a) Fede finds himself pitching a idea
a.i) Alien discussions
Right after Don’t Breathe, Fede Alvarez had a meeting at Scott Free, Ridley’s company, and perhaps they were about to start doing Alien: Covenant.
Someone asked" You get to that point, you can really do whatever you want. If you could do anything, what would you do?"
Fede quickly replied "Well, I would do ‘Alien.’ It’s been the
one I have always wanted to do. No questions asked. "
Fede mentioned something that he would love to see in the then forthcoming Alien Covenant near enough saying “I hope
this movie has some of ....” this, that and this.
Ridley's response was near enough “Oh, that’s interesting. What would you do with it?”
At that time Fede wasn't being asked to pitch, but it was more that they were intrigued about what he wanted to see as a fan.
Fede near enough said “I think you guys should do this and approach it this way, and maybe it’s about that.”
a.ii) Version 1 of when Fede was asked if he wanted to direct the film
But suddenly, he found himself pitching, although he was not really being asked to do it.
So
that stayed in the air there somehow, and then a couple of years later,
Ridley remembered everything that Fede had said and was interested
Scott Free called Fed saying “Hey, remember that story you mentioned? Do you want to write it and direct it?”
Fede's response was near enough “Fuck yeah!”
a.iii) Version 2 of when Fede was asked if he wanted to direct the film
Then it also seemed that after Disney purchased the 21st Century assets from Fox in 2019, “Alien” became a priority once again. Steve Asbell, president of production at 20th Century, called Fede a
He asked “Is it true that you once pitched an ‘Alien’ movie?” followed by “Can I hear it?”
Fede told him what he had in mind
Asbell then asked him if he wanted to write and direct it
Fede's response was was near enough “Fuck yeah!”
- Hollywood Reporter: Were you asked to pitch what became Alien: Romulus? Or did you ask if you could come in and pitch it?Fede Alvarez: Right after Don’t Breathe, I had a meeting at Scott Free, Ridley’s company, and I think they were about to start doing Alien: Covenant. And I mentioned something that I would love to see. I said, “I hope this movie has some of this and that and this.” And he was like, “Oh, that’s interesting. What would you do with it?” No one was actually asking me [to pitch], believe me; it was more that they were intrigued about what I wanted to see as a fan. And I was like, “I think you guys should do this and approach it this way, and maybe it’s about that.” And suddenly, I was pitching, but I was not really being asked to do it. So that stayed in the air there somehow, and then a couple of years later, Ridley remembered that. He knew about it. He was like, “Fede had pitched this thing.” So they called me back and said, “Hey, remember that story you mentioned? Do you want to write it and direct it?” And I was like, “Fuck yeah!” And here we are. (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/alien-romulus-trailer-ridley-scott-1235856321/)
- The Wrap: Álvarez said that after “Don’t Breathe,” his 2016 home invasion thriller, he got a meeting with Scott Free, Scott’s production company. “At that point, I had made two movies and both had worked really well. And someone said, ‘You get to that point, you can really do whatever you want. If you could do anything, what would you do?’” Álvarez remembered. He quickly replied: “Well, I would do ‘Alien.’ It’s been the one I have always wanted to do. No questions asked.” At the time, however, Scott was prepping “Alien: Covenant,” part of a planned trilogy of prequel films that began with “Prometheus.”(https://www.thewrap.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-interview/ August 19th 2024)
- The Wrap: Sill, someone from Scott Free pressed Álvarez on what his take would
be. “And I told him, from the top of my head, what I wanted to see as a
fan, which is the guiding principle as a director — what you want to
make is what I want to see,” Álvarez told TheWrap. Still, that pitch
“hung in the air” over the year.
After Disney purchased the 21st Century assets from Fox in 2019, “Alien” became a priority once again. Steve Asbell, president of production at 20th Century, called Álvarez and asked him some questions: “Is it true that you once pitched an ‘Alien’ movie?” and then, “Can I hear it?” the filmmaker recalled. “I told him what I had in mind. And he asked me if I want to write and direct it. And I was like, ‘Yeah, f–k yeah.’ And here we are.”(https://www.thewrap.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-interview/ August 19th 2024)
b) Fede's new take on an Alien movie
When Fede Alvarez came working on the Alien movie, his first instinct was just to try something different tha hasn't been seen before. He decided to approach it from an the angle of characters who are not professionals or scientists. In a way, although the characters were in their early twenties, they're not even adults.
He liked putting people in front seat of the story who are closer to what the audience is. Not that the audience is young, but more that the audience is completely virgin to the realities of space.
He decided that when character are professionals, they know more than the audience do. But when they're still in their early 20s, they don't even know how to operate the airlock. So the characters are very blue collar, like the best versions of these movies, but they’re way younger than before
Fede remembered watching the extended cut of Aliens, where the viewer can see a bunch of children running around the corridors of one of the colonies.
His response was near enough "wow, what it would it be like for those kids when they turned 20? Growing up in a place with no future? Would they want to stay there and do what their parents did, or leave that place?"
He always thought, "Wow, what would it be like for those kids to grow up in a terraforming colony that still needs another 50 years to be habitable? You’re probably going to take the same job as your parents. What’s the hope?"
He also thought "well those poor kids they have nothing to do for 50 year until you have an atmosphere. They have no place, no air to breathe realy, or to have a true life.'
So he focused on those characters and what was going to happen with them
He wondered what they wanted out of life and if they wanted to stay there and do what their parents did, working in the mines or the farms, and that's it, Or perhaps they wanted more out of life. He compared that to a reality that most people in his world would face that grow up in a small town or small country. That was the spirit in which he approached the characters and their story.
- Fede Alvarez: All the characters are very young. That was inspired by the beginning of the extended cut Aliens. There’s a shot that really inspired the whole story, where you can see all the kids running around the corridor on Hadley’s Hope. I always thought, "Wow, what would it be like for those kids to grow up in a terraforming colony that still needs another 50 years to be habitable? You’re probably going to take the same job as your parents. What’s the hope?"
- I thought: "Wouldn’t it be great to catch up with those characters?" Not exactly those characters, but that type of young kid, growing up in a Weyland-Yutani shake-and-bake colony, and see how their life would be when they reach their early 20s. What do they want out of life? Do they want to stay there, and do what their parents did – work the mines, work the farms – and that’s it? Or do they want more out of life? (https://www.gamesradar.com/alien-romulus-trailer-breakdown-fede-alvarez-interview/)
c) Growing up in Uruguay
Of course a part of him connected with them through having grown up in Uruguay which was a very small country, which was quite remote and people would never think of doing anything other than what their parents did, and if you did, you were lucky
He grew up with the idea of growing up in a place where you know how far you can get, the things that happen there, and the things that will never happen there.
He thought that all of their parents most likely worked on the same ship when they were young , and that's how they got to know each other
There would be a lot of history between them because they're the only family they have
They truly act like surrogate siblings, with some of them even having lived under the same roof.
- Fede Alvarez: My first instinct, just to try something different that hasn't been seen before, was to approach it from the angle of characters who are not professionals or scientists; they're not even adults. I liked this concept of putting people in the front seat of the story who are closer to what the audience is — not that the audience is young, more that the audience is completely virgin to the realities of space. When the characters are professionals, they know more than you do. But when they’re still in their early 20s, they don’t know how to operate the f---ing airlock. (https://ew.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-star-cailee-spaeny-tease-new-xenomorph-8642159)
- Fede Alvarez: All their parents probably worked on the same ship when they were kids, and that’s how they got to know each other. There’s a lot of history between them because they're the only family they have. They truly act more like surrogate siblings; some of them even lived under the same roof. A lot of the big themes of the movie are about siblinghood and what does that mean? The Romulus of it all, and the bigger plot with Weyland-Yutani, is actually connected to that as well. (https://ew.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-star-cailee-spaeny-tease-new-xenomorph-8642159)
- Fede Alvarez: The characters are very blue collar, like the best versions of these movies, but they’re way younger than before, I remember watching the extended cut of Aliens, where you can see a bunch of kids running around the corridors of one of the colonies and go, ‘wow, what it would it be like for those kids when they turned 20? Growing up in a place with no future? Would they want to stay there and do what their parents did, or leave that place?’ That’s a reality that most people in our world face who grow up in a small town or a small country. That was the spirit in which we approached these characters and their story. (https://ew.com/alien-romulus-director-fede-alvarez-breaks-down-new-trailer-8611454)
- Fede Alvarez: Part of me connected with them, having grown up in Uruguay in a very small country, very away from everything where you never think you'll do anything but do you what your parents did... if you're lucky. So, there was something about the idea of when you see those kids and then in the next scenes, they talk about the Shake and Bake colonies where put a bunch of families there and wait 50 years until you have an atmosphere. And I was like, "well those poor kids they have nothing to do for 50 year until you have an atmosphere. They have no place, no air to breathe realy, or to have a true life.' So those were the characters that I focused on. What's going to happen with those kids? (Fangoria Summer 2024)
- Fede Alvarez: That was what kickstarted the whole journey of this character. It was something I was always fascinated with. Maybe it’s because I’m from Uruguay and the idea of growing up in a place where you know how far you can get, and the things that happen there, and the things that will never happen there. So at the time, I always connected with those characters. (https://www.gamesradar.com/alien-romulus-trailer-breakdown-fede-alvarez-interview/)
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