Fascinating Timeline on Prometheus Progress

The film was first reported in mid-2009 as an untitled prequel to Scott's 1979 science fiction horror film Alien. Scott sought to produce the prequel and have former commercial director Carl Erik Rinsch to direct it, but 20th Century Fox, which owns the Alien franchise rights, wanted Scott to be the director. By July of 2009, Scott was attached to direct the film. Screenwriter Jon Spaihts had pitched to Fox his approach to the prequel. The studio and Scott liked the pitch and hired Spaihts to write the screenplay. Scott anticipated setting the film 30 years prior to Alien and to produce the film in two parts and in 3D. The director said in an interview, "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?" The story, which originally went through several drafts, featured a female lead character and would present a "technologically feasible" view on the early stages of "near faster-than light" travel, as well as focus on terraforming and Weyland Industries before its merger with the Yutani Corporation. The film would explore the nature and origin of the unknown extraterrestrial race, who only had a brief appearance in the first Alien as the derelict spaceship's pilot. Scott also announced that the original Zeta II Reticuli planetary system would have been part of the prequel story. Screenwriter Damon Lindelof was hired to revise Spaihts's screenplay. In October of 2010, Lindelof submitted the revised screenplay to 20th Century Fox. The studio was pleased because it had contested Scott's proposed budget of $150–160 million and found Lindelof's screenplay to be more budget-conscious; Scott had initially requested a $250 million budget along with an R rating, but 20th Century Fox was reluctant to invest so much money in a film that was not PG-13. In December 2010, in response to comments made on Twitter, Chris Petrikin a spokesman for 20th Century Fox, denied rumours that the film would be named "Paradise". In January of 2011, the film was confirmed to be titled Prometheus with a release date for 2012. Scott downplayed the film's ties to the Alien franchise. He said, "While Alien was indeed the jumping-off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative." However, speaking to MTV on February 12, 2011, Fassbender stated the film was still an Alien prequel, saying, "Prometheus is absolutely connected to Alien... There's a definite connecting vein." In a June 2011 interview, screenwriter Damon Lindelof claimed it will be a prequel to the Alien films but follow a different story, stating "a true prequel should essentially [precede] the events of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters, have an entirely different theme, although it takes place in that same world. That was my fundamental feeling about what this movie wanted to be". In an interview on the BBC Morning Show, Rafe Spall further confirmed that the film would indeed be a prequel to Alien, saying, "I think fans of the franchise will love it. Alien is one of the best films ever made, and it’s a real buzz to be in a space suit on an ‘Alien’ set with Ridley Scott coming and speaking to you. It’s incredible. That’s why I wanted to be an actor, to be in a space suit on an ‘Alien’ set". On November 10, 2010, a tweet by Henry South, a visual FX designer working on the Alien prequel, indicated the film had gone into production. Arthur Max is in charge of the film's production design, heading a small Pinewood Studios art department whose task is to deconstruct the first Alien and reverse-design the prequels from the original art and visuals. The Alien itself will be reenvisioned as a progenitor of the received form of the Xenomorph, and Scott reported that he had planned to contact H. R. Giger for possible artistic collaboration. At Comic Con, Damon Lindelof stated that the film is keeping as many practical effects as possible. The only mention of CGI used was for on-set pre-visualization of external space visuals. Roger Christian, art director on the first Alien, speculated that the film would be shot in 3-D, which was eventually confirmed by Ridley Scott. Since 3-D films need high lighting levels on set, the hallmark atmosphere of the Alien films with darkness and shadows will be added in post-production through grading processes, while the 3-D equipment will be based on post-Avatar technology. Filming began in March 2011. After three weeks filming at Pinewood Toronto Studios, production moved in May to Pinewood Studios in London. The 007 Stage was used for one of the set pieces. Filming went underway in Iceland for a two-week shoot. Ridley Scott stated that this location will occupy the first 15 minutes of the film as a "beginning of time" sequence. It is also reported that filming will move over to Spain in November where scenes involving a water tank and a ship will be shot. Construction is already underway in Alicante on the water pit to recreate the ship of the protagonists in the film.