Alien 5

[Ironwood]

Totally.

The Film Industry is starting to really annoy me.

[Mrbloodworth]

Natalie Portman, as a marine, you out of your dam mind casting people.   

[stu]

I'm wondering if it even gets made now, just because Scott has been adamant about making the movie as a hard R.

[Sir T]

Natalie Portman, as a marine, you out of your dam mind casting people.   

If you wanted nerd tits pulling power and someone that looks the part, they could go with that woman that played Starbuck in BSG. You could at least see her as a marine. But Portman??

I'm wondering if it even gets made now, just because Scott has been adamant about making the movie as a hard R.

The original Alien had relatively little gore aside from that scene with the chestbuster, and that wasn't really that bloody. Ditto with Aliens. If they were going for a SAW style film then that would be way over the top.

[Pezzle]

Is it in 3D?

[HaemishM]

If it isn't now, I'm sure it will be. 

[stu]

I'm wondering if it even gets made now, just because Scott has been adamant about making the movie as a hard R.

The original Alien had relatively little gore aside from that scene with the chestbuster, and that wasn't really that bloody. Ditto with Aliens. If they were going for a SAW style film then that would be way over the top.

You don't need gore to be considered a hard R. Alien is rated R the way Cronenberg movies earn their's. They are strictly adult and give you a little something to chew on while the wick burns. You might not get too many scenes with gore, but when you do, it's visceral and a hell of a lot more effective than the Saw movies. The scene with Ripley getting choked by a rolled-up magazine and what happens after is edgier than what a gore-fest can feed you. Cary Elwes sawing off his own foot is gnarly though, yeah.

[Ratman_tf]

I agree.

[Mrbloodworth]

Natalie Portman, as a marine, you out of your dam mind casting people.   

If you wanted nerd tits pulling power and someone that looks the part, they could go with that woman that played Starbuck in BSG. You could at least see her as a marine. But Portman??

Agreed. She has a few B-movie gigs (pre-BSG, one I feel directly got he the BSG job) where she plays various military roles.

Also, the "R" thing, the "R" of yesterday is not the same "R" as today.

[Cadaverine]

Also, the "R" thing, the "R" of yesterday is not the same "R" as today.

Almost all of todays horror films flat out suck.  It's just buckets of blood, and brain chunks.  There's no fright, just shlock.

Interestingly enough, the movie that scared me the most growing up was Poltergeist, which is PG.  Alien didn't bother me in the least as a child.

[01101010]

Also, the "R" thing, the "R" of yesterday is not the same "R" as today.

Almost all of todays horror films flat out suck.  It's just buckets of blood, and brain chunks.  There's no fright, just shlock.

Interestingly enough, the movie that scared me the most growing up was Poltergeist, which is PG.  Alien didn't bother me in the least as a child.

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

[Ratman_tf]

Interestingly enough, the movie that scared me the most growing up was Poltergeist, which is PG.  Alien didn't bother me in the least as a child.

Both movies tried to go for more primal fears. The thought of getting hurt is scary (Saw movies...) but it's a short ride. Stuff from Poltergiest or Alien can stay with you your whole life. Heh heh heh.

[Mortriden]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack. 

[Mrbloodworth]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack. 

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

[Samwise]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack.  

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

It's hard to believe today that movies used to be made using physical sets and costumes.

[Mrbloodworth]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack.  

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

It's hard to believe today that movies used to be made using physical sets and costumes.

There was an amazing amount of talent on that film, the work involved could only have been a labor of love.

[DraconianOne]

That site's a great find. Nice one.

On a side note: 2 months to build a model that's only used in one shot. Also, 2 months setting up lighting in a model that didn't get used at all! That's a whole lot of wasted time and money...

[HaemishM]

It's hard to believe today that movies used to be made using physical sets and costumes.

Chris Nolan intentionally uses real physical sets and costumes on some of the shots in his movies because he believes it looks better than CGI. That's one of the reasons Inception looks so damn good.

[Samwise]

On a side note: 2 months to build a model that's only used in one shot. Also, 2 months setting up lighting in a model that didn't get used at all! That's a whole lot of wasted time and money...

I'm going to guess you don't work on movies.  Or software, for that matter.   

[stu]

Yeah, the biggest problem with the first one is the way the alien moves around. (When you see the alien's shadow as it stalks up to Lambert, and when it picks itself up off the floor after Ripley awakens it) They do have the one shot, though, where it appears to be gliding up to Lambert with its arms outstretched. That's creepy as all hell.

Still, I prefer how it gets around in the other movies.

[DraconianOne]

I'm going to guess you don't work on movies.  Or software, for that matter.   

Curiously, both. But figures like that still stagger me and make the producer in me cringe.

[Mortriden]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack. 

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

Weird, I could have sworn Scott said something like that on my bonus DVD.  Now I'm going to re-watch that again.

[Sir T]

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack. 

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

Those photos are superb it shows the level of craftmanship they put into those Movies.

I remember reading how they had every Gun turret marked and placed on the physical models of the Star Destroyers and Battlestar Galactica. These guys took pride in their work.

[Mrbloodworth]

Most of the movies now are brutality based. Alien was suspense based. I will have to dig up the link, but I recall reading how Scott kept the alien from fully being seen in the first movie because it left things much more intense. Likewise for the view you did see of it, they were fleeting shots or just parts here and there - which blended even more with the surrounding environment...made things much more twitchy.

I believe it was also because the effects at the time could not hide the fact that "it was a tall man in a rubber suit".  When the Alien was on screen, and fully exposed, it broke all the suspense by being too unrealistic as an alien/recognizable as a person.  It's the same reason when the Captain gets attacked in the air vents you only see the Alien throw it's arms out to attack, you don't see the attack. 

Not so sure about that.

http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien%20%28page5%29.html

Weird, I could have sworn Scott said something like that on my bonus DVD.  Now I'm going to re-watch that again.

He likely did.

[Samwise]

I'm going to guess you don't work on movies.  Or software, for that matter.  

Curiously, both. But figures like that still stagger me and make the producer in me cringe.

My first job in the software industry (as an intern) was doing QA on a product that was in development for a couple of months and ended up being canned before it saw the light of day because it just wasn't going to work out.  IMO it's not wasted time as long as you learned something.  And the Aliens guy at least got a few really cool photos to show for it.

[Merusk]

It's hard to believe today that movies used to be made using physical sets and costumes.

Chris Nolan intentionally uses real physical sets and costumes on some of the shots in his movies because he believes it looks better than CGI. That's one of the reasons Inception looks so damn good.

It's a quickly dying art, too.  I can't remember which movie it was, but the director wanted to use more costumes and models than CGI, but they couldn't find folks able to build them.  Damnit, I wish I could remember which movie that was.

[stu]

Scott announced that the work he and his peeps were doing has morphed into a unique universe and the new Alien projects have... come undone? The new movie will be called Prometheus.

http://www.slashfilm.com/ridley-scotts-alien-prequel-longer-alien-prequel-prometheus-starring-noomi-rapace/#more-95911

[Ratman_tf]

Scott announced that the work he and his peeps were doing has morphed into a unique universe and the new Alien projects have... come undone? The new movie will be called Prometheus.

http://www.slashfilm.com/ridley-scotts-alien-prequel-longer-alien-prequel-prometheus-starring-noomi-rapace/#more-95911

Good on them. If it doesn't fit in the franchise anymore, I'm glad they're not going to hammer it into bits to make it fit.

[Jeff Kelly]

Seriously, I liked the pitch of the Lindelof script. I disagree with the casting but I liked the rest.

Maybe it's because I'm old and I actually like suspense more than gore. Alien is probably still one of the scariest movies I have ever seen in my life Alien and Alien 2 also are perfect examples that you can approach the premise of a story quite differently and make it feel like it's the same universe. From suspense horror to action flick while still keeping the essence.

I never got the appeal of Saw or all the other torture porn out there. Without the twist at the end Saw wouldn't even work as a movie (seriously just think about how good the movie still would be if you cut that out of the movie) and until then the shock value is wholly derived from the gruesome scenes which only work for a few minutes because you get numb really fast. If you have to go from Saw to Hostel and end up in human centipede territory just to make people still watch your movies, you have no winning formula.

Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity show that suspense horror still works. Nothing beats appealing to our most primal fears.

But Natalie Portman? Seriously? Sigourney Weaver sold the tough girl act. After all you'd have to be if you were on a mining vessel with a mostly male crew for years at a time. Natalie Portman would be like Winona Ryder in Alien 4 who was outclassed by Weaver from start to finish.

I like the suggestion of Katee Sackhoff though.

[Merusk]

I viewed SAW on SciFi when I saw it and it held up incredibly well as just a suspense/ thriller movie since all the gore was cut out.  If anything I think it was made better by not showing the scenes I later read about.   I think the gore stuff was in there just because of the demographic it's aimed at. 

[Mrbloodworth]

Saw one, was incredible, the rest? Not so much.

[Azazel]

Aren't they (Saw) pretty much just the same movie over and over?

[K9]

It's hard to believe today that movies used to be made using physical sets and costumes.

Chris Nolan intentionally uses real physical sets and costumes on some of the shots in his movies because he believes it looks better than CGI. That's one of the reasons Inception looks so damn good.

It's a quickly dying art, too.  I can't remember which movie it was, but the director wanted to use more costumes and models than CGI, but they couldn't find folks able to build them.  Damnit, I wish I could remember which movie that was.

A real shame too; some of the most visceral action movies are ones that predated heavy CGI use, and CGI could never quite recapture the feel of those movies.

[Engels]

nm

[apocrypha]

Most disappointing necro ever.