Alien Prequel Update

With Ridley Scott's Robin Hood incarnation done, dusted and out in theatres,it is time for his next project to finally start picking up momentum. Harsh? Maybe, but i know what I'd rather queue and see and now the two-part Alien prequel has his undivided attention. Luckily for us, Scott has spoken a little more about the project with The Independent.

What do we know? In its current stage, the Lost co-creator Damon Lindoff is close to turning in a newly polished script and surely the casting announcements / rumours will soon be starting to come marauding in, so it appears that the project is running along smoothly. It needs to, as Scott himself confesses, 'Jim's raised the bar and I've got to jump to it', obviously referring to Cameron's 'The Bitch is Back' barnstorming Alien sequel, before adding, 'He's not going to get away with it.' Nothing wrong with a little rivalry here.

With the film set 30 years before the events of Scott's Academy Award winning original Alien from 1979, the prequels will unleash the dark origins of the Xenomorph with acid for blood and bad social skills spawned from the mind of H.R.Giger.

'The film will be really tough, really nasty, It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?" revealed Scott.

Interesting to note that this dimension to the film would in effect create a loop onto the further sequels. If the prequels show the Alien as a species designed for war or a process of terraform is created on a planet, it would indeed link to the corporate enterprise storyline that sits firmly within the franchise, whereby human try to steal and manipulate the Alien for the same gain.

More as it arrives

Cameron On Avatar Sequels

With the release of Avatar James Cameron moved the bar in cinematography. Fact. Cinema has experimented with new worlds, Cameron has pushed the visual capacity to create them. The complexity and depth of Pandora has assured the future of the Avatar series; even with a story that becomes the anticlimax of the entire film. Anticipation, however, remains high for new instalments and Cameron is eager to deliver.

"Avatar 2... we're still working on deals. We don't start the movie until we get the deals worked out," he said to MTV. "I'm making notes. I'm not sitting idle...But really, what i'm working on primarily is the novel."

Cameron revealed that he had always intended to create a novelization of Avatar but there was not enough time aside from production of the film to complete it. "I didn't want to do a cheesy novelization, where some hack comes in and kind of makes it up. I wanted to do something that was a legitimate novel that as inside the characters' heads and didn't have the wrong culture stuff, the wrong language stuff, all that". Passionate, that is the only word that can be conjured from Cameron's insight; that is no bad thing leading into yet another new frontier sequel.

The reasoning behind Cameron's desire to finalize the novels before moving on to the sequel is testament to his passion. "ideally that [the novel] becomes a kind of bible for any other writers that want to come along and riff off with other Avatar-based stories, which I’m not ruling out. I don’t mind opening up the Universe I just don’t want that to happen until I’ve got more meat on the bones because the film is pretty spare when it comes to a lot of the specific details about the back story, the history, the company, what’s happening on Earth, you know, Grace’s back story, Jake’s back story, all that stuff. That all needs to be filled in before other writers can come in and run with it."

So basically Cameron does not want anybody coming treading over his vision of Avatar, nor does he want anybody coming in to this world without being able to envisage the background or 'meat' that holds it together.The irony is not lost in Cameron's words, remember when a Terminator movie could be classed as the science fiction movie around? Cameron does, we do, it was before it was interfered with by outside influences. See this novel as a counter measure.

On the movies themselves, Cameron suggested that two follow up sequels to Avatar could be shot back to back, though nothing has been decided yet. Yet, on the very nature and scale that these films are produced, if there was to be an Avatar 2 and 3, it would appear logical to tackle them together.

Paul Greengrass Set For A Fantastic Voyage

Known for his visceral immediacy and hand-held majesty, Paul Greengrass is not the first name that would be drawn out if you were thinking about recreating a 1966’s classic Sci-Fi romp Fantastic Voyage, yet he is circling the job that is being produced by James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment.

According to Variety, the film is being treated as a big event movie by 2Oth Century Fox. It will be shot in the Cameron patented 3d technology used on the ground-breaking Avatar, in other words it will be properly shot in 3d, and not converted in the editing process of post-production like many new releases under the guise of 3d.

The script penned by Shane Salerno sees a scientist who is gravely ill, with no conventional help available, his colleagues are miniaturized and injected into the bloodstream so they can battle his medical issues with the help of a high-tech sub.

After the political yarns of the Bourne franchise and Green Zone dominating Greengrass’ work plate of late, it would indeed be a step in a different direction, but that just may be the point. There is a time when undeniable talent becomes tired and flat carving the same ornament each time, and this would provide a completely fresh challenge to his trademark style, there is no doubt that this project would deliver a very different Greengrass film, and we for one would love to see it. 

MATT RICHARDSON

Fincher goes Heavy Metal

According to Deadline Hollywood, David Fincher is resurrecting Heavy Metal, an animated anthology film, that he originated two ago, only for paramount to drop the project.

However, Fincher is now pitching a much more appealing proposition to studios. In its latest incarnation Avatar director James Cameron is set to direct one of nine segments, with Watchmen director Zack Snyder set for another. Fincher, of course, will direct his own segment. And, just to tantalize those studio executives a little further the whole thing will be in 3D animation.

Commencing In 1977, Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comic, known for its blend of violence and erotica.  It has already spawned one film adaptation in 1981 and a sequel in 2000. This version will consist of eight to nine segments, each by a different director, and all infused with the spirit of the Heavy Metal, if like previous releases they will infuse different storylines most likely to run parallel much like the successful Sin City.

The project is yet attached to a financier, or a distributor, but this is sure to change. While the project would appear to be niche, the individual successes of Cameron, Snyder, and Fincher cover all the bases to get this picture green lit. With further talent to be added, it is a matter of time before it is officially signed up.

MATT RICHARDSON