Prometheus: Ridley Scott returns to Sci-Fi

[Mark Boeder]

If this is the same script that leaked a few months ago (and it sounds like it is), then I have a hard time understanding why it would cost so much to make. It reads more like a '70's indie film than a big-budget, Hollywood blockbuster. Very similiar in tone to the original film, in fact.

- Mark

[Starbreaker]

Everything costs more that it did in the 70's for one.

And, that synopsis sounds fishy.

[The Wormhole]

jefferiestubes8 wrote:

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Ridley Scott's Alien prequel script leaks (Major spoilers!)
http://blastr.com/2010/10/major-spoilers-ridley-sco.php

I'm kind of hoping that is false.

And the bit about the Jockeys trying to get two men to breed with each other? WTF? While it might be logical for a presumably genderless race to be confused about genders, the general audience is just going to view this as a joke, and this will provide plenty of fodder for Family Guy and Robot Chicken for years to come.

[Mark Boeder]

Starbreaker wrote:

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Everything costs more that it did in the 70's for one.

And, that synopsis sounds fishy.

We're not talking AVATAR here. $250 million is an awful lot for just about any film, though it's not so bad if it's actually being spread across two movies.

The synopsis matches up with the script I read earlier this summer, although their summation was a little snarkier than I would have liked. Also, the few public comments that Ridley's made since then also match up with it. And finally, I doubt Fox would have had it pulled if it weren't the real deal.

Of course, we know it's gone through some (possibly significant) rewriting, and I have no idea what changes were made since Damon Lindelof came aboard.

- Mark

[Gaith]

My remarks from the other Alien thread:

I really hope Scott doesn't explain the alien ship or the Space Jockey. I'm all for expanding universes, but some things - such as Yoda's origins or how Superman shaves - are best left to the imagination. Also, I agree with Weaver's recent comments that trying to make a "new Ripley" is kind of lame - I love the Ripley character, of course, but why not have a different, even male protagonist, next time?

I'd most like to see a post-Aliens movie that ignores all but the first two movies and shows us a totally different aspect of the universe, with a similar look and feel, but a different kind of story, maybe well without the Aliens at all. Of course, that does pretty well describe Avatar... (the tech and corporations parts, that is.)

[Deckerd]

If it's a prequel then it won't have Ripley. At least not Ellen Ripley.

[Gaith]

Weaver/I meant "new Ripley" metaphorically.

[Pauln6]

I hope the current rumour about casting for Ripley means this movie's version of Ripley, not the actual character... that would seriously suck... almost as much as killing Hicks and Newt. This is a prequel not a reboot, right?

[The Wormhole]

Gaith wrote:

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but why not have a different, even male protagonist, next time?

Isn't a female protaginist one of the trademarks of the Alien franchise? Hell, even the AvP movies adhered to that.

[Gaith]

Weaver:

I think probably he's better off not trying to create a new Ripley in the prequel. I think he should surprise the audience and maybe get away from it being quite like that. He's really going to have to reinvent, not only the creature, but the whole hierarchy of people. Maybe one of the ways of doing that is to have a different focus. I don't know, it's interesting. You're going to have to make some real changes, so that things aren't compared. I think it's better to start fresh.

QFT.

[Tulin]

I wish Weaver had that kind of insight when she suggested the following she wanted for the Ripley character,

1. Ripley be bald
2. Ripley have sex with the alien
3. Ripley dies

[Kegg]

Gaith wrote:

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I really hope Scott doesn't explain the alien ship or the Space Jockey.

He actually saion the Alien commentary track way back when that if they did another Alien movie it should be about that race, which was a trifle tongue-in-cheek (which in itself may cast doubts on the validity of this I dunno).

And my two cents... honestly, why not? Is there some kind of rule that the Alien movies should only feature this one speicifc alien species? The only issue to me is whether or not they're able to execute it in an effective manner - in the original film (which I watched again last night as I am wont to do on Halloween) there's little surprise at coming into contact with aliens, but there's also a chasm of incomprehension.

If the Star Trek franchise is about going out into space, confronting the unknown and discovering it can be not too dissimilar to ourselves, then Alien is about discovering the horrible and inexplicable and incomprehensible in the skies beyond (that is, "The Corbomite Manuver" would end wth Balok eating the Enterprise crew, to use an awkward analogy). The Growers don't have to be malicious or cruel, but they do have to be strange and difficult to understand and communicate with.

I don't even necessarily object to 'men have sex but can't reproduce', since of course, a man is impregnated via fellatio and then gives birth via a rather messy Caesarean... not to mention the attempted rape-by-magazine by Ash on Ripley and the generally sexual undertones of Giger's designs. Body horror and uncomfortable and bizarre sexual practices are kind of iconically relevant to this franchise. Just got to be handled as pretty screwed up, really.

I love the Ripley character, of course, but why not have a different, even male protagonist, next time?

Because if there's one thing sci-fi films really lack, it's male protagonists.

[Deckerd]

Tulin wrote:

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I wish Weaver had that kind of insight when she suggested the following she wanted for the Ripley character,

1. Ripley be bald
2. Ripley have sex with the alien
3. Ripley dies

two out of three ain't bad. I don't know why people rend their garments over A3. It wasn't that bad before the 'proper' version came out on dvd and that was excellent.

[Gaith]

^ What makes it so, iyho? What does it add to the series? What has it got to say?

[Gaith]

Kegg wrote:

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Because if there's one thing sci-fi films really lack, it's male protagonists.

I agree that it'd be great to have more sci-fi heroines, but I'm not at all sure that insisting that each Alien movie be female-centric is the answer, or even helpful. If an Alien prequel were to center upon a Ripley variant, I could easily see other sci-fi moviemakers avoiding female protagonists for fear of looking like an Alien ripoff.