Prometheus 2
Factor X
The serial killer known as BTK murdered people in and around Wichita, Kan., from 1974-91 and was finally caught in 2005, turning out to be a mild-mannered leader at a local church. The acronym described his modus operandi, which was to bind, torture and kill.
“Factor X,” which takes its name from what the killer described in taunting letters to the police as his motive for murder, tells how a young, black counterterrorism expert from Washington teamed up with a Wichita police detective, who spent his career trying to chase down the killer.
Stones
The project is a big-scale supernatural thriller revolving around the mysterious destruction of ancient religious sites around the world. It turns out that Stonehenge is the tie that binds together artifacts that still have primeval powers.
Red Riding
The project, based on four David Peace novels, will be distributed in the U.S. this fall by IFC. Studio bought rights to the mini and the novel series. The miniseries is a study of power and police corruption framed around the investigation of the disappearance of several young girls. For the pic, the setting will be transferred from Britain to the U.S.
The mini clocked in at more than five hours, so Zaillian and Scott have their work cut out for them to compress it into one film.
Ridley Scott’s Company Will Battle the ‘Fog’
Scott Free has earmarked Stephen Fingleton’s invasion film temporarily titled Fog as the likely first project on its anticipated genre slate, which it is producing with Focus Features International and Orchard Capital, reports Screen Daily.
“Fog charts a family’s battle against a supernatural higher intelligence during a trip to London.”
Writer-director Fingleton is close to delivering a first draft to Scott Free. The film is being budgeted in the $2m range and is tentatively scheduled to shoot in Northern Ireland in early 2014.
Alien and Prometheus‘ Ridley Scott will executive produce the genre slate of six low budget features. Scott Free London produce with Orchard Media. Focus Features International are handling sales.
Exclusive
UPDATED: ‘Prometheus 2′: In Space No One Can Hear Ridley Scott and Fox Scream at Damon Lindelof
Update: Lindelof has responded to Slashfilm. We are including his response below the jump. He sheds some interesting light on the situation – but that doesn’t change the fact that Fox and Scott have no idea what to do now in regard to Prometheus 2.
Exclusive: Watching the 18 hours of extra features on the Prometheus Blu-ray I learned that Twentieth Century Fox didn’t trust screenwriter Jon Spaihts enough to run with his script, so they hired a big name to “clean up” Spaihts’ vision. This big draw was none other than “Lost,” Cowboys & Aliens and Star Trek Into Darkness writer Damon Lindelof, pictured.
Those of you who’ve obsessed over the quasi-Alien prequel as much as I have know that Spaihts’ vision was a one-shot**, meaning Prometheus lead right into Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien. In fact, a source in pre-production at the time had leaked story details proclaiming that the movie takes place on the planet LV-426 where the elusive Space Jockey was first seen. At the finale of Prometheus, the Jockey ship that crashes is the exact same ship that Ripley and her crew discover in Alien. It’s a beautiful way to bridge the new sci-fi epic with the old one. But, if you saw Prometheus, you know that’s not what happened. The movie’s events don’t even take place on the same planet, occurring instead on LV 223 (which is ridiculous and means the Engineers are truly terrible at piloting their ships, crashing them all over the place).
Why? Greed took over.
Lindelof transformed Prometheus into a “trilogy”, thus stripping the first film’s conclusion of any meaning and setting Ridley and Fox up for disaster. This disaster was perpetuated when Lindelof announced he wouldn’t be penning the sequel. So, in short, the guy who convinced the filmmakers to make a trilogy, left them in the dust…
Sources close to the sequel have told Bloody Disgusting that the studio and Scott are literally “freaking out” over how to continue the story of Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), and are taking pitches from basically anyone who can crack the story*. While a sequel is nearly inevitable, it definitely puts it in flux, and in a state of jeopardy.
*We expect everyone surrounding the project to deny this story. That’s standard procedure. Don’t believe ‘em.
**Twitter follower @JonSheasby pointed us to a contradiction at Empire Magazine, where Spaihts says Scott and him talked trilogy prior to Lindelof’s hiring. You can read the bits below. READ MORE
Ridley Scott Still Moving Forward on ‘Prometheus 2,’ Says Noomi Rapace
It’s almost been a year since Ridley Scott’s Prometheus blasted into theaters leaving half the world disappointed. The other half, or maybe even less than half, thought the quasi Alien prequel was pretty fantastic. A year later, I stand by this having watched it on Blu-ray multiple times. It’s awesome.
With that said, most of you are about to groan as I report that Scott is still developing a sequel over at Fox. Noomi Rapace, who starred as Elizabeth Shaw in the first film, reveals to The Playlist that they’re currently working on the screenplay.
“They’re working on the script. I met Ridley in London a couple of weeks ago,” said Rapace. “I would love to work with him again and I know that he would like to do another one. It’s just like we need to find the right story. I hope we will.”
“And it’s interesting because people, most people I’ve talked to who see the movie, see things that are quite different. Some people who see the movie many times and discover new things. There are all these religious aspects and there are very interesting conversations,” Rapace explained. “And for me, if we do a second one, there are a lot of things to explore in there and to continue.” She added: “I would love to do it.”
Rapace is the franchise’s new lead, so it would be a shocker if she wasn’t already locked in for the trilogy. I’d go as far as to say, it’s not her choice.
AMC Stays In The Horror Business With “The Terror”
With “The Walking Dead” pulling in INSANE ratings it makes total sense that AMC is looking to expand its horror slate. And I’m hopeful that “The Terror” will be a much stronger outing than “Walking Dead”, which is still only “so-so” in my book.
“The Terror” series will be an adaptation of the 2007 bestselling novel by Dan Simmons. I haven’t read the book, but the synopsis piques my interest. It’s “is set in 1847 when the crew of a Royal Naval expedition to find the Arctic’s treacherous Northwest Passage discovers instead a monstrous predator – a cunning and vicious Gothic horror that stalks the ships in a desperate game of survival, the consequences of which could endanger the region and its native people forever.”
It’s being written by David Kajganich, who is also adapting the feature film version of The Stand for Warner Bros. he will executive produce along with Ridley (and formerly Tony) Scott’s Scott Free TV, Television 360, and Alexandra Milchan.
No air date has been set, and that probably won’t change for quite a while. READ MORE
Ridley Scott To Produce Matt Kindt’s ‘Mind MGMT’
Matt Kindt’s Mind MGMT just debuted last year from Dark Horse Comics, but it has already been picked up by Twentieth Century Fox with Ridley Scott onboard to produce under his Scott Free banner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg are onboard as producers. They have already begun the search for a writer to adapt the story.
“Mind MGMT” follows Henry Lime, who is the top agent for a government agency of psychic spies. After suffering from a breakdown, Lime causes the entire town to kill one another. Lime resurfaces years later, when he saves Meru, a true crime novelist who begins to investigate the mysterious agency. READ MORE
[Random Cool] Meet The Actor Behind Ridley Scott’s 1979 ‘Alien’!
It’s an incredibly slow news day so we thought we’d share a Random Cool so you have something to look at.
Alien Series did a lengthy article on the making of Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien that included a behind-the-scenes video that also takes you behind the mask of the Alien creature.
The Alien in the ’79 epic wasn’t CGI, in fact, it was a played by a 6’10″ Nigerian man named Bolaji Badejo.
Here, he practises the Alien’s movements with a mock-up head in the corridors of the infamous Nostromo. READ MORE
Damon Lindelof Explains Why He Isn’t Writing ‘Prometheus 2′
It’s been known for some time that Damon Lindelof (“Lost”, Star Trek Into Darkness) won’t be returning to script the sequel for Prometheus, and now we have an explanation as to why. This will no doubt please many of you who felt that Jon Spaihts’ original draft of the film, Alien: Engineers, was superior.
I can sort of respect his decision – he didn’t want to juggle too many things at once. He told Collider about his conversation with director Ridley Scott, “The thing about Prometheus was it was a rewrite. Jon Spaihts wrote a script and I rewrote it. And still it was a year of my life that I spent on Prometheus, kind of all in. The idea of building a sequel to it—from the ground up this time—with Ridley is tremendously exciting. But at the same time, I was like, “Well that’s probably going to be two years of my life.” I can’t do what J.J. [Abrams] does. I don’t have the capability. I’m usually very single-minded creatively. I can only be working on one thing at a time. So I said to him, “I really don’t think I could start working on this movie until I do this other stuff. And I don’t know when the other stuff is going to be done.” And he was like, “Well, okay, it’s not like I asked you anyways.” He and I are on excellent terms and it was a dream come true to work with him. But much to the delight of all the fanboys, I don’t see myself being involved in Prometheus-er.”
Head over to Collider for more. Prometheus made a good deal of money so the sequel is a somewhat high priority over at Fox. Who do you think should write it?
[Script To Scream] Would ‘Alien: Engineers’ Have Been A Better Movie Than ‘Prometheus’?!
Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve done this column but I think the surfacing of the script for Alien: Engineers, the original incarnation of Prometheus, is a pretty good occasion, right? Ever since the release of Prometheus over the summer there’s been intense debate between the film’s fans and its (many) detractors – would it have been better as a straight Alien prequel? Would it have made more sense? Would the characters still have been petting alien vagina snakes for no reason? I mostly liked the film, but I certainly understand some of these gripes.
We’ve always known that there are two writers on the film, Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof. Many of the film’s logical shortcomings were laid at the latter’s feet, which is understandable. He was the last writer on the project. But now that Spaihts’ original draft of Alien: Engineers has surfaced we can trace the exact origins of the elements that made up Prometheus. And, true to the conceit of the film, the answers are frustrating. While there’s some cool stuff, including lots more actual Xenomorph/Alien carnage, in Alien: Engineers – it’s surprisingly close to the Prometheus we’ve come to know and love (or hate).
So now it’s time to do an in-depth breakdown of some key differences. Do they still pet the snake? Does Fifield still turn into a Zombie? Is all of the “God” stuff still in there? Does old man Weyland still show up at the end to take you out of the movie?
All is answered inside. READ MORE
[OMFG] Read The ‘Prometheus’ Script Before Damon Lindelof Rewrote It!!!
Over the past few weeks I had been on the hunt for a certain screenplay, one that has now leaked online thanks to Scribd.
BY CLICKING HERE you can download and read Jon Spaihts’ “Alien: Engineers,” his original screenplay for Fox’s Alien prequel that was later rewritten by Damon Lindelof as Prometheus, the final product that’s now on home video.
Spaihts, who also penned the garbage The Darkest Hour, is said to had focused on keeping the story within the actual realm of Alien – meaning, you’ll read about facehuggers, chestbursters and all that good stuff.
While I am one of the rare few who actually enjoy Prometheus, I am still dying to see how the original story played out, and why Fox felt the need to bring in Lindelof to mix it up. We’ll report back with a “Script to Scream” soon enough…. READ MORE
[BD Review] ‘Coma’ Lacks Oomph
The idea of a medically induced coma is not that terrifying. Sometimes patients are so ill that their bodies need a deep rest to heal. The miniseries, Coma, based on the 1977 novel by Robin Cook and the 1978 movie of the same name, uses the idea of comas and pushes them into the horror realm. What if patients, during routine operations, were forced into comas so that they could be used for medical experimentation?
The four-hour series originally aired on A&E in September of this year. The promotional commercials for the program were far more intriguing than the series itself. Condensed into two parts for the DVD, the 160 minutes of Coma are entertaining, but fall short in achieving mind blowing capacity. Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) plays Susan Wheeler, a young medical student who discovers that an alarming number of patients from operating room #8 at Peach Tree Memorial Hospital are falling into comas during surgery.
The series, which was executive produced by Ridley Scott and his brother Tony Scott, falls short in the scares. There is just too much going on. One moment we’re learning that Wheeler’s grandfather was the founder of the hospital, then we are seeing a viral video about the Jefferson Institute which houses coma patients after their insurance lapses and then we’re seeing that the head physicians at the hospital – some of which are having affairs with each other – are entangled in some sort of conspiracy which they are keeping tight lipped about. There is, again, just too much going on.
The biggest flaw of the series is actually the inclusion of a subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere at all. Michael Weston, who actually played a nutcase that took Michael C. Hall for a psychotic joyride on Six Feet Under, does what he does best: he plays a deranged lunatic. He is a creepy patient of Geena Davis’s Dr. Lindquist that was released on her recommendation after he killed a young lady. His character, Peter Arno, stalks Susan Wheeler, trying to kill her while he has hallucinations of trees from the forest that he killed the girl in long ago. It simply does not fit into the story – even when we find out in the end that Dr. Lindquist, who has been medicating and instructing Arno everyday, has moved on to continue her medical expertise in China.
While Lauren Ambrose is strong in her performance, throwing in roles for James Woods and Richard Dreyfess make it seem like it was just so the series could be marketed by name dropping. The standout performance by far is Ellen Burstyn. After not looking at the box in fear of spoilers (I’ve never seen the original film or read the novel) it took a moment to see that it was indeed Chris MacNeil from The Exorcist. Burstyn is gorgeous for her age and watching her performance as Mrs. Emerson is mesmerizing. She has the character down, and with her accent and mannerisms, she is the main focus and it’s a shame that we could expand more on that storyline rather than spending time on Arno and his trees/stalking of Susan.
The DVD is nicely packaged with haunting artwork of a suspended coma patient and all of our big name stars. Sadly, there is nothing special to this DVD. There are no extras, only the option of watching the series in one, two or both parts together. Though the pace is pretty quick, the storyline drags somewhat, which is easy to explain as watching it on television with commercials would have broken it up and perhaps made it easier to swallow.
While the idea of forced coma and ultimate medical experimentation is disturbing, not exploring the ethical elements of using humans as guinea pigs is a big strike against Coma. Perhaps the novel delves into this world paralleling the past of humans playing God, or even the inhumane doings of the Nazis (which did lead to certain breakthroughs in the end) – but the A&E miniseries lacks that little oomph that could have made it that much more.
[Blu-ray Review Round-Up] ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ ‘The Pact,’ ‘They Live,’ ‘Vamps,’ and ‘Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary’
In this week’s round-up, I take a look at Criterion’s Rosemary’s Baby (10/30/12) release, IFC’s The Pact (11/06/12), Scream Factory’s They Live (11/06/12) disc, the forgettable Vamps (11/13/12), and Warner Bros. Blade Runner 30th Anniversary set (10/23/12) – which isn’t horror, but pretty great anyway. There are a few highly anticipated titles in the mix this week, so let’s get to it! READ MORE
Ridley Scott To Produce Low-Budget Horror Films!
Per Variety, Ridley Scott (Prometheus, Alien) and Scott Free London have pacted with Focus Features International and Orchard Media to produce low-budget genre films. The deal will see Scott exec produce a slate of six horror, thriller and sci-fi features over three years. Focus will handle worldwide sales on the projects. Produced in association with Northern Ireland Screen, the films will use primarily Northern Ireland locations, crew, cast and services for primary shooting.
“Our target is to create a structure that enables filmmakers to push boundaries and to excite audiences,” said Scott. “Our proposed model of filmmaking allows us to give helmers the opportunity to really innovate through narrative, production techniques and distrib strategies.”
This could be pretty cool, but we’ll see. Scott has always excelled at broad canvas epics, as a producer will he be able to wrangle unique visions on a smaller economic model?
Coma (TV)
A young medical student discovers that something sinister is going on in her hospital after routine procedures send more than a few seemingly healthy patients into comas on the operating table.
12 Alternate ‘Prometheus’ Posters! The Genesis Of A Marketing Campaign
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his quasi Alien prequel, hit Blu-ray and DVD recently both in the UK and in the States. And what you’re seen is most certainly not the first conceptual iteration of the film.
Just as it morphed from a pure Alien prequel into something different (more on that here and here), the marketing campaign itself morphed as the studio went through its internal processes on how to best sell the film.
PrometheusMovie got their hands on some unused posters for the film. While I can’t be 100% sure that all of these are real (and the international and domestic dates are in flux), a lot of them sure seem like it. Some play up the xenomorph cave-drawing, some play up acidic alien blood eating through metal and others are variations of the existing campaign. While I’m assuming that the general direction of the film had long since been decided by the point Fox got around to testing these ideas, it’s interesting to see them move in a similar direction. Further and further from an Alien prequel.
Head inside to check them out. READ MORE
Here’s What The ‘Prometheus’ Chestburster Was Supposed To Look Like!
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his quasi Alien prequel, hit Blu-ray and DVD recently both in the UK and in the States. It apparently features some killer documentaries about the film’s development process from being a straight Alien prequel to its more heady end result.
About a week ago we provided you with a rundown of what original writer Jon Spaihts’ draft might have looked like had Ridley Scott put it up onscreen. And now we have a visual rendering of what a chestburster might have looked like in the film via a piece of concept art. If you’ll remember from last week’s article, the chestbursting was intended to occur during a sex scene between Shaw and Holloway. So be prepared for some male naughty bits.
Head inside for a more complete rendering of the Prometheus chestburster!! Warning – the image is a bit NSFW. READ MORE
Horror Education of the Week: ‘Prometheus’
Prometheus.
Some of you liked it. The majority of you hated it.
I adore it.
The prequel/not a prequel to Alien (and now maybe it’s a sequel to Blade Runner) follows Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and Dr. Charlie Holloway, along with a crew, to LV-223. After finding multiple drawings across Earth, all depicting the same god-like figure, they set out on their journey to this distant planet. There they hope to find the answers to mankind.
Perhaps Prometheus can be seen as a warning to our society to not put our trust in man as a god. It can also be seen as a warning to not put all of our faith in an invisible God.
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A Glimpse Into The ‘Prometheus’ Script, Back When It Had Xenomorphs, Facehuggers And Chestbursters!
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his quasi Alien prequel, will be arriving on both Blu-ray and DVD this coming week on both the UK and in the States.
I found a lot to like in the film, though I can’t really argue with its many detractors. The logic is utterly nonexistent in many of the characters. Still, I liked the ideas it tried to wrestle with. And visually I thought it was stunning. But a lot of folks wished it had been much more of an Alien film (that last, brief, xenomorph tag not being enough for them). And it was! At least back in Jon Spaihts‘ original draft (before Damon Lindelof came onboard).
Head inside to check out some details on what Prometheus was like back when it had Facehuggers, Chestbursters (during sex even) and Xenomorphs. Oh, and ostensibly more character motivation! READ MORE
[OMFG] What If I Told You That The World Of ‘Prometheus’ And ‘Blade Runner’ Coexist?!
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his quasi Alien prequel, will be arriving on both Blu-ray and DVD this coming week on both the UK and in the States. Some of the UK readers will get their hands on a Steelbook Edition that apparently carries an Easter Egg of epic proportion. Reddit user Huxleyism discovered that on the UK edition (it could also be included on the U.S. release) hides text written by character Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), which seems to indicated that Weyland’s mentor was a certain replicant-creating tycoon whose creations eventually got the best of him, ScreenCrush first reported.
Inside we’ve got an explanation, along with a screengrab of this genre-changing log. READ MORE
Hated ‘Prometheus’? Check Out The HONEST Trailer For Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ Prequel!
I loved Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, his Alien prequel that’s received quite a bit of flack for it’s inconstancies and lack of explanation. It’s hard to argue with a lot of the criticism, so I just respond with: “I don’t really give a fu, so suck it.”
Still, it’s fun to rib on the film, especially since it was penned by Damon Lindelof, the “genius” behind that “Lost” show (I’m still steaming angry).
Andy Signore & Brett Weiner feel the same way, but also hated Prometheus, which is why they’ve teamed to create the hilarious “Honest Trailer” for the film that teases: “From the creator of one of the most beloved horror sci-fi films of all time comes … this. Discover the biggest mysteries of the summer – like why they made it.”
Watch it below and then tell us, what did you think of Prometheus (arriving on home video next Tuesday)? READ MORE
Horror Education of the Week: ‘Aliens’
Aliens. The 1986 sequel to Alien. Written and directed by James Cameron, this companion piece equally masters the depth and beauty of the original film.
Our heroine, Ripley, is awakened fifty-seven years after closing her sleep chamber only to learn that a colony has been established on the planet where her alien nemesis was originally found. When all contact is lost, Ripley is asked to join a team to find out the cause. The cause she is almost certain she’s familiar with…
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[BD Caption Contest] Win “Texas Chainsaw 3D” On Blu-ray!!!