Alien: Romulus

 

 

Fede Alvarez, director of Alien:Romulus (Source: https://www.latimes.com/)

 

a) See: Fede Alvarez' first encounters Alien

b) See: Fede's new take on an Alien movie  

c) See:  Zoom session with Jim Cameron

d) See: The myth of Romulus and Remus

e) See: Returning to design roots

f) See: Renaissance Station designed by Joshua Viers 

g) See: They call her Rain 

 

Archie Renaux as Tyler and Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in 'Alien: Romulus.'.

 

h) See: Facehuggers in the cryochamber

i) See: Precurser to the pulse gun

j) See: The return of Ian Holm as an android

k) See: Alien beasts

 

The 'Xenomorph' in 'Alien: Romulus'

 

l) See: Alien beast coming out of the cocoon

m) See: Cailee Spaeny and the alien beast

n) See: The Offspring

o) Stories in the tents

They would have tents for the actors, to get ready to go on set. The practical effects guys would come in and say something like "Do you want to hear a story from the old days? Gather ‘round, kids,’"

They would tell them about crazy on-set experiences working in this world.as if they were campfire stories for. She found that they were their favorite things to hear.”  

1. Cailee Spaeny:  We definitely had moments where all of us kids would be in the tent getting ready to go on set, and the practical effects guys would come in like, ‘Do you want to hear a story from the old days? Gather ‘round, kids,’ .They would tell us about crazy on-set experiences working in this world. They were like campfire stories for us. Those were our favorite things to hear. (https://ew.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-star-cailee-spaeny-tease-new-xenomorph-8642159)

 

p) Film filled with references

This film while being a standalone story, would be filled with references to every movie, as it it was a love letter to all of them.

Every time he went to the theatre to watch an Alien movie, he had an experience that would stay with him all his life , even the ones where he found himself saying "I’m not sure that’s what I wanted" 

So the film would have connections with all of the others. His idea was that the experts would be able to look at the scenes and say "Oh, that’s from this. This is from over there." 

It could be a piece of gear, a reference to story, or perhaps a character that is connected to another character from those movies

1. Gamesradar: Ridley Scott is a producer on the film and had high praise when you screened it for him. Does Romulus pick up any plot threads from his Alien prequels?
   

   Fede Alvarez: This is the way this movie works: if you haven’t seen any Alien movie ever, you’ll have a great time. You won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. But if you’ve seen one or more – oh, boy, you’ll have a blast. At least, I hope you will! The reality is that it is a standalone story, but it’s filled with references to every movie. It is truly a love letter to all the other movies. I have my favorites, but I love them all. Every time I went to the theatre to watch an Alien movie, I had an experience that would stay with me all my life.

   Even the ones where I’m like, "I’m not sure that’s what I wanted" – they still stayed with me. So the movie has connections with absolutely all of them, in their own way. The experts will be able to tell, "Oh, that’s from this. This is from over there." Maybe it’s a piece of gear. Maybe it’s a reference to a story that is connected. Maybe it’s a character that is actually connected to another character from those movies. It’s truly filled with it.

   I did this with Evil Dead back in the day. When we made that movie, it was really about making sure that it didn’t matter [if you’d seen previous Evil Dead movies] – but if you knew, you’d feel it was tailor-made for you. So, again, if you haven’t seen any of the Alien movies, you’ll have a great time. (https://www.gamesradar.com/alien-romulus-trailer-breakdown-fede-alvarez-interview/)

    

q) Warnings that Ridley could be tough

Everyone gave Alvarez the heads up that Ridley was really tough, particularly if it had something to do with movies. He was very tough on Blade Runner 2049 which Fede thought was a masterpiece.

Fede asked Ridley about the new Top Gun: Maverick movie, and Ridley responded near enough 'eh'

Fede would only respomd "What are you talking about?"

Ridley appeared to respond "My brother's was original, and this is like eh."

It appeared that he really respected it, but Fede could see how tough he was. 

So Fede realised "There's no way I win this one.'" 

1. Fede Alvarez: Everyone gave me the head's up that Ridley is really tough, He's really tough, particularly if it has something to do with his movies. He was really tough on Blade Runner [2049], which I thought was a masterpiece, and he had issues with it because it's really hard for him because [the original is] his work. I asked him about the new Top Gun: [Maverick] and he's like 'eh.' I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' And he was like, 'My brother's [Tony Scott's] was original, and this is like eh.' He really respected it, but you could see how tough he was. So I was like, 'There's no way I win this one.'(https://ew.com/movies/ridley-scott-thinks-new-alien-movie-great/)

 

r) See: Ridley sees an early cut of the film 

s) See: Cameron watches a roughcut of the film

t) See: Echoes of Thedus

u) Towards another sequel

Fede felt guilty for making a new “Alien” movie when the trilogy that Ridley had wanted to make with the “Prometheus” films has seemingly stalled out. Fede didn't like the idea of something being suspended like that with the story was unfinished

His first intention was to think about how if he managed to make another film, he would like to merge his idea for making a film with a way to finish Ridley's trilogy. There was already a suprising amount of ideas to do with the "Prometheus" film nestled within Romulus 

So his thoughts aimed at wanting to find a conclusion to some of the material that began in Prometheus and Covant, and see everything building up to one big finale 

1. The Wrap: But did Álvarez feel guilty for making a new “Alien” movie when the trilogy Scott had wanted to make with the “Prometheus” films has seemingly stalled out? “I did. And originally, my first intention, which we might figure out a way to do if we get to make another after this, is to merge them,” Álvarez noted (and, truth be told, there is a surprising amount of “Prometheus” nestled within “Alien: Romulus”). “I think that’s what I want to see. I never liked the idea that something got suspended and some stories were not really finished. And I think he really wants to also find a conclusion to some of the stuff he started with ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Covenant.’ But I’m one that wants to make sure that everything builds up to one big finale.” (https://www.thewrap.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-interview/ 19th August 2024)

v) See: Comparisons to Cronenberg's Naked Lunch?