Ridley Scott will direct Alien prequel

[TR0N]

Here i thought this would never happen 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jul/31/ridley-scott-alien-prequel

[NecroPhile]

Without Ripley, it won't be a 'real' Alien movie for me (kinda like the AVP flicks).  It could still be an entertaining romp, though, assuming he can avoid the frenetic pace of recent horror films and refrain from creating an entry in the 'world's goriest film' competition.  Nothing ruins a movie quicker than attempting to gross out the audience by using lots and lots of blood and gore without rhyme or reason, and non-stop action just kills the story, ultimately making the movie a real bore.

[Sinistron]

I read this last week and it's great news- just what this franchise needs.  It won't come out for a bit though as Ridley's still working on his Robin Hood movie and he has another film lined up after that called The Kind One- some mobster movie with Casey Affleck.  I just hope that he doesn't employ any of the masturbatory overly-kinetic flash editing that his brother Tony loves to use- hope he just brings out the classic Ridley work- and there's no reason to fit Russell Crowe into this- as solid as he is.

[nat]

This is fantastic news. The style of the original Alien film is far and away my favorite out of all the films, although David Fincher did a great job on Alien 3 as well. Like others, I hope this is done right and not simply churned out quickly for the gore hounds out there.

[oldskool]

Nice, I love the Alien series, probably one of my favorites of all time.  (except for AvP).  It'll be interesting to see the story before the first Alien.

[nat]

You probably shouldn't even consider the AvP movies part of the "Alien" series proper, I really don't think they are intended as such.

[TR0N]

Update Prometheus Trailer

[Dark Fact]

Hopefully Ridley can still work his magic. My biggest concerns regarding any prequel are that they are potential plothole bait. I like Alien as much as the next guy but I don't want to have to see fanboys lunging at Ridley's throat just because one set of events in one movie don't coincide with another set of events in another.

[SignOfZeta]

I have no interest in this. Alien is way too violent for my delicate as a flower constitution. It might not so much be the case if it were offset by more actual "scifi" and not just a scifi-themed snuff film series.

That being said, I'm glad he's doing this since it puts him just one more project away from the proposed Bladerunner sequel/reboot/whatever, which I hope he doesn't live long enough to make.

[TR0N]

Hopefully Ridley can still work his magic. My biggest concerns regarding any prequel are that they are potential plothole bait. I like Alien as much as the next guy but I don't want to have to see fanboys lunging at Ridley's throat just because one set of events in one movie don't coincide with another set of events in another.

I know what ya mean long as it ties every thing up and not leave any loose ends then i'm fine with this so called prequel.If it turns out to be a good movie,his take on robinhood was a commerical flop.Not to mention sci-fi flims are a hard sell in theaters these days mostly becuase it's been all done all ready.

[esteban]

I have no interest in this. Alien is way too violent for my delicate as a flower constitution. It might not so much be the case if it were offset by more actual "scifi" and not just a scifi-themed snuff film series.

That being said, I'm glad he's doing this since it puts him just one more project away from the proposed Bladerunner sequel/reboot/whatever, which I hope he doesn't live long enough to make.

I don't want to spoil anything, but despite what you've seen/heard (trailers), the Alien prequel is a melodrama that centers on Newt's (Aliens) great-great-grandparents and their toils harvesting sorghum on a farming planet that is, essentially, a latter-day "company town" writ large (across several planets and planetoids).

Note: other commentators on the 'net have argued that the farming planet is more akin to the feudal manor system, but Ridley Scott himself has dismissed this assertion as, in his words, "mere poppycock."

Apparently, major conflict arises when Newt's great-great-grandfather proposes to introduce cassava into the sorghum/rye/soybean crop rotation. In order to accomplish this, he intends to drop sorghum from the crop rotation cycle, much to the horror of his family.

As it turns out, he has made a breakthrough in hydroponics that would allow him to increase the starch content of legumes and vegetables by ten-fold, but the cultural and societal reverence for sorghum (it is revered as the cradle of life in this society, apparently) prevent farmers from experimenting with different crops. Indeed, "Give me Sorghum or give me Death" is a mantra in most farming communities established by a *certain* inter-galactic mega-conglomerate that dabbles in military contracts when opportunity strikes.

Ridley Scott consulted with experts in hydroponics, agriculture, irrigation, fallow fields, manors, grist-mills, etc. to make sure the sci-fi was firmly rooted in plausible science.

When a virus decimates the non-native pig/boar population (introduced by the settler-farmers), Newt's great-great-grandmother is driven to near-suicide (her beloved pig "Quahog" being the only means of harvesting truffles). It is in a moment of desperation, however, that she discovers an enormous spacecraft buried under a substantial truffle patch near the sorghum fields. In Ridley's own words, she is "torn between the immediate crises facing her family (sorghum vs. cassava, utter collapse of truffle production) and the allure of an alien ship undisturbed for millennia beneath fallow fields."

[roflmao]

Classic.

[Tatsujin]

Am so looking FFWD to this.

[Dark Fact]

When a virus decimates the non-native pig/boar population (introduced by the settler-farmers), Newt's great-great-grandmother is driven to near-suicide (her beloved pig "Quahog" being the only means of harvesting truffles). It is in a moment of desperation, however, that she discovers an enormous spacecraft buried under a substantial truffle patch near the sorghum fields. In Ridley's own words, she is "torn between the immediate crises facing her family (sorghum vs. cassava, utter collapse of truffle production) and the allure of an alien ship undisturbed for millennia beneath fallow fields."

Sounds like The Tommyknockers to me.

[_Paul]

Ridley was saying not long ago that he dropped the overt link with the Alien movies to make this a stand-alone movie. Looks like that idea was thrown out the window.

[Tatsujin]

Ridleyculous.

[esteban]

When a virus decimates the non-native pig/boar population (introduced by the settler-farmers), Newt's great-great-grandmother is driven to near-suicide (her beloved pig "Quahog" being the only means of harvesting truffles). It is in a moment of desperation, however, that she discovers an enormous spacecraft buried under a substantial truffle patch near the sorghum fields. In Ridley's own words, she is "torn between the immediate crises facing her family (sorghum vs. cassava, utter collapse of truffle production) and the allure of an alien ship undisturbed for millennia beneath fallow fields."

Sounds like The Tommyknockers to me.

Indeed it does! I had not realized that before.

[Dark Fact]

Ridleyculous.

At least it ain't RiDQlous.

Indeed it does! I had not realized that before.

Yup yup! The part about an alien spaceship being buried in a field was what grabbed me!