Alien Explorations: Chris Cunningham / Halls' Newborn Alien concepts

Leading from

Chris Cunningham / Halls Alien Resurrection Art

Chris Halls/Cunningham's Newborn illustration

Chris Halls/Cunningham's Newborn sketch extracted from
ADI's video "Alien Resurrection Newborn Design Concepts"

a) Sylvain Despretz: The newborn again I think is an interesting idea, but Chris Halls who's now Chris Cunningham, brilliant genius like video director who's escaped from the bowels of art departments. Chris was asked to draw the Newborn that appears at the end of Alien Resurrection and did some gorgeous... gorgeously spooky paintings of semi baby like aliens with human skin, bones and ribcages, that bizarre black head, you know. And it's very subtle stuff that works if interpreted as on the painting. That's why you know, he's a designer, that's what it's for, and unfortunately by the time you saw the final alien, you just kinda got a creature from the black lagoon with a terrifying skull, and you have to have a skull in there otherwise people won't be scared. You sort of go, what did go wrong, you know, you've got these beautiful paintings. How hard can it be to just make a model of that. But Chris, one of the problems was that he was in England when he did the drawings and wasn't able to stand for his design and fight for it in a way a good politician has to do, and sadly nobody spoke up for him, you know, so, there go his designs. But he makes great videos so all is saved. (Alien Quadrilogy DVD set)

b) See also Jordu Schell's Newborn maquette with head inspired by Chris Hall's concept art