Editorials
Badass ‘Prometheus’ Alternate Scene Would’ve Made the Movie So Much Cooler!
When it was released in 2012, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus more or less split audiences right down the middle. While some felt that the film was a total mess, full of plot holes and plagued by frustratingly unanswered questions, others praised the heady sci-fi flick for working as both its own movie and a clever prequel to the original Alien. I personally fell into the latter camp, and consider Prometheus a more-than-worthy addition to the overall Alien mythology.
But there’s one scene they kind of messed up.
In the film, the character Fifield (played by Sean Harris) falls into a puddle of alien goo shortly after discovering the creatures known as Hammerpedes, and later is shown to have been completely mutated into some sort of monster. His face melted and his forehead bulged out, the hideous Fifield goes on a bloody rampage inside the hangar bay, and is ultimately crushed underneath the tires of a group transport vehicle. It’s a confusing scene, as it’s unclear what exactly the alien goo has turned Fifield into, and many fans have noted that he looks more like an infected zombie than anything else.
The original version of that scene was SO MUCH COOLER.
In the original Prometheus script (titled Alien: Engineers, at the time), writer Jon Spaihts used the transformation of Fifield as a means to more directly connect the film to Alien. When Fifield shows back up at the hangar bay, he has quite literally transformed into a Xenomorph, described as having an elongated skull, impossibly long arms, claw-like talons, and dorsal tubes tearing out of his spacesuit. Sounds pretty cool, right? What’s even cooler is that the scene, as Spaihts originally wrote it, was actually created in post-production.
When Prometheus hit Blu-ray, the four-disc set contained a whopping 7+ hours of bonus features, including a 3 1/2 hour documentary and all sorts of deleted/extended/alternate scenes. The most must-watch of those scenes that were left on the cutting room floor is hands down the original Fifield attack sequence, which is pretty close to Spaihts’ original vision for the scene.
With generous amounts of CGI laid over top of the practical makeup effects, the alternate scene reveals that the black goo literally turns human hosts into Xenomorphs, adding another layer to the mythology of the creatures and making for a pretty chilling sequence that makes a whole lot more sense than the one that ended up in the finished cut of the film. Yea, for once, CGI was kind of a good thing.
Ultimately, the added-in-post CGI was removed from the scene, presumably because Ridley Scott desired to separate Prometheus from the Alien franchise a bit more than was originally intended. Then again, the film does end with a baby Xenomorph being born, so one has to wonder why this incredibly badass version of Fifield’s transformation didn’t make the final cut.
Is it just me or would a human-Xenomorph hybrid have made Prometheus so much cooler?
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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