Joss Whedon effect on Prometheus

PerfectOrganism2
MemberOvomorphJanuary 29, 20122947 Views35 RepliesWell we al know that Ridley has used a script written by a T.V scriptwriter, who has never made a film before, so lets take a look at what happened the last time a television writer was used to pen an Alien movie............
Joss Whedon!!!!!!
Alien Ressurection!!!!!!!
He had never written a movie before, and the few he has done are not very good, to be fair, and was primarily a television show writer just as Damon Lindelof is(Lost)
And we all know what a travesty Alien Ressurection was in some respects.
So my question is, will Prometheus become 'colonial marines, average at best, weekly episodic T.V mini-series'? Or will a Television show writer be able to pull off the script of not just the decade, but of the century?????
January 29, 2012
I believe Lindelof is part of the JJ Abrams team that pulled of the Star Trek reboot - That is encouraging.
January 29, 2012
Well, I hope so.
The Star Trek movie was ok. But I'm not sure how much involvement damon had in its making.
January 29, 2012
I think you've rightly addressed the elephant in the room! I think it is up there on the list of concerns. As we know LOST went to crap...but Lindelof was a principle script writer. My hope with Prometheus is that Ridley moderates Lindelof, taking the best of his ideas and putting them into practice, yet suppressing any of the sillier concepts.
Just another quick point; did anyone notice the comments Theron made at Comic-con? She basically stated that she had worked with Ridley and Lindelof to re-write her character :S that is another definite worry for me.
January 29, 2012
The filter or balancing factor here is Ridley Scott, I'm sure he would not let crap slip by; so I would not worry much about that though. Alien Resurrection in my opinion was not a bad or incongruent story, but the style of the film seemed kind of "batmanish" to me, it just had a different feel to it. I am hoping that Prometheus taps into the original Alien movie feel, as rarely do you see movies of that intensity and caliber.
January 29, 2012
i dont see Prometheus become something horrendous like Serenity ... there are some TV scripts that are just great and many mainstream movies scripts that suck ...so i dont see a connection .
The good thing in Lindelof is the characterization of the cast ...he always do a good work ( like in Cowboys Vs Aliens ) ...less good is how he wrap up things ...in lost that was atrocious ...in cowboys and aliens too ( the sultry alien woman was atrocious ) ..lets hope everything will work in prometheus
January 29, 2012
sounds like your admitting that Lindelof is a poor choice for script writer on such a "groundbreaking" movie, Frantz?
The end of Promtheus will be (possibly) ambiguous just for the sake of it, rather than to actually benefit the story of the Alien-universe
January 29, 2012
[b]@PerfectOrganism2[/b] don't put words in his mouth, come on. We're all here to discuss Prometheus, this isn't a battle between those who think it will be great and those who think it will fail. If that is what you're after then let me politely re-direct you to the [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/board/]IMDB forums[/url].
January 29, 2012
Yup Mentos is right ...
IF someone say " i think prometheus will fail" he will be a prisoner of that idea and inside he will hope it will fail ...just to be able say "i told you folks !!"
also there are hundreds of shades between the "average at best, weekly episodic T.V mini-series" script and the script "of the century"
January 29, 2012
Good writing is good writing, wherever you find it. IMO, contemporary television and film script writers are often too self-indulgent, in trying to show just how clever they can be by employing multiple, uneccesary plot-twists, when a more straightforward story-line would work just as well, if not better.
January 29, 2012
In all fairness to Joss Whedon, even he says that "Alien Resurrection" is "unwatchable": http://www.bullz-eye.com/mguide/interviews/2005/joss_whedon.htm
"Uh...you know, it wasn’t a question of doing everything differently, although they changed the ending, it was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong. They said the lines...mostly...but they said them all wrong. And they cast it wrong. And they designed it wrong. And they scored it wrong. They did everything wrong that they could possibly do. There’s actually a fascinating lesson in filmmaking, because everything that they did reflects back to the script or looks like something from the script, and people assume that, if I hated it, then they’d changed the script...but it wasn’t so much that they’d changed the script; it’s that they just executed it in such a ghastly fashion as to render it almost unwatchable. "
January 29, 2012
In resurrection the breath analyzer/recognition thing for entering restricted areas was so, in my opinion stupid/funny, I was waiting for Father to respond with " Jesus!, that breath is so bad it has to be the Commander".
I know 1 little element in the movie, but there were many more that I cringed at.
January 29, 2012
I thinl the mass disliked alien 3 because
they were expecting something that
was like aliens, but instead have a bunch
of prisoners in an outlandish planet.
without any modern weapons.
Then many might disliked the depressive
Tone of the movie.
but i think the movie was good.
Alien resurrection however waa totally
different. It waa not seriious for me
And many dialogs were really lame.
The best scene of that movie was
Indeed how ripley confronts her clones.
but the newborn, the guy with the chestburster
killing the scientist were really a big facepalm.
Then the aliens looked also not as cool
And well designed than in the previous
movies. Nothing giger style but just exrremely
slimy.
January 29, 2012
I understand why people don't enjoy Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection all that much but I loved them. Alien 3 was incredibly badass, so was Resurrection. I'm sorry these films weren't what you wanted but seriously what were people expecting? Just more guns and Aliens? Another repeat of Alien? Of course they could be done differently. But so could any other film. But these films have A LOT to put forth for the series. Alien 3 was incredible. The acting was superb and it was a dark, gritty and powerful. Alien Resurrection was creepy, melodic and sensational. Alien 3 was nominated for an academy award for best visuals and Alien Resurrection sparked some AMAZING scenes. The scene where Ripley confronts her aborted clones has sparked multiple parodies in other shows even freaking South Park. I'm sorry people don't like these movies but I fucking loved them. I'm willing defend these films but its unfortunate many people don't see the amazing execution and creative content these films produced.
These films broadened the series with new life. Just because they weren't given the notoriety of Alien and Aliens doesn't make them bad films. Its difficult finding others who will defend Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. Its too bad because in my heart these films are just as good as Alien and Aliens. I love every single one of the films because they were all different and the character was consistent. I just wish one day people would embrace these films and realize the true value of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. It was AVP that desecrated everything. AVP took away Ripley, it took away the true Alien and insulted fans. Those were the films that sucked. We rooted for Ripley, we fought for her and AVP destroyed any chance of an Alien 5 which Ridley Scott and James Cameron were in the talks of doing. It would of fully explored the Ripley 8 character which many people complain about. It would of been an EPIC and for me it was when AVP came in that shit hit the fan.
As a full collection of films. Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection created a full circle of excitement and quality. Opinions are just opinions and Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection will ALWAYS be apart of the series whether someone accepts them or not. They are fantastic films and its sad that many don't realize that.
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January 29, 2012
and surely Wheldon cannot blame the cast of alien resurrection ..was indeed an excellent cast ( with some overacting of sigourney imo ).
the problem with Alien 3 and Alien resurrection is that they arrive AFTER two movies that have made history .
THATS my ranking
ALIEN - Cinematography 10 Acting 10 Scare 10 Cool 7 script 9 base idea 10
ALIENS - Cinematography 9 Acting 9 Scare 7 Cool 8 Script 9 base idea 8
Alien3 - Cinematography 8 Acting 8 Scare 7 Cool 6 Script 6 Base idea 6
Alien R - Cinematography 7 Acting 7 Scare 5 Cool 7 Script 6 Base idea 7
January 29, 2012
ALIEN3 suffered from terrible special effects, bad to the point where they took the audience out of the film every time they came on screen. The opening sequence of ALIEN3 made absolutely no sense; I really can't put into words just how nonsensical it was.
And to sum up ALIEN Res? Dear god. Overacting, terrible dialogue, bad editing, and a script so bad it was cringe worthy. Honestly the script felt like something I would have written at the age of about nine.
The negatives from each film negate any positives they might hold! But in the interest of fairness ALIEN 3 had beautiful sets and some great background murals for the exterior shots. ALIEN Res was equipped with fantastic miniature work for exterior shots of the space craft, good sets and great creature design.
January 29, 2012
When A3 came out I remember reading a number of reviews that stated something about the director's ability, or lack thereof, to pull it off. Something about his experience being in total... the direction of a Madonna video on MTV? Also, a number of critics did not like the fact that the artistic decision had been made to return to the original "single alien will chase people around" scenario. I mean, they did make the host a dog so it looked different (which unfortunately spawned the "let's see how ridiculous we can make an alien look by giving it different hosts" toy line)... I pretty much gave up on the franchise returning to it's roots at that point.
I watched A:R with those lower expectations, and therefore liked it for the most part (until I saw Ripley's kid). Maybe a few of the underwater renders of the swimming aliens could've been better too. But it gave Sigourney one more chance to be (a) Ripley. Personally, it's a miracle any movie ever gets made. So many egos are involved it's a wonder anything makes it to the big screen.
I look forward to Prometheus being able to recapture some of the original tone of the franchise and perhaps even making it more epic in the end.
January 29, 2012
Alien- Was a groundbreaking/revolutionary science-fiction masterpiece. Dark, tense, incredible story, real characters, developed plot, full of mystery.
Aliens- Was a roller coaster ride of heart pounding action. Scary at times and then full on action the next. Genuine masterpiece of a film that gave Sigourney Weaver's "Ripley" character the notoriety she has today.
Alien 3- Is akin to a fine wine; it matures with age. An underrated if somewhat misunderstood masterpiece. Acting was incredible, dark and real in its tone and gave the alien a new perspective in its development.
Alien Resurrection- Was a melodic, creepy yet sensational film. It was deformed and eerie its look. Gave Sigourney Weaver a dark, romantic, unpredictable twist in the "Ripley" character and really developed this form of unknown aborted identity.
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January 29, 2012
Personally, it's a miracle any movie ever gets made... It really is. Between the overbearing studio budget concerns and in-fighting between the directors, producers, crew, and talent... it's a wonder any kind of coherent story makes it to the big screen.
A3 & A:R weren't meant to be like the original "Alien" or sequel "Aliens." As stand alone movies, they survive on their own. It's only when we compare them to the first 2 films (which are vastly different from each other too), that some of us see them as "less than".
When they killed off Ripley's love interest and adopted child in the beginning of A3, I thought it was a cheap way out. When they killed her in the end... I said, so be it. This is the end of her story and she died a hero... It's over.
When they brought her back in A:R, I thought... OK... New Ripley stories... This will be interesting... Then...