New interview with Ridley Scott

MTV: "Can you tell me anything about the storyline for the next one?  Is this still going to be Shaw and David's story in the next 'Prometheus' story?"

Scott: "You have to. You can’t have a person go off into the galaxy and have a person who’s still got his head off. Once that head goes back on, he’s really dangerous, but he’s also very seductive. So maybe he’ll persuade her to help him put the head back.”

Sorry for my lack of dedication to the thread, and thanks for the details!

I have no interest in The Martian, so I am very frustrated by the long wait. Btw, The interview does not reveal too many new things, but I am still very excited to see David as a villain rather than an anti hero.

No worries, shambs.  I'm glad you posted the interview.

I too have been frustrated with the wait for 'Prometheus 2'.  I'm not frustrated with the wait for 'Blade Runner 2' because I don't see it "needing" a sequel to bolster it, whereas, I do with 'Prometheus'.  I have read The Martian and it was a fun, quick read.  But I feel like any other director could have done that one.  I'm for Ridley working on 'Prometheus 2', 'Blade Runner 2' and finally 'Forever War', in that order.

I thought many things were interesting in the interview, but his feelings towards comments about his movies is most interesting.  I think of all the people who hated 'Prometheus' with such passion that they felt compelled to spend (in some cases, I'm sure) hours on writing on blogs and forums why they didn't like it... and Ridley's general response is "screw your opinion, I make movies for me and I think I'm doing just fine since I've been doing it for 35 years... so f**k you very much". :-)

@ Shambs TY for posting this.

What I take from this interview is that it will be difficult to gauge when Prometheus 2 will come out, since Ridley is still undecided whether to direct Blade Runner.

Thanks for the link.

What Scott said is very interesting. The script won't turn David into a hero, a likeable savior. The tension between him and Shaw will continue and probably deepen. That's exciting because it'll add unpredictability and suspense to their interaction.

I just wish he'd confirm whether he will or nor direct it. Apparently the interviewer asked him something about it, but I couldn't understand his answer. Help?

Love Ridleys response to anti-Prometheus trolls who would rather b***h about a movie and whine about how it wasnt like Alien gets so old and stupid.

Love Ridleys response to anti-Prometheus trolls who would rather b***h about a movie and whine about how it wasnt like Alien gets so old and stupid.

Hmm not sure how many people wanted it to be another xeno film and that was the disappointment... I only saw a few. Most people were disappointed in it just not making sense! Which is funny because that was exactly what he mentioned in the interview explosions and surviving bit lol!

Damn another bit of bad news as well on Moses Ridleys latest film not going down well yet again I really hope the reviews are just plain wrong : http://www.rottentomatoes.com/mobile/m/exodus_gods_and_kings/ Ridley needs to take a look at interstellar and the methods used. Get experts in to advise on what's possible/makes sense scientifically. Not that interstellar was amazing just felt way more plausible even with the way out there 5th dimension :p ...anyway still hoping for good things on prometheus 2...

@djamelameziane, the string of not critically well received movies directed by Ridley Scott does seem to continue.  But based on what he said in that MTV interview about critics of his movies, I don't think he will change his approach to anything he does.  'Prometheus 2', 'Blade Runner 2', 'Forever War', or whatever he works on will be what they will be, regardless of outside noise.  Here's his response to critics in 2 separate parts of that interview...

"You get your head knocked off occasionally and what you learn very quickly, with the greatest respect, is I never read press.  Ever.  Once I got slaughtered after 'Blade Runner' by Pauline Kael.  Three pages of slaughter, I was so offended I would never read any more press.  You have to know what you've done.  The key thing is you can be the only person, you're your own critic."

This one after asked the same thing about critics of 'Prometheus'...

“You gotta ignore that. I don’t make films for other people, I make films for me. And so far it’s pretty good, because I'm still here after 35 years. So there’s a good expression for them… f**k you very much.”

I love me some Ridley snark! <3

(BTW, Prometheus received generally positive reviews. Not great acclaim by any means, but far from being universally rejected. Doubt me? Check Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Thank you)

Yes that blade runner thing comes up again and again yet I can't think of another his films that ever did the same thing. I loved blade runner from the first time I saw it although it was later on after it was released. How long was it after till it became popular? Prometheus is almost three years old now and I don't see people shifting on that lol. It is true you need to be thick skinned in that business can't blame him for what he says but it does feel like he's become an island only listening to himself and that can lead to problems...

@Cremildo, I agree that 'Prometheus' is not one of those in the string that I speak of, but if you look here at the list of movies he's directed, you'll see what I mean by a string.  I'm like Ridley, I don't care what critics say.  I like a movie, or I don't... it's that simple.  And I liked both 'Blade Runner' and 'Prometheus'.

@Membrane, I wasn't trying to contradict you. It was just an overall message to all Prometheus haters who mistakenly think the film got only bad reviews.

I'm aware the latest films by Ridley have been savagely criticized by professional reviewers. ;)

No I don't think anyone thinks it was all bad reviews anyway...I was disappointed and even I thought it was good kind of 6 out of ten. The disappointment came from it could have been a ten. And the fact alien was like an 11 out of ten! Amazing ideas some stunning visuals and some good awful script n plot changers. My point being I think more people were disappointed with what happened/the way it was executed nothing to do with there being not much xeno/alien link.

I just love how enthusiastic Ridley remains about the whole filmaking process. I mean it's definitely what he was born to do!

I hope he decides to direct the Prometheus and BladeRunner sequels. I just wish the respective studios would give him the fu***ng budget he needs, and the creative control to make them into freakin' three, four......or even five hour epics!

Rock on Ridley! 

And thanks Shambs! :)

I gonna get kicked for this....

But Ridley is argogant in a way, but thats just pride in his own work and he does have the ill do what i want attitude and wont bow to what the fans want but the story he wants to tell..

Thing is he was in favour of the first Draft, it was Fox who sugested a change, and Ridley agreed that the main focus has to be about who the Engineers/Space Jockey are and not about where the Xeno came from...

Which is a good point...

Alien left us with a few unknowns...

1) Where did the Xeno come from..?

2) Who was the Pilot where was he from?

3) Why did he have that Cargo?

4) Where was he going with it and where from?

5) Where did Weyland Yutani Come from?

The movie set out to answer 2, 3 for sure and hint a lot at 1 and 4 and a bit of 5 before Spaights draft was changed and we then got mainly minor clues to 2 and 5 and less so of 3 and 4 and not so much 1.

I think Ridley is kinda pissed at the fan boys who basically wanted a movie that showed how the Space Jockey ended up on LV 426 and where the Xeno came from, and at very least they wanted to know how the Xeno came from.

Ridley wanted more to touch upon the Space Jockey than the Xeno and saw the Xeno as well just a small part of their history, which is a good thing as to be fair we did not need to be seeing Xenos again, but some more clues would had been nice.

But what we got was well, a MESS!  the idea was sound, the going the route of the Engineers/Space Jockey was a massive massive gamble as well the scope is huge and now they gone that route, they are now in trouble tryingt to figure how the futher explore that.

Why we was created, how did they become what Ancient Mankind interpreted as Gods, and then why did they not come back to us and why they wanted us destroyed.

And then if these Gods are still alive, its what do we find when we find them...

This is a massive plot, that has potential problems to do justice, and i think they are now trying to tone that down, just as they toned town the Spaights draft to Lindeloffs i wonder if they will tone down the Engineers as Gods and our creators element for part 2.

The movie has flaws... plot wise it is great, so much potential but execution is flawed, and its to ambigious and then they decided to cuts stuff and re-edit and well butcher what had a better movie behind the scenes...

I know the Ridley fan boys will rush to support him, but while he is good director he is flawed.... and makes visual mistakes and goofs... but then  so do others.

I do in his defence think Fox are pulling a lot of strings to some of the changes...

Sadly they have not covered the questions from Alien, and i dont think they will, what they have done is give a lot of clues that allows us to all come to different conclusions... instead of a few more clues.

We do not need a Xeno fest movie to get them...

What Ridley needs worry about is he ant young is he..?

If there are the Xeno Orgins left untold or given clues, and if they dont touch upon a lot of Prometheus questions i,e the LV 223 purpose and outbreak and what becomes of LV 223 from after Prometheus to Alien....

Not only do these leave unanswered questions but they are questions that Fox could answer in 10-15 years time when Ridley would be gone or to old to put his on spin on it.

And thus a Alien Orgins movie comes out that could well tell the connection in ways that would make Ridley turn in his grave..

PS if Prometheus is Delayed a lot... and Ridley doing Blade Runner, bring in Peter Jackson.... lol yep he defo do great job...

Shame he not doing Star Wars as i dred the mess JJ will make of that..

Cant we just clone Peter Jackson? lol

Furthermore i would just like to add..

Im  not a Alien Fanboy, and i am glad we ant seeing a straight prequel, i feel the Xeno should had been given more clues... not left as vague then they could have closed the door on the Xeno with that movie, it never had to have Xenos running around.... just maybe a flash back or hologram scene that gave us more of a connection to the Mural and Frescos...

Never had to be Spoon Fed...

Then they could go and explore the Engineers/Space Jockeys and shut the door on the Xeno..

But looks like they will be instead shutting the door on the Ancient Astronaught plot...

Alien we saw some Giant Alien Pilot, and his Ship that had a deadly Cargo.....

Prometheus went the whole route trying to show us the Pilots race and how they created us and visited us and are in effect the Gods of old.... and also that they dabble in a lot of Genetic Engineer and Experiments in which we was created and upgrades but also on LV 223 something else on that place was created and experimented with that is connected to the Xeno but not said how....

Now looks like the back story given to the Space Jockey Race, will be changed and toned down or left as a mystery i,e why they created us etc etc...

And that David will unleash the Xeno Goo on what ever Gods they find to create a new Monster that is well similar to the Alien....  and thus could be a whole new Alien franchise based on a Alien that is different to the Alien how it evolved from Alien but similar to the Alien...

While the massive scope plot of these Engineers being a Race who Engineer life on Earth and other worlds and teach us stuff i,e upgrade us Genetically and Technologically could be well left as unexplored as the Space Jockey was in after Alien.

The movie has flaws... plot wise it is great, so much potential but execution is flawed, and its to ambigious and then they decided to cuts stuff and re-edit and well butcher what had a better movie behind the scenes...

Nothing was "butchered" or "re-edited" in Prometheus. If you mean the deleted scenes, well, every film has then. Their inclusion on the Blu-ray was a favor to consumers, not evidence that some sort of evil studio executive took the film from Scott's hands in post-production.

Even in films which Scott later released in an extended version there was no behind-the-scenes brouhaha: Scott is happy to oblige studios with the most commercially viable cut for theatrical exhibition, which is also supervised by him. If for whatever reason a studio decided to block Scott from the editing room, EVERYBODY would hear about it. Just like when Harvey Weinstein allegedly meddled with Scorsese during the making of Gangs of New York.

There is not a single shred of evidence that anything out of order happened during post in Prometheus.

As for the studio demanding changes in the script in the earliest stages of pre-productior... Again, it's absolutely normal when it comes to a tentpole like this. Ordinary procedure. No film is made from the first draft. Not ever. There are many, many iterations of the script before filming begins. Prometheus is not an arthouse project wholly conceived by an auteur - it's a 140-million blockbuster financed by a big studio anxious to make some serious bucks.

I wish Prometheus doubters and haters would know a little more about the production of films like these before spreading absurdly inaccurate stories about its making in order to "prove" that the film is somehow "flawed".

Do you want really butchered productions? Do you want actual behind-the-scenes tomfoolery? Google The Bourne Identity, Waterworld, World War Z, Scott's own Robin Hood, Ant Man, Mimic, The 13th Warrior, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Exorcist 4, Brothers Grimm etc. There are many examples.

Prometheus was "butchered" only in the minds of people who hold a very naïve picture of the filmmaking process.

@BigD, my friend, I would never "kick" anyone for their opinion and I'm sure no-one else would. You're a well respected member of the Prometheus community! :D

Ridley is in pretty damn fine company, considering the same Pauline Kael who critisised Orson Welles, and what is still considered the greatest film ever made: Citizen Kane, also "slaughtered" BladeRunner.

If he'd taken on board all the negitivity, he might never, ever, have made another film! As a director you have to protect yourself somehow.

Now it's my turn to be kicked...LOL

I believe that deep down, and up to a point, he does care what people/fan boys think, but that he doesn't let it bother him unduly!