Alien Romulus: Dane Hallet comes aboard

 

 leading from

Alien: Romulus

a) Production rumours surfacing

a.i) Dane had worked with Phil Ivey

Dane Hallet had worked with Phil Ivey was the production designer who would go on to work on Ballerina. 

Phil was in the past the designer on Neill Blomkamp’s Alien 5. 

a.ii) Hopes

He told Dane that he was hoping to work on a new Alien movie from Fede Alvarez .

Dane,who was a fan of Fede, asked him to get him involved in the project if he was involved. 

a.iii) Almosts

But the story soon from Phil Ivey became “man I nearly did this alien film with fed Alvarez“

So Phil  didn’t get the job and so Dane’s response was nearbenough  “what man? who who ended up getting the job?” and so soon Dane heard that Naaman Marshall got it. 

1. Interviewer: yeah no I mean again I I think um I think having a conversation with someone who can influence a movie again at the best of times uh to such a degree , uh yeah I think is is is quite fascinating this tell me about alien Romus tell me about how how that all came to be tell me about the circumstance of you hopping on board ? 

   Dane: well I'm pretty sure people would assume that because i' got a bit of alien pedigree you know that I might have been invited but that's not how itworked I actually I I work I did Mortal Combat with the production designer Naaman Marshall and um and I had actually heard from another production designer which I don't know I don't know if you guys are familiar with the film making process but a production designer uh kind of overseas like they're sort of the eye of all of the creative visual ideas you know like they'll sort of and sort of meter it out to whoever's going to handle it the best you know and um Namaan was that on on Romulus there was another production designer that nearly got the job and told me “man I nearly did this alien film with fed Alvarez“ and I'm a fan of fed's work and I was like “what man who who ended up getting the job?”  (Mr H Reviews https://youtu.be/9bgYP2J9blA?is=JXilrqfy8aHjZCnZ)

2. Dane Hallett: Phil Ivey was the production designer that I was working on a John Wick movie that hasn’t come out yet, but it is a spin-off. Phil was the designer on Neill Blomkamp’s Alien 5. Phil told me he was hoping to work on a new Alien movie from Fede Alvarez and I asked him to get me involved in the project if he is involved. Anyway, he didn’t get the job, and I heard that Naaman Marshall got it. https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett/

b) Contacting Naaman Marshall

b.i) Past history with Naaman

Naaman worked with the Production Designer, did work with Dane on Mortal Kombat, but Dane didn’t have much of a presence in the production and it was only for a short period of time. 

Dane had only worked for a short period of time on the film, and didn’t have much of a presence in the production, but

b.ii) Six weeks to return to Dane

But Dane did reach out with an e-mail, showing him the book, and Naaman took about six weeks to get back to him. 

During the period that he waited for Namaan to respond to his e-mail.

At the time, Dane was booked at the time because he was on four other jobs at the exact same time.

So he thought if this really came up, he couldn’t do it. 

He kind of wanted it, but kind of didn’t want it.

b.iii) Sorrry man… The ships has sailed

Once Naaman got back to him, he said someting like , "Sorry man...The ship has sailed..” or even “ oh man it would be great to have you but we're full up” ”

b.iv) The matter about a book

Dane was a fan of Fede Alvarez, so he tried not to come off as desperate but said somethung like , "Okay... You realize I have a book published on the subject matter, I'm the best person for the job, and my Australian rate gives you way better tax breaks, no?" or even  “oh that's a shame man cuz uh in Australia were not as expensive as your boys over there in the states, so you know” . 

1. 
   
   Dane: I emailed him and showed him the book I worked on. I didn’t hear anything for six weeks. Six weeks went by, and I was booked at the time because I was on four other jobs at the exact same time, so I knew if this really came up, I couldn’t do it. So I kind of wanted it, but kind of didn’t want it.
   At any rate, he gets back to me and asks if I can join the team. I was booked for two weeks. Then I contacted him two weeks later. He emails me back and says Fede wants to meet me in fifteen minutes. So then I met with Fede on a Zoom call, got the job, and my hands were shaking. https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett/
2. Chris, for Scified: Kicking things off, how did you first hear about Alien: Romulus and how did you initially get involved with the project?   
   Dane Hallett: I heard a rumor the film was kicking off and luckily, I had worked with the Production Designer, Naaman Marshall, on Mortal Kombat a few years ago - so / reached out. He took a while to get back to me, but once he did, he said, "Sorry man...  The ship has sailed..."
   I was a fan of Fede Alvarez, so I tried not to come off as desperate but said, "Okay... You realize I have a book published on the subject matter, I'm the best person for the job, and my Australian rate gives you way better tax breaks, no?" Fifteen minutes later he emails and says, "Fede would like to meet you in 15 mins, is that OK?" I was off to the races. (https://weylanduplink.com/news/two-sides-timeline-dane-hallett-reminisces-about-creatures-designed-alien-covenant-romulus)
3. Dane Hallett: Turned out I work with him so I emailed him and it was it was tough sweat man. he took like six weeks to get back to me and when he did he said “oh man it would be great to have you but we're full up” and I said “oh that's a shame man cuz uh in Australia were not as expensive as your boys over there in the states, so you know” and then he goes “Fede wants to meet with you in 15 minutes”. I go “ all right man let's go let's do it “ and uh so that was it then that was it I was on and then I was like asking I was like “oh look at you know like what do you need and I don't know if you know what I've contributed already” but then he had the book that that they released um well that we released after Covenant so he knew who I was and I was in man. it was great ( Mr H Reviews https://youtu.be/9bgYP2J9blA?is=JXilrqfy8aHjZCnZ)

c) Off  to the races

c.i) Talking to Naaman

Dane felt as if he was off to the races. 

At any rate, Naaman got back to him and asks if him if he can join the team. 

It appeared that the book featuring his drawings for Alien:Covenant, because minutes later Namaan emails him back and says, "Fede would like to meet you in 15 mins, is that OK?"

Dane was booked for two weeks. Then he contacted Naaman two weeks later, and so it get back to the point where Naaman emails him back and says Fede wants to meet me in fifteen minutes. 

Dan responds  “Alright man let's go let's do it “ and uh so that was it then that was it.

c.ii) Meeting Fede on Zoom

He met with Fede on a Zoom call,  and then he was near enough asking “what do you need?” and “I don't know if you know what I've contributed already” mentioning his book .

But then Fede had the book that that they released was released featuring his artwork for Alien: Covenant so Fede knew who Dan was and he was in man.

c.iii) Unfolding the story

Fede near enough went straight into breaking down where Romulus was going to take off from so he was in his office with Naaman together 

He saying saying to Dane “look man this is what I'm trying to do I want to tell the story it's a little bit like the, it's like the young guys on Hadley's hope you know” . 

He continued “don't hate it because there’s teenagers okay,just trust me it's going to be okay”

Dane responded “okay okay man all right convince me”

Dane liked sort of that premise  with someone growing up on a Weyland-Yutani colony,  and he found it to be a cool premise and a strong way to start an alien story which he lovec

Fede he went straight into the asteroid cocoon scene  then the young people who find the Alien in the cocoon on the wall. 

c.iv) The final xenomorph

He was talking about what he wants to introduce into what they referred to as lore.

in the end the essentially what he had originally envisioned and the conversation would spread across the whole job, like it just kept on coming back, 

It was as if all all rivers were going to flow to the xenomorph,  

The whole thing about the perfect organism being that the black goo would always lead to that creature, that's what the originally the thing that Offspring at the end was, a stage before the final xenomorph.

1. Aaron Percival: What was that conversation with Fede? What kind of stuff comes up in that?  
   
   
   Dane Hallett: Well, I am a fan of his work. So it was a little surreal. He got right into the story breakdown with the young people and they find the cocoon of the Alien in the ship. https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett
2. Interviewer: yeah tell tell me that initial conversation uh with Fede then.
   Dane: um he pretty much went straight into like breaking down where Romulus was going to take off from so uh he was in his office with um Namaan together and uh just went straight into “look man this is what I'm trying to do I want to tell the story it's a little bit like the, it's like the young guys on Hadley's hope you know” he goes “don't hate it because there’s teenagers okay,just trust me it's going to be okay” I was like “okay okay man all right convince me” but that that that sort of um that premise you know like like someone growing up on a Weyland colony, that's that's cool premise man and and start is it's such a strong um way to start like an alien story’ you know I love that part in particular uh and anyway and then he went straight into the Cocoon and the as the asteroid was first and then the cocoon and then uh he's like talking about what he wants to introduce into the lore, and then originally uh you know, the in the end the essentially what what he had originally envisioned and we took ‘cause cu the conversation went on for the whole job, like it just kept on coming back, and originally the all sort of, all Rivers were going to flow to the xenomorph,  you know uh the whole thing about the perfect organism being that the that black shit would always lead to that creature, that's what the originally the thing that Offspring at the end was, I've done , I'll release them eventually, but drawings where it turns into a xenomorph as well ( Mr H Reviews https://youtu.be/9bgYP2J9blA?is=JXilrqfy8aHjZCnZ)
   Dane Hallett: Turned out I work with him so I emailed him and it was it was tough sweat man. he took like six weeks to get back to me and when he did he said “oh man it would be great to have you but we're full up” and I said “oh that's a shame man cuz uh in Australia were not as expensive as your boys over there in the states, so you know” and then he goes “Fede wants to meet with you in 15 minutes”. I go “ all right man let's go let's do it “ and uh so that was it then that was it I was on and then I was like asking I was like “oh look at you know like what do you need and I don't know if you know what I've contributed already” but then he had the book that that they released um well that we released after Covenant so he knew who I was and I was in man. it was great ( Mr H Reviews https://youtu.be/9bgYP2J9blA?is=JXilrqfy8aHjZCnZ)

d) Getting the gig

When he realised that he got the job, his hands were shaking. 

He was managing five full-time jobs at once. 

And one of them is an Alien movie, which everyone knows he would drop everything else to work on. 

So he would have also be trying to do the best work he had ever done because he got to try to outdo what he did last time. It was nerve-wracking, it really was. 

And he was most proud of the stuff that he did this

1. I was managing five full-time jobs at once. And one of them is an Alien movie, which we all know I will drop everything else to work on. So I will also be trying to do the best work I have ever done because I got to try to outdo what I did last time. It was nerve-wracking, it really was. And I am most proud of the stuff that I did this time. That is how I got in there. (https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett/)

e) Working

e.i) Unresponsive Fede

It would be a tricky job, because Fede wouldn’t always get back to him with feedback.

He would do some drawings and be waiting to see if he was in the right direction. 

And he could do ten drawings, pretty weird, but he wants to be wacky. Fede wasn’t responding to any of them, so Dane thought they were going to sack me.

e.ii) Various things to do

Alright, he thought he’d just jump onto the next creature.He knew there were Eggs, Facehuggers and Chestbursters. So he’d start drawing them. 

The Offspring was going to be the hardest to do, so it was the first thing I drew. He thought some of them were too zany.

So after the cocoon, he went straight onto that guy. And he don’t know how far he got. There are elements of it in Legacy’s one, but he knew that from his five hundred different variations of the thing, that it helped to guide that thing into its existence. 

e.iii) Approval from Fede

He just started jumping onto the next creatures and Fede just loved it. 

That is what kept him a part of the team.

In the end, of course, he managed to do a version of every single one of the creatures and most of them got in

1. Now it was a tricky job, because Fede wouldn’t always get back to me with feedback. I would do some drawings and I am waiting to see if I am in the right direction. And I could do ten drawings, pretty weird, but I want to be wacky. He wasn’t responding to any of them, so I thought they were going to sack me. Alright, I’ll just jump onto the next creature. I know there’s Eggs, Facehuggers and Chestbursters. So I’ll start drawing them. The Offspring was going to be the hardest to do, so it was the first thing I drew. He thought some of them were too zany. So after the cocoon, I went straight onto that guy. And I don’t know how far I got. There are elements of it in Legacy’s one, but I know that from my five hundred different variations of the thing, I know that it helped to guide that thing into its existence. I just started jumping onto the next creatures and Fede just loved it. That is what kept me a part of the team. In the end, of course, I managed to do a version of every single one of the creatures and most of them got in. https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett

f) The Online Gathering

It was for him an absolute dream team of people gathering together

The people working on the space ships were a mix, while Dane was left to his own devices drawing monsters

They would get togetber on Zoom to just hang out because they has found a brotherhood of Alien geekdom that they didn’t know that they had been search of for the longest time

1. Chris: You got to work alongside a number of other super talented artists on this film, did you get to collaborate directly with any of them on any designs or were you all more so independently submitting your own works individually?
   
   
   Dane: : First of all, it was an absolute dream team, indeed! We mostly just submitted on our own. / think the spaceship guys had more of a crossover, as / was essentially left to my own devices drawing monsters. That said, we still got on Zooms just to hang out because we had found a brotherhood of Alien geekdom we didn't know we had been in search of for the longest time.( https://weylanduplink.com/news/two-sides-timeline-dane-hallett-reminisces-about-creatures-designed-alien-covenant-romulus)