‘Prometheus’ star to return for sequel; original writer will not (yay!)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

Noomi Rapce told The Playlist this week of her excitement at the prospect of reuniting with Ridley Scott for Prometheus 2. Rapace revealed that a script for the sequel is currently underway, although she gave no clue as to who is writing it. It has been confirmed, however, that Damon Lindelof – much maligned for his work on Prometheus – will not be involved in the writing process.

"They're working on the script," said Rapace. "I met Ridley in London a couple of weeks ago. I would love to work with him again and I know that he would like to do another one. It's just like we need to find the right story. I hope we will." 

Rapace added: "It's interesting because most people I've talked to who've seen the movie, see things that are quite different. Some people who see the movie many times and discover new things. There are all these religious aspects and there are very interesting conversations. And for me, if we do a second one, there are a lot of things to explore in there and to continue."

Jon Spaihts, who wrote the original Prometheus draft (which was then re-written by Lindelof), told Empire last year that his version of the script contained plenty of big ideas and Alien references that never made it into the final product, suggesting there’s still plenty of scope for more familiar Xenomorphs and facehuggers in the sequel.

As its script is still in progress, Prometheus 2 is unlikely to burst from Fox’s belly until at least 2015, probably later. So we’ve a good while to wait before we see how (and if) Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw and Michael Fassbender’s David find their way to the Engineer’s home planet, and what wonders and horrors might greet them upon their arrival.

Related:

Prometheus did go to Zeta Reticuli, after all 

Prometheus did go to Zeta Reticuli, after all

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

In Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 movie Alien, after the crew of the Nostromo has awakened from their hyper-sleep, the ship’s navigator, Lambert (veronica Cartwright), states that they are “just short of Zeta II Reticuli.”

It’s a UFOlogical reference so fleeting that few in the UFO community seem to have noticed it – or, if they have, it’s rarely been discussed.

Zeta Reticuli, as any self-respecting UFO buff knows, is a binary star system in the constellation of Reticulum located approximately 39 light-years from Earth. The UFO buff knows this because Zeta Reticuli is also thought by many to be the home system of the so-called “Grey” aliens – an idea that has its roots in the 1961 Hill abduction incident in which Betty and Barney Hill were allegedly taken aboard an extraterrestrial spacecraft in rural New Hampshire and subjected to medical tests. It was the first UFO abduction account to gain widespread media attention.

When the Hills underwent regression hypnosis a couple of years after their abduction experience, Betty recalled being shown a star map by the ETs, which she later sketched from memory at the urging of her psychiatrist. That star map was later interpreted by amateur astronomer Marjorie Fish as a depiction of the Zeta Reticuli star system and quickly entered UFO lore. Zeta Reticuli would also be cited in later years as being home to the Greys in connection with Project Serpo and by Area 51 “whistleblower,” Bob Lazar.

 

Above: The Betty Hill star map

 

 

 

Last year, during the marketing campaign for his Alien prequel Prometheus, Ridley Scott made explicit reference to Zeta(2) Reticuli. In a promotional featurette, the director said: “The planet where they [the crew of the Prometheus] go is called Zeta(2) Reticuli, and what they find there is an establishment that is not what they expected it to be.” Scott added, “This story kind of walks around the truth of what there may be out there... It presents some big questions.”

The implication of Scott’s statement was that the UFOlogical significance of Zeta(2) Reticuli would receive greater emphasis in the Prometheus narrative (the film’s plot is, after all, heavily indebted to Ancient Astronaut theory).

However, when Prometheusfinally hit cinemas, it contained no spoken reference whatsoever to Zeta(2) Reticuli. This was something of a head-scratcher (as, indeed, was the entire movie). Why bother drawing attention to the name of your characters’ destination during the promotion of your movie, only to include no obvious reference to it in the movie itself?

We may never know the answer to this question (I doubt even Ridley Scott knows), but take a look at the composite image below, which shows the Betty Hill star map overlaid against a still from Prometheus in which the aliens’ star system is depicted in ancient cave art...

 

The above image proves two things:

1.   That Prometheusdid go to Zeta(2) Reticuli after all and drew its influence in this regard directly from imagery associated with the Hill abduction case.

2.   That I have entirely too much time on my hands today.

'Prometheus': questions will be answered

Silver Screen Saucers

Better late than never...

The many questions that were spat at Prometheus by frustrated cinemagoers following the movie's release this summer will soon be answered... this according to the official trailer for the Prometheus Blu-ray (due out Oct. 9)...

A new beginning, a new ending, and extra scenes in-between... could this mean we're finally getting the movie we were originally hoping for?

Here's the rest of what to expect:

PROMETHEUS 4-Disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
● Theatrical Cut
● Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
● Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
● The Peter Weyland Files
● Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
● Prometheus - Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
Disc 2
● The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus
● Enhancement Pods
● Weyland Corp Archive
● Pre-Vis
● Screen Tests
Disc 3
● 3D Theatrical Cut of Movie
Disc 4
● DVD / Digital Copy

PROMETHEUS 2-Disc Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
● Theatrical Cut
● Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
● Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
● The Peter Weyland Files
● Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
● Prometheus - Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
Disc 2
● DVD / Digital Copy

UFO movie news round-up (27 Sept. 2012)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Vatican criticizes ‘Prometheus’

The Vatican's official newspaper L'OsservatoreRomano has criticized Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, taking issue with its premise about the origins of mankind and saying that the Ancient Astronaut-themed blockbuster “mishandles the delicate questions raised by ... the battle eternal between good and evil in yet another attempt to steal the secret of immortality... The journey of Prometheus should instead symbolize the search for the supernatural." 

 

Thor 2 to explore all nine realms?

According to a report from the Russian Cinema Expo, Thor: The Dark World “promises to cover not just the Earth and Asgard, but the entire Nine Realms. The studio [Marvel] hopes that Game of Thronesdirector Alan Taylor has the experience to build upon the fantasy of the series.”

 

 

Disney’s alien sitcom is ‘Galaxy Quest’ + ‘The Simpsons’

Disney’s new family sci-fi comedy sitcom The Neighbors premiers tonight on ABC. The show is about “a normal family that moves next door to a bunch of aliens from the planet Zabvron” and will explore “the dynamic of a human family... through the eyes of the aliens and how strange we all are.”

 

Brutally honest trailer for ‘The Avengers’

And finally, just for laughs...
 

 

 

'Prometheus' sequel in the works

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

20th Century Fox has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the studio is “actively pushing ahead” with a follow-up to Prometheus.

Ridley Scott’s R-rated ancient astronaut-themed Alien prequel grossed a very respectable $303 million this summer and the director is now keen to further explore the Prometheus universe.

Although original stars Michael Fassbenderand Noomi Rapacehave already signed up for Scott’s sequel, Fox is currently in talks with new writers to replace Damon Lindelof, who “might not be available” -- perhaps no bad thing as Prometheus’ plot-hole-filled screenplay was arguably the film’s weakest element.

“Ridley is incredibly excited about the movie,” says Fox president of production Emma Watts, “but we have to get it right. We can't rush it.”

What extraterrestrial wonders -- and terrors -- await the remaining crew of the Prometheus will be revealed in 2014 or 2015.

UFO movie news round-up (18 June, 2012)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Jupiter Ascending

Channing Tatum has confirmed to MTV that he will star in the Wachowski brothers’ Jupiter Ascending, which is about "higher forms of life [who] are watching us... from other worlds." Mila Kunis is set to play a Russian immigrant "who is busily scrubbing toilets for a living. Unbeknownst to her, she actually possesses the same perfect genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe and is therefore a threat to her otherwise immortal rule."

MTV says that Tatum's character is “an evolved-being bounty hunter sent to kill Kunis' character, but instead falls in love with her and attracts the ire of his genetically superior contemporaries in the process.”

What the hell are the Wachowski’s sniffing?

Michael Bay’s Aliens

Paramount Pictures has postponed the planned release of Michael Bay’s upcoming Ninja Turtles reboot. Originally set for release on Christmas Day, 2013, the movie’s opening has now been pushed back by 10 weeks to May 16, 2014. The (controversially alien) turtles themselves are expected to be motion capture CGI, using the same techniques employed in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Michael Bay has also told Hero Complex that the next Transformers movie will be his last. Incidentally, Transformers: The Ride 3D opened at Universal Studios last month, with Steven Spielberg in attendance. View the opening here...

Ender’s Game

There have been a number of updates in the production log for upcoming alien invasion epic Ender’s Game, which looks set to be a technologically groundbreaking movie. It stars Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley and is produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (who, as writers, brought us Transformers and Cowboys and Aliens). View the Ender’s Game production log here.

Oblivion

Photos have emerged of Tom Cruise on location in New York for the shoot of his upcoming alien invasion movie Oblivion (formerly titled Horizons). Apparently the movie involves New Yoik cops as well as aliens. View the pics here.

Hollywood’s Aliens: Prototypes for the Real Thing?

SETI’s Seth Shostak contemplates the realism of Hollywood’s alien movies.

Alien Contact: Movie Smackdown

Bryce Zabel’s MovieSmackDown.com pits numerous alien contact movies against one another to see which ones emerge victorious. It makes for fascinating reading and provokes great debates. Check it out. 

‘Battleship’ Sank with Weight of Own Brilliance

Battleship: Too good for its own good.

That’s right. Peter Berg’s alien invasion movie / Navy recruitment ad failed at the US box-office not because it was in any way shit, but because it was, in fact, just too damn visionary and ambitious. Berg – whose 209-million-dollar movie made just 62 million in the US and is struggling to reach 300 million worldwide – told the Huffington Post recently: “I have a movie in theaters right now which has obviously underperformed in many ways... But the concept is so big and powerful, and the money is so big and so powerful, that the movie is going to run away with itself.”

We know where you’re coming from, Peter. Because everyone knows that big-budget alien invasion movies - such a rarity for Hollywood - are always a huge risk at the box-office. Oh, wait a minute...

Box-Office: Avengers, MIB 3 & Prometheus

Still on release at the international box-office, The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble) has so far taken 1.4 billion dollars worldwide, making it the third most successful movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation). Men in Black 3, meanwhile, with a production budget of $225 million, has so far raked in some $544 million worldwide, and the oh-so-controversial Prometheus, with a budget of $125 million and a non-family-friendly ‘R’ rating, is now approaching $220 million worldwide.

More Prometheus

On the subject of Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited movie has, of course, divided the critics, with much vitriol being spewed at its screenplay. Notably, Bryce Zabel was bitterly disappointed, stating that, while “Scott’s direction of Prometheus is a mastery of design,” the idiocy of the movie’s characters is “chronic”:

“Anyone who would spend a trillion dollars on a hot-shot spacecraft like Prometheus and send it out on the most important mission ever conceived with a crew of morons like this one, well, it just boggles the mind. People in this film simply do not behave rationally — not toward each other, not toward the mission, not at all. Most films can be forgiven a time or two when the characters veer off wrongly in order to accomplish a plot point, but the problem in Prometheusis chronic.”

Read the rest of Bryce’s review over at MovieSmackDown.com.

As for Prometheus’ central concept that human ancestry can be traced to the stars, “It's not such a crazy idea,” says TimeEntertainment, “research has long supported the theory that life originated elsewhere.” Read all about it in: Prometheus 101: The Science Behind Ridley Scott's Vision of Aliens Populating Earth.

PROMETHEUS SPOILERS AHEAD! Scroll down no further if you’ve not yet seen the film...

Many cinemagoers have begun to pick holes in Prometheus’ admittedly infuriating plot. I’m not sure the imaginary exchange below (via Enchanted Mitten) – funny though it is – quite ‘gets’ what really unfolded in the movie, but it effectively sums-up the post-Prometheus debate now raging on fan forums across the web (again, major spoilers here)...

And, finally, here are some cool stills from deleted scenes that will almost certainly appear in a DVD director’s cut of Prometheus later this year (for more like this, head on over to PrometheusForums.net)...

UFO movie news round-up (27 May, 2012)

Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Prometheus: the making of a new myth

“What made Ridley Scott revisit the world of his iconic movie Alien more than 30 years later? The reasons are complicated, writes Damon Wise, and the results aren't what you'd expect.”

Article featuring comments from Ridley Scott indicating that Prometheus might be the beginning of a whole new franchise. Read it here. 

Men in Black 3 stuff

MIB 3 director Barry Sonnenfeld tells io9 what he has learned from the second movie’s mistakes and how his threequel is better as a result.

Meanwhile, Lee Spiegel of The Huffington Postreminds us of the real-life MIB encounters that inspired the movie franchise.

Finally, on the MIB front, it’s an “illegal alien” face-off between MIB 3 and Mars Attacks over at Bryce Zabel’s Movie Smackdown site. Go see who wins!

Former SETI Director: Hollywood’s aliens are too nasty!

Former SETI Director Jill Tarter tells Universe Today that Hollywood’s alien invasion movies are a big bag of bollocks… but phrases it more politely than that…

“While Sir Stephen Hawking warned that alien life might try to conquer or colonize Earth, I respectfully disagree. If aliens were able to visit Earth that would mean they would have technological capabilities sophisticated enough not to need slaves, food, or other planets. If aliens were to come here it would be simply to explore.

Considering the age of the universe, we probably wouldn’t be their first extraterrestrial encounter, either. We should look at movies like ‘Men in Black III,’ ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Battleship’ as great entertainment and metaphors for our own fears, but we should not consider them harbingers of alien visitation.”

Read the full article here.

ALF! You know, from the ‘80s?

Lovable ‘80s TV alien ALF is headed for the big screen according to his creator Paul Fusco, who tells The Hollywood Reporter:

“ALF could be more outspoken now than ever, because the world is a whole different place than the '80s. And I think the character still stands up and certainly has more to say now than ever,” he says. “I think we would approach it in a fresh way. I don’t think we would duplicate the TV show, but I think we would maybe put it in a storyline where we would explain how ALF got here and put him with a new family and let the character speak for himself.”

Read more about the history – and possible future – of ALF, here.

Sticking with the ‘80s theme...

Thunder, Thunder, ThunderCats... ho!!!

This is old news (it was first reported in February of last year), but I’ve never mentioned it on Silver Screen Saucers until now. Five years ago, Warner Bros. Pictures announced it would be producing a big screen CGI adaptation of the 1980s animated TV series, ThunderCats. However, the project got lost in development hell, and there it remains to this day. Fans of the heroic alien cat-people thingies might be interested in the following test footage for the movie that found its way online last year (don’t get excited, though. It’s naff)...

The best alien invasion movie ever?!

Last but not least, visionary filmmakers Michael Bay (Transformers) and Peter Berg (Battleship) have teamed-up to bring us their dream project ;-) Could this be the greatest alien invasion movie ever? View the trailer here...

'Prometheus': new poster & viral video

Silver Screen Saucers

New viral video for Ridley Scott's Prometheus, featuring Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw...

And a new international poster for the movie leaves little to the imagination...

'Prometheus' headed for Zeta Reticuli

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

The crew of Prometheus explore the alien world of Zeta(2) Reticuli. Image credit: Entertainment Weekly

Just as you thought the Ancient-Astronaut-inspired Prometheus couldn’t get any more ‘UFOey,’ a new featurette for the movie reveals that the alien planet to which the human characters travel to meet their makers is none other than Zeta(2) Reticuli.

In the featurette, director Ridley Scott says: "The planet where they go is called Zeta(2) Reticuli, and what they find there is an establishment that is not what they expected it to be,” adding, "this story kind of walks around the truth of what there may be out there... It presents some big questions."

Zeta Reticuli, as any self-respecting UFO buff knows, is a binary star system in the constellation of Reticulum located approximately 39 light-years from Earth. The UFO buff knows this because Zeta Reticuli is also thought by many to be the home system of the so-called “Grey” aliens – an idea that has its roots in the 1961 Hill abduction incident in which Betty and Barney Hill were allegedly taken aboard an extraterrestrial spacecraft in rural New Hampshire and subjected to medical tests. It was the first UFO abduction account to gain widespread media attention and led to several books (the most recent of which is Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden's Captured!), a TV movie and innumerable film and TV references.

When the Hills underwent regression hypnosis a couple of years after their abduction experience, Betty recalled being shown a star map by the ETs, which she later sketched from memory at the urging of her psychiatrist. That star map was later interpreted as a depiction of the Zeta Reticuli star system and quickly entered UFO lore. Zeta Reticuli would also be cited in later years as being home to the Greys in connection with Project Serpoand by Area 51 “whistleblower,” Bob Lazar.

Betty Hill’s sketch of the star map. She says she was told that the heavy lines
on the map marked regular trade routes, while the broken lines showed various
space expeditions.

With the release of Prometheus this June, Zeta Reticuli is set to break out of the often unfathomable worlds of science and UFOlogy and burst like an alien from a blood-soaked chest into global pop-culture.

Related:

Hill abduction case headed for silver screen

'Prometheus' international trailer is spoilerific!

Silver Screen Saucers

New international trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus (CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS!)...

 

'Prometheus': new featurette, plus update on certification

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

New Prometheus featurette focuses on Ridley Scott...

Also, diehard fans of the Alien franchise might be pleased to know that, contrary to Internet rumours and even hints from Ridley Scott himself, Prometheus may yet be granted an 'R' rating from the MPAA. In a recent interview with MTV, Fox CEO Tom Rothman said "Not one frame of Prometheus will be cut... if that means it’s an R rating, so be it." Last month, Ridley Scott hinted to Empire magazine that in order for his movie to generate maximum profit it would possibly have to go out as a PG-13.

We won't know the age rating for Prometheus for sure until we see it attached to future trailers for the movie or splashed across official posters. For what it's worth, though, Prometheus posters here in the UK are currently being displayed with a "TBC" rating of '15' - the UK equivalent of 'R' (which also covers the UK '18' rating).