that. We know how it's going to end. So, this movie will hopefully contextualize the original 'Alien' so maybe you know a bit more.”

June 8th cannot arrive any sooner as far as we’re concerned. Btw, while we're here, here's the full U.K. trailer for "Prometheus," which sports a more relaxed pace (at first at first) and centers on the origins of the "invitation." You'll see what we mean below, not to mention the subtle love story within.

If this should do well? 

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Chiprocks1

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #50 on: March 19, 2012, 06:41:17 am »

If this should do well? 

Pa-shaw

What he said.

I had to laugh. "If were lucky..." 

It's a foregone conclusion that we should be getting 20 more Alien movies in the next 5 years.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #51 on: March 19, 2012, 06:50:02 am »
Honestly, the 3D version will probably be awesome. Avatar was the perfect vehicle for 3D and was an amazing experience. I'm thinking Prometheus will be too.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #52 on: March 21, 2012, 06:10:19 pm »
After Ridley Scott, Damon Lindelof, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron introduced the new theatrical trailer for Prometheus at the 2012 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA on Saturday – commemorating a weekend full of clips, trailers and other footage from the film – excitement is racing towards fever pitch for the science fiction opus. But for those few who still haven’t gotten enough information about the forthcoming film, Movies.com joined a small group of press following the WonderCon presentation to talk to Scott, Lindelof and Fassbender and go even more in-depth about what’s in store for fans.

In addition to discussing the film’s status as a “prequel” to the Alien series, the trio talked about Fassbender’s character, an android whose humanity they hesitated to define, and offered some insights about creating an adventure that simultaneously builds upon its predecessors’ mythology and spins it off into a new direction.

 

Q: It’s been awhile since the first Alien film came out, and there have been so many advances in technology. Was that a problem, in terms of writing this, or was that advancement a positive point?

Ridley Scott: It’s easier to carry it out, but it’s still as difficult to write something. In fact, it’s getting more difficult because there are almost too many movies being made.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, and I think that it would have been really difficult to do a straight-up Alien sequel or Alien prequel because you’re beholden to so many of the things that came before it. To be able to shed that stuff [made it easier]. This was Ridley’s idea. From the screenwriting standpoint, for me, it was really just all about getting a clear sense of what was the movie that he wanted to make. It’s Ridley Scott. The movie is his vision, so I did my best to channel it. We had almost no conversations about any other movies, other than this one, which might have been hubris or … maybe just because we were drunk.


Q: How much thought was put into the technology that’s in the film, especially with audience expectations being so much greater?

Scott: You think about everything, down to the shoelaces. We even had a big argument about the globular helmets. I was certain that I wanted the fully spherical glass helmet. In fact, in my research, I read this biography on Steve Jobs’ life and he talks about how he wanted to make his entire office of this glass, which is called Gorilla Glass, and [was told], “We don’t make it anymore.” So, Steve Jobs actually then re-opened up the factory and started remaking Gorilla Glass. If I’m in 2083 and I’m going into space, why would I design a helmet that has blind spots? What I want is something where I have 360 [vision]. Glass, by then, will be light and you won’t be able to break it with a bullet.




Q: How did you approach the android and what he would be capable of?

Scott: What was important was the story. There’s nothing new about an android. There’s nothing new about a robot. That idea is 800 years old. So then, embrace what it is. By embracing it, he becomes that much more interesting because he’s just part of the ship. In a sense, he’s not just butler, but he’s housekeeper and maintenance man, who legitimately does not need to sleep. From that, then he also becomes extremely useful during the story, as it evolves. There’s a great scene where Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is actually a bit of a ****, occasionally, says, “Hey, you, boy!” to him. I thought that was real cheeky. And then, he says, “Why are you wearing one of those suits? You don’t have to breathe.” It ends up with David [Michael Fassbender] saying, “Not too close, I hope,” referring to being told, “We’re making you guys just like us.” You don’t know who’s insulting who there. That’s when those turn-abouts starts to occur.


 

Q: What is the mix of genres in this film? How much horror does it offer versus science fiction?

Scott: The bottom line is just to make a good movie. Just make a f***ing good movie. It’s got nothing to do with horror or whatever. That’s why there’s only a few really, really great ones. Thereafter, there are only evolutions of copycats. There are two great horror movies that I never got over. One was called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Tobe Hooper. I knew I didn’t really want to go see that movie, just by seeing the poster. But, eventually I had to, as research for Alien. The other great one, with a single idea, was the first Exorcist. Possession of the body by a demon was marvelous. Since then, there have been 900,000 clones of those ideas.

Lindelof: In this day and age, when you’re trying to market a movie and you say, “It’s a romance. It’s a comedy.” Neither of those are inherent in Prometheus, although there are funny scenes and romantic scenes. I think there’s a lot of action adventure elements to this movie, in comparison to the original Alien. But, the fact that we can’t really put it in that box of, “It’s a this,” is refreshing. I think that there’s a quiet suspense to the movie. It really takes its time. If you have a master filmmaker who’s working with incredibly talented actors, you just have to say, “We’re going to be patient. We do not need to have things exploding every 10 minutes.” It’s a little bit of an old-school approach to filmmaking, in that it trusts the audience to have a little bit of patience.

Just as someone who is a fan of these kinds of movies, I’ve been astonished by the patience of the fan base, in terms of how little we’re telling them about the movie. We’re doing this dance together, as filmmakers, where people want to know more about it, but we say to them, “Do you really want to know?” and they go, “No, no, no, we don’t. We actually just want to go into the theater, not knowing if there’s a bomb under the table or not, or when it’s going to go off.” Ridley has always had a tremendous amount of faith in the audience’s intelligence. He directs and tells stories in a way that you come up to them, as opposed to them talking down to you. I feel like Prometheus is a proud member of that thing he does so well.


Q: Michael, how did you approach playing an android with no emotion?

Fassbender: You want to play with as many of those human traits as possible. You’re essentially trying to build a computer that can respond and understand human behavior. It’s programmed to be able to incorporate itself within a human environment. You’re going into space, so you’ve got to get certain personalities that will get on in space. He has to be very flexible. So, what happens when you program that and the program then starts making its own connections and joins up to its own electrical linking to other areas and forming its own ego, insecurities, jealousy and envy?

What I thought was very interesting was that you have this guy who was on his own for two-and-a-half years while everyone else was in cryostasis, so what did he do to amuse himself? The idea that there is something of a little boy there, and that he has to rely on his imagination to keep himself occupied, imagination is a very human trait. The fact that he’s curious, how far will that curiosity go? The way that Damon [Lindelof] wrote it, people treat him as a robot and there’s a bit of contempt towards him because he has all the answers. He’s hyper-intelligent. His physicality is more advanced than human beings. So, people don’t really embrace him. He’s sort of used and abused. How does that make him feel, if robots can feel? I didn’t want to make a direct, definite choice. I played with the ambiguity. Is this robot starting to develop human personality?



Lindelof: I remember a conversation that Ridley and I had, fairly early on, about David. There was this idea that David is mass-produced. There are 20,000 other David units out there, who look exactly like Michael Fassbender. What a wonderful world that would be, wouldn’t it? It’s the idea that we all have our iPhones, yet we put different cases on them and different apps on them. This David, once you take him out of the wrapping, would begin to customize himself. He could change his hairstyle. He could change the way that he speaks. He could have different applications, based on what this unit is designed to do. That’s where I felt like, as soon as we cast Michael, that’s the killer app, right there. It’s pretty cool.

Q: Since you’re leaving this film open with these bigger ideas that could lead to another film, would you take that film closer to the Alien franchise, or would it be its own different storyline?

Lindelof: I think that’s actually a really insightful question. This word “prequel” was on the table. It was the elephant in the room and had to be discussed. When I had first heard that Ridley was going to direct an Alien prequel, and then six months later my phone rang and the voice on the other end said, “Are you available to talk to Ridley Scott?” and then I crashed into a telephone pole, I answered the call and Ridley was like, “Hey, man, I’m going to send you a script tonight.” So, I read this thing and we had a meeting, and he was already very clearly saying, “I want to come back to this genre. I want to do sci-fi again. I feel like this movie is just a little bit too close to Alien. I’ve done this stuff before. But, there are big ideas in it that are unique, in and of themselves. Is there a way to do that?” I said, “I think that that’s what we have to do.”

If there were a sequel to this movie, it would not be Alien. Normally, that’s the definition of a prequel. It precedes the other movies. The Star Wars prequels are going to end with Darth Vader going, “Noooo!” unfortunately. There’s an inevitability, in watching a prequel, where you’re like, “Okay, if the ending of this movie is just going to be the room that John Hurt walks into, that’s full of eggs, there’s nothing interesting in that because we know where it’s going to end. With really good stories, you don’t know where it’s going to end. So, this movie, hopefully, will contextualize the original Alien, so that when you watch it again, maybe you know a little bit more. But, you don’t f*** around with that movie. It has to stand on its own. It’s a classic. If we’re fortunate enough to do a sequel to Prometheus, it will tangentialize even further away from the original Alien.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #53 on: March 21, 2012, 06:11:39 pm »
After Ridley Scott, Damon Lindelof, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron introduced the new theatrical trailer for Prometheus at the 2012 WonderCon in Anaheim, CA on Saturday – commemorating a weekend full of clips, trailers and other footage from the film – excitement is racing towards fever pitch for the science fiction opus. But for those few who still haven’t gotten enough information about the forthcoming film, Movies.com joined a small group of press following the WonderCon presentation to talk to Scott, Lindelof and Fassbender and go even more in-depth about what’s in store for fans.

In addition to discussing the film’s status as a “prequel” to the Alien series, the trio talked about Fassbender’s character, an android whose humanity they hesitated to define, and offered some insights about creating an adventure that simultaneously builds upon its predecessors’ mythology and spins it off into a new direction.

 

Q: It’s been awhile since the first Alien film came out, and there have been so many advances in technology. Was that a problem, in terms of writing this, or was that advancement a positive point?

Ridley Scott: It’s easier to carry it out, but it’s still as difficult to write something. In fact, it’s getting more difficult because there are almost too many movies being made.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, and I think that it would have been really difficult to do a straight-up Alien sequel or Alien prequel because you’re beholden to so many of the things that came before it. To be able to shed that stuff [made it easier]. This was Ridley’s idea. From the screenwriting standpoint, for me, it was really just all about getting a clear sense of what was the movie that he wanted to make. It’s Ridley Scott. The movie is his vision, so I did my best to channel it. We had almost no conversations about any other movies, other than this one, which might have been hubris or … maybe just because we were drunk.


Q: How much thought was put into the technology that’s in the film, especially with audience expectations being so much greater?

Scott: You think about everything, down to the shoelaces. We even had a big argument about the globular helmets. I was certain that I wanted the fully spherical glass helmet. In fact, in my research, I read this biography on Steve Jobs’ life and he talks about how he wanted to make his entire office of this glass, which is called Gorilla Glass, and [was told], “We don’t make it anymore.” So, Steve Jobs actually then re-opened up the factory and started remaking Gorilla Glass. If I’m in 2083 and I’m going into space, why would I design a helmet that has blind spots? What I want is something where I have 360 [vision]. Glass, by then, will be light and you won’t be able to break it with a bullet.




Q: How did you approach the android and what he would be capable of?

Scott: What was important was the story. There’s nothing new about an android. There’s nothing new about a robot. That idea is 800 years old. So then, embrace what it is. By embracing it, he becomes that much more interesting because he’s just part of the ship. In a sense, he’s not just butler, but he’s housekeeper and maintenance man, who legitimately does not need to sleep. From that, then he also becomes extremely useful during the story, as it evolves. There’s a great scene where Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is actually a bit of a ****, occasionally, says, “Hey, you, boy!” to him. I thought that was real cheeky. And then, he says, “Why are you wearing one of those suits? You don’t have to breathe.” It ends up with David [Michael Fassbender] saying, “Not too close, I hope,” referring to being told, “We’re making you guys just like us.” You don’t know who’s insulting who there. That’s when those turn-abouts starts to occur.


 

Q: What is the mix of genres in this film? How much horror does it offer versus science fiction?

Scott: The bottom line is just to make a good movie. Just make a f***ing good movie. It’s got nothing to do with horror or whatever. That’s why there’s only a few really, really great ones. Thereafter, there are only evolutions of copycats. There are two great horror movies that I never got over. One was called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Tobe Hooper. I knew I didn’t really want to go see that movie, just by seeing the poster. But, eventually I had to, as research for Alien. The other great one, with a single idea, was the first Exorcist. Possession of the body by a demon was marvelous. Since then, there have been 900,000 clones of those ideas.

Lindelof: In this day and age, when you’re trying to market a movie and you say, “It’s a romance. It’s a comedy.” Neither of those are inherent in Prometheus, although there are funny scenes and romantic scenes. I think there’s a lot of action adventure elements to this movie, in comparison to the original Alien. But, the fact that we can’t really put it in that box of, “It’s a this,” is refreshing. I think that there’s a quiet suspense to the movie. It really takes its time. If you have a master filmmaker who’s working with incredibly talented actors, you just have to say, “We’re going to be patient. We do not need to have things exploding every 10 minutes.” It’s a little bit of an old-school approach to filmmaking, in that it trusts the audience to have a little bit of patience.

Just as someone who is a fan of these kinds of movies, I’ve been astonished by the patience of the fan base, in terms of how little we’re telling them about the movie. We’re doing this dance together, as filmmakers, where people want to know more about it, but we say to them, “Do you really want to know?” and they go, “No, no, no, we don’t. We actually just want to go into the theater, not knowing if there’s a bomb under the table or not, or when it’s going to go off.” Ridley has always had a tremendous amount of faith in the audience’s intelligence. He directs and tells stories in a way that you come up to them, as opposed to them talking down to you. I feel like Prometheus is a proud member of that thing he does so well.


Q: Michael, how did you approach playing an android with no emotion?

Fassbender: You want to play with as many of those human traits as possible. You’re essentially trying to build a computer that can respond and understand human behavior. It’s programmed to be able to incorporate itself within a human environment. You’re going into space, so you’ve got to get certain personalities that will get on in space. He has to be very flexible. So, what happens when you program that and the program then starts making its own connections and joins up to its own electrical linking to other areas and forming its own ego, insecurities, jealousy and envy?

What I thought was very interesting was that you have this guy who was on his own for two-and-a-half years while everyone else was in cryostasis, so what did he do to amuse himself? The idea that there is something of a little boy there, and that he has to rely on his imagination to keep himself occupied, imagination is a very human trait. The fact that he’s curious, how far will that curiosity go? The way that Damon [Lindelof] wrote it, people treat him as a robot and there’s a bit of contempt towards him because he has all the answers. He’s hyper-intelligent. His physicality is more advanced than human beings. So, people don’t really embrace him. He’s sort of used and abused. How does that make him feel, if robots can feel? I didn’t want to make a direct, definite choice. I played with the ambiguity. Is this robot starting to develop human personality?



Lindelof: I remember a conversation that Ridley and I had, fairly early on, about David. There was this idea that David is mass-produced. There are 20,000 other David units out there, who look exactly like Michael Fassbender. What a wonderful world that would be, wouldn’t it? It’s the idea that we all have our iPhones, yet we put different cases on them and different apps on them. This David, once you take him out of the wrapping, would begin to customize himself. He could change his hairstyle. He could change the way that he speaks. He could have different applications, based on what this unit is designed to do. That’s where I felt like, as soon as we cast Michael, that’s the killer app, right there. It’s pretty cool.

Q: Since you’re leaving this film open with these bigger ideas that could lead to another film, would you take that film closer to the Alien franchise, or would it be its own different storyline?

Lindelof: I think that’s actually a really insightful question. This word “prequel” was on the table. It was the elephant in the room and had to be discussed. When I had first heard that Ridley was going to direct an Alien prequel, and then six months later my phone rang and the voice on the other end said, “Are you available to talk to Ridley Scott?” and then I crashed into a telephone pole, I answered the call and Ridley was like, “Hey, man, I’m going to send you a script tonight.” So, I read this thing and we had a meeting, and he was already very clearly saying, “I want to come back to this genre. I want to do sci-fi again. I feel like this movie is just a little bit too close to Alien. I’ve done this stuff before. But, there are big ideas in it that are unique, in and of themselves. Is there a way to do that?” I said, “I think that that’s what we have to do.”

If there were a sequel to this movie, it would not be Alien. Normally, that’s the definition of a prequel. It precedes the other movies. The Star Wars prequels are going to end with Darth Vader going, “Noooo!” unfortunately. There’s an inevitability, in watching a prequel, where you’re like, “Okay, if the ending of this movie is just going to be the room that John Hurt walks into, that’s full of eggs, there’s nothing interesting in that because we know where it’s going to end. With really good stories, you don’t know where it’s going to end. So, this movie, hopefully, will contextualize the original Alien, so that when you watch it again, maybe you know a little bit more. But, you don’t f*** around with that movie. It has to stand on its own. It’s a classic. If we’re fortunate enough to do a sequel to Prometheus, it will tangentialize even further away from the original Alien.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #54 on: March 21, 2012, 06:16:05 pm »
Do I dare read any of this? Spoiler-free?
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #55 on: March 21, 2012, 06:27:16 pm »
Spoiler free. Just talk about how Prometheus story evolved, took direction, and influence.
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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #56 on: March 28, 2012, 07:43:35 pm »
‘Prometheus’ director Ridley Scott explains the sci-fi/horror film will be ‘kinda’ an R-Rated affair, discusses shooting in 3D, and returning to the ‘Alien’ universe.


Excitement is sky-high right now for director Ridley Scott’s return to the realm of horrifying science-fiction with Prometheus. The marketing campaign for the movie has done an excellent job of playing it up as a darkly gorgeous, yet disturbing blockbuster that further explores the Alien universe (prior to the events of Scott’s original 1979 film) – but has more than a few tricks up its sleeve, with regards to its plot twists and previously-unseen extraterrestrial monsters.

Naturally, everyone wants to hear what Scott has to say about the project. Today, we’ve rounded up a couple of recent interviews with the filmmaker that focus more on aspects like Prometheus‘ rating and 3D effects – and (thankfully) not just the exact nature of this movie’s connection the larger Alien franchise.

Here’s what Scott says about the rating for Prometheus (via Empire):
“The question is, do you go for the PG-13, [which] financially makes quite a difference, or do you go for what it should be, which is R? Essentially, it’s kinda R. It’s not just about the blood, it’s about ideas that are very stressful. I’m not an idiot, but I’ll do everything I can to get the most aggressive film I can.”

Early Prometheus footage has strongly hinted at a pretty non-PG-13 affair, what with such imagery as characters’ faces being melted or people slumping around half-naked, splattered with blood. Even if the film does manage to squeak by without an R Rating (which doesn’t seem too likely) it could easily still pack as troubling a punch as we’re all hoping for.

Scott also reiterated (once again) that the backstory for The Space Jockey was a big factor in his decision to call the shots on Prometheus, rather than hand it over to another director:

“[I've wanted to revisit the 'Alien' universe for] years! Years, years, years. I always wondered when they did ['Aliens'] 2,3 and 4 why they hadn’t touched upon that, instead of evolving into some other fantastic story. They missed the biggest question of them all: who’s the big guy [the Space Jockey]? And where were they going? And with what? Why that cargo? There’s all kinds of questions.”

As much as longtime Alien fans are excited to finally learn about the identity of the creature who wears the Space Jockey suit, that aspect of the Prometheus mythology seems far less interesting than the lofty themes and layers of meaning implicit to its central narrative. Hence, everyone who keeps referring to this flick as an Alien prequel… well, that perspective really seems to miss the greater points of Scott’s new project.


The mysterious being behind the Space Jockey in 'Prometheus'

In a separate interview with Total Film, Scott also elaborated on the use of 3D in Prometheus (which was shot in that format, rather than post-converted):

“I’m kind of naturally visual anyway, that’s where I come from. And you’re working off superb 3D screens, which are on the floor, and are really big. It was just wonderful… I was shooting on 3D, then seeing it on the floor. It was easy, I must say… You only want to push it so far, before it becomes arrows popping out of the screen and stabbing you in the eye. You use it for visual effect.

“… I’m actually decided right now how deep to make [the depth of field in 'Prometheus'] on certain sequences. So you can literally, as it were, twiddle a knob, and the depth will increase. It’s kind of bizarre, but there it is. Technologically it’s absolutely staggering. I was working with MPC in London, looking after almost 1,300 big FX shots, and every night they would pipe through shots to a big screen in my office in Lexington Street; I would sit there watching a sequence that had just been graded or refined in perfect 3D. Really amazing.”

By early accounts of those who’ve watched the Prometheus IMAX trailer in 3D up on the big, big screen, the film looks just as marvelous as Scott is saying here. Suffice it to say, we’re excited to see the results for ourselves.

Prometheus arrives in theaters (2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D) around the U.S. on June 8th, 2012.
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Mac

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #57 on: April 05, 2012, 10:46:39 am »
don’t f--- around with gods.

Quote
Ridley Scott defined modern-day science fiction with two back-to-back projects begun over 30 years ago. Alien and Blade Runner set a new standard for the genre with their dark and dystopian visions of the future, and introduced the world to a new set of iconic characters.

Three decades later, Scott returns to the genre he helped define with Prometheus. Begun as an Alien prequel, the film’s original mythology has been borne of DNA of that seminal original film, but its grand themes promise to stand very much alone and question humanity’s understanding of the secrets of the universe.

Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba and Logan Marshall Green comprise the ensemble cast of Prometheus. The script comes from Lost creator Damon Lindelof and the writer of The Darkest Hour, Jon Spaihts.

Talking from the offices of his Scott Free production company in London, Scott shares his vision for Prometheus, discusses his return to the science-fiction roots of his career, and his ideas about the creation of the universe.

What prompted a return to science fiction after all these years?

Science fiction is a wonderful – sorry about the pun – universe for – again, another much overused word – creativity. It's an arena where anything goes. But I think you have to make sure it's not cheesy and it's a good story and it's not abused.
There's a serious lack of originality now. It's mostly dressing and it already utilises the science fiction idea. The opportunity presents itself to fundamentally do anything you want, providing that you draw up a rule book in the first place. You’ve got to draw up the rules of your drama and within that universe you've got to actually stick to your own rule book. I think that's what's happening – we're not drawing enough rules up when we do materials. It feels like writing a book. It's like when you write an article, you’ve got to box it into a three act play. There’s a beginning, middle and an end. That doesn’t change whether you’re writing a book or writing a screenplay. The hardest single thing you do is get the bloody screenplay right.

Where did your journey into sci-fi begin back then?

I carried myself forward into science fiction mostly with the inspiration from Jean Giraud - Moebius - and his marvellous original illustrations, thinking that would show itself in magazines such as Métal Hurlant and all those publications which I used to look at and hide from my children, mainly because it was so violent and so sexual. They were kind of adult comic strips but they didn’t pull any punches, and I thought, ‘that’s the way to go’. In fact, Moebius designed my costumes [for Alien]. The idea of science fiction came out of the blue. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool designer, and I'll always be a designer, and I'd been mucking around with a quick story when I saw Star Wars. And Star Wars kind of knocked me sideways with all my plans.

So Alien was a reaction for you to Star Wars? A reaction against Star Wars?


No, no, to go, ‘God Almighty, where did this guy come from?’ It stopped me in my tracks and changed my whole head.
You've talked about the idea of these post-apocalyptic films having been done to death. Is Prometheus your way of going in the opposite direction and wondering about the beginning of life?

It is, and I’ve got to check [for spoilers] very carefully here, but it is about the beginning of life and ’what if’. It’s a giant ’what if'. Has this ball that we’re sitting on right now been around here for three billion years or one billion? Either way, it’s a long f---ing time. It’s only our kind of arrogance that says ”We’re the first ones.”

Are we the first hominids? I really, really, really doubt it. In recent memory or legend we keep talking about wonderful, weird things such as Atlantis – what is that? Where does that come from? Is that real, was it real, is it a memory, did it exist? And if that did exist, did it exist three quarters of a billion years ago? There’d be nothing left now. How was that created and who was it?

It’s also interesting that there are uncanny similarities between cultures that developed on opposite sides of the world.
Absolutely, it’s something we don’t know. Something that we really, really don’t know. Is there a guiding force into this process? Is it a much larger idea and much larger entity that we can’t really fathom? Because it’s as if, if you stand by an ant, it doesn't see you. It doesn't even know you're there. I think it's different, because we’re intelligent enough to go, ‘oh, that’s a very large fellow,’ but that’s a good metaphor.

How do the characters in Prometheus tackle these themes?

They have a different thesis about – what we were first talking about – being pre-visited, which is an old idea. But I think it comes out of a good place because it’s an entirely good question. Is there a God or is there not a God? Are we a petri dish here or not, and if we were a petri dish, of whom? What was the force, what is the entity that we can’t possibly even fathom, because it’s something we haven’t crossed that line yet?

James Cameron had a lot of success going all-digital with Avatar, but Prometheus will be largely practical. Do you think practical is better?

No, I think Jim definitely raised the mark both with what he did and the story, and then how he pulled it off – God, he’s got patience, four and a half years – but I wasn’t even going to get into that area, and I don’t think Fox were either. Besides, what I’ve got is an expected engine. It’s not entirely what you expect, but I think what I’m saying is going to be fairly scary, whereas Jim’s is not that kind of film. No, that just evolved. The actual truth is, if you know what you’re doing it’s actually cheaper. Digital effects are not cheaper. We’ve done this film for a really good price.

What does the title mean for you?

The story of Prometheus is the idea that if you’re given a gift from the gods, do not abuse it and do not think you can compete. He stole fire and they had his entrails torn out everyday in perpetuity by an eagle as a punishment. Every night they'd repair and then the eagle would come back in the morning and rip his liver and his kidneys out again. It’s perpetual purgatory. Basically, don’t f--- around with gods.


before you say anything, it's coming in 93 days...  jeesh 
« Last Edit: April 05, 2012, 10:53:43 am by Mac »
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Chiprocks1

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #58 on: April 05, 2012, 10:58:32 am »
When is it.........

Oh, never mind.
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Mac

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Re: Prometheus (Alien Prequel)
« Reply #59 on: April 10, 2012, 08:20:08 pm »
Prometheus: 10 Things You Must Know About Ridley Scott’s Sci-Fi Return

No real spoilers

The release date for Prometheus is still a little way off, but today we got a sneak peek at some footage from the movie, followed by a quick Q&A with director Ridley Scott and stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, and Michael Fassbender. Here’s what we’ve learned:

1.     It’s set in the same universe as Alien, around 30 years before the events of the first film (Prometheus takes place in 2089 and 2093; Alien was set in 2122). But while the original idea was to tell the story of the ‘space jockey’ from Alien, Prometheus soon evolved into its own thing. Scott explains, “The connection to the original Alien is now barely in its DNA – you kind of get [a connection] in the last seven minutes or so.”

2.     Although Scott reckons he wasn’t overly concerned about weaving in references to the other Alien films -  “the more I got into another story, the less inclined I was to take on board that it was connected to the original,” he says – you’ll still spot several ‘Easter eggs’ in the film.

3.     Noomi Rapace’s character, Elizabeth Shaw, might not be Ripley, but it sounds like she’s going to be pretty impressive in her own way.  “She grew up in Africa, and her father was a priest,” says Rapace, “But her father died when she was quite young, so she’s been on her own. She became a scientist, but she still has this gift of believing [in God].” Her faith will be tested, though: “She goes through a lot of things in this movie, and she transforms. She becomes more of a survivor, and a fighter; a warrior, in a way.”

4.     Whatever it is that Shaw and the rest of the team go through, it’s going to be pretty scary. “I dreamt nightmares for, like, two weeks, probably,” Rapace said. “I had these weird, f**ked up images in my head.”

5.     Scott promises that there’ll be a new scene that’s on a par with the iconic chestburster scene, “but we can’t say what that is.” (We can’t wait to find out.)

6.     It won’t all be terror, though; there’ll be some laughs, too. Michael Fassbender plays David, the ship’s android, and a lot of the humour will come from him. “There was a lot of fun to be had with that character,” says Fassbender. “There’s something quite childlike about him.”

7.     Although the original Alien got an 18 certificate, this one may well get a 15, or even a 12A. Scott doesn’t feel that certification is important, aside from the financial considerations involved: “I want the certification for this film that allows me to make as large a box office as possible.”

8.     Prometheus might be Ridley Scott’s first 3D movie, but he says he found adapting to the new way of filming pretty easy. “It’s not brain surgery,” he says. “It’s actually pretty straightforward.” He speaks highly of the RED camera he used, too: “The RED was superb: the quality is fantastic. Whether it’s 2D or 3D, it’s amazing.”

9.     Before the film had even been greenlit, Scott got together a team to figure out the production design. Led by Arthur Max, Scott’s go-to production designer, a digital design team sat in Scott’s LA office while he was working on the script, producing designs for the ship, the space suits, and everything else the film needed. The result was a phonebook-sized book of images that Scott used as his production bible once filming began.

10.  But while the production design looks incredible, Scott reckons the story is really the most important thing. “One of the problems with science fiction, which is probably one of the reasons why I haven’t done one for many, many years, is the fact that everything is used up,” he says. “Every type of spacecraft is vaguely familiar, the corridors are similar, the planets are similar, so what you try to do is lean more heavily on the story and the characters.”

Prometheus is released in the UK on 1 June.
 
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