Prometheus - on Blu-Ray and DVD Oct. 9, 2012

[Gubaba]

Wasn't there a short story from Clarke first?

Kinda. You can see the germ of 2001 in "The Sentinel," but overall it's pretty different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentinel_(short_story)

[anime52k8]

I doubt it will kill the Alien franchise... but it might cripple it for a while.

there's nothing a prequel can do that hasn't already been done by Alien3; Resurrection and those awful AVP movies.

[Uxi]

I'm telling ya, just do an AvP movie like a modern porno. Don't bother with that plot or anything... just gimme a couple hours of carnage with hissing aliens and techmo gizmo Predators.

[Seto Kaiba]

I'm telling ya, just do an AvP movie like a modern porno. Don't bother with that plot or anything... just gimme a couple hours of carnage with hissing aliens and techmo gizmo Predators.

They did that... it was called Aliens vs Predator: Requiem.

[RDClip]

They did that... it was called Aliens vs Predator: Requiem.

As i recall, they tried to add some crap high school story to it.

I was surprised that they could out-do the badness of the first AvP, but nothing is impossible in the movies.

I've also heard rumours of Scott considering doing a sequel/prequel to Blade Runner. But, i sure am looking forward to the sequel to Gladiator, The Emperor Strikes Back...From the Grave.

[sketchley]

Alien vs Predator (first one) was actually pretty decent. Decent in that their is just enough of a story, and just enough of an interest in the developed characters to keep you watching until the very end. Of course, the bad thing about it is that once the movie is over, you feel pretty bad for getting suckered along with a story that, in the end, is quite simple.

Anyhow, more on the 2001 vs 2010: on it's own, 2010 is pretty good (listen carefully and you can hear some of the themes from Gundam 0083. Or should that be 0083 took the themes? but never mind). As a sequel, it is terrible. Simply because it tries to explain most everything mysterious in 2001. And those things should have remained mysterious.

The Matrix vs it's sequels: well, Reloaded held a lot of promise. As a trilogy, it's arguably the best of the three in the trilogy (though, the original is the best on it's own), as Reloaded sets up some mighty decent potential (something that 2010 never does - it just promises to deliver us something spectacular and doesn't live up to it's promise). Sadly, Revolutions loses the ball, and cops out with your standard Hollywood ending. If only the people behind the Matrix had continued with their matrix inside a matrix, and both humans and machines are pawns of something greater that was introduced in Reloaded... it would've been much better. Nevertheless, having an ending with two of the main heroes dying was still quite refreshing compared to the Hollywood standard of having everyone but the two main heroes dying. (but what about Alien3, you say. What Alien3, I say. )

[anime52k8]

The Matrix vs it's sequels:

actually I was thinking more along the lines of the animatrix and the video games and all the other extended universe crap. I don't want/need to know about how the war got started or the origin stories of a bunch of secondary characters I don't care about.

[mikeszekely]

2010 was merely an illustration to the narration. 2001 was a vision in itself that surpassed the source material.

I completely and utterly disagree. Kubrick's film starts out ok, with a lot of drawn out shots that helped capture the atmosphere on the Discovery One. Things really go to hell when Bowman enters the monolith, as Kubrick's vision plays out like a long acid trip, while Clarke's novel actually made some sense.

Also, while Kubrick does a lot of things well, I don't think he managed to capture the scientific enthusiasm that Clarke's writing had.

I'm not saying that 2001 is a bad film, because it's not. It's an excellent film. I just think that the book captured my imagination more.

Can't comment on 2010, though... I've never seen the film. I enjoyed all four of Clarke's novels, though 3001 was definitely the worst.

[Pizza the Hutt]

One mystery this prequel might uncover is what I noticed a few hours ago when I watched Alien for the first time in 3 or more years,, The Nostromo mining ship did not pick up any signals on the way to the planet to be mined, But the Nostromo "Mother" computer only noticed the signal on the way back to Earth so that mystery could be that the Space Jockey crashed on LV 426 after the Nostromo was long past out of range on the way to the mining planet or did the company computer cause the signal to be ignored until the return trip back to Earth? Only Ridley knows that one.

And I too hope there is no Predators in this movie.

I know one thing for certain,if Charles Bishop Weyland knew what evil paths his company would take in the future I think he might have closed shop and be dissapointed in Weyland-Yutani on they way they toy with other species.

Heres some food for thought, What would happen if Umbrella corp. resurfaced and got a hand in the human-Xeno wars?.. Maybe a Nemesis Pratorian.

[badboy00z]

At least AVP1 had Bishop in it. Well kind of. Lol.

[sketchley]

One mystery this prequel might uncover is what I noticed a few hours ago when I watched Alien for the first time in 3 or more years,, The Nostromo mining ship did not pick up any signals on the way to the planet to be mined, But the Nostromo "Mother" computer only noticed the signal on the way back to Earth (...)

The larger question would be - why wasn't it noticed earlier? Such as the survey ship that found the planet to be mined. The ship that brought the mining equipment and miners. Why would a tug pulling a refinery and ore be the one vessel that detects the signal?

If I remember the scene correctly, the Space Jockey has been petrified. Which generally takes a lot of time (barring the atmosphere of LV-426 and the make-up of the Space Jockey itself. Maybe they're made of stone?)

[Pizza the Hutt]

If I remember the scene correctly, the Space Jockey has been petrified. Which generally takes a lot of time (barring the atmosphere of LV-426 and the make-up of the Space Jockey itself. Maybe they're made of stone?)

I think Dallas said "it looks petrified" but maybe it could have been a "exo-skeleton" type being,and when Ash scanned the atmo on LV 426 he said the air contained methane,carbon dioxide crystals and nitrogen and no telling what that could have done to the SJ biological structure.

I still wonder what kind of Xeno would emerge from something that big and I too wonder where it went.Maybe a victim of time and hunger since nothing known to eat on that rock with no life.

[Phyrox]

Remember that planets and suns and all that stuff don't sit still in space. They move. And they move fast. No surprise that the Nostromo was the first thing to run across Acheron (it isn't LV426 until Aliens).

Also:

I know one thing for certain,if Charles Bishop Weyland knew what evil paths his company would take in the future I think he might have closed shop and be dissapointed in Weyland-Yutani on they way they toy with other species.

Heres some food for thought, What would happen if Umbrella corp. resurfaced and got a hand in the human-Xeno wars?.. Maybe a Nemesis Pratorian.

This is all based on post-Aliens franchise work, and can therefore be safely ignored.

Edited February 22, 2010 by Phyrox

[Agent ONE]

mmmmmmm.. Why mess with perfection?

Alien and Aliens are just amazing. There is no reason to go back and dick around with it.

[Dax415]

Yeah it was huge. Imagine what the alien that burst out of the space jockey will be like. And wonder where it went.

Perhaps they'll say the queen alien bursted out of him, even got some mutated genetic properties which is why aliens are so deadly, dropped some eggs and that's why they were waiting for the crew of the Nostromo

Not sure if this prequel thing is such a good idea, get some quality story telling and directing as well as some real acting talent and I'll give it a shot. Other than that, I'm hanging onto my money. but i cant wait for that new aliens video game to come out... its suppose to be take place after ALIENS but before Alien 3 . Marines sent in to rescue the soldiers in ALIENS, they land on the ship and guess what happens...

[HappyPenguins]

Perhaps they'll say the queen alien bursted out of him, even got some mutated genetic properties which is why aliens are so deadly, dropped some eggs and that's why they were waiting for the crew of the Nostromo

Not sure if this prequel thing is such a good idea, get some quality story telling and directing as well as some real acting talent and I'll give it a shot. Other than that, I'm hanging onto my money. but i cant wait for that new aliens video game to come out... its suppose to be take place after ALIENS but before Alien 3 . Marines sent in to rescue the soldiers in ALIENS, they land on the ship and guess what happens...

I can't wait for that game either, it looks amazing

[Pizza the Hutt]

but i cant wait for that new aliens video game to come out... its suppose to be take place after ALIENS but before Alien 3 . Marines sent in to rescue the soldiers in ALIENS, they land on the ship and guess what happens...

Well if my memory is correct,the atmo exploded leaving the atmo colony a big friggen hole and anything within a 30 mile radius would be destroyed.

I can see how long that game would last...drop ships lands and see a big hole where the terraformers colony was,marines reboard the drop ship and say "all is lost,no one alive for miles"

Unless they make the Marines rediscover the Space Jockey ship but that was already done in the PSone game called Alien triolgy where the game ending battle is back at the Space Jockey ship but I yet to finish that game,synthetics too hard to kill and it is on a similar layout like Doom and SW: Dark Trooper.

Maybe Ridley will explain how Gen-An's family were cooking a Xeno in a big kettle in the background of Samurai Showdown 2.

Laters

Edited February 23, 2010 by Pizza the Hutt

[anime52k8]

but i cant wait for that new aliens video game to come out... its suppose to be take place after ALIENS but before Alien 3 . Marines sent in to rescue the soldiers in ALIENS, they land on the ship and guess what happens...

according to wikipedia it's going to be set AFTER alien³. with more marines showing up first on the sulaco then somehow on LV-426 the alien ship and the prison colony.

(although by aliens³ the colony on LV-426 is a radioactive crater and the Sulaco had an on-board fire uncontrollable enough to warrant jettisoning the cryo tubes.)

[reddsun1]

"I've got a baad feeling about this..."

[EXO]

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/2010/12/18/hr-giger-for-alien-prequel/

H.R. Giger for Alien Prequel?

Alien Prequel News | Posted by Darkness on 18 Dec 2010 18:49 GMT

This is definitely good news if it’s true. H.R. Giger’s wife, Carmen Scheifele, has said the Swiss surrealist painter is working on the Alien Prequel. You can check out the video interview with his wife here and another report about it here. It’s in German though.

HR Giger, Schöpfer der “Alien”-Figur für den 1979 entstandenen Film von Ridley Scott, wird erneut mit dem Regisseur zusammenarbeiten. Dies bestätigte die Frau des Schweizer Künstlers, Carmen Scheifele, in der Sendung “glanz & gloria” des Schweizer Fernsehens. Ihr Mann sei “on board”, also dabei, sagte Scheifele. Es werde sicher einen 3D-Film geben, wahrscheinlich aber zwei. Geplant sei ein Prequel, das die Geschichte vor dem ersten Alien-Film erzählt.

Basically, she says that Giger is on-board for the prequel. It will be a 3D film – there might be two and that it takes place before the first film. H.R. Giger of course created the Alien creature as well as various set pieces in the original Alien including the Space Jockey and its spacecraft. Thanks to Undel for the news.

It looks like original Alien designer H.R. Giger and franchise producers will be reuniting once again on the silver screen. It's been relatively quiet on 20th Century Fox's planned prequel to their classic Alien tale, which has director Ridley Scott returning to helm a set-up to his 1979 classic adventure. But franchise favorite website AvPGalaxy reports a confirmation of sorts has occurred between Giger's camp and the studio, with the former's wife revealing via a German newszine that the original creator is returning to the franchise.

For his part, returning director Ridley Scott unleashed some tidbits to fans on what to expect from the story and the long-awaited reports as to whether it relates to the "Space Jockey" from the first installment.

"It's set in 2085, about 30 years before Sigourney [Weaver's character Ellen Ripley]. The film (Fox suggests "Films") will be really tough, really nasty," says Scott of the proposed two-part prequel. "It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?"

Whatever scenario occurs to fans, there's not going to be any disagreement between original "Alien" designer H.R. Giger and producers.

[myk]

Oh wow, thanks for the news EXO. An alien experience in 3D WITH Giger's talents? I can't wait.

With the Thing and the Xenomorph both getting prequels I'm starting to feel like a scared kid, too afraid to go into his basement again, lol...

Edited December 27, 2010 by myk

[reddsun1]

They need to leave this one alone, too.

Familiarity breeds contempt... --anon

There's an appeal, an allure to the mysterious origins of both the aliens themselves and the Space Jockey. Ferchrissakes, how about leaving something to the imaginaion? force a little brain work on the part of the masses of gullible, unimaginative, open-mouth-breathing morons flocking to the theaters? They could use a little damned mental exercise, instead of having everything spoonfed to them in cinematic-cliffs-notes, cut-and-spliced, microwaved-speed, movies-for-dummies format.

[Guest sh002]

thats cool.

off topic: i would want an avp movie like the original darkhorse comic story

[Shaorin]

Re: Alien Prequil -

To paraphrase Ash:

What's the point? ... I mean by the...I mean we'll know...by the time it takes to get there...we'll know if they've found something?

Translation:

Alien is an excellent movie on its' own merits. Leave it be.

Pete

Seconded. it would almost be guaranteed to be fatally screwed up

in every conceivable fashion, anyhow.

after all, it should be current wisdom that Hollywood doesn't know

how to do ANYTHING right anymore. IMHO, anyway...

Edited December 27, 2010 by Shaorin

[Warmaker]

mmmmmmm.. Why mess with perfection?

Alien and Aliens are just amazing. There is no reason to go back and dick around with it.

They did mess around with it. It's called Aliens 3 & 4. See how well that turned out?

And then there's the AvP thingies. Because why stop at screwing over 1 beloved franchise when you can do TWO in a single movie!

[Snail00]

I could look forward to this if done right.

I have a book of HL GIGERs collection of sketches and art and his stuff is amazing in its blending of erotic horror. One thing to note is that he was so disgusted after the 2nd movie at how they turned his aliens into gushy fleshy slimy abominations I think he vowed never to work on creature designs on any alien movie. IIRC S. Weaver was really unhappy with the direction of the 3 and 4th film as well.

If they do prequel they need to bring back Giger as creature designer. His designs were a larger contributor to the movies success and it will be fitting to bring him back

Edited December 28, 2010 by Snail00

[myk]

Granted, if they do make this in the same vein as the AvP movies then yeah, it'll be nothing but a teen slasher-esque movie with 3D thrown in and they should just leave it alone. But, if they can build a story involving the origins of the Xenomorph instead of focusing on gore and rampant violence then we may actually have something.

On second thought, you know the latter won't happen so yeah, they should just leave it alone...

[atomicscissors]

I'm with reddsun1: I don't want to know the origins of the Xenomorphs or the Space Jockey. "Alien" was more horror movie than sci-fi flick to me. Not knowing anything about the Xenomorphs or the Space Jockey made the movie even more creepier. This prequel should just die.

Anywho, I'll just leave my favorite quote from the Dark Horse books here:

There's this colony - outbound in the arm - on some terraformed rock-ball orbiting Zeta Reticuli. Apparently, some crazy woman appeared at Gateway six months back, said she landed on the place back in the '20's and some bugs - big alien sonofabitches - overran her ship and ate her crew. She said she escaped by blowing the bugs out the airlock and then froze herself until a rescue ship came along - nearly sixty years later! Anyway, th' ICC asks Space Command to send in some squads of Colonial Marines, armed to the teeth and ready for bear, to recon the planet.

They never came back.

True story.

- L/Cpl Jim Kasulka, USCM

[TehPW]

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If I remember the scene correctly, the Space Jockey has been petrified. Which generally takes a lot of time (barring the atmosphere of LV-426 and the make-up of the Space Jockey itself. Maybe they're made of stone?)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I still wonder what kind of Xeno would emerge from something that big and I too wonder where it went.Maybe a victim of time and hunger since nothing known to eat on that rock with no life.

in Alien, I vaguely recall during the decent of the grounding ship of some kind of scream outside the vessel as they passed low mountains around them. Perhaps the creature?

[rifleguy]

If you guys are interested in knowing about the space jockey, a partial origin was given in the Old Dark Horse comics Aliens. IIRR it was Alien Earth Wars. I'd have to dig into my comic book collection to find it as its been quite a few years since I read them but basically the planet on Aliens was indeed the alien homeworld(although Dark Horse comics would change that in the future). The aliens suffered from a unknown planet devastation but they are intelligent. Recall how they cut the power off in Aliens. I got the impression the state the aliens were found in was somewhat comparable to what man would be living like in the event of a major catastrophe. Another space jockey is introduced and does appear to help the humans. At the end of the series, Newt(this takes place before Alien 3) got a vision from the space jockey and learned a little about them. They harbor the same emotions as man including the desire to conquer. I never saw Dark Horse do anything else with the space jockey but Dark Horse generally did a pretty good job with the Alien comics. And then Alien 3 came out.

One question I have is how much of the comics would a prequel try to institute into the film? AVP was based off the AVP comics (the comics were quite a bit more satisfying btw)

http://www.darkhorse.com/Search/aliens

[Keith]

Problem: If this movie feature's "space jockey," then will the whole movie feature no dialogue, alien dialogue iwth subtitles, or aliens speaking English? I don't see any combination of this working, unless of course they'll toss in another "humans ran into aliens in an undocumented encounter" type scenario.

[anime52k8]

Problem: If this movie feature's "space jockey," then will the whole movie feature no dialogue, alien dialogue iwth subtitles, or aliens speaking English? I don't see any combination of this working, unless of course they'll toss in another "humans ran into aliens in an undocumented encounter" type scenario.

Actually this has been bugging me for quite a while now. If the movie is really going to be focused on the space jockey, I question how they could possibly create any sort of emotional investment in it on the part of the audience when the space jockey itself is a giant freakish monster.

[Dynaman]

Problem: If this movie feature's "space jockey," then will the whole movie feature no dialogue, alien dialogue iwth subtitles, or aliens speaking English? I don't see any combination of this working, unless of course they'll toss in another "humans ran into aliens in an undocumented encounter" type scenario.

They can do what Hunt for Red Oktober did, in that case the Russians started out speaking subtitled russian and in the middle of a sentence switched to English - sounds kinda silly but it worked VERY well in the film.

[myk]

Actually this has been bugging me for quite a while now. If the movie is really going to be focused on the space jockey, I question how they could possibly create any sort of emotional investment in it on the part of the audience when the space jockey itself is a giant freakish monster.

Lol, maybe they'll go the Iron Giant route...

[Snail00]

Lol, maybe they'll go the Iron Giant route...