The good news? Ridley Scott is making a new Alien movie.

The bad news? It's going to be in 3-D.

How, exactly, is that bad news?

Because Alien 5 (or whatever it's going to be called -- probably not Alien 5), is supposed to completely revive the franchise. That means restoring the series' artfulness. Here's the deal -- the Predator series, while cool, is a macho B-movie action franchise (one wouldn't mind seeing that in 3-D, honestly). When you mix Alien with Predator, you don't get a highbrow Predator film, you get a dumb actioner with Aliens in it. And that's just fine for AVP, but for the stand-alone Alien series, no matter how dull it got in Alien 3 or how comic booky it got in Alien Resurrection, the series has always maintained a deliberate measure of artsy panache. There's something almost indefinably elegant about the franchise, even at its clumsiest.

An Alien prequel feels unnecessary, but the fact that Ridley Scott, the director of the first and best (you know this in your heart to be true) Alien film was coming on-board to direct had fans thinking that the series would return to something quieter, more adult, less interested in pleasing fans of a blast-em-up video game.

Now, Shadow Locked is reporting that the prequel will be shot in glorious three-dimensions.

Ugh.

Is there anything about 3-D that strikes you as elegant?

Does this seem like a step toward making the upcoming film capture some of Scott's original creeping tone of pitch-black dread?

It sounds like more kid's stuff in the beloved Alien franchise; more of a catering to the youth market than re-selling to the adult audience that declared the original a modern classic. The mere fact that it's a prequel is gimmick enough. Fans don't need another gimmick on top of the gimmick. It's tacky, and the Alien series has never been tacky.

Elegant, no. But it comes as no suprise that an Alien movie would be made in 3-D. The Aliens were practically made for it, with there long limbs and retractable jowls, it was only a matter of time.

I've never really been a big fan of 3-D movies, too gimmicky, and usually feels like a bandaid for a shitty movie. (Going to see Alice, maybe that one will be better)

sigh.....running out of idea's are we!??!!!

(via Hitfix & Collider)

Earlier today, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe sat for an eight-person roundtable during the Los Angeles press day for "Robin Hood," and before the press conference began, the famed director sat and chatted about his recovery from recent knee surgery and how glad he is to not be shooting while he's still on the mend. Crowe was running a few minutes behind him, so talk turned to what Scott might be up to next, with many of us guessing that we knew for sure what his next film would be.

He didn't even make us ask. He just shrugged.

Ridley Scott: Alien, yeah. We’re doing that now. We’re on the fourth draft. It’s alright; it’s pretty good…

There has been a lot of talk about you doing that in 3D.

Ridley Scott: Of course, it’ll be 3D.

Are you going to use the James Cameron 3D cameras?

Scott: No, I think they’ve already moved beyond. Jim said that this technique, which had taken them four years, he’d said that now you could do it in two. Technology’s shifting all the time. I could have converted Robin Hood. They’d said last October, I could have squeezed it under the hammer and got it in as a 3D version of Robin Hood.

But doesn’t it make more sense to compose in 3D?

Scott: It’s not a big deal. People always agonize whether it’s 1.85 or 2.35 and I don’t really give a shit. It’s your eye and how you’re going to fill the frame. If you’ve got an eye, it’s not a problem. If you don’t have an eye, then they turn it into science. You’ve got a lot of conversations going on and that’s why it takes forever and it shouldn’t.

I’ve always heard you want as much light as possible.

Scott: That’s the downside.

But isn’t Alien almost the antithesis of that because the movies have always been about shadow and darkness and hiding things.

Scott: That’s what Jim said. The problem is you’ll have to grade it later. You’ll have to grit your teeth and light it not the way you’d like it. And then later, you’re gonna have to regrade it. Repaint it. In fact, Avatar, when you think about it, is almost a completely animated movie.

Can you now make an Alien movie that has the patience and same style as the first movie and it’ll still work for audiences?

Scott: I think it’ll work. Don’t you?

Yeah. The original still does. But I think audiences are now acclimated to things that have more energy.

Scott: But that’s 29 years ago that film. Now to say, “Do you want to recut it?” at the time, I thought, “Not really. Leave it alone. It is what it is.” But would things move faster today? Yeah. I had no technology at all. I had no digital technology at all. Even the ones that followed started to have tech. Like, digital rails and tracking. I had no computers at all. Alien was literally all physical. Even the spaceship, which would be about as big this table, you’d hang it from a wire and the camera would slowly push in underneath and you’d try and keep it steady as possible with a fan and a lot of dry ice blowing at it to give some sense of movement. That was it. It’s pretty good actually.

With all these movies like Titanic and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings possible going 3D, could you ever see yourself revisiting your previous films and doing a post production conversation? For example a Blade Runner?

Scott: You can virtually order it. I can go to a company saying, “Can you re-3D this?” It’d be quicker if I sat there and did it with them, which I would have. It’s when you’re grading a movie, I’ll sit there with a grader, we’ll flick to one scene, I’ll give ‘em two frames and say, “Like that.” You can do the whole film that way.

Has anyone come at you to consider converting any of your past films?

Scott: Yeah.

And your thoughts are?

Scott: Not really. I’d rather save that energy for something new. We could have done this in 3D, but everyone was so hesitant. We didn’t bother because the film’s good enough.

–

After the interview ended, we went back to asking about the Alien prequel:


You’re developing the Alien prequel, are you developing it as a series of films or a longer storyline?

Scott: It’ll be two. It’ll be prequel one and two. Then Alien 1.

Are you going to shoot the prequels together or shoot them separately?

Scott: At the moment I’m just trying to get the first one out.



While who knows if two films will ever happen, if you’re a fan of the Alien franchise, how can you not be excited?

Rub your hands together in glee for now, Alien fans.

(via IGN)

April 23, 2010 - Whether or not you think it's a good thing that an Alien prequel (or two prequels) is being made, said film is nonetheless happening.

The good news, one supposes, is that the original film's director Ridley Scott is behind the new picture. And he's just revealed lots of new details about the films.

MTV spoke to the helmer, who said that they're on the fourth draft or so of the script at the moment.

"It's a work in progress, but we're actually making the films," he says. "There's no question about it, we're going to make the films. … Now it's a matter of, how good can I get the screenplay in the next few weeks so I can get a good ballpark figure of what it will cost. I've already got people working graphically on designs for the various requirements of the films."

Scott explains that the picture is set in the year 2085, some 30 years before the first film, and will "fundamentally [be] about going out to find out, 'Who the hell was that Space Jockey?' The guy who was sitting in the chair in the Alien vehicle -- there was a giant fellow sitting in a seat on what looked to be either a piece of technology or an astronomer's chair. Remember that?"

Oh yes, we remember.

But do we really need to learn about that particular mystery? Wasn't that one of the most appealing aspects of Alien, the ambiguity of things like that?

Anyway, the filmmaker also indicates that Sigourney Weaver most likely won't be back for the films, but that the main character will be a woman.

Also, Scott doesn't seem to be much of a fan of the AvP films, and that fact may lead to a new look for the monsters in the prequel.

"The thing about Alien vs. Predator is, I know it's commerce, but what a pity," he says. "I think, therefore, I have to design -- or redesign -- earlier versions of what these elements are that led to the thing you finally see in Alien, which is the thing that catapults out of the egg, the face-hugger. … I don't want to repeat it. The Alien in a sense, as a shape, is worn out."

Scott also says he's hoping to have the first film in theaters by late 2011 or "maybe the best date - in 2012."

I don't know about this...I trust his judgement but I really don't know about this. To me, the whole finding out who the Space Jockey was is a bit like when Rob Zombie said "We're gonna find out why Michael is how he is." Sometimes as a viewer, it's more unsettling to not know. And as soon as I see this film, whenever I rewatch the original I will know why that Space Jockey is there and suddenly that connection I have with Dallas, Kane and Lambert; sharing their curiosity and wonder...it's gone. :(

One of the best scenes of the films POTENTIALLY ruined...and in glorious 3D. :rolleyes:

I couldn't agree more. It's an amazing detail from the original that truely sparks the imagination. It's meanings and explanations are endless and wonderful, trully a shame to have it laid out on a platter now.

Sir Ridley Scott spoke between screenings of his genre classics Alien and Blade Runner during the ongoing Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival.

The director had a few words to say about his upcoming return to the franchise he created, with the 3-D Alien prequel -- or rather, prequels. Scott explained why there will be two of them; and that writing on the the first of the two has been completed.

"I watched the franchise zip along for the next twenty, thirty years. I let it go, because Blade Runner followed," Scott told a packed house at the Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood. "I started thinking about the franchise, which now has died on the road somewhere. I thought, 'What I should do is go back and…' In the first Alien when John Hurt climbed up, looked over the horizon and said the immortal lines, 'Good God, what is this?' what we saw was appropriate for 'Good God,' because it was a massive giant lying in a chair, and the chair was either a form of engine or some future technology. I always thought, 'Nobody's asked, "Who is the [giant]?"' He's come to be called 'the space jockey.' I thought, 'Who the hell is the space jockey?' And so it's written and I'm prepping it now."

Scott explained his reasoning behind developing two prequels, which will take place long before the first Alien: "If you explain who he was and where he came from, then that will deal with the savagery of this version, which will be pretty savage. Then you may want to find out where they came from, the place where his people come from."

(***Mark Verheiden's 1990s comics (the adventures of Newt and Hicks after Aliens, before Alien 3 arrived and killed them off) did just this, suggesting that the Jockeys are badass warriors who intend to enslave humanity once they've finished with the Xenomorphs.***)

As far as the prequels' stories go, Scott hinted that there will be a deeper exploration of the science behind the world of Alien, a science he says is very much grounded in our own current technology.

"The first Alien was honestly The Old Dark House -- seven people in the old dark house with a visitor. This will go further into the world of terraforming. We're thinking about doing it. In fact, if Kennedy had been allowed to continue his space program, we'd probably be on Mars now with a population of nine-thousand people. That's how far we should have gone."

John Spaihts has written the screenplays, and the current due date for part one is late 2011.



What do you think? Are two Alien prequels a good or bad idea? Should Scott leave his masterpiece alone, or does he have a lot more to offer genre fans?

Contemplate for now, and wait till further news comes in.

Fresh from dusting off the bracken and pulling out rogue arrows from Robin Hood, Ridley Scott is turning his attention to the two-part Alien prequel.

The project has been germinating since that xeno-baby first popped jauntily out of John Hurt's chest back in 1979 and with Lost co-creator Damon Lindoff close to turning in a script and casting announcements presumably not too far off, Scott's vision for the Alien origin story(s) is coming together nicely.

"The film will be really tough, really nasty," he tells The Independent of the 3D two-parter. "It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?"

Hmm... intriguing, if suitably vague, stuff.

The notion that the death-dealing xenomorphs are as much an instrument of a higher power as, say, the colonial marines has been part of the Alien mythology for years and seems a logical direction to take the prequels.

No mention of space jockeys yet but some friendly banter for his successor on the franchise. "Jim's raised the bar and I've got to jump to it," he says. "He's not going to get away with it."

Mr Cameron, consider yourself warned.

I'm sold and will be looking forward to checking these out.

Despite Camerons *awesome* effort with ALIENS, Scott made a more atmospheric film, and I greatly look forward to the series to head back into scifi/thriller territory and away from action flick.
Not to mention a different side of things from the original creator...could be a whole new deal that nobody's expecting whatsoever.

3D... geez. Get used to it, I guess. We're going to be hammered with 3D from here on out, or at least until sales drop off because of backlash.

I like the prequel idea, and I like the idea of investigating the xenomorphs interacting with alien species other than Predators. I still think an Aliens movie without any humans at all would be awesome, but I'm sure I'll never get it.

I have faith in Ridley Scott, I'm really excited about this.

Those of you looking forward to Ridley Scott's return to space with his currently in development Alien prequel, prepare for some hefty disappointment.

According to Script Flags, Scott is at odds with 20th Century Fox, the major studios behind the project over budgetary and creative differences. 
It would seem Scott wants a budget of around $250m to make it a sci-fi spectacular, and is also pushing for an 18-rated level of violence and horror. Fox, however, don't plan on investing anywhere near that sum, and are keen to get a 13/15 rating to maximize the audience appeal.

Can they hammer out a deal? Keep your fingers crossed.

In other news, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) is a hot commodity in Hollywood these days, reportedly taking meetings around town on projects including McG's This Means War and Mission: Impossible IV. (She was recently cast as the female lead in Sherlock Holmes 2.)

But now comes word that Rapace might be under consideration for the female lead in Fox's Alien prequel.

Scriptflags claims Rapace has met with prequel director Ridley Scott and his Scott Free production company exec Michael Costigan, where the Swedish actress is said to have professed her love for Scott's films growing up. The site speculates that they met with Rapace for the female lead in the Alien prequel, sure to be a tough chick role not unlike the one she's gained international fame for.

But considering the crowded development slate Scott keeps, who knows? It could just as easily have been a meet-and-greet for any of his movies.

Really, Fox? Really? You want to turn Aliens, a solid R rated franchise about aliens who bite holes through peoples heads into a PG-13 property? Really? You don't think one of the most popular horror franchises ever making a return to its famous original award-winning director and mastermind is worth $250m? Really? Really?

Fox, you are F'n idiots. Really.

Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof turned in his new draft of the screenplay for Ridley Scott's Alien prequel on Saturday, and 20th Century Fox execs are very pleased with it indeed!

We’re told all involved parties have been made to sign nondisclosure agreements about the plot, but our spies have been able to glean several interesting nuggets about the project, which is set roughly 35 years before Scott’s dystopic classic.

Here's what we know ...

One reason Fox execs are so thrilled with Lindelof’s Alien draft is that not only is it creatively engaging, but it adds no expensive "set pieces" — production-speak for elaborate, effects-heavy action sequences that add millions to the cost of a film — to the movie. 20th Century Fox and Scott have been wrangling over the director’s proposed budget. One insider familiar with the situation puts Scott’s suggested budget at between $150 million and $160 million; Fox obviously, would like that number to shrink. Still, this is some good news for Fox, which has almost nothing resembling a blockbuster in the hopper for the summer of 2012, and could certainly stand to reinvigorate a wildly popular multi-part sci-fi franchise.

A parade of actresses have met with Scott to discuss the lead role — that of a female Colonial Marine general — but only two have engendered substantial enthusiasm from both Fox brass and Scott Free, the director’s Fox-based production company:

Vulture can report exclusively that at the top of the list is Natalie Portman. (She recently detached herself from the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at Lionsgate Films out of concern that she was now too old to play the part of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet. Portman turns 30 next June; Bennet is only 20 in both Austen and Grahame-Smith’s versions of Pride.)

Right behind Portman is the already-reported Noomi Rapace, star of the Swedish The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Don’t take Scott’s recent interview with The Independent — in which he claims that the Alien prequel would be “really tough, really nasty” — to mean this is automatically going to be an R picture: We’re told another reason Fox execs are pleased with Lindelof’s rewrite of original screenwriter Jon Spaihts’ script is that it's still aimed at a more accessible PG-13 rating. "The thinking," explains one insider, "is that if the original Alien were released today, minus the F-bombs, you could still get a PG-13. Alien is a very Jaws-ian movie: There’s no sex, and while there’s lots of violence, most of it is off-camera. Maybe you’d have to cut away from certain scenes two seconds earlier, but it could be done."

The prequel still lacks a proper name. Untitled Alien Prequel hardly comes trippingly off the tongue, but while several titles are being bandied about, none have unanimous support of Fox and Scott.

It’s not in any way a reboot of Alien or the Aliens franchise; it’s really meant to be viewed as Scott’s second Alien movie. What's more, no Predator creatures appear anywhere within the film. Despite Fox’s efforts to mate the two sci-fi icons (sci-ficons?), Scott’s camp sees the two franchises as hailing from distinct genres that will not co-mingle, synergy be damned. “The later Aliens movies were action movies, but the original Alien was a horror-suspense film," explains one spy. "This returns the franchise to its roots."

Scott himself said last month, in an interview with the Independent: "The film will be really tough, really nasty. It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?"

Let's see what Ridley Scott and the boys over at Fox conjure up eventually.

Alien Prequel Story Leaked!!




***BEWARE OF POSSIBLE MAJOR SPOILERS***




The long awaited Alien prequel sees a group of terraformers (the space jockeys as seen in the first film), moving from planet to planet in order to make them habitable. In tow are two human slaves, who are forced via mind control to engage in sexual activities – the twist? They’re both male!

Now this is a twist fans won’t be expecting. In a shock turn of events the details of Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel have been leaked online, only for Fox to order the website in question (Whatsplaying.com.au) to take the story down again – but not before somebody managed to grab a screenshot first!

While this does have a bit of a whiff of hoax about it, it was a story too interesting to simply pass up! So taking this with a pinch of salt for now, here are the details of the original story:

It would be cool if this twist did turn out to be true, lets be honest here it’s certainly untrodden ground, and if said slaves are conscious of their actions while being forced into this it’ll make for some pretty harrowing scenes.

What do you think? Bull or believable?

So Ridley Scott is apparently done meeting with potential leads for his upcoming “Alien” prequel and surprise, surprise, the list of names in contention for the part is still the same as it has been for the past little while:

Noomi Rapace, Carey Mulligan, Abbie Cornish and Natalie Portman.

However, it appears one more name, and a pretty obvious one, is now in the mix.

Olivia Wilde, riding in a wave of advance buzz, mostly from geeks going gaga over her form-fitting getup in “Tron: Legacy,” is apparently another name being bandied about to kill some aliens.

No word on what has happened to Anne Hathaway who was rumored last week. She didn’t seem like a strong choice for the part, and we’d imagine that she had a meeting and then was quietly taken off the list.

No mention of Gemma Arterton either, who was an early name linked to the project.

Now comes the hard part of choosing somebody and while Scott has a favorite, 20th Century Fox is expected to be “heavily involved” in the final choice.

It’s hardly a shocker that Scott wants Rapace for the part. While a role in the upcoming “Sherlock Homes 2,” an Oscar campaign underway for her work in “The Girl With Dragon Tattoo” and a fresh and eager young face in Hollywood, it seems everyone wants to work with her.

But apparently Rapace’s command of English might be a problem.

Looking over the candidates as a whole, it’s clear that neither the director nor the studio are too concerned with landing a big name and other than Portman, these aren’t actresses known to mainstream crowds. But that’s not really an issue, since the marketing and allure of the ‘Alien’ films have also been on the creatures not the actors.

All that said, the film was last reported to have a budget in the $160 million range (though Fox would like to bring it down a bit) so you can bet the decision is going to be a very tough one.

The project has a script from “Lost” scribe Damon Lindelof who was brought on to rewrite Jon Spaihts’ draft in July, and everyone is quite pleased with the result. The film is gearing up to be a PG-13 affair which is no surprise since Fox will want to recoup their budget and make some money on this. No official production plans have been unveiled but it’s a safe bet everyone involved wants this in front of cameras soon as possible.

For everything else we know about the project so far, here is a brief rundown:

* The prequel won’t involve Ellen Ripley. It will, however, continue the franchise’s tradition of having a female protagonist.
* Lindelof’s screenplay places the project at a PG-13 rating, doesn’t add expensive set pieces, but remains “creatively engaging.”
* The plan is to film two prequels, both of which will be shot in 3D.
* The action takes place thirty years prior to the events of the first Alien movie.
* Scott says the film is about “the discussion of terraforming — taking planets and planetoids and balls of earth and trying to terraform, seed them with the possibilities of future life.”
* The prequels will elaborate on how “The Space Jockey” fits into the world of Alien.

This news, if correct, will make some people very happy, but let’s stress ‘if correct.’

The wife of Swiss artist and designer H.R. Giger told the TV show Glanz & Gloria (http://www.glanzundgloria.sf.tv/Nach...ach-H.R.-Giger) that her husband is ‘on board’ for the new Alien film being developed by Ridley Scott.

This would mark the artist’s first direct association with the Alien series since David Fincher’s Alien 3.

Previously, of course, Giger conceptualized and built designs for Ridley Scott’s original Alien — those designs scared the hell out of people and earned the artist an Oscar and legions of fans. His highly sexualized, ‘biomechanical’ visualizations were one of the primary factors that made Alien stand out from other films of the time, and his core xenomorph design became one of the most recognizable movie monsters.

Thing is, H.R. Giger could be doing anything from a bit of consulting all the way up to actually working on full designs for the new film. Since the movie is reportedly based in part on the space jockey skeleton he designed for the first movie (in a concept painting by Giger), it’s reasonable to think that he’d be brought on for this unusual prequel.

But don’t assume just yet that this means we’re going to get a full-on Scott/Giger reunion. And since his wife is still saying this will likely be two films rather than one, which is a claim that Fox has refuted, fans will be curious to know how current Giger’s conversations with Ridley Scott and Fox have been, and what her statement really means.



Also, there’s some big news on Ridley Scott‘s two-part prequel to his 1979 film Alien. First up, time to kill off the rumor that the project has been delayed: Fox says that there is no delay.

But more important, a report says that the first film is called Paradise, and that cast sought by Ridley Scott includes Michael Fassbender and Michelle Yeoh. More info on the character details and plot of the film follow. Please note that there are possible spoilers in the info that follows.

First up: the title. Vulture does not explain any context for the title, but doesn’t refer to the film as Alien: Paradise or anything like that. Just Paradise. But the report does say,

That’s less than inspiring, but could be a broad generalization. Because while fans are nervous about a film that explored the ‘space jockey’ from Alien, they could be far more nervous about something that boils down to a reboot. The news that Damon Lindelof‘s script revisions were well-received was good, but now…

So let’s talk about casting. Vulture reports that Leonardo DiCaprio was sought for the lead role at one point, and efforts to work out a schedule that would see this film shot after Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar are what resulted in the rumored shooting delay. But Mr. DiCaprio hasn’t been cast, and the schedule remains as it was before the rumor.

The idea that Ridley Scott would look for someone like Leonardo DiCaprio is interesting — what part in the film would be well-suited for him? Even when he’s part of an ensemble cast (The Departed) he has a tendency to stand out.

There’s also word that the director wanted Michael Fassbender for a character called David, who is an android and precursor to the Ash and Bishop characters from Alien and Aliens. But Mr. Fassbender’s quote has risen astronomically, and he may be out of the running for now. Too bad if so — fans might have loved to see Robo-Fassbender.

There’s also a character called Vickers, “a 40-something, tough-but-sexy woman,” for which Michelle Yeoh is being sought. If you read the spoiler-ish script details which was posted a while back in the previous posts, you might guess that this is the Vasquez-like character mentioned there, assuming those details were correct.

Other characters:

* Elizabeth Shaw: the main female lead, for which Noomi Rapace remains a front-runner.
* An unnamed ‘older businessman along for the ride’. Shades of Burke from Aliens?
* Engineer 1: a character to be played by a very tall actor who will be replaced by CGI, a la Gollum in Lord of the Rings.

Not quite sure what to make of all this information, would tentatively welcome a prequel with Scott on board and some decent actors being mentioned. The thing is all this is mostly speculative 'pie in the sky', will have to wait and see what actually emerges from the mix.

Alien, Aliens & Alien3 are amongst my favourite sci-fi/horror flicks so would love another quality addition. Fingers crossed.

Glad to see someone else has a little love for Alien 3. I enjoyed the isolated, totally hopeless feel of it. Granted, we got that with the original - I just feel this film did it in a different but equally affective way.

"Alien" Prequel Now "Promethemus"
 

The Alien prequel is now Prometheus

Source: 20th Century Fox
January 14, 2011


It appears that the Alien prequel has become something else entirely. Twentieth Century Fox announced today that Ridley Scott will direct Prometheus, described as "an original science fiction epic". Now scheduled for worldwide release on March 9, 2012, the project was originally intended as a prequel to Scott's 1979 original.

Noomi Rapace has also been announced as the first actor to sign on from the project. She will star as a scientist named Elizabeth Shaw opposite other as-of-yet-unnamed talent.

"While 'Alien' was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place," says Scott, "The keen fan will recognize strands of 'Alien's' DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart."

"In a world flooded with prequels, sequels and reboots," adds Damon Lindelof, who worked with Scott to rewrite an original draft by Jon Spaihts, "I was incredibly struck by just how original Ridley's vision was for this movie. It's daring, visceral and hopefully, the last thing anyone expects. When I sat in a movie theater as a kid, feet raised off the floor for fear that something might grab my ankles, I never dreamed in my wildest imagination I would one day get to collaborate with the man responsible for it. Working alongside him has been nothing short of a dream come true."

Prometheus is scheduled to hit March 9, 2012.

Interesting, was looking forward to a good Ridley Scott Alien film but Im not going to complain if he has got something similar yet brand new on the agenda.

AS long as it isn't like the AVP movies......... not looking forward to anymore of those

It turns out that Ridley Scott's recent comments that Prometheus would be a departure from the Aliens series are somewhat misleading.

An exclusive source has told us that not only are HR Giger's classic aliens in it, but that they're integral to the plot.

Mere hours after the announcement that Michael Fassbender is locked in to play an android with rumoured links to Aliens' Bishop series, our insider sources have revealed that he's not the only one with strong links to the series' past.

"They’ve built the ‘space jockey’ cockpit at Pinewood as seen in the original Alien film, so it definitely takes place in the same world as Alien", they told us. "Despite that press release that seemed to indicate there were no aliens in the movie, the familiar HR Giger-style aliens do appear. Big ones apparently."

And as for Scott's comments noting that "keen fans will recognise strands of Alien's DNA"?

It turns out there was the slightest hint of misdirection - apparently the actual DNA of the xenomorphs is integral to the plot - and will see the cast jet off to the alien homeworld itself.

"Part of the film will be shot in Morocco. I’ve heard that some sort of archaeological dig where they discover alien DNA takes place there and that DNA gives them the coordinates for an alien world. I’ve also heard Morocco is being used for alien planet landscapes so I’m not sure if it’s an archaeological dig on another planet," they revealed.

It gets weirder too, with Damon Lindelof's script set to crank up the sci-fi angle to maximum effect.

"The main spaceship in the film will be piloted by an enormous head which I assume will be CGI. Yep, sounds weird but I assume some of the technology will be sort of biomechanical."

How nice! I am really looking forward to this! I can't wait to see it.
I believe it's going to fail but anyways. Nothing beats the original tho.

Really looking forward to this one. I really hope they this time make it as great as the original Alien films were... and try to stay as far away from AvP as possible.

I totally agree. :)

Shooting is finally underway on Ridley Scott's Prometheus, the rumored Alien prequel that reintroduces the Space Jockey and original Alien DNA.

Website Alien Prequel News reports that both Benedict Wong (Sunshine) and Emun Elliott (Black Death) have both been added to the growing cast in the sci-fi horror filming lensing in England.

They join the previously announced Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, and Logan Marshall-Green.

It's kind of baffling that nobody can really pinpoint exactly what Prometheus is yet. Whether it's a prequel, stand-alone film or something in the same universe but not directly related doesn't really matter anymore though, because a worker at Pinewood Studios has reportedly spotted a few Aliens hanging around the set.

According to the insider, he "can confirm seeing 3 aliens having lunch. Not the whole costume but blueish costumes and the unmistakable heads hanging around their shoulders. The alien heads were the same shape but no markings, only a plane bronze colour. As for the suits black boots and shoulder pads the rest was a Chelsea blue body suit could be for SFX, all the sets around the back of the bond stage have huge green chromokey maybe that's a clue.I have witnessed foam cut outs of unmistakable aliens all cut in half lengh ways so they could be in the floor walls etc and very much from the original film."

The spy also spotted a "a very, very long tunnel that leads to an enormous structure at the back of the stage which is the same height as the stage and probably extends out another 200 ft.", which he speculates is where the Space Jockey scenes will be shot.

Fox is planning on releasing in 3-D on June 8, 2012.

This is shaping up to be...very interesting. Whilst I hope they don't take the focus too much away from the Alien, I'm very glad they're doing something new with it.

Slightly worried about what seems like could be a lot of SFX on the aliens.

The boys over at CHUD just landed a monster scoop as they're reporting multiple sources have confirmed that Guy Pearce - Memento, The Hurt Locker, The Road, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and many, many more insane films - will be starring in Ridley Scott's now filming Prometheus, the presumed prequel to his classic 1979 Alien.

Unfortunately there are no details on his character, but expect some sort of official announcement as early as next week (assuming it's true).

He joins Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, Logan Marshall-Green, Benedict Wong, and Emun Elliott in 20th Century Fox's 3-D sci-fi horror aiming for release June 8, 2012.

Ridley Scott and Prometheus stars Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace attended CineEurope tonight to sell European exhibitors on the prospects of the 3D sci-fi project.

Production is underway in London, but they obviously didn’t bring any footage or images or anything that would reveal what Prometheus is literally about. But the trio did speak to the themes of the movie.

The first hint of a prequel centered on the question “Who the hell was that space jockey?“ Scott conceded that the desire to explore that mystery inspired him to revisit the Alien universe. He attributed further inspiration to sci-fi author Erich von Däniken, a proponent of the “ancient astronaut” theory that credits civilation on earth to extraterrestrials:

That is an intriguing idea.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan that stole fire from the gods and gave it to the mortals. Scott confirmed at CineEurope the title refers to a space ship sent from Earth by a powerful corporation, possibly for the purpose of terraforming.

Rapace restricted herself to talk about the production: she described her work as “hard and sweaty” and claimed the 73-year-old Scott “still has more energy than all of us combined.”

Don't you love the tingling vibes that there’s this big, mysterious sci-fi project looming? I am!

Prometheus is scheduled for release on June 8, 2012.

For months now there's been speculation galore as to whether or not the new Ridley Scott sci-fi project would actually turn out to be a prequel to his original 'Alien' or not. During a recent interview on 'Kevin Pollack's Chat Show', Damon Lindelof (writer) revealed that it started out as an 'Alien' prequel but then became something else, something different. So it looks like it'll most definitely be taking place in the 'Alien' universe at least.

Here's what Lindelof said:

"It started as an Alien prequel. That is what everybody wanted it to be. Obviously, Ridley Scott has not made a science fiction movie in 25 years, since Blade Runner, so the idea that he’s returning to this genre is huge.
But there is a real issue which is — what is the state of the Alien franchise at this point in our lives? There has been Alien vs. Predator and all these things, and its been completely and totally diluted. I’ve always felt that really good prequels should be original movies. And the sequels to those prequels should not be the movie which already exists because, with all due respect to anyone who makes a prequel, but why would you ruin the greatest twist in the history of cinema, “Luke, I am your father”, by showing me three movies which basically spoil that surprise. You can do movies which take place before Star Wars, but I don’t need to see the story of the Skywalker clan. Show me something else which I can’t guess the possible outcome of. There is no suspense in inevitability.
So a true prequel should essentially proceed the events of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters , have an entirely different theme, although it takes place in that same world. That was my fundamental feeling about what this movie wanted to be."

He continues:

"I also do feel that this movie is the movie I would want to see as a fanboy, take place in that Alien universe, which precedes the events of the original Alien, but is not necessarily burdened by all the tropes of that franchise with Facehuggers and Chestbursters, and all that stuff that I love - but its sorta like, we’ve seen it before, can we do something different this time? And thats the movie that Ridley wanted to make. And when you’re working with an auteur, you basically just shut your mouth and listen and try to transcribe and channel the vision of that person, and get out of the way."

A synopsis for Ridley Scott’s mysterious sci-fi flick Prometheus may have leaked online.

Details on the film have been kept under wraps to the point where there’s still confusion over how much of it is an Alien prequel and how much is its own beast. At this point, the consensus seems to be that it is a prequel to Alien, but it’s outside the mold of the franchise to date.

This synopsis sheds some light on how Prometheus could be both an Alien prequel and not an Alien-prequel:

Whether this is the actual synopsis, a synopsis of an earlier draft, or just outright false, we’ll know the truth when Prometheus opens in 3D on June 8, 2012. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, and Idris Elba.

Spy shots from the Iceland shoot -

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...vi/alien-1.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/ali.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/alie.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/al.jpg


After spending a little over two months at Pinewood Studios, Ridley Scott is moving the Prometheus shoot to Iceland, where he'll be filming at the base of the Hekla volcano, which was rumored to be on the verge of eruption mere days ago, and the Dettifoss waterfall. The location isn't as important as what Scott says is being shot there. "It will be 15 minutes in total, if all goes to plan," the secretive director said. "We are shooting the beginning of time."

That fits pretty nicely into the leaked plot outline, which has yet to be confirmed. According to the insider, "Archaeological digs in Africa reveal alien artifacts that humans were genetically engineered by a advanced alien race (space jockeys). These 'Alien Gods' also terraformed Earth in order to make it habitable for their human creations." Does that mean Iceland is doubling for the dark continent? Or are these flashback scenes that are going to based around the terraforming of Earth?

Ice News also claims that Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace will be involved with the shoot, which raises even more questions about how these sequences fit into the timeline of the film, which is supposedly set in 2058. Does this mean that the top-billing actors will play alien gods? Or are they the archaeologists who find the dig? Do the archaeologists work for Weyland Corp.?

How this all fits together is anyone's guess at this point.

I heard that the alien design was going to be completely remade and that Ridley Scott is asking Gieger, who designed the original ... Somat about no humans in Prometheus aswell, all aliens and cyborgs =/

Fox opens Comic-Con with the "Prometheus" Panel -

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-c...tury-fox-panel

Excerpts -

First look -

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...sfirst0722.jpg


Second look -

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...whires0722.jpg

Looks awesome!

Pics from the footage shown at Comic - Con (all low-res, grainy quality):


http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...cc707c6a_4.jpg

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(Contd.)

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...c707c6a_15.jpg

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The 3D film is shooting in both PG-13 and R-rated versions with a decision to be made later as to which version will hit theaters and all will be revealed on June 8, 2012.