Discussing The Engineers

The Engineer

The Space Jockeys renamed The Engineers

i.) Culture
”The centrepiece of the alien set at Pinewood was a 32ft tall monolithic head, which can be glimpsed in posters for the film. This was built practically by Arthur Max’s team. “The idea there is that it’s part of the culture of the Engineers,” says (Arthur) Max of the race of aliens at the heart of the story. "
(Source: spotlightreport.net, 18th April 2012)

ii.) Purpose

1. Arthur Max: :“This race of interplanetary visitors who have given us upgrades – mentally and physically – over the millennium.” (Source: spotlightreport.net, 18th April 2012) 
2.  L'Ecran Fantastique: À propos, les space jockeys ont-ils un vrai nom
   Ben Procter: Nous avons fini par les appeler "les ingénieurs", parce qu'ils ont implanté des  formes de vies humanoides dans toute la galaxy (L'Ecran Fantastique Hors Série no 16. p31)
   
   Googletranslate
   Ecran Fantastique: About the space jockeys do they have a real name?
   
   Ben Procter: We ended up calling them "engineers" because they have implemented humanoid lifeforms throughout the galaxy

iii.) Technology

the ampule room

1. Arthur Max:  “The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we’re able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. ” (Source: spotlightreport.net, 18th April 2012)

iv.) Film Scenario

is this one of the engineeers?

1. Executive producer Michael Ellenberg “When Shaw and Holloway conceived the mission, their expectation was they would discover a benevolent species that might provide answers to some of our greatest mysteries, In other words they were hoping to meet gods.  But these beings prove to be anything but compassionate.  They are a dangerous race of superbeings.” (screenslam April 21, 2012) 
2. Jon Spaihts: "The crew of the Prometheus thinks they’re headed to paradise to discover answers to the ultimate questions.  But what they find is a dark and twisted and frightening world – a way station for these beings. The cold and implacable environment is more like hell than heaven.”  (screenslam April 21, 2012)

The Enginee

v.) The sacrificial engineer

1. L'Ecran fantastique: En dehors des combinasions des ingénieurs, dont le design a été réalisé par Neville Page, avez-vous eu l'occasion de créer certains des objets dont se servent ces extraterrestres?  (L'Ecran Fantastique Hors Série no 16.)
   
   Googletranslation: L'ecran fantastique:: Outside engineer's suits, whose design was done by Neville Page, have you had the opportunity to create some of the objects used by these aliens?
   
    
2. David Levy:Dans la première séquence du film, on découvre ce qui se passe quand les ingénieurs arrivent sur terre, et ce qu'ils font. Ils disposent d'une coupole sous laquelle sont rangés différents objects que j'ai dessinés en partie, puis qui ont été redessinés par Steve Messing. Une fois conçus par notre équipe de design à Los Angeles, l'équipe de décorations anglaise a pris le relais pour les fabriquer. Il est parfois  difficile de savoir ce qui reste de notre travail dans le film, car des changements peuvent arriver très rapidement.(L'Ecran Fantastique Hors Série no 16. )
   Googletranslation
   David Levy: In the first sequence of the film, we discover what happens when engineers arrive on earth, and what they do. They have a dome under which are arranged various objects I drew in part, and which have been redesigned by Steve Messing. Once designed by our design team in Los Angeles, the team decorations English took over to make them. It is sometimes difficult to know what is left of our work in the film, as changes can happen very quickly. 
3.  IfOnlyUK:We have seen the virals, the teasers and the trailers. We have seen the alien life forms and the spacecraft from Scott’s Alien. What information can you give us on your character as the ‘Space Engineer’?
   
   Daniel Twiss :  In the original Alien, the crew encounter the ‘Space Jockey’, now known as an ‘Engineer’ (the name for the alien race) however, as this is a semi-prequel, the ‘Engineers’ have a much bigger part to play. My character is that of a fairly young ‘Engineer’ who ritualistically sacrifices himself in the opening scene. This sacrifice is very different to any others as I have to drink an ancient mix which causes my body to literally disintegrate into the water around me. This then provides the first building blocks for new life to form on the alien planet. There are two other ‘Engineers’ who are in the rest of the film and have fairly large parts, but you will have to wait for release to find out more. (Ifonlyuk interview first reported on May 22nd 2012)
   
   
   IfonlyUK: What direction, if any, were you given on playing this essential role?
   
   Daniel Twiss : To be honest, fairly little before the day actually came. The crew had changed the scene quite a bit since the casting so I didn’t know really what was happening. They also forgot to send me my lines so I only received them the day before, but there were only a few words in alien to learn so it wasn’t too bad. On set, the crew were amazing and were quite flexible to see what looks good on the day, so it was a lot of fun working with them all. (Ifonlyuk interview first reported on May 22nd 2012)