a)John Fasano writes the script for Chariot of the Gods
A movie based on Chariot of the Gods has been in the process of having the the script written.
John Fasano, the scriptwriter who worked with Vincent Ward on an Alien 3 script, also worked on "Chariot of the Gods" before his death before the end of of 2014.
b) Hollywood attemptis to meet Von Daniken's approval
Mark Ordesky , the executive producer of Lord of the Rings and Fred Malhberg, the producer of Conan too.
In 2013, Erich Von Daniken was being presented with three different scenarios, none of which he liked.
As far as he could see, they were weaving a love story featuring a woman that needs to be saved, and this wasn't what he thought that Chariot of the Gods was all about, but his view was that was Hollywood with each production company trying to make a lot of money and amaze people.
Source Quotes
Erich Von Daniken:Die wollen, basierend auf dem Buch, einen Hollywoodfilm produzieren,
einen Themenpark in China eröffnen, ein Videospiel erstellen und Musik
produzieren. Es ist ein Milliardenprojekt und sie haben dafür erfahrene
Leute engagiert wie beispielsweise Mark Ordesky, den Executive Producer
von Lord of The Rings, oder Fred Malmberg, den Produzenten von Conan. (Translation: They want, based on the book produce a Hollywood film, open a theme park in China, creating a video game and produce music. It is a billion dollar project and they have for experienced people
involved such as Mark Ordesky, the executive producer of Lord of the
Rings, or Fred Malmberg, the producer of Conan.)
Interviewer:Wie weit sind die Produzenten mit dem Film? (Translation: How far are the producer with the movie?)
Erich Von Daniken: Bis
zur Fertigstellung dauert es mindestens noch zwei Jahre. Drei
Drehbücher hat mir Hollywood schon vorgelegt, aber bisher konnte ich
keinem zustimmen. Es ist immer wieder dasselbe. Sie flechten
Liebesgeschichten ein, eine Frau muss gerettet werden, das passt mir
nicht. Aber das ist Hollywood, am Schluss geht es jeder Produktionsfirma
darum, viel Geld zu machen und die Leute in Staunen zu versetzen. (Translate: Until the completion of it will take at least another two years. Three scenarios have been presented to me Hollywood, but so far I could not agree to any. It's the same thing over and over again. They weave a love story, a woman needs to be saved, that does not fit me. But that's Hollywood, at the end it is each production company about making a lot of money and people to amaze.)(18th Octoberm 2013, http://www.jungfrauzeitung.ch/artikel/127311/)
Interviewer: How did you feel
about PROMETHEUS (2012)?
John Fasano: I've
just been writing a movie about The Chariots of the Gods by Erik Von
Daniken, and a lot of the concepts in PROMETHEUS are taken from it. I
found the film frustrating because it was similar to what happened
with the prequel to THE THING (2011) – some of it was
prequel, and some of it was a remake. It was like a 'premake'. The
script for PROMETHEUS is nowhere near as smart as the script for
ALIEN or even ALIENS. If you're going to have someone get lost on a
ship, it shouldn't be the guy whose job it is to navigate the ship.
If you're going to have him get lost with a guy who's a botanist,
that guy shouldn't want to pet an alien. Everything in the first film
is flawless in its logic. But in PROMETHEUS, characters only do
things because the writers want them to do them. Their actions make
no sense at all. It seemed like the writers were working narratively
backwards. ''We need an alien on the ship. Let's get it on there.'' I
loved the way they shot it but there wasn't a single surprise in the
movie.(http://www.money-into-light.com/2015/03/john-fasano-on-writing-alien-3.html)
How did you feel
about PROMETHEUS (2012)? John Fasano: I've
just been writing a movie about The Chariots of the Gods by Erik Von
Daniken, and a lot of the concepts in PROMETHEUS are taken from it. I
found the film frustrating because it was similar to what happened
with the prequel to THE THING (2011) – some of it was
prequel, and some of it was a remake. It was like a 'premake'. The
script for PROMETHEUS is nowhere near as smart as the script for
ALIEN or even ALIENS. If you're going to have someone get lost on a
ship, it shouldn't be the guy whose job it is to navigate the ship.
If you're going to have him get lost with a guy who's a botanist,
that guy shouldn't want to pet an alien. Everything in the first film
is flawless in its logic. But in PROMETHEUS, characters only do
things because the writers want them to do them. Their actions make
no sense at all. It seemed like the writers were working narratively
backwards. ''We need an alien on the ship. Let's get it on there.'' I
loved the way they shot it but there wasn't a single surprise in the
movie.(http://www.money-into-light.com/2015/03/john-fasano-on-writing-alien-3.html)
John Fasano worked on the script for Alien 3 with Vincent Ward, and then
later found himself writing a script based on Erich Von Daniken's book
"Chariot of the Gods" which led to his view on the Prometheus movie
being relevant at the time. His interest in writing the script had gone
back several years before his death, and he had the opportunity to meet
the likes of Zechariah Sitchin, another proponent of the ancient
astronaut mythos. However Fasano died on July 19, 2014.
a) John Fasano, one of the well known script writers for Alien 3 who worked on the script for Vincent Ward, was involved in adapting the book "Chariot of the Gods" by Erik Von
Daniken, into a movie and he noticed that a lot of concepts in Prometheus were taken from it. He found the film frustrating because he thought it was similar to what happened with the prequel of The Thing , some of it was prequel and some of it was remake, so he thought it was like a "premake". So he decided that the script was Prometheus was nowhere near as smart as the script for Alien or even Aliens.
b) Fasano didn't like the fact that the geologist who was using probes to map put the silo (which Fasano loosely labeled as a ship) should be one of the ones to get lost, perhaps or perhaps he didn't recognise that the geologist was high on weed and was disorientated, and that if one is going to have him get lost with someone that (Fasano loosely labeled as a botanist but ) was a biologist, he (presumably the biologist?) shouldn't want to pet an alien creature, being in this case, the hammerpede. c) Fasano thought that the first Alien film was flawless in its logic, but in Prometheus, the chararacters only did things because the writers wanted them to do them, and the actions made no sense at all, as if the narrators were working narratively backwards as if they were saying"We need an alien on the ship. Let's get it on there" but perhaps there was a lot of that going on in the original Alien movie but less obviously so. Although he liked the way it was shot, he didn't find a single surprise in the movie
Source Quote
How did you feel
about PROMETHEUS (2012)?
John Fasano: I've
just been writing a movie about The Chariots of the Gods by Erik Von
Daniken, and a lot of the concepts in PROMETHEUS are taken from it. I
found the film frustrating because it was similar to what happened
with the prequel to THE THING (2011) – some of it was
prequel, and some of it was a remake. It was like a 'premake'. The
script for PROMETHEUS is nowhere near as smart as the script for
ALIEN or even ALIENS. If you're going to have someone get lost on a
ship, it shouldn't be the guy whose job it is to navigate the ship.
If you're going to have him get lost with a guy who's a botanist,
that guy shouldn't want to pet an alien. Everything in the first film
is flawless in its logic. But in PROMETHEUS, characters only do
things because the writers want them to do them. Their actions make
no sense at all. It seemed like the writers were working narratively
backwards. ''We need an alien on the ship. Let's get it on there.'' I
loved the way they shot it but there wasn't a single surprise in the
movie.(http://www.money-into-light.com/2015/03/john-fasano-on-writing-alien-3.html)
c) Richard Funston: It was a mixture of inspiration Giger's Swiss made suit and the Space Jockey from the original Alien film. (source Weyland Yutani Bulletin 27th September 2016,
As
usual, there's no intelligble theory about why one should relate to the
other, but they seem to in a the way thay a lot of things do appear to
relate to Occator crater's features.
Perhaps
the association could be claimed to be vague but then perhaps there is
something to it. It's as if someone caught a glimpse of the crater's
features one way or another.
If it happened in a dream, then fair enough.
d) Right feature in cerealia faculae and octopus head
e) Detail of right feature in cerealia faculae and octopus head
e) Top area of Cerealia Facula
f) The tholus and its equivalent area being the beginning of the tail of the lobster
g) Lower area of Cerealia Facula
h) Lower left feature in Occator crater and comparable area
i) Far left feature in Occator crater and lobster fingers
a)Sylvain joins the art team Sylvain was a big fan of the universe of Alien when he was growing up and so he had so many ideas of his own and projections as to what he would like to see in it, and joining the art team meant that he would be able to contribute a little bit of that.
The art department would work months before any visual effects would be debated. The ideas had to be drawn and worked out first, before anyone could disucss how to execute them. The visual effects were more concerned with the Shoot and Post-Production that they were with "First Unit" Pre-Production which was the art department. However, it was not unusual for the Visual Effects Team to bring their own art crew to do more artwork in Post Production phase. Jean-Pierre's idea also was that it was never a good idea to allow people whose role it would be to make something affect a design because the risk is too great and they will always favour a solution which makes things easier for themselves. He felt it was better to let the designers design and let another department worry about how to carry it out. Alien Resurrection would become an example of this
Sylvain Despretz: There was no distinction as to who did what, it was a little bit like the ....ski brothers, you know, nobody's actually stopped the clock to say who did what. For a long time, a lot of people were talking about Powell Pressberger, knowing for sure how much Pressberger intervened, and I think erm, and I think Caro and Jeunet were a little bit like that, it was, it was um, sort of erm, two headed entity, and I got the sense that at the time Jean-Pierre was offered the job, basically they were both offered the job, but I think Caro turned it down. (Alien resurrection documentary)
Propimage: Do you ever closely work with any of the SFX guys? Sylvain Despretz: Not Really. On any film of that size, the Art Department begins work months before any Visual Effects issue has been debated; in a way, the ideas have to be drawn and worked out first, before people can discuss how to execute them. The Visual Effects are more concerned with the Shoot and Post Production than they are with "First Unit" Pre-Production (that's us). Nowadays, it's not unusual to see a VFX team bring in their own art crew, to do more artwork in the Post Production phase. At any rate, Jean Pierre Jeunet once told me he felt it was never a good idea to allow people whose role it will be to "make something work" affect a design because the risk is too great that they will always favor a solution which makes things easier for themselves. He felt it was better to let designer's design, then let another department worry about how to carry it out. This was at least the case with Alien Resurrection. (http://www.popimage.com/industrial/080800sylint.html)
Sylvain Despretz: I love the ALIEN world. I was a big fan of it growing up, so I had many
of my own ideas and projections as to what I would like to see in it,
and to some extent, I was able to contribute a little bit of that
(Starlog 252, p37)
Sylvain
Despretz:Being hired by the production designer means something
different from being hired by the director, and ALIEN Resurrection was a
case in point. (Starlog 252, p36)
Sylvain
Despretz: I got along fine with Nigel and did my best to sail through
it as gracefully as possible. I never intended to threaten his
authority. I ran every choice by him before presenting it and forced
myself to operate under his guidance. Politically, it was a very
interesting experience, because the tensions were really high sometimes.
Who was going to design the ship, who was going to do this and that? It
was very competitive."(Starlog 252, p36)
b) Into The Art Department While the Alien Resurrection art
department all respected Alien, they wanted to do something different
this time around, which meant eschewing H.R.Giger's biomechanical
influence for most part and looking for different kinds of textures and
details.
Nigel Phelps ran the department, Sylvain got on well with Nigel and would would do his best to sail through the situations present as gracefully as possible. Nigel would never threaten him with his authority , and Sylvain would run every choice by him before presenting it and his forced himself to operate under Nigel's guidance. He found it a politically interesting experience because tensions would rise high sometimes. They were throwing around questions about who was going to design the ship, who was going to do this and that. It became a competitive scene.
Source Quotes
While the Resurrection art department all respected ALIEN,they wanted to do something different this time around, which meant eschewing H.R. Giger's biomechanical influence for the most part and looking for different kinds of textures and detail.(Starlog 252, p37)
It was while working on The Fifth Element that Despretz first met Jean-Pierre Jeunet who was negotiating with Fox at the time to direct ALIEN Resurrection. Once Jeunet was officially on the film, he hired Despretz as a storyboard and conceptual artist which could have meant a potential conflict with production designer Nigel (Judge Dredd) Phelps.(Starlog 252, p36)
c) Beginning with storyboards Despretz started doing the storyboards early in the year, but after a while, he got pulled further and further into designing weapons which played a big part in the movie.
d) Guns and wheelchairs
d.i)Evolution of the armed wheelchair idea They knew that there was going to be a wheelchair that would transport the character Vriess (played by Dominique Pinon) around the ship, but the idea that it was going to conceal weapons wasn't implied in the script. Sylvain Despretz was to draw the initial outlines of the wheelchair. It suddenly came as an idea to Jean-Pierre that the crew of the Betty as a band of smugglers, would hide their weapons in plane sight, in something as unlikely as a wheelchair and so it became clear to him that his wheelchair itself was going to be the arsenal
d.ii) Based upon tanks The strategy allowed the unarmed Betty pirates to smuggle their weapons onto the Auriga. In fact Jeunet wanted the wheelchair itself to resemble a tank, referring to books about assault tanks. He saw the drawings that Sylvain Despretz based upon the tanks, and liked a certain one (as seen above) very much, and then they found ways to conceal weapons in it.
Same image of the motorised wheelchair by Sylvain Despretz but with different tones (source: http://www.metaprogram.net/)
d.iii) Construction
Eric Allard's special effects team built the contraption, a 700 hundred-pound mobile monstrosity that ambled around on heavy-armoured tracks. Althought the base did, in fact look like a tank, Allard actually borrowed it from a robot in his shop and tacked it onto a weathered metal chair. Dominique Pinon, who spent much of the film seated in his creation, became adept at moving it about the stage by joystick controls on the arms. The special effects department also directed the chair by remote control, when the sets were too small or too crowded for Pinon to navigate himself. Eric Allard's All Effects crew were also responsible for the fabrication and resolution of the various weapons and defensive equipment used throughout the course of the film.
Source Quotes
Sylvain Despretz: I started doing the storyboards early in the year,
but after a while, I got pulled more and more towards designing weapons,
which played a big part in the movie. They were connected to a
wheelchair that one of the characters wheels himself around the ship on.
It's actually a moving arsenal, and the idea was to conceal weapons in
plain sight so we created the wheelchair and then found ways to conceal
weapons in it. (Starlog 252, p36)
In addition to costumes, an array of special gadgets and hardware
contributed to the film's palette. Designed by the art department and
fabricated by All Effects, they were futuristic in function, but their
design was in contemporary form. The wheelchair that transported Vriess
as well as a cache of weapons was a particularly ingenious invention.
Although Vriess's chair was scripted, its secret armory evolved. 'We
knew there was going to be a wheelchair, but the idea that it was going
to conceal weapons wasn't implied in the script, recalls Sylvain
Despretz, who was to draw the initial outlines of the wheelchair, "It
wasn't specifically written, but it's an idea that came to Jean-Pierre,
that the crew of the Betty, a band of smugglers, would hide their
weapons in plain sight, in something as unlikely as a wheelchair. It
became clear to him that this wheelchair itself was going to be the
arsenal." The strategy allowed the "unarmed" Betty
pirates to smuggle their weapons onto the Auriga. In fact, Jeunet wanted
the wheelchair itself to resemble a tank, referring to books about
assault tanks. "The wheelchair came straight out of
that. Jean-Pierre saw the drawing I based upon these tanks and that's
the one he liked", Despretz says. (The Making of Alien Resurrection, p38)
Eric Allard's special effects team built the contraption, a 700
hundred-pound mobile monstrosity that ambled around on heavy-armoured
tracks. Althought the base did, in fact look like a tank, Allard
actually borrowed it from a robot in his shop and tacked it onto a
weathered metal chair. Dominique Pinon, who spent much of the film
seated in his creation, became adept at moving it about the stage by
joystick controls on the arms. The special effects department also
directed the chair by remote control, when the sets were too small or
too crowded for Pinon to navigate himself. Eric Allard's All Effects
crew were also responsible for the fabrication and resolution of the
various weapons and defensive equipment used throughout the course of
the film. (The Making of Alien Resurrection, p38)
e)Just Guns Sylvain also designed guns. There was a
gun made that actually followed his work closely enough. He went over
to the set on night and Sigourney Weaver was perhaps waiting to do a
take as Ripley 8 and she was walking around, she had a gun strapped on
and he had designed it. He recalled the afternoon when he designed that
gun, it was a quick design, just a quick little sketch and, seeing
Sigourney dressed up as the Ripley character with his gun, he was very
very happy about it, it was a satisfying moment.
Lot #40 - ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997) - USM Shock Rifle ? Login to See Winning Bid Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
• Our expert’s notes This lot will be sold on Wednesday August 26th (day 1 of the auction.) Lots 1-433 will be sold on day 1 (lots 434-870 will be sold on day 2). The auction will begin at 10:00AM PDT. Lots are sold sequentially so there is no preset ending time. A live streaming broadcast of the auction will be available on auction days. A USM shock rifle from the production of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's sci-fi horror sequel Alien: Resurrection. The United Systems Military (USM) carried shock rifles as their primary weapons in the 24th century, most notably in the battle against the Xenomorphs aboard the USM Auriga. The black and silvertone prop rifle is made from machined aluminum and resin with production-made weathering throughout and metal loops attached for a shoulder strap. Several electronic features are built into the rifle and are controlled by several small switches. The first switch turns on a glowing red number counter, simulating an ammo count, that goes down by one digit with each pull of the trigger; flipping this switch on and off again brings the total number down by 10 digits each time. The next switch locks the counter, allowing the trigger to be pulled without affecting the counter. Lastly, a switch on the black attachment on the bottom of the barrel turns the front flashlight on and off. The electronic functions of the rifle are charged by a power plug that connects to a small port in the far back of the stock. The lot is in good overall condition with some signs of wear from production and age, including scuffing, red stains, and some discoloration to the metal. Dimensions: 12 x 3 1/2" x 34" (30.5 cm x 9 cm x 86.5 cm) Contains electronics; see electronics notice in the Buyer's Guide Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000 Δ\(https://usm.propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/267/lot/62151)
Mr Flibble whispered
his first question to Andrew, who passed it on to Sylvain: Which movie
that you've worked on has come closest to mimicking your concept art?
Sylvain Despretz: Off the top of my head, I would say ALIEN: RESURRECTION.
There's a few things that I think closely mimic [my work]. I had this
moment on the set when I went over one night, and Ellen Ripley
[Sigourney Weaver] - who was waiting for a take or something - was
walking around and she had a gun strapped on that I'd designed. And I
remembered the afternoon when I'd designed that gun; it was a quick
design, just a quick little sketch. I stood on the set and I looked at
Ellen Ripley, and there she was with my gun - and I was very, very happy
about it. It was just a nice moment.(http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/interviews/sylvain-despretz/)
a)"Better than..."
Ridley Scott can be found to tell people that something or other is better than so in so. His "Better than..." statements might be something from his Northern England background.
b)Alien
He wouldn't call the beast in Alien a monster because he was better than that
c)Prometheus A design for Fifield that looked like a goblin, Richard Scanlan says he looks a bit like Gollum, but Ridley goes on to say, it's better, it's better than a Gollum
d) Alien: Paradise Lost
Someone asks Ridley is David the android is going to spend an entire movie as a disembodied head and he responds "It's going to be better than that"
Ridley Scott: I don't like calling him a monster. He's better than that(Time Out, 7-13 September 1979)
Arthur Max: It's a goblin Ridley Scott: It's got a goblin.. Somehow it's a goblin. Richard Scanlan:It looks a bit like Gollum, Doesn't it? Ridley Scott: Yeah . It's better, it's better than Gollum actually(Prometheus Documentary, The Furious Gods: Under The Pyramid: LV-223 )
But onto the big question: can we really expect Michael Fassbender to
spend an entire movie as a disembodied head? “It’s going to be better
than that,” chuckled Scott. “It’s a very nice big idea I’ve got. It’s
really great. You’re going to have to wait...”( 25th September 2015 http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=45507)
a) Delay of the production
Neill Blomkamp's sequel would follow Ridley's Prometheus sequel Alien: Paradise Lost.
By November 2015, Blomkamp was in talks to write an adaption of the unpublished scifi novel "The Gone World".
By July of 2016, that was the film he would be directing next
and Sigourney was off to join Cameron's Avatar sequels.
Had they not
been forced to delay for Ridley's Prometheus sequel that would also
become an Alien movie, they would surely have made it by the middle of
2016.
b) The path forks
And it would be more associated with Ripley than Ridley's movie, it was a completely different angle in terms of the Alien saga, as more of a sequel, and Ridley's Alien movie was coming in from the back end.
It didn't matter that Blomkamp's Alien movie would veer off from the path in terms of where Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection went.
It was accepted that the path forked after Aliens, following the idea that each director wanted to create a whole new set of circumstances.
c) Sigourneys views on the script
Sigourney thought that while the story went off in its own direction, it was written in a way that satisfied, in her opinions, the primal needs of the aliens, whatever that meant.
She also thought thought that it would also give Ripley an ending.
It was also a tribute to the great work that the other directors had done.
Did she wish to include Fincher and Jeunet amongst those other directors?
d) Ridley's viewa
With Neill Blomkamp and Sigourney Weaver wanted to do this Alien V, or was it called Alien Awakening?
Ridley said "Fine", and he was going to be producer, if he could have.
He would have, except that he didn't understand why they should have two Alien films out at the same time.
Ridley's own Alien films were about asking questions and Blomkamp's didn't, so he thought it was like shooting ones big toe off and this didn't make sense.
Around this time Ridley asked Neill not to make his Alien sequel until Ridley had made his Prometheus sequel that would be released first.
Although Sigourney Weaver was quite sure that they had a great script, curiously all Ridley could acknowledge was that the project was based on a ten page pitch and the script he saw wasn't actually evolving.
e) Michael Biehn's perspective
As Michael Biehn came to hear about it, he undersood that the basic idea was acting as if Alien 3 and 4 didn't exist.
He went to Blomkamp's website and could see all the artwork for the movie that was being shown.
He was aware that Ridley was making his own movie while acting as executive producer on Blomkamp's, and so he was really looking forwards to it.
He could see how Ridley's focus would be on the film project tthat would become Alien Covenant.
He could also see how he would not want Neill's film and his own coming out the same time, because, so it was being explained to him, they would be two different worlds, but at the same time similar.
With that he knew that they were putting the brakes on Neill's movie for a short while.
He was quite sure that it would be embarrassing to Ridley, Fox and Sigourney if the movie didn't get made.
Although he wasn't online much himself, it was his children who read saw a lot of information about it on Reddit and they were excited.
The idea was bringing both Hicks and Newt back and so New would be around twenty seven years old.
He could see how every actress in Hollywood would want to play her, and it would keep the franchise alive and the studios would be making money because that was where the bottom line was now.
Biehn had seen Distric 9, and when he saw i for he firs time, his response was "wow" and so he has hopes foor it
f) Disintergration
Fox didn't appear to be interested in the concept, and it appeared as if Ridley decided to keep out of it,
As far as he was concerned, he re-ignited this franchise to bring it off the ground again because it was lying there dormant on the shelf, and he had enough on his plate with preparing the Alien Covenant movie.
Blomkamp appeared to take note of Ridley's unwillingness to push, he didn't wish to put the blame on him and let the matter rest.
Somewhere in February 2019, it seemed as if Cameron almost suggested that he was talking to Blomkamp about his film project but nothing more was said
g) Aftermath
As 2021 came along and
Blomkamp thought about what had happened back then when doing his press
junket interviews for Demonic.
Hs impression was that that Ridley must
have watched Chappie and thought "this guy can’t do
Alien so let’s just go ahead and move on." but he really didn't know.
Or it was a case of both projects
were moving forward at Fox simultaneously and one of them was picked.
Fox just clearly doesn’t want his Alien V.
So by then he didn't have anything to do with it
for years.
Blomkamp felt bad for Sigourney because she was very
into what he had brought forwards as an idea.
He also felt for the
audiences who loved Aliens who wanted a continuation on that vision as
he thought that there was an opportunity to do one more film with
Sigourney that might have satiated what people were looking for and he
thought that he was looking for.
He thought that it was strange
how the project came to an end.
However having worked on this film
project for two years and have it pulled out from under his feet meant
that he didn't really want to know Ridley Scott, and so clarification
about the situation was never given
If he was asked to come back
and do the film, he was not sure that he would do the project, and then
it would be a question of getting him interested enough into wanting to
do it again.
So what does this mean for Neill Blomkamp’s sequel? There had been speculation that Alien: Paradise Lost might
mean that it wouldn’t get made, but Sir Ridley has scotched those
rumours. “I’m producing it,” he reiterated. “The design is for it to go
out next, after this. This will go out first. It’s more associated with
Ripley, it’s a completely different angle, it’s more of a sequel. I’m
coming in from the back end.” (25th September 2015 http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=45507)
Иeill Blomkamp
@NeillBlomkamp: alien is kinda holding/ pending prometheus 2. So I shall be working on other things... as much as I love the xeno- and Lt ripley (TwitterOct 29 2015)
Scott’s film is shooting now and comes out in August 2017, but that doesn’t mean Blomkamp’s Aliens follow-up will start right away. “Now that we’re waiting for that, I have a couple of Avatars to do and Neill has TheGone World,” Weaver says. “So we’ll have to see what happens when we get back, when those projects are over.”(http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp)
Either way, she sounds determined to revisit Ellen Ripley. “It’s a
great story and it’s satisfying to me to give this woman an ending,”
Weaver says, which makes it sound like this would be her final go-round
as the character. That means resolution — not that Ripley will
necessarily die. (Note that she’s died before, and that obviously didn’t
end anything.) (http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp)
Weaver also suggested Blomkamp’s Aliens sequel will delve
into the motivation of the aliens themselves, exploring what it is their
race has been seeking. “The script itself has so much in it that’s so
original, but also really satisfies the, I would say, the primal needs
of the aliens,” Weaver says. “It’s a tribute to all of the great work
that the other directors have done, in a way, but goes in a completely
new direction. I hope we’ll do it.”(http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp)
After teaming up on 2014’s Chappie, Weaver also seems eager
to join forces again with Blomkamp. “We’ve just finished something else
together that I can’t talk about, but you know, I hope so,” she says.
“But you never know in this crazy business. In any case, [the Aliens
sequel] there and waiting for us. He and I both have these other
commitments that are finally upon us, and so we’ve got to switch gears
and concentrate on that. But it will be worth the wait when we finally
get to it.”(http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp)
There’s no doubt whatsoever — if the movie happens, it will redirect
the story from the third and forth installments, David Fincher’s Alien3 1992) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection (1997).
“It’s just as if, you know, the path forks and one direction goes off
to three and four and another direction goes off to Neill’s movie,”
Weaver says. “It’s just more, I would say, following Jim Cameron’s story
about these characters, rather than just ending up in this sort of
monastery in space, which was [Alien3 screenwriter] Vincent
Ward’s idea and Fox elected to go in that direction. I think Fincher was
fine with that. Each director kind of wanted to create a whole new set
of circumstances. In this case, it picks up, it follows directly the
circumstances of Jim Cameron’s Aliens.”(http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp)
Allocine: What do you think of the project that Neill Blomkamp started for Alien number 5 with the return of Sigourney Weaver, Weaver in it?
Ridley Scott: Well, there was never a script, it was an idea which was evolved on I think a ten page pitch, and I was meant to be part of the producer on that and it didn't evolve. Fox just decided that they didn't want to do it, so that was it, so I just, I was already onto, I think I had done Prometheus and I was already planning Covenant so, don't know
Allocine:That's never going to happen
Ridley Scott: I don't think so, no (Transcription from video of interview at http://www.allocine.fr/ 27 april, 2017)
Signourney did an appearance last month at tech giant VMware (thanks
Cindy and Chris!), and when asked about the state of the project, she
said:
Well, I *think* it is. Ridley asked Neill NOT to make our Alien til after Prometheus 2.
He (Ridley) wanted his movie to shoot and be released first. But it’s
an AMAZING script, and Neill and I are REALLY excited about doing it.
We’re doing other things until we can get going on that. I’d be really
surprised if we DIDN’T do it, because it’s such a great script, and we
love working together. So, it’s just going to take a little bit longer
to get out to you, but it’ll be worth the wait.
Needless to say, the audience reacted strongly to this, and here’s hoping. Ellen Ripley has yet to let us down.
Blomkamp:What are other sci-fi favourites of yours?
Rogan:Alien
Blomkamp:Alien, yeah
Rogan:That's why I was really excited when I heard that you were at least potentially at one point in time thinking about doing an Alien
Blomkamp:Yuh, it would have been cool
Rogan: What happened?
Blomkamp:It's just, you know, it's just studio politics and the um, I do think that they way that Chappie was received probably played a role in me not working on Alien, uh, but uh, you know, it's it's Ridley's world that he created and it's like it should be his to do with what he wants with so it's all good
Rogan:Yuh, I get that but still it would have been fun
Blomkamp:Yuh, yuh, it would have been fun for me as well , I mean, the the thing that I would have enjoyed about it was sigourney weaver was really down for what I'd written and she'd, that. the main thing to me was, even though I like Alien 3, and I love Fincher as a director, I just wanted a version of , of the continuation of what happened after Aliens and for Newt to be alive and for, you know, for Ripley to continue that story erm and it was so based on that idea
Rogan:Is the kid who played Newt old, how old is she now
Blomkamp:Um, I, I mean in my story she would be, she was in her kind of mid twenties, um in real,... Alien, Aliens just turned 35 so she must be like you know, forty four, something like that
The Independant: What’s the status with the Alien film you’ve long been attached to make?
Blomkamp: I don’t know, to be honest. I’m not sure that I would do that project. My assumption is that it’s completely dead.
The Independant:What happened?
Blomkamp: It
was a case of both projects were moving forward at Fox simultaneously,
and one of them was picked. Sigourney was unbelievably supportive and
amazing. I have nothing but the best things to say about Sigourney. I’m
such a fan of hers on every level. She was always into the project, but
Fox just clearly doesn’t want it. I haven’t had anything to do with that
for years.
The Independant: Every
year there seems to be new concept art leaked that gets a huge reaction
from Alien fans wanting to know if it will ever happen. But, it’s easy
to forget you might no longer be in the same mind space...
Blomkamp: I
wonder if it’s possible to do an entire loop, where your’e really into
it up until the point it gets shut down, then you lose interest and
years go by and you loop all the way back around to being really into it
again. Maybe that’s hypothetically possible.
Neill Blomkamp has provided an update on the status of Alien 5, which he has long been attached to direct.
Blomkamp’s film, which would have been a sequel to James Cameron’s 1988 sequel Aliens, was put on “temporary hold” at the request of Alien director Ridley Scott.
In 2017, Ellen Ripley star Sigourney Weaver, said: “Ridley asked Neill not to make our Alien ‘til after Prometheus 2; he wanted his movie to shoot and be released first.”
Now, in an interview with The Independent, Blomkamp has revealed the film is officially not happening.
“My assumption is that it’s completely dead,” the District 9 director said.
Reflecting
on the situation, Blomkamp continued: “It was a case of both projects
were moving forward at Fox simultaneously and one of them was picked.
Fox just clearly doesn’t want it. I haven’t had anything to do with that
for years.”
He had nothing but nice words to say about Weaver.
“Sigourney
was unbelievably supportive and amazing,” he said. “I have nothing bu
the best things to say about Sigourney. I’m such a fan of hers on every
level. She was always into the project.”
Icons of Fright: You mentioned your 40-year career point and I’m curious, at
this point in your career, having played so many iconic characters, is
there perhaps a type of film you look for that you haven’t yet had the
chance to do or how do you decide whether or not do a film?
Michael Biehn: I don’t work that often. At this point, I’ve been able to be a part
of some many great movie, but I don’t think there’s going to be another TERMINATOR or ALIENS or THE ABYSS or TOMBSTONE.
If it does come along, I’ll see it and I’ll know it and will definitely
jump on it, but the older you get, the less likely you are to get those
parts. I’m really pleased with my resume’ and what I’ve done in my life
so far, as far as an actor and a director. I directed one thing and
that was THE VICTIM and having to write that movie in
twelve days and doing pre-production while writing it and even shooting
it in twelve days, I’m very proud of that little movie. Who knows
though? They’re talking about doing another ALIENS
movie, with Neill Blomkamp, and Fox came and announced it and Sigourney
(Weaver) has come out and announced it. The basic idea is acting like ALIEN3 and 4
never existed, so if you go on Neill Blomkamp’s site, everyone can see
all of the artwork for that. I know Ridley Scott is doing his movie
first and is going to be the executive producer on this one, so I’m
really looking forward to that. I know that Ridley’s focus is on the
second PROMETHEUS (now titled ALIEN: COVENANT)
and I’m sure that he and Fox both don’t want that and Neill’s movie to
come out right next to each other, because they’re kind of two different
worlds, with ALIENS taking place thousands of years
later, which is how they explained it all to me, but at the same time,
they want to give them a similar feel. I know they’re putting the brakes
on Neill’s movie just for a little while, but I really think that it
would be embarrassing to Ridley and Fox and Sigourney if they just
didn’t make the movie.
Icons of Fright:Oh trust me, I agree with you, I’m dying to see THAT one.
Michael Biehn: I think when they put that out there and have pictures with me as
Hicks again, people were excited and though I’m not into online stuff
much, my kids saw a lot about it on Reddit. They were excited. They’re
planning on bringing me and Newt back and at this point Newt will be
around twenty-seven years old. I know that every actress in Hollywood is
going to want to play this one, it’s really a passing of the torch
between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt. It would
keep the franchise alive and the studios would make money, because
that’s what the bottom line is now: money. That’s why you end up seeing TERMINATOR 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and THE FAST AND FURIOUS 7, 8, 9, and 10. So when that happens, the ALIENS film, maybe that will be one more movie that I can make a mark with, plus, Neill is such a talented guy. When I saw DISTRICT 9 for the first time, I was glued to my seat, going “wow”. So I’m hopeful for that one.
Icons of Fright: You mentioned your 40-year career point and I’m curious, at
this point in your career, having played so many iconic characters, is
there perhaps a type of film you look for that you haven’t yet had the
chance to do or how do you decide whether or not do a film?
Michael Biehn: I don’t work that often. At this point, I’ve been able to be a part
of some many great movie, but I don’t think there’s going to be another TERMINATOR or ALIENS or THE ABYSS or TOMBSTONE.
If it does come along, I’ll see it and I’ll know it and will definitely
jump on it, but the older you get, the less likely you are to get those
parts. I’m really pleased with my resume’ and what I’ve done in my life
so far, as far as an actor and a director. I directed one thing and
that was THE VICTIM and having to write that movie in
twelve days and doing pre-production while writing it and even shooting
it in twelve days, I’m very proud of that little movie. Who knows
though? They’re talking about doing another ALIENS
movie, with Neill Blomkamp, and Fox came and announced it and Sigourney
(Weaver) has come out and announced it. The basic idea is acting like ALIEN3 and 4
never existed, so if you go on Neill Blomkamp’s site, everyone can see
all of the artwork for that. I know Ridley Scott is doing his movie
first and is going to be the executive producer on this one, so I’m
really looking forward to that. I know that Ridley’s focus is on the
second PROMETHEUS (now titled ALIEN: COVENANT)
and I’m sure that he and Fox both don’t want that and Neill’s movie to
come out right next to each other, because they’re kind of two different
worlds, with ALIENS taking place thousands of years
later, which is how they explained it all to me, but at the same time,
they want to give them a similar feel. I know they’re putting the brakes
on Neill’s movie just for a little while, but I really think that it
would be embarrassing to Ridley and Fox and Sigourney if they just
didn’t make the movie.
Icons of Fright: Oh trust me, I agree with you, I’m dying to see THAT one.
Michael Biehn: I think when they put that out there and have pictures with me as
Hicks again, people were excited and though I’m not into online stuff
much, my kids saw a lot about it on Reddit. They were excited. They’re
planning on bringing me and Newt back and at this point Newt will be
around twenty-seven years old. I know that every actress in Hollywood is
going to want to play this one, it’s really a passing of the torch
between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt. It would
keep the franchise alive and the studios would make money, because
that’s what the bottom line is now: money. That’s why you end up seeing TERMINATOR 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and THE FAST AND FURIOUS 7, 8, 9, and 10. So when that happens, the ALIENS film, maybe that will be one more movie that I can make a mark with, plus, Neill is such a talented guy. When I saw DISTRICT 9 for the first time, I was glued to my seat, going “wow”. So I’m hopeful for that one. (http://iconsoffright.com/2015/11/18/interview-michael-biehn-talks-comedy-series-24-hour-rental-alien-5/)
Sskywarpe8 years ago"Michael Beihn says he's been contacted
I'm
at Pensacon, just now gave Michael a Reece ReAction figure, said "This
is yours... one question, have you been contacted for Alien 5?" He
looked at me, smiled and said, "Yes." Holy... shitake...( https://www.reddit.com/r/LV426/comments/2xhmu0/michael_beihn_says_hes_been_contacted/ 2015)
One person who he suggests Chappie wasn’t
for was Ridley Scott, the gatekeeper of the Alien franchise, who
earlier that year had expressed interest in Blomkamp’s concept for a
sequel. In February, it was announced.
In March, Chappie was released. In October, it was cancelled. “It’s
possible that Ridley watched Chappie and he was like, this guy can’t do
Alien so let’s just go ahead and move on,” he says with a smile.
Blomkamp’s film would have carried on from James Cameron’s Aliens, bringing back Sigourney Weaver, who also starred in Chappie.
The collapse was hard on him. “I also felt bad for Sigourney because
she was really into what I had brought forward,” he says. “I felt like
[for] audiences who loved Aliens, there was an opportunity to do one
more film with Sigourney in a way that may have satiated what people
were looking for and what I think I was looking for.” He adds: “What
doesn’t make sense is that I feel like it’s what the audience wanted so
it’s strange because Fox would never really turn down money.”
I
ask if he spoke to Scott after, if any more specific clarification was
given. “Not after, no no no, there’s no coming back from that,” he says.
“I’m not gonna work on a film for two years and have the rug pulled out
from underneath me and then go hang out and have beers. It’s exactly
why I don’t want to do IP based on other people’s stuff ever again.” (He
also denied a report that emerged earlier this year that his Alien film
was back on track: “I’m sure they will make many films with that piece
of IP, it just doesn’t include me.”)
His
comment about intellectual property seems extreme, especially given his
dalliances with other franchises but when I ask if he’s serious, he
relents a tad. “It’s not that black and white,” he says. “If there’s
something amazing and the set-up is right, I wouldn’t say no but
generally speaking after Halo and after Alien, it would be unwise to do
that.” (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/21/neill-blomkamp-interview-demonic-chappie-alien)
