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,
Quote:
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We’re told that Paradise reboots the original Alien franchise, in that the story follows a group of space travelers who encounter a monstrous alien creature that picks them off, one-by-one.
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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.