Prequel to 'Alien' confirmed

[Jon]

http://www.collider.com/2009/05/29/excl ... a-prequel/

Collider: 20th Century Fox is talking about remaking or redoing the original Alien. What’s going on with that?

Tony Scott: Yes, Carl Rinsch is going to do the prequel to Alien. He’s one of our directors at our company.

Collider: I’m going to be blunt about this. Fox has not been doing a great job recently with their movies. They haven’t been an artist friendly studio. Are you guys going to have some creative control and make this a kick-ass film?

Tony: Yes! But Fox is our home. They finace our production company.

Collider: And I’m very happy that you guys have the financing. But a lot of the films they’ve been doing at the studio level, they’ve been nickel and diming and not giving fandom what they want. So I guess my question for you is…are you a little nervous about reengaging the franchise or are you excited.

Tony: I’m excited cause Ridley created the original and Carl Rinsch is one of the family.

Collider: When do you envision this film getting in front of cameras?

Tony: Hopefully the end of the year.

Collider: Will it be a summer of 2011 movie?

Tony: Honestly, I don’t know.

While I wish I could give you more info, I only had moments to talk with him. Look for more “Alien” info as I get it.

[Kar Kar]

Well I guess they can't do any worse than Alien 3 or Reserection.

[NecronLord]

More Aliens vs Predator type crap? I wouldn't mind more in the same style as Alien and Aliens, but after that, they don't have the same feel at all. And the actual crossover films are... abominations.

[Batman]

Unfortunately, they appear to have been financially successful abominations.

[Oskuro]

So, on one hand, I have the possibility of my hope of learning more about the origin of the Xenomorphs being at long last fullfilled. On the other hand, FOX.

This could suck badly, or just suck slightly so we get a decent movie. I'm just not too hopeful about it ever being on the level of the originals.

Also, Alien:Rez was an Ok movie if you hit your head on the wall to erase all memory of the ugly hybrid Alien. Nay-sayers can suck on this:Spoiler

RON-FUCKING-PERLMAN!

[Aaron]

So, on one hand, I have the possibility of my hope of learning more about the origin of the Xenomorphs being at long last fullfilled. On the other hand, FOX.

This could suck badly, or just suck slightly so we get a decent movie. I'm just not too hopeful about it ever being on the level of the originals.

Also, Alien:Rez was an Ok movie if you hit your head on the wall to erase all memory of the ugly hybrid Alien. Nay-sayers can suck on this:Spoiler

RON-FUCKING-PERLMAN!

Would have been a lot cooler if he had been in the USCM, here's hoping their in this prequel or at least a look at the Space Jockey's.

[Johonebesus]

I'm rather ambivalent. On the one hand it would be nice to see the origin of the aliens and the space jockey, but on the other hand the origin they come up with is liable to suck. I believe that someone connected to the first film imagined the space jockey to be wise and benevolent, crashing his ship on an uninhabitable world to avoid infecting others, while later officially licensed media made him into a soldier transporting a shipment of bio-weapons that got out of hand. In fact the whole bio-weapon explanation is pretty stupid. As others have explained here, the aliens are only dangerous in certain contrived contexts, and would be about useless as weapons of any sort. I like the idea of the aliens being nasty parasites from the jockey's home world that only killed him because of the accident of his situation. In a civilized setting they are pests that can be controlled and treated without too much drama.

[Stark]

I'm rather ambivalent. On the one hand it would be nice to see the origin of the aliens and the space jockey, ... <snip>

No. I actually don't think it would. I think this sort of thing (fannish 'fill in the blanks' stuff) has both an awful record of sucking and is creatively bankrupt.

[Themightytom]

Nope now they are training dummies for predators that like to munch on unborn babies.

One of the problems with the franchise is they wrote themselves into a corner with Aliens. it was awesome but it raised the bar for action. The first Alien was AWESOME because it was creepy and Nigh Invulnerable. The second was similiarly awesome because this time we had marines charging in and blowing shit up.

After that you can't go BACK to creepy, we know too much about the alien, you can't upgrade the action much beyond what we saw in Aliens. They TRIED to backtrack to creepy with Alien 3 and it sucked balls. They tried to go back to action with Alien 4 and THAT sucked.

Then they played their last trump card, "What if the aliens were in a modern setting" and started on the road to campiness with the pyramids and the Ancient Civlizations etc.

I really don't see how a prequel will get them out of this. There was a book series in which the aliens got loose on earth and started infesting everything, THAT has some potential for like an apocalyptic Earth where they are trying to escape to a space station or something.

[Stark]

What are you talking about? Aliens revealed almost nothing not already known about the aliens and nobody had any fucking idea how they actually worked. Alien 3 wasn't bad because of trying to return to suspense, it was bad because of direction and studio decisions. How was Alien 4 'action'?

Considering AvP to be a part of the same continuity as the Alien movies gets a giant from me.

[Themightytom]

What are you talking about? Aliens revealed almost nothing not already known about the aliens and nobody had any fucking idea how they actually worked. Alien 3 wasn't bad because of trying to return to suspense, it was bad because of direction and studio decisions. How was Alien 4 'action'?

Considering AvP to be a part of the same continuity as the Alien movies gets a giant from me.

I never said Aliens was the reveal, it was Alien that showed us the actual alien at the end of the movie. once you know what the creature looks like you lose some of the fear value that comes from the creeper in the dark. Alien worked as a stand alone movie, the same way Predator, (and to a lesser degree Pitch Black) worked as a standalone, and then the spinoffs start watering down the suspense. They play up the mystery and then the big reveal at the end of the movie that makes the climax, also makes it hard to do a follow up along the same lines.

Aliens contribution was the marines running around blowing them up en masse. Although Aliens after watching hundreds of them crawling around in Aliens how were we supposed to be afraid of ONE that hatched from a dog in Alien 3?

HOW WAS ALIEN 4 ACTION?? What would you call it ? They were blowing shit up left and right, they made no effort to hide the Aliens, there was no suspense, it was just a giant chase scene (with Ron pearlman as the prototype for Jayne Cobb)

[Stark]

After that you can't go BACK to creepy, we know too much about the alien,

Shut up. Saying Aliens' 'contribution' was 'running around blowing things up' after claiming that we 'know too much' about the alien is horseshit.

So where was the giant action scenes in Alien 4 again? There was the 'everyone run away' scene, and the fleeing, but it was hardly a primarily action movie (and indeed the Ripley/Alien subplot was anti-action). Sorry.

I want you to describe why 'big reveal' = 'no mystery ever again ever', and 'because tom is too stupid to think of how' isn't a valid answer.

[Edi]

More Aliens vs Predator type crap? I wouldn't mind more in the same style as Alien and Aliens, but after that, they don't have the same feel at all. And the actual crossover films are... abominations.

Indeed. Which is a shame, since the AvP novels I've read were damned well written, especially the first one. Why the fuck couldn't they have gone with those? The predator novelizations wrt Predator 2 or something based on it and another one were also pretty damn good. The Predator 2 film and all the Alien stuff after Aliens have been shit.

It should also say something when you consider that the AvP2 computer game is plot-wise the most thematic and successful product born out of the franchises that has new content.

[Johonebesus]

I'm rather ambivalent. On the one hand it would be nice to see the origin of the aliens and the space jockey, ... <snip>

No. I actually don't think it would. I think this sort of thing (fannish 'fill in the blanks' stuff) has both an awful record of sucking and is creatively bankrupt.

Funny, I thought that's basically what I said with the rest of the sentence: "but on the other hand the origin they come up with is liable to suck."

[Themightytom]

Shut up. Saying Aliens' 'contribution' was 'running around blowing things up' after claiming that we 'know too much' about the alien is horseshit.

Than what was its contribution? it was the definitive "Space marine bug hunt" movie

So where was the giant action scenes in Alien 4 again? There was the 'everyone run away' scene, and the fleeing, but it was hardly a primarily action movie (and indeed the Ripley/Alien subplot was anti-action). Sorry.

Oh Ok Stark I am unfamiliar with the Stark Rules For Action Movie. Its classified by IMDB as Horror AND Thriller AND Action, I am proposing its more of an action than a horror or a thriller because well... I wasn't horrified and I wasn't thrilled.

The scene with the crew climbing up the ladder, with Captain Master Blaster had a lot of action. Ron pearlman did a nice slow motion hang down and shoot into the water where the aliens were circling, there was some swimming... it was like Jaw, Rambo, Mad Max, and that level in Mega man 2 with all those ladders. how much more action do you need? Fine we'll have Ripley fight her alien child one one one and have it get sucked through a hole in the little ship as it tries to escape the bigger ship which is on a collision with Earth.

See whenever descriptions get rediculously complex its a sign that a lot of things might be happening at once, AKA action.

I want you to describe why 'big reveal' = 'no mystery ever again ever', and 'because tom is too stupid to think of how' isn't a valid answer.

Oh well since you took THAT answer I will have to settle for:

Because the suspense revolves around the mysterious alien that isn't so mysterious when Ripley catches it taking a NAP. Then it is only menacing, and it isn't so menacing once she blows it out the airlock. now its in the audience's mind that we know what it looks like, and it can be killed by blowing it out an airlock.

Do you rewatch horror movies Stark? Are they just as scary every time for you? "OMG I Wonder if they will make it THIS time!"
name a horror movie where the sequel is better than or on par with the original. if you can, name three. There was a reason the second one was more action packed, the audience knew what to expect the second time around.

[NecronLord]

I'm rather ambivalent. On the one hand it would be nice to see the origin of the aliens and the space jockey, but on the other hand the origin they come up with is liable to suck. I believe that someone connected to the first film imagined the space jockey to be wise and benevolent, crashing his ship on an uninhabitable world to avoid infecting others, while later officially licensed media made him into a soldier transporting a shipment of bio-weapons that got out of hand. In fact the whole bio-weapon explanation is pretty stupid. As others have explained here, the aliens are only dangerous in certain contrived contexts, and would be about useless as weapons of any sort. I like the idea of the aliens being nasty parasites from the jockey's home world that only killed him because of the accident of his situation. In a civilized setting they are pests that can be controlled and treated without too much drama.

You may enjoy this. I understand it was concept art Geiger did for Alien.

[Oskuro]

Ahhh, the fucked-up-ness of H.R.Giger, how unsettlingly awesome.

Bringing Giger back for the designs might be a good thing, specially if they explore the origins of the Xenomorphs, but I somehow doubt they'll do so.

[Anguirus]

Considering AvP to be a part of the same continuity as the Alien movies gets a giant from me.

Mind explaining this? AvP 1 and 2 are far from great (I consider them guilty pleasures) but AFAIK they work pretty well with established Alien continuity. They partly explain not only how Weyland-Yutani comes to such prominence in the future, but how they know about the Alien in the first place.

[Stark]

How does 'there's no canon policy and they are stunningly, appallingly stupid' strike you? They're complete drivel and I ignore them. If you think their laughable 'plot' adds anything to the Alien universe, you're welcome to it.

[charlemagne]

I really don't think it's a good idea. However you spin it, it's cooler to not know exactly what that ship from Alien was all about, and to not know everything about the xenomorph. The origin was never a point, getting rid of it is the point.

I'd rather see a prequel showing Nostromo fighting a boarding party of space pirates than some pulled-out-off-asses crap about stupid biological warfare programs gone wrong, or something like that. I wish they'd just let a franchise die for once instead of piling up more and more shit.

[VT-16]

I thought it'd be cool to utilize Giger's art to a greater extent, to create a nightmarish parody of Human civilization out in space somewhere, which could showcase different kinds of fucked-up aliens and the humans they encounter and torment.

There's some paintings Giger did that were made to be bio-mechanical Manhattan-style skyscrapers that would be cool for a backdrop or setting. Then again, it might be too cerebral to be worth doing, from the suits' point of view.

[Themightytom]

Considering AvP to be a part of the same continuity as the Alien movies gets a giant from me.

Mind explaining this? AvP 1 and 2 are far from great (I consider them guilty pleasures) but AFAIK they work pretty well with established Alien continuity. They partly explain not only how Weyland-Yutani comes to such prominence in the future, but how they know about the Alien in the first place.

In the novel form of Alien Resurrection they stated that the "Company" that resurrected Ripley and was researching the Aliens this time around was Wal Mart. Which was hilarious to me.

AVP 1 and 2 don't fit in THAT well because it shifts the audiences perception of the Aliens. now isntead of a mysterious xenomorph we've never encountered before, Aliens are training dummies for predators, and we are incubators. The plot becomes cluttered with shadow corporations, origin theories, progenitors, ancient civilizations etc. it really stretches the suspension of disbelief to the breaking point with all of these cover ups and linked events.

[Shroom Man 777]

That totally sucks, it brings the Alien stories down to Earth, which is total bullshit. It was better with the Space Jockey, the mysterious alien wreckage in a forsaken planet, the distress beacon, the hapless crew of the Nostromos and everything. It presented a very bleak, and very frightening view of space and beyond - as possibly containing countless incomprehensible, inhuman horrors. It worked better thematically.

Predators inspiring ancient human civilizations and using them for incubators, what a load of crap. Fuck that.

[Oskuro]

Ok, I agree that the origin of the Aliens is best left to our imaginations, but, if they are going to make a prequel, I'd rather have an outlandish Giger-inspired movie about the origins, than some other bland generic action/horror film. At least exploring the origins they can get creative with new Alien types and strange stuff, rather than, you know, eating pre-born babies.

[Stark]

How would that work, though? You'd need human protaganists to sell the idea, and prequels that have to carefully navigate around what other movies knew or didn't know don't have a good history.

Frankly I'd prefer a 'suspense in space' movie in the Alien-verse peripherally related to Alien themes; like how they'd never encountered life like that on over a hundred surveyed worlds, terraforming is an industry, isolated colonies miles from anywhere, etc etc. It woudln't have to be RAR ALIEN to work.