Prometheus: Ridley Scott returns to Sci-Fi

[Daneel]

So apparently Alien and Star Wars art director Roger Christian is of the firm belief that Ridley Scott intends to film the oft-rumoured Alien prequel sometime in the near future -- and in 3-D, no less.

Of course, there have been so many rumours about this project over the years, I'm not going believe it until I hear something from Scott himself -- if even then. I gotta wonder about the 3-D thing, though. I mean, I have no objection to the idea of 3-D movies per se, but not every film actually benefits from the format. Could the Alien prequel? I guess we'll have to wait and see if this pans out first.

[Kegg]

Daneel wrote:

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So apparently Alien and Star Wars art director Roger Christian

Not putting 'director of Battlefield Earth' on his resume, is he?

I can't fathom why.

Could the Alien prequel? I guess we'll have to wait and see if this pans out first.

Sure. A horror film thrives off immersiveness, and if you can make your audience feel like you're really there, you've got something, I guess.

I still can't wrap my head around what a prequel is even supposed to be about, though. Ignoring the Alien v. Predator films (can I do that please?) Alien was our first encounter with the titular species. Ridley once joked about doing a movie about the Space Jockey, though, but even they seemed unfamiliar to our human characters.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I can't imagine a major studio greenlighting a big-budget film now without having 3D plans for it - either to shoot as, or convert to. It would make no commercial sense at all.

[The Wormhole]

Kegg wrote:

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Ignoring the Alien v. Predator films (can I do that please?) Alien was our first encounter with the titular species. Ridley once joked about doing a movie about the Space Jockey, though, but even they seemed unfamiliar to our human characters.

Actually, there are various parts of Alien which can be interpreted as the Company having some knowledge of the Alien. Ash seemed more familiar with it than he should have been anyway.

But anyway, 3-D? Groan, I'm already getting tired of it just because of all the news and rumours of upcoming films supposedly going to be in 3-D.

And what would 3-D bring to an Alien film? Facehuggers jumping at the audience?

[crouteru]

The Wormhole wrote:

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Actually, there are various parts of Alien which can be interpreted as the Company having some knowledge of the Alien. Ash seemed more familiar with it than he should have been anyway.

But anyway, 3-D? Groan, I'm already getting tired of it just because of all the news and rumours of upcoming films supposedly going to be in 3-D.

And what would 3-D bring to an Alien film? Facehuggers jumping at the audience?

Yeah, this whole 3D thing is getting a bit silly now. I would also agree that it's clear The Company has already encountered the Alien species before the events of ALIEN.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

crouteru wrote:

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Yeah, this whole 3D thing is getting a bit silly now.

You'll have to get used to it; it's not going to fade away. More and more theaters are setting up for it, and if Alice In Wonderland opens successfully that will accelerate.

Latest word is that Alice looks to open with a 100 million dollar weekend...so bye-bye to 2D blockbusters.

[Kegg]

Dennis wrote:

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You'll have to get used to it; it's not going to fade away. More and more theaters are setting up for it, and if Alice In Wonderland opens successfully that will accelerate.

Latest word is that Alice looks to open with a 100 million dollar weekend...so bye-bye to 2D blockbusters.

The eye-strain would be a little much. I'm still fairly sceptical; 3D has a long way to go yet if Avatar is any indication.

The Wormhole wrote:

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Actually, there are various parts of Alien which can be interpreted as the Company having some knowledge of the Alien. Ash seemed more familiar with it than he should have been anyway.

That's a fair point, actually, but certainly the existence of such creatures was not a matter of public record, so what do we get? Three movies of company hotshots investigating this species? Hmm.

[jefferiestubes8]

The Wormhole wrote:

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what would 3-D bring to an Alien film?

The depth of the Z-axis beyond the flat screen.

Modern 3-D (RealD) adds depth to the screen and not just gimmicky jump at your face imagery. Get used to it. It differentiates the cinema experience with what someone can get on Blu-ray on a 60 inch HDTV at home in 2D. Hollywood can make more money per seat by offering films in 3-D at the cinema.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

jefferiestubes8 wrote:

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The depth of the Z-axis beyond the flat screen.

Modern 3-D (RealD) adds depth to the screen and not just gimmicky jump at your face imagery. Get used to it. It differentiates the cinema experience with what someone can get on Blu-ray on a 60 inch HDTV at home in 2D. Hollywood can make more money per seat by offering films in 3-D at the cinema.

Exactly. Aside from ticket prices, it's also important to the studios that in order to show modern 3-D films exhibitors have to upgrade their projection equipment in such a way that movies can be distributed digitally rather than on film. The studios want to get out of the "celluloid" business very badly.

Alice In Wonderland may be on track for a 120 million dollar opening weekend. The downside to that for folks who are impressed, as I am, with Avatar is that conversion-to-3D rather than shooting with 3D equipment will probably be seen as an acceptable stop-gap for the studios...the upside is that the acceptance of the conversion process as a stop-gap means that the complete transition to 3D and digital distribution can be accomplished within a few years without much interruption to projects currently moving forward.

[bigdaddy]

2D is not going anywhere because the theaters will not want to waste the money switching over.

I think the bigger news is that there are plans for a trilogy of alien prequels.... really dumb idea. Let's make more sequels that don't suck!

[Admiral Buzzkill]

bigdaddy wrote:

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2D is not going anywhere because the theaters will not want to waste the money switching over.

Wrong.

They're already spending the money, and now it becomes a matter of competition among exhibitors for how many 3D screens they'll have available for a big release - and when three out of four, or four out of four, of 2012's blockbuster movies are distributed in Real 3D then the pressure is just intensified.

2D movies can be shown digitally as well - just as silent movies could presumably still be shown in multiplexes today.

Except that they're not.

[IcecreamLtDan]

Well then, I guess my movie going days will be coming to an end. If Avatar is any indication, the headaches that I got from watching it were so bad I couldn't finish it, actually have yet to see all of it. Oh well, guess I can find other things to spend the money on.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Hopefully so. In any event, we're discussing something that's essentially already happened, if you read the studio announcements for upcoming films.

Avatar had an 80 million dollar opening weekend, Alice is on track for 120 million, the next two Harry Potter movies and Spider-Man 4 are already announced as 3D, Clash Of The Titans, Green Lantern, etc etc and so forth...no doubt there are a lot of exhibitors out there saying to themselves "nah, we don't need any of that money."

[bigdaddy]

But the exhibitors don't make the money.

I don't care either way, I have gone to the movies twice in the last 5 years, both for Avatar.

[Mr. Adventure]

Dennis wrote:

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Hopefully so. In any event, we're discussing something that's essentially already happened, if you read the studio announcements for upcoming films.

Avatar had an 80 million dollar opening weekend, Alice is on track for 120 million, the next two Harry Potter movies and Spider-Man 4 are already announced as 3D, Clash Of The Titans, Green Lantern, etc etc and so forth...no doubt there are a lot of exhibitors out there saying to themselves "nah, we don't need any of that money."

Yeah, when I saw all the 3-D previews for upcoming films when I saw Avatar I figured the writing was on the wall. And with that film still being in the top 10 I don't think the studios want to take a chance that it wasn't a factor in its success.