They're Remaking 'Alien' -- the 'Prometheus' thread

Prometheus plot influenced by Chariots of the Gods!

Scott acknowledged that Prometheus, while not a direct prequel to Alien, occupies the same general universe, saying the picture was inspired by a desire to explore the mystery of the "space jockey" the giant fossilized creature with the burst-open chest seen in the first Alien movie but never explained. "The (space) journey, metaphorically, is about a challenge to the gods," Scott said. But Scott's ambitions with Prometheus go far beyond simply restarting a hit franchise. The British director said the film's storyline, and script by David Lindelof, was partially inspired by the writings of legendary Swiss sci-fi writer Eric van Daniken.
Van Daniken, author of 1968 bestseller Chariot of the Gods, is best known as the first proponent of the so-called ancient astronaut theory, which holds that aliens kick-started civilization on earth. "NASA and the Vatican agree that is almost mathematically impossible that we can be where we are today without there being a little help along the way," Scott said. "That's what we're looking at (in the film), at some of Eric van Daniken's ideas of how did we humans come about."
The Washington Reporter.

So was Alien vs Predator iirc...

Is there any sci-fi franchise involving aliens that isn't Von Daniken-influenced at this point? "Ancient astronauts" is a durable idea that's been around since Lovecraft, at the very least.

The real news with this is the confirmation that the movie takes place within the "alien" universe. When they announced the movie as "Prometheus" back in January the press release was worded to make it sound as if wasn't connected any longer to the series. But now it's apparent that it is a spinoff, if not exactly a direct prequel.

(the rumours might be rubbish but) hate the way they try to drag earth into this shit - some of the best scifi involves getting away from the assumption that the universe revolves around our poky little planet. Original story of stumbling across alien horror light years from earth was brilliant, AvP sekret antarctic alien hunting ground pyramid was grade A bullshit.

― nanoflymo (ledge), Saturday, January 29, 2011 6:09 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark

kinda agree w/this

Nah, they admitted it was in the Alien universe ages ago Latebloomer

"saying the picture was inspired by a desire to explore the mystery of the "space jockey" the giant fossilized creature with the burst-open chest seen in the first Alien movie but never explained"

=

"we realised the space jockey was the one last thing that hadn't been raped to death by the rest of the franchise, so we thought let's grab a piece of that action"

Nah, they admitted it was in the Alien universe ages ago Latebloomer

― Number None, Wednesday, June 29, 2011 10:24 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

they didn't! i've been following this, dude.

fassbender basically confirmed it in an interview a few months ago, and there have been constant rumors but all the statements from the actual filmmakers have been pretty vague until recently.

"we realised the space jockey was the one last thing that hadn't been raped to death by the rest of the franchise, so we thought let's grab a piece of that action"

haha otm

Yeah i guess i just read the Fassbender thing and assumed it was out in the open

x-post

The cynicism is warranted (it's Hollywood), but I do admit that I'm excited that they're taking this in a different direction, and not just doing an "Alien 5". Of course, it could easily just end up being Mission to Mars with Giger-beasts, so my optimism is cautious at best.

"we realised the space jockey was the one last thing that hadn't been raped to death by the rest of the franchise, so we thought let's grab a piece of that action"

The space jockey was actually given a backstory in the original Dark Horse Aliens comic book, which was one of the first spin-offs of the movies (it was released after Aliens but before Alien 3, and thus features Hicks and the grown-up Newt as the main characters).

they made the space jockey look really dorky in that comic. they even gave him a cape! seriously!

yeah i had that comic too, always preferred the AVP story instead though (which was great)

NASA and the Vatican agree

reliable

embarrassingly, I'm horribly excited about all this. I know it's going to let me down so hard.

i think it's ok to be cautiously excited. it's ridley scott returning to sci-fi! but then again...it's ridley scott returning to sci-fi.

Having just rewatched Blade Runner for the first time in a while (and this time via my new BluRay/plasma TV setup) I hear you there.

i watched alien for the first time yesterday. i'd seen pretty much all of it, but never just sat down through it. the space jockey is probably the best part of the film, apart from ripley's tiny panties, and i really don't want its backstory to be explained :/

slanty knickers ftw!

Alien on blu-ray is transformed; so much more detail and colour. It might be the one blu-ray that has really wowed me. Blade Runner looks great too.

Prometheus plot spoilers, if true (and it doesn't sound that bad):
http://io9.com/5816884/if-this-is-actually-the-real-plot-for-ridley-scotts-prometheus-just-shoot-us-now

Reminds me of how the spaceship in Danny Boyle's Sunshine was called Icarus II (cos the first Icarus had already flown too close to the sun). It's like they want these missions to fail!

i think it's ok to be cautiously excited. it's ridley scott returning to sci-fi! but then again...it's ridley scott returning to sci-fi.

― this guy is straight solondz (latebloomer), Wednesday, June 29, 2011 3:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

el riddo hasn't made a decent movie in about three decades iirc, but t'll be good to have the pred ships controversy nailed once and for all

Matchstick Men was pretty decent, IMO.

story outline is promising, but there's no way to tell how it'll play out. have some (small) faith in ridley scott due to alien and blade runner, no matter how much he's done to tarnish that legacy since. at the very least this sounds like it will be a prestige picture with the budget to accomplish its ambitions, and for an original, galaxy-spanning sci-fi story, that's something to cheer about.

"it'll be good to have the pred ships controversy nailed once and for all"

I would think that this is the main, perhaps the only, reason that this film is being made

What does that sentence about pred ships mean?

you don't want to know, James

it's even worse than sleep vikings

well at least with the pred ship there really was only 'right' answer and the people on the other side were intentionally trolling the IGN board

Morrison: the Most hilarious fanboy message board debate of all time

the thin line between intentional trolling and shameless challoping

blimey--thanks!

"^ For your sake and the sake of the people you are exposed to every day, I hope that post was a joke, because if it wasn't, the astonishing ignorance of that post says something really scary about you.

And if it was a joke, it wasn't funny, not even accidentally. "

leaked set photos!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KqwUzzwhewE/ThNBGjt4g2I/AAAAAAAACD0/ImoLI-Lda6c/s1600/prometheus_set_1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Bd3Ji_VSfE/ThNBFycNzJI/AAAAAAAACDw/jBCtDZeXzAM/s1600/prometheus_set_2.jpg

if you squint hard enough you can see the pred ship

man i bet they wish they hadn't torn all those sets down now

I wish I didn't see a Stargate in that first picture, but I kinda do

stargate & guillotine vagina combo standard

goatsegate

So wait, I'm confused. Is this movie about aliens?

Yes - but also about Predators, Things, The Lepus, and The Hair Bear Bunch

Some stuff, still pretty vague:

“I realized that there was something in the original ‘Alien’ that no one has asked a question about,” Scott said, explaining what sparked his interest in returning to the franchise. “And I thought, well that could be the centerpiece.”

But he didn’t say exactly what that question was (though he has in the past). Scott on Thursday said that “Prometheus” preserves the “original DNA” of “Alien” … “but we’ve gone in a completely different direction.” Based on a kind of sizzle reel the studio showed, “Prometheus” looks wholly of the “Alien” world, with its gooey, biomechanoid extraterrestrials, flame-thrower-wielding humans and a sinewy Rapace channeling series stalwart Sigourney Weaver.

Theron shared a bit of detail about her character in the film, Meredith Vickers. “She’s a suit, essentially,” Theron said. “She’s the machine that runs the machine that takes this mission into space. At first she comes across very cold and frigid. She’s not a scientist. She’s not a believer. She runs a tight ship. But you can tell that she’s gonna be a problem.”

Some more details:

We see Ridley on a new set, then images of a spaceship control room full of lit panels. A giant room that looks like the Giger-designed spaceship in the first ALIEN where they find the eggs, though it's filled with things that look more like Egyptian coptic jars – though they may still be eggs. It does seem like something bio-mechanical is inside.

We see Michael Fassbender examining them. Green-glass sleep pods. Bubble-helmets – the aesthetic is an odd mix of the original ALIEN H. R. Giger designs and pulp comic-book Buck Rogers-type stuff. Charlize Theron is doing push-ups naked. There's a large, ringed planet.

Scott is back on, says the cast of characters “find an establishment that is not what they expected it to be.” Somebody collapses, looks like internal injuries. People in space suits freak out. More of the Giant egg cargo hold. Scott says “It is all about everything...it has the DNA of the original ALIEN...what I wanna do is scare the living shit out of you.” It's being shot in digital 3-D.

Charlize Theron is doing push-ups naked

ok maybe i will watch this.

It's being shot in digital 3-D.

Fuck this noise.

scott says he's never shooting in 2d again

Yeah, I believe that. When are we going to start getting 3-D rom-coms from these absolutists?

I've now seen three or four films "shot in digital 3-D" in 2-D, and not once have I felt I missed anything. In fact, nor would have I ever known they were even shot in 3-D from the 2-D versions.

digital 3-D naked charlize theron pushups

we didn't start the fire

I approve Ridley Scott trying to scare me instead of put me to sleep as he has seemed so intent on doing of late.