Prometheus: Ridley Scott at the Hero Complex Festival 2010

leading from
Prometheus



Several articles on the recent Ridley Scott Q & A Hero Complex Festival have been published. Unfortunately at the time of writing this , the interview hasn't been transcribed in full by anyone. We are given summaries and highlights and video snippers, and I thank the websites for the highlights and summaries that they have given. I have seen that the whole interview was briefly up on Youtube in six parts but was quickly taken down. I have done what I can to collect and assemble everything so that one can see different versions of the same information as written by different people. I have a general idea of what Ridley Scott said. If I had a recording, I would transcribe every single syllable that Ridley uttered and share it with everyone on the internet. However the fragmented way that information from this interview has been dished out to the public who were not at the event rather than giving them the whole interview itself has left me worn out following the matter up. It seems that it doesn't look as if the people who attended the event have half a clue any more about what Ridley actually said so I really don't see the actual point of the event unless it's going to be shared at a later date

Someone give me a recording!


Sources


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Scott in the VIP room with a reference to the Space Jockey as a suit

Earlier, in a quiet corner of the theater's upstairs VIP room, Scott hinted that he might start filming in January and that this return to "Alien" might be a 3D affair. He also said that the setting would be about 30 years  before the events depicted in the original film. That gives him, he said, the leeway to make a second prequel if the first goes well. (LATimes)

Geoff Boucher: The film will key off a memorable but mysterious visual from the original "Alien" — the spooky scene where the crew of the Nostromo find a massive, long-dead being who fans of the film call the "space jockey." Scott said he will delve into the history of that being, whose visage has not yet been seen — the slumped form seen in the original film was wearing a suit or exoskeleton of sorts, the filmmaker said. (LATimes)


1.Is this the origin of the carcass comment below? Did Ridley actually say that the space jockey's visage had not been seen or is this just Boucher's assumption? We don't have Ridley's direct words.
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The Beginning

a) Festival host and moderator Geoff Boucher started off the Q&A by asking Scott how he was doing. He recently had knee replacement surgery and is still on the mend. (Collider)
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Films back to back
a) Scott was amazed we were going to watch two of his films back to back. He joking said he wished we had done it when Blade Runner was released because it was a box office failure, not in small part because it opened the same day at E.T.(Collider)
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Introduction to Sci-Fi

a) (i) Growing up, his family was very strict and didn’t talk about sexuality. So, at the time, he felt sci-fi was very tawdry and he was discouraged from seeing the movies. The Day the Earth Stood Still and On the Beach changed that, followed by 2001.  (ii) As a child, Scott thought science fiction was sort of cheesy until he saw the Mad Max films and the art work of Moebius, who he mentioned on SEVERAL occasions.(Collider)

b) The two films that turned Scott onto Science Fiction were THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and ON THE BEACH.( Aint It Cool)

c) Geoff Boucher: It's interesting though the way that film is echoed, I mean I think you could take, err, George Miller's, err, Road Warrior Mad Max films and Blade Runner, and and they actually changed the way that people visualise the future, I mean they created almost all entire sector...

Ridley Scott:yeah

Geoff Boucher:…of the way the future was visualised

Ridley Scott:yeah

Geoff Boucher: Can you talk a little about that?

Ridley Scott:You know, I , I , I came into science fiction by the back door because I hadn't, most of the science fiction I'd seen or glimpsed at as a young teen, I hadn't really been keen on them and err, they always looked a bit as it were, a teeny little bit cheesy, um because in those days they didn't have their technology, or the , to make things look real, and so I'd never really considered that world.
I think really one should really mention Moebius, because I think Moebius in a funny way is the, is the father of this kind of weird thinking 'cause I was staring at Moebius magazines, so I had them stacked in my study when I was a commercial maker, when I, even before I did the duellists, and I was going through these thinking, my god, they're great vision of futuristic ideas, so I, you know, I was influenced almost totally by Moebius (Los Angeles Times video)


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How Alien Came To Be And Seeing Star Wars

a)  He told the story of how Alien came to be. He was trying to get something going after The Duellists and after a meeting in Hollywood, his producer took him to see Star Wars at the Grauman’s Chinese. Scott said he felt a vibe in the packed theater that he hasn’t felt since and walked out sick with envy. A few months later, the script for Alien came across his desk and he had to do it.(Collider)

b) Then producer David Putnam asked if he wanted to see this movie called Star Wars. He saw it at the Chinese theater and the vibe in the theater, the expectation of the crowd, made him think he was in for a life-changing event: “I watched Star Wars and walked out (afterwards). I was sick with envy. I hated George (Lucas, obviously) and figured that was the end of Tristan & Isolde.( Aint It Cool)
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The Fifth Man

a) A month later Scott received the script for Alien. “They had seen the film, The Duellists, at Cannes and for some bizarre reason connected… ‘I wonder if this guy could do science fiction?’ I discovered later on that I was the fifth choice. The script was about to die on the vine and I read it and said, ‘Damn! I know what to do with this!’ Because I had been reading all the Jean Giraud/Moebius stuff.”  (Aint It Cool)

b) He said he was the fifth person the script was sent to and it was in danger of being killed. When he realized he knew how to shoot it, he went in and proposed they don’t change one word. (Collider)
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Scott  in Hollywood

a) i)Scott was in Hollywood, at Fox Studios, within 27 hours after receiving the script for Alien.  (ii) Fox asked if he wanted to change anything in the script. Scott said, “No.” He then asked if there were any filmmakers in the audience and gave some advice. “Don’t turn a go film into a development deal.” That’s what he believes would have happened if he started a whole new round of conversation with the script for Alien. (Aint It Cool)
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Jean "Moebius" Giraud
Calling Moebius 

a) Scott called Moebius up and asked him to design the movie. Moebius didn’t have the time to design the whole thing, but he did design all the costumes, the wardrobe, the space suits and the helmets (Aint It Cool)
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Budget and Storyboarding

a) - The original budget was 4.2 million dollars, but after spending several months drawing storyboards, the studio got excited and doubled the budget. He feels storyboarding is almost as important as writing.(Collider)

b) - The original budget for ALIEN was $4.2 million. Ridley went home and as the deal was being drawn up he began work on storyboarding the film himself, having been an art student. A month later he went back to Fox and showed them his boards. The budget doubled, went from $4.2 to $8.4 after Alan Ladd saw the vision on display in the boards.(Aint It Cool)
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Reading

a)- The first read is the most important for any screenplay. When Scott reads a script, he wakes up at 6am and turns off all phones and “God help anybody who disturbs me.” (Aint It Cool)

b)- When he can, Scott will spend two hours in the morning each day just reading with no distractions. He thinks it’s essential to read things pure. (Collider)
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Not asked

a) - Scott loves the Alien franchise and was kind of upset they never asked him to come back. In fact, he didn’t even know they were making a second one when they started.(Collider)

b) - Scott said Fox never asked him back after the first Alien. He didn’t even know the second film was being made until it was in production.(Aint It Cool)

c )Geoff Boucher: There any exciting things that you want to tell us I think tonight about, you're going back to the future and you're going back to Alien, can you tell us a little bit about that?

Ridley Scott: Well, the... em, I watched the Franchise zip along for the next twenty, thirty years and erm, they never asked me back (audience laughter) (Los Angeles Time video)
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Prequel is much more interesting than a sequel

a) Ridley Scott: "No one ever asked that question: What's the story there? I was always surprised that people didn't ask that one. Now we're going to answer that question. To me, a prequel is interesting, much more interesting than a sequel. They never asked me to do the sequels." (LA Times)
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Resurrecting the Franchise
a) (i) Ridley Scott:"I sat thinking about the franchise which died on the road way back and lying in the dust and I thought, 'What I should do is go back. . .' " (ii) "There was a massive giant lying in a chair and the chair was either a form of engine or some piece of technology . . . and we're going to go back [and ask]: 'Who the hell is the space jockey?' (LA Times)
[006.jpg]
The Space Jockey

b) Ridley Scott: He explained: "I sat thinking about the franchise, which now has died… And I always thought, 'no one has ever asked… who the hell is the Space Jockey?' So it's written and I'm prepping it now." (firstshowing)

c) Ridley Scott:"I watched the franchise zip along for the next twenty, thirty years. I let it go, because Blade Runner followed. I started thinking about the franchise, which now has died on the road somewhere. I thought, 'What I should do is go back and…' In the first Alien when John Hurt climbed up, looked over the horizon and said the immortal lines, 'Good God, what is this?' what we saw was appropriate for 'Good God,' because it was a massive giant lying in a chair, and the chair was either a form of engine or some future technology. I always thought, 'Nobody's asked, "Who is the [giant]?"' He's come to be called 'the space jockey.' I thought, 'Who the hell is the space jockey?' And so it's written and I'm prepping it now."(fearnet)

d) (i) In the original Alien, right before Kane (John Hurt) gets planted with a Face Hugger, he sees the skeleton of a giant being sitting in a chair. This being is regularly referred to as “The Space Jockey” and Scott said he always wondered who being was and what was its story. He said that being now has a story. The script has been written and he is currently in preproduction on a set of films that will begin to tell how “The Space Jockey” fits into the world of Alien.  (ii)- This was when he started talking about his new Alien movies. He said he was always amazed that no one explored the backstory of “The Space Jockey” in the sequels because it’s so obvious in the first movie. So now a script has been written and it’s being prepped. (Collider)


e) (i) - On the Alien prequel: “I sat thinking about the franchise, which now has died on the road somewhere way back and lying in the dust, and thought what I should do is go back… in the first Alien, when John Hurt climbed up and over the top of the rise… there was a massive giant lying in a chair. The chair was either a form of engine or some piece of technology and I always thought no one has ever asked who was the space jockey?” (Aint It Cool) 

(ii)- The Alien prequel will be broken into two films. The scripts are written and Scott is prepping it now. (Aint It Cool)

f) At the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex film festival, Scott gave a Q&A in between screenings of Alien and Blade Runner. He told the audience more details about his plans for a new Alien. He'd already said his first prequel will be about the "space jockey," that huge statue Kane (John Hurt) stumbles upon in the first film. It looks like the carcass of an alien giant. (scifiwire) 

g)Ridley Scott : Er, I sat thinking about the Franchise which has now died on the road somewhere, way back and lying in the dust, And I thought, you know, what, what I should do is go back and, and in the first alien, when John  Hurt climbed up and up over the top of the rise and somebody said the immortal lines "Good god, what is this?" you know, good luck, you know, (to the audience ) that's a joke, pretty basic line actually. Um, but what we saw was appropriate for Good God because there was a massive giant lying in the chair and the chair was either, erm, a form of engine or some piece of technology and I always thought no one has ever asked who was , 'n' this big, they started fondly calling it the space jockey, so I thought we've got to go back, who the hell's the space jockey, and erm, so it's written, and erm, prepped, doing, I'm prepping it now. (Los Angeles Times video)


1) Reference to the carcass at the end of this paragraph is written in as  a lead to Scott's "Carcass" comment.

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Floating "Carcass" Comment

a) "I think beneath that carcass isn't a carcass," Scott teased on June 13 in Hollywood. "That's a suit, but inside the suit is a being."(scifiwire)

b) On the Space Jockey: “I think beneath that carcass… it’s not a carcass, it’s a suit. Inside the suit is a being.” An interesting hint at to what he’s doing with the prequels, perhaps? (Aint It Cool)
       
1) Now was this stated in the VIP room if it wasn't at the Q&A itself.  Well who knows? Are the words here  attributed to Ridley Scott actually these words he said because after all the little variations in the different articles, I don't ultimately know. Alex Billington credits Aint-It-Cool with finding this comment from the Q & A but Aint It Cool don't give information about the context in which its mentioned and maybe it was in the VIP rather than the Q&A itself
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Explaining the space jockey
a) Ridley Scott:"What we want to do is try and squeeze in two prequels, because if you explain who he was and where did he come from, then that will deal with the savagery of this version, which is pretty savage. Then you may want to find out where they came from, so you may want to go to the place where his people come from."(scifiwire)

b) Ridley Scott:"Because if you explain who he was and where he comes from, then that will deal with the savagery of this version [the 1979 Alien], which is pretty savage. Then you may want to find out where they came from, so you may want to go to him, and go to there place where his people come from."(firstshowing)

c) Ridley Scott:"If you explain who he was and where he came from, then that will deal with the savagery of this version, which will be pretty savage. Then you may want to find out where they came from, the place where his people come from."(fearnet)

d) The story has no set timeline except that it’s WAY before the first Alien so that they can fit in enough history for two movies. Scott explained that once you learn the history of how the jockey encountered the aliens, you’ll also want to learn about how he got there.(Collider)

e)Time frame is way before Alien. Not only will we find out who the Space Jockey is, we’ll find out where his people come from.(Aint It Cool)
       
1) Collider and Aint It Cool show possibly that he talked about the time line in this section but none of the articles have actually given us a transcript of his actual statement here.
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Tim Curry stars as 'Darkness' in Ridley Scott's Legend
Legend and flops

a) He stressed that, though after Alien he had two flops with Blade Runner and Legend, filmmakers should be their only critic. Money doesn’t matter as long as you are proud of it. That dogma has paid off as both films are now revered. (Collider)

b) (i) - After Blade Runner, which was a tough experience for him, someone said to him, “Why do you make boring movies that people can’t understand?” So, he said “Okay. And I went off and made LEGEND.” Huge laughs at that. “That was a bloody disaster. It’s a wonder I’m still employed!” Boo on that, I love Legend. Luckily Scott followed this up immediately with:   (Aint It Cool)

(ii) - “A journalist said to me, ‘In the down period of your career which followed Legend…’ I haven’t had a down period in my career. I’ve enjoyed every goddamn movie I’ve made.”  (Aint It Cool)

(iii) - Scott approached Legend as his attempt to make a live action cartoon, like Snow White and other like Disney films. So, he decided he was going to do a live action fairy story, like a Grimm Fairy Tale. Then he went on to praise Tim Curry’s work in the flick and said he thought Tom Cruise was great in it. (Aint It Cool)

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The Old Dark House

a) (i)- The first Alien was The Old Dark House with 7 people with an unwelcome visitor. Scott loved the script, but it was a very basic screenplay.  (ii)As far as the prequels' stories go, Scott hinted that there will be a deeper exploration of the science behind the world of Alien, a science he says is very much grounded in our own current technology. (Aint It Cool)

b) "The first Alien was honestly The Old Dark House -- seven people in the old dark house with a visitor. " (fearnet)

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Underwater research

a) - He’s done a lot of underwater research for the upcoming movies. (Collider)

b) Scott then started talking about NASA and doing underwater research, then suddenly changed topics and... (firstshowing)

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Europa, Io and to Zeta II Reticuli

a) "They got me going about this wonderful planet which is out near the big gas, you know those massive gas columns that we discovered about 20 years ago," Scott said. "Just to the side of that, there's this wonderful planet called Europa, around that is Io. And Zeta II Reticuli, We're going back to Zeta II Reticuli." (scifiwire) 

b) (Ridley) said something about a "wonderful planet" called Europa that's near the "big gasses/gas columns" (in deep space) that were discovered around 20 years ago. I think he's confused because there's a moon of Jupiter called Europa, but no planet. He then goes on to say that "we're going back to Zeta 2 Reticuli." Now there is actually a star in our galaxy called Zeta 2 Reticuli some 39 light years away that not-so-coincidentally was discovered to have a planet orbiting it that even has creepy real-life ufo rumors linked to it. That's a bingo! (firstshowing) 

c) - FirstShowing.net's Alex Billington sent me a heads up after posting this that Scott also mentioned they're going to be exploring Zeta 2 Reticuli, the same system from Alien. Naturally they'd be going back at some point if the prequel leads up to Alien, but from what Scott was saying it seems like this system plays a large role in the prequels.(Aint It Cool) 

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Terraforming

a) Ridley Scott:  "This is going to go further into that world of terraforming, We're thinking about doing it. In fact, if Kennedy had been allowed to continue on his space program, we would have probably been on Mars now, with maybe a population of about 9,000 people. Take that on board, that's how far we should have gone and should have come. The argument was always 'Why spend so much money out there when we've got enough problems down here?' That's what's turned it around and stopped it. So we're going to a world which is already out there."(scifiwire)

b) i) From his discussions with NASA people he heard that if we had been able to stick with JFK’s space plan we would more than likely have had colonists on Mars by now.  ii)  The prequel will go further into the world of terraforming and will focus on the realities of what it takes to leave for another planet. (Aint It Cool)

c) This film will go very deep into the possibilities of terra forming and the realities of what it would actually take for humans to leave earth. (Collider)

d) Remarkably, that's still not all he said! Although he was starting to ramble at this point, Scott stated that the "[Alien prequel] is going to go further into that world of terraforming," which is the process of modifying a planet's atmosphere to be liveable. It also may explore the idea of what it will take to travel to these places. He then mentioned that if JFK had continued with the space program, we'd probably have a colony on Mars by now. (firstshowing)

e) This will go further into the world of terraforming. We're thinking about doing it. In fact, if Kennedy had been allowed to continue his space program, we'd probably be on Mars now with a population of nine-thousand people. That's how far we should have gone." (fearnet) 

       
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 Faster Than Light

a) Ridley Scott: "The part that's still science fiction is traveling light-years away and sustaining human life for the journey. Scott's going to take the real science of that and make it scary. "Actually, you're dematerializing and rematerializing, because light speed is that. You can't travel in that space of time, so you have to think about 'How do I mathematically change my matter, material presence?' It sounds like magic, but if we said in 1900 that I was going to have a cell phone, I'd be able to pick this up and talk to London, they'd put me in jail or a lunatic asylum. That's how far we've come. I think the closer it is to the truth and the closer it is to technological feasibility, it becomes that much more interesting. If it's a film like I'm going to do, it's going to become that much more frightening." (scifiwire)

b) He then started talking sort of technically about light speed and stuff. (Collider)

c)  He mentioned the theory of Near Faster-Than-Light travel, which is complete science fiction at the moment; “Mr. Spock stuff” as he called it, rearranging matter essentially, but theoretically possible. “But what we’re allowed to do by movies is to cheat like hell. But I think the closer it is to the truth, the closer it is to the technological feasibility then it becomes that much more interesting. And if it’s a film like the one I’m going to do, then it becomes that much more frightening.” (Aint It Cool)

d) Then he begins to ramble on about lightspeed and beaming people up, through dematerialization, like in Star Trek, like it's all going to be real one day soon. And finally, here's why he explained all of that:"The closer it is to the truth, and the closer it is to the technological feasibility, then it becomes that much more interesting, and if it's a film like I'm going to do, then it becomes a lot more frightening." (firstshowing)


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Casting Sigourney

a) Sigourney Weaver wasn’t cast until 3 weeks before shooting and though she’d gained acclaim on Broadway, she hadn’t really done a film at the time. When he met her the short Scott (who is 5 foot 8 inches) was extremely impressed and kind of taken back by her size. She tested on the actual set, because they were close to shooting and it was being built. Scott said he could have cut the test into the movie. (Collider)

b)(i) Sigourney Weaver’s test “could have been cut into the movie.” Scott didn’t cast her until three weeks before photography, so he was able to screen test her on the built sets.  

(ii) She came to the audition in high heels. “I’m not a midget, I’m 5’8”, but Jesus Christ I was always looking up at her!”   

(iii) The idea was Ripley would gradually earn her position in the forefront during the drama. “When you see her at the kitchen table at the beginning of the film you think, ‘Okay, she’s gonna be the first one to go… in a big, gory horrible mess!’”  (Aint It Cool)

(iv) When she tells Yaphet Kotto to shut the fuck up he was really needling her and she really lost her temper with him. “It’s great that it’s on film.”(Aint It Cool)

c) Geoff Boucher:It's interesting to see that Sigourney Weaver. Sigourney Weaver by the way, everybody, what an amazing... 

(crowd round of applause)

Geoff Boucher: But she was voted by many many many fans to be the greatest female character in the history of science fiction, and I don't that surprises a single person in the theatre,

Ridley Scott:  it must have been hard for her, but because, the, there was so little dialogue, but the dialogue that existed was I think was pretty damned good, but it was austere, I call it austere, and er, it doesn't give you a long… a lot to get into, there's no five minute scenes, right, and the last thing for her will be… she will gradually earn the position during the drama that she was suddenly coming to the fore. She's great intuition, and erm, great thinking, great elegance, and physically very very good. Fantastic. (Los Angeles Times)
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Ridley Scott on Blade Runner

i) Harrison Ford in Blade Runner

(a) While casting Blade Runner, he decided he might want Harrison Ford for the lead role but his producers hadn’t heard of him. Ridley then said he was the guy who flew the “maltese falcon” which got a laugh. Anyway, he figured if Spielberg and Lucas cast him in their new movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, he must be good. That film was shooting down the street from where Scott was so one night Ford showed up for a meeting in full Indiana Jones gear. He got the job that night. (Collider)

(b) (i) When Harrison Ford came in to meet Ridley Scott in London for Blade Runner he was wearing his entire Indiana Jones outfit, having come straight from the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (ii) When casting Blade Runner, Scott told the studios he wanted to cast “this guy called Harrison Ford.” The studio asked who that was. “He was the guy that drives that funny circular vehicle in Star Wars… The Maltese Falcon? What’s it called?” Lots of laughs and lots of corrections from the audience. “The Millenium Falcon. They said, ‘Why him?’ I said, “Well, Steven (Spielberg) and George have decided this guy is the star of Indiana Jones. I think you want him to follow-up in this film.” (Aint It Cool)

(c) Geoff Boucher: The next film that we're showing tonight, err, Blade Runner, the star of that film , he came to your door in London.

Ridley Scott: Ah, yuh

Geoff Boucher: Could you tell folks… he came to the door, he wasn't dressed in street clothes was he?

Ridley Scott: No

Geoff Boucher: What was he dressed in?

Ridley Scott: We were casting and building, and I'd heard that this film being made was called Indiana Jones, I'd said to my studio and my partners, I want to cast this guy called Harrison Ford,  somebody said , "who's that", and I said well, "he's the guy who drives that funny circular vehicle in em" The Maltese Falcon. What was it called

Geoff Boucher: The Millenium Falcon

Ridley Scott: Millenium Falcon.

Geoff Boucher: (laughter)

Ridley Scott: And err, and they said "Oh him, r-r-r-r-r-r, okay" and I said Yeah, and erm they said 'why?", I said "because if Steven and George decided that this guy's the star of.. in Indiana Jones, i think you want him to follow in this film because I think it sounds like it's a good idea.

Geoff Boucher: (laughter)

ii) Scott on the Blade Runner script 

(a)  Scott said the Blade Runner script read really, really well because it was filled with great prose (description) and some “damn good” dialogue as well. (Aint It Cool)

iii) Friction between Harrison and Ridley

(a) On the friction between Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott on the set of Blade Runner… : “It was a very difficult world to climb in to because I knew exactly what I wanted. Once again I was very influenced by Moebius. For me to describe what’s happening all the time and why it’s raining all the time drove me nuts, so I got very bad-tempered. I said, ‘It’s raining because I want it to fuckin’ rain, okay?!? Turn the fuckin’ taps up!’ I got fed up explaining myself.” (Aint It Cool)

(b) He believes all the on set friction between him and Ford has been largely overstated, however, believes that tension keeps people honest on a set. He had a very specific look for Blade Runner and hated having to explain himself over and over. (Collider)
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Scott and the Camera

a) Scott operated the camera himself on Alien and Legend.(Collider)

b) Scott operates the camera… He operated the entire run of The Duellists, Alien and Legend. “If you’re an operator it’s really frustrating because it’s a bit like being a surgeon in the room on a heart operation and you can’t touch the patient.” (Aint It Cool)
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The director and team effort

a) Film making is a team effort without question. The director is the coach and must be left in control. (Collider)
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His film education

a) Working in advertising was his film school and didn’t get into films until much later. He was 42 when he directed Blade Runner and felt a lot of pressure. (Collider)
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Ridley's knee

a) - He has been doing physical therapy for several months now on his rehabbed knee and sees Harrison Ford every day at the same gym. Said he has put on a lot of muscle for Cowboys and Aliens, which begins shooting this week. (Collider)

b) Scott underwent knee surgery and he’s now having to go to a gym for physical therapy. When he started going to the gym he recognized Harrison Ford, who is putting on muscle “and is looking good.” I assume that’s for Cowboys and Aliens. (Aint It Cool)
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Tony Scott
Tony Scott's Student Films

a) - Scott wasn’t able to pick which of his brother Tony Scott’s films was his favorite but he said his two student films, One of the Missing and A Loving Memory, were the best student films he has ever seen.(Collider)

b) - Ridley said his brother, Tony, directed two of the best student films he’s ever seen. One is called One of the Missing, the other is called In Loving Memory.(Aint It Cool) 




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The Forever War

a) They are currently on the 4th draft of a screenplay for the sci-fi The Forever War, based on a novel by Joe Haldeman. He hopes to make it in the future. (Collider)

b) The Forever War (based on the book by Joe Haldeman) is something Scott has been trying to do for years. They’re on the fourth draft currently. (Aint It Cool) -

c) (i)The Alien prequel will be Scott's first sci-fi movie since 1982's landmark Blade Runner. Now he's on a roll. He's planning two prequels and also developing a movie version of Joe Haldeman's book The Forever War. Scott says he has a screenwriter working on a fourth draft of the adaptation. His vision for that film is philosophical and romantic. (ii) "[Haldeman] thought instead of writing the book about Vietnam, he'd write a book about a future idea of this perpetual war that seemed to be perpetual if you were a soldier serving in Vietnam. Why on earth were we there? What were we doing? What's the ultimate target? How do we get out? In a word, that reflects the whole tenor of the book. So it's philosophical and, in a funny kind of way, romantic. Romantic in the sense of I think 2001 was romantic and Star Wars is romantic, the first Star Wars, George Lucas', by far the best of the Star Wars, the one he directed, I think. That's the kind of romantic view. Romantic, I don't mean love story. I mean there's a vision there which elevates the idea." (scifiwire)
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Audience  questions time

1. Setting up shots

a) When setting up shots, it’s all through intuition from a lot of preparation. He used to do 100-150 commercials a year so he is used to shooting very fast and doing everything on the fly.(Collider)
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2. Rehearsing with actors

a) He never rehearses with his actors outside of table reads. Many times, the first time he sees anything play out is on the set. He said that’s okay because the actors he hires do their homework.(Collider)

b) Scott doesn’t believe in rehearsal. “The closest I get is maybe sitting around a table and reading, having a discussion.”(Aint It Cool)
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3. Robin Hood

a) - Boucher asked about a Robin Hood sequel but instead of answering that, he just started talking about his Robin Hood movie. He loves the Mel Brooks film, not so much the Errol Flynn, and felt the film was a challenge because everyone has incorrect preconceived notions of Robin Hood and he wanted to go against that.  He would, however, like to do a sequel.(Collider)

(b) (i)- He likes Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood, but “doesn’t go for” the green stockings on Errol Flynn. Loves Ivanhoe. (ii)- Is a second Robin Hood film a possibility? “I’d like it. I really enjoyed myself.”(Aint It Cool)
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4. Western In Development

a) (i) I took the opportunity to ask Ridley a question I've been waiting to ask for years: Way back in late 2007 he said "sci-fi films are as dead as westerns," but now has the Alien prequel and a Forever War adaptation in the works, so what made him change his mind? Well, instead of actually answering, Ridley started to ramble on about westerns and then revealed he was "working on one" that Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain) is currently writing.  (firstshowing)

(ii) So not only are sci-fi films no longer dead (Star Trek, Avatar, District 9, Moon), but apparently neither are westerns, especially if he wants to make that film sometime soon. I'm wondering if that western he's talking about might be the Boone's Lick adaptation (of his own novel) that is listed on McMurtry's IMDb page, but I suppose we'll find out sooner or later. Scott never actually gave me a straight answer to my question, but it was interesting to hear that bit about the western. And because it's Ridley Scott, I'll let it slide for now, as long as the Alien prequel turns out good. Speaking of which, he talked a little bit about that project as well.(firstshowing)

b) Alex Billington from FirstShowing.net said that in the past Scott said that “Sci-Fi is as dead as westerns” and asked why he changed his mind? He said he didn’t remember saying that but now has a western in development, and it’s being written by Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain).(Collider)

c) Larry McMurtry is writing a western for Ridley Scott right now! Holy shit!(Aint It Cool)
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5. Sequel to Alien

a) - If he had done the sequel to Alien, he would have made the movie he is making now about “The Space Jockey.”(Collider)
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6. Blade Runner's difference to its source material

a) Blade Runner is so radically different from Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? because that book has way too much going on to be just one movie. It was Hampton Fancher’s choice to diverge from the book. (Collider)
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7. Blade Runner the title

William S Burroughs
a) The title Blade Runner came from a William F. Burroughs story and they bought the rights for $4,000. This sounded like a joke but maybe it wasn’t. (Collider)

b) The title Blade Runner comes from William S. Burroughs. They paid him $4,000 for it. (Aint It Cool)


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