In a fairly extensive new interview with The Guardian/The Observer that covers his life, career and Alien: Covenant, Scott talks a little about the production of the new Alien prequel, revealing the budget of the film:
“This, Scott believes, is the lesson that 40 years in Hollywood has taught him: you have to be decisive. He never makes cheap films, but he has earned a reputation for bringing them in on time and on budget. “It’s fatal to turn up on set and say, ‘What are we going to do?’” he says. “Fatal to discuss where the cameras are going to go. You cannot do that. That’s where it comes unhinged. A film like Alien: Covenant would normally be 100 days; we did it in 74. We made it for $111m, as opposed to $180m or $260m. It’s insane the amount of money spent. When you’re spending $250m on a movie, you should have been fired a year ago.”
In addition to the new production information, the interview also came with a brand new behind-the-scenes still from Alien: Covenant showing Ridley on set with the practical Alien constructed by Odd Studio and Creatures Inc. Ltd. You can see a larger version of that photo in this scan of the physical paper copy of this interview (via the Creatures Inc. Ltd Facebook page).
Thanks to Ingwar for the news. Keep a close eye on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest on Alien: Covenant! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien fans on our forums!
Scott = 7 Alien movies
Cameron = 5 Avatar
Bay= 5 Transformers
Very untrue. Unless you want a very specific location where... the owners ask money
The studio is a day-fee and studios tends to take a huge amount of time to create.
1000 a day for 30 days in small studios is 30 000 just for the place.
So imagine you have to create multiple sets.
For natural settings, production usually film in locations where there are tax rebates.
Like New Zealand... Australia... Canada... France you know
You also get tax rebates if you hire some crew/company from the country you're shooting in.
What costs a lot in movies are Big heads salary (actors/directors/special crew) asking Millions.
Then there's the obvious amount of people you hire.
Prometheus has over 2000 people credited.
2000 x salary x months worked on the project = a lot.
Producers try to save every penny on a production, from food to vehicles, hotels... of course the VIP personal, like actors and directors gets special treatments but it impact very few compared to the work force that is there daily working hours for months on the film.
I agree.
Usually movies filmed in studio(PROMETHEUS) costed LESS money than movies filmed on real places(ROBIN HOOD).
He will work for scale. If his production company wants to make a movie that is not really in the norm he will agree to be in it and get paid scale to get investors/studios far more likely to invest the money to make it. He (and they) also do it for movies that aren't related to their production company because they like/believe in a script or really want to work with certain people/directors.
He took a million for the assassination of jesse james. He took similar amounts for the counselor, killing them softly, etc.
They built entire village and mock castle. Plus they used plenty of extras and horses and they moved from location to location. Maybe that's why it did cost a fortune plus delays.
I agree.
James Cameron is like Michael Bay. Avatar sequels are Transformers sequels. Too much ego.
Yeah but shit, they must have taken a pittance on a $25 million dollar film. Basically charity.
Many actors would definitely take a pay cut if they like the director, material and co-stars. Ridley Scott directing and a script by Cormac McCarthy is enticing to most people, and they'd understand why the movie would have to be kept under a certain number. Working with that material is payment enough, really. Jonah Hill famously took a massive pay cut to be in Wolf of Wall Street, and even joked that HE would pay Scorsese to take part.
What someone gets for one movie with a 250 million budget is not the same as what one gets to take part in a 15 million dollar movie.
They are all very well known for taking pay cuts or even working for scale. Pitt constantly does it and he's by far and away the most famous and bankable person on that list.
Oh? Because I heard Cameron Diaz was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood a year or two back. Penélope Cruz and Brad Pitt are Academy award winners. Fassbender is a cheapskate though, heard he only got 8 or 9 million for Covenant.
So was Prometheus.
Robin Hood was shot in UK that's why it was so bloody expensive.
Cameron's last few films are bloated and overlong without a compelling story to carry them imo.
Really? They do it all the time... constantly.
I was wondering where all the money went. You can usually see every penny on-screen in a Ridley Scott film. He could have done Robin Hood on $130 million.
I wasn't aware that Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt (all household names) were in the habit of "taking small scale wages"?
Yeah, that one didn't do so well. It didn't look that huge in scope either.
I don't recall anyone saying these things but my guess is they didn't mean what you think they mean (Spielberg has worked on plenty of enormous budgeted films). The complaint can be that you get into this escalation war where your 400 million dollar movie has to be nearly doing a billion world wide to even break even and that no studio is willing to take on that risk for a non tent pole franchise movie.
And they aren't really wrong. Audiences, despite what people claim, AREN'T looking for new properties as these huge event movies. They keep flocking to established ones.
Alien Covenant has a very real possibility of losing a decent amount of money given the genre and very large budget for that particular genre. They're going to have to pull somewhere in the neighborhood of 450-500 million world wide to break even. Prometheus wasn't even close to that.
I'm not that surprised. It was an incredibly small scope and was full of actors who are well known for taking small scale wages. The movie still lost money and, more importantly for that type of a movie, was a critical disaster.
You are right. That might be why no one is willing to give him that budget again =/
I love Scott but his strengths are not in telling a well paced story to an audience.
Robin Hood had a $200 million production budget.
I was actually surprised to find out he made The Counselor for only $25 million. That's pocket change. Especially considering the cast he had on that.
I agree.
Steven Spielberg and Mel Gibson said THE SAME THINGS that Sir Ridley Scott. The 3 LEGENDS criticized these BLOATED Budgets.
Eh, I mean every person has an ability. You are right that I don't think the skill sets of those two directors overlap much but I appreciate what both can bring to the screen. Titanic was impressive on nearly every level to me and he has consistently pioneered technology to bring different experiences to movie goers. Cameron has an ability to tell a pretty well paced story and I don't think Scott really has that. Scott is good at picking conceptually very interesting movies and is absolutely incredible at composing shots but I don't think he has a good sense of what the pacing should be or which scenes should be included over others in a movie.
Cameron on the other hand hasn't made a film I liked since T2 no matter how big the budget and that's a real disappointment to me. Feels such a waste.
I don't think he has much of a point really.. I think he's just talking to talk. He wants to take a few shots at people for whatever reason. It's not like he's directing indie movies with 5-10 million dollar budgets. Nor is he making gigantic franchise spectacle sci fi/fantasy movies either. I'm honestly not sure I would WANT him doing that either.
Has he? I don't know of any off the top of my head. He made Gladiator for 100 or so back in 2000 but I don't think he's ever been up there.
13 years between movies? Inflation?
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I think those budgets are pretty realistic. RS has yet to deliver anything near those films in scope and scale... so I think it is dishonest to act like he has. His films are entirely different and much smaller in scale.
His moveis also don't make anything near what those movies make in box office returns either. But they don't have to.
Thanks for this.
It just seems petty. No one at Disney regrets 200 million a movie for their marvel and Star Wars franchises.
Oh I agree, I doubt he cares.
I'm sure Cameron gives a crap considering he has two of the top three movies of all time in box office returns. In addition he has worked on plenty of small budgets and made some of the most iconic sci fi movies.
As for whoever said 2 hours is a short run time, Alien is only 115 minutes and Ridley's 2003 cut is even shorter.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b1bd81bc978685ba2897a493a064903461fb9e6a/0_2265_3448_2067/master/3448.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&s=4d47c04b6d6754ee0479bc5e4eb1ab01
Someone else maybe able to find a better link buried in the code.
A version from the actual paper copy of the article via the Creatures Inc. Facebook page -
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FyaXYZwH.jpg&hash=d14f03a5463993eb028086fd4c9c38ef09db46ed
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYHtzOxG.jpg&hash=6ea590b19c11b2c8f334f2d76de6bd416fdf37f5
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_E8R4SXkAACBHa.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/ObsNewReview/status/861159174398464001
He loved the short(theatrical) version of THE MARTIAN.
He doesn't have faith in normal people(most moviegoers). That's why he makes shorter films for theaters. His Directors Cuts are ONLY for Home like he said.
If Scott releases long versions of Prometheus, Exodus, and Covenant I will be happy. But, Scott turned down the chance to extend Prometheus back in 2012 and Fox doesn't seem to want to release the long version of Exodus. This idea of doing two versions only works if the other cut actually comes out. Otherwise, Fox is missing out on the chance to have Prometheus and Exodus get a positive reappraisal the way Blade Runner, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Counselor did - arguably Scott's three best movies after the extensions.
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Sir Ridley said: "I'm 70% artist 30% commercial". I think this quote is even in his IMDb. He always thinks in terms of money too. That's why his films are DIRECT and CONCISE in theaters. He changes for his Director's Cuts. He is always thinking in terms of box office and Blu-Rays too.
I remembered he said his EXODUS cut is 3 Hours(180 Minutes) The Theatrical Version is only 150 Minutes(30 minutes less).
Sir Ridley said: He prefers his films to be short, direct and concise in the theaters. He prefers THE LONGER versions for The Home Market. He said this several times.
That's why He trusted in Pietro Scalia. Scalia is direct and concise. Sir Ridley made that decision with KINGDOM OF HEAVEN too. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: THEATRICAL CUT is a Pietro Scalia movie. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: DIRECTOR'S CUT is a Sir Ridley Scott masterpiece.
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Dody Dorn edited Kingdom of Heaven, but I understand what you mean by that comparison. I'm one of those weirdos who would like to see another, longer cut of Kingdom of Heaven. There is still some good stuff on the cutting room floor, including an alternate ending that I prefer. Out of the five endings they had, I think they used my least-favorite one for both cuts. Balian should have ridden past Sibylla and been alone back in France, but what do I know?
If Scott releases long versions of Prometheus, Exodus, and Covenant I will be happy. But, Scott turned down the chance to extend Prometheus back in 2012 and Fox doesn't seem to want to release the long version of Exodus. This idea of doing two versions only works if the other cut actually comes out. Otherwise, Fox is missing out on the chance to have Prometheus and Exodus get a positive reappraisal the way Blade Runner, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Counselor did - arguably Scott's three best movies after the extensions.
In Gold Derby Website about the new drama from Steven Spielberg with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
Both of them(Sir Ridley and Spielberg) are doing the same thing. Both are beginning to be filming in a few days. Both of their movies are RELEASING THIS late December.
Sir Ridley said: He prefers his films to be short, direct and concise in the theaters. He prefers THE LONGER versions for The Home Market. He said this several times.
That's why He trusted in Pietro Scalia. Scalia is direct and concise. Sir Ridley made that decision with KINGDOM OF HEAVEN too. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: THEATRICAL CUT is a Pietro Scalia movie. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: DIRECTOR'S CUT is a Sir Ridley Scott masterpiece.
I didn't know this. I only heard an interview where he talked about how he thought the movie worked as is. But this was during the PR tour after the film was released. He'd talked about how he cut thirty minutes out and that it would be on the bluray release. Some people got confused thinking that he meant an extended cut.
I totally agree with you about that scene. I personally find the scene between Shaw and Janek to be very plot convenient. It's also not acted as good either.
Off topic, but where have you heard about Scott releasing All The Money in December?
I'm a little confused why Scott is so confidant that Prometheus doesn't need an extended cut, after admitting that he liked the longer cut but Scalia convinced him it needed to be under two hours and structured differently. I think the reshoots made the movie considerably more on-the-nose, which I don't like. There is definitely room for a better cut, but I think it would mean adding back in a scene between Vickers and Janek and cutting the scene between Janek and Shaw. That, right there, changes the movie in a pretty drastic way, from having rushed exposition in the third act that is on-the-nose and far too quick. The conversation with Vickers and Janek gets us inside Janek's head in a way that the scene with Shaw really fails to do. She just tells him what to do, instead of us, as the audience, discovering it for ourselves and being able to read into Janek's later decisions. If they want to improve the pacing, cut the Isle of Skye sequence, which is redundant and presented in a rushed way that is, again, on the nose. Then, restore the structure of the third act to give Shaw more of a chance to shine and allow the story to unfold at a more measured pace. They might as well add the Engineer stuff back in, too, but I think the character stuff is more important. They really stepped wrong by cutting that back. Vickers and particularly Janek really, really needed that scene, and I can do without most of the reshoots. I wish they would release the assembly version, like they did with Alien3. Just try to make the movie close to the shooting script using the footage minus the reshoots. That version would be a revelation to many.