While you might have thought the team behind the upcoming documentary Aliens Expanded had already assembled an incredible cast, they have just announced they’d done the impossible and added none other than Aliens writer/director James Cameron to the already amazing amount of talent being interviewed!
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” says writer and director Ian Nathan. “I have been gripped by Aliens from the day I saw it and it has never let me go. I delved for the roots of what makes it so addictive. With a wealth of incredible, fresh insight from cast and crew, as well as experts and critics, and above all from the fans, I think this is the definitive statement on one of the greatest films of all time.”
Aliens Expanded is aiming to be more than just another behind-the-scenes look at Aliens, it’s a look into the impact it made on cinema, on culture and on the people like you and I that run and visits fan communities such as Alien vs. Predator Galaxy. It’s a look at what makes Aliens so enduring and so magnetic.
Aliens Expanded will be under the guiding hand of writer/director Ian Nathan, former editor and executive editor of the Empire magazine, but also as the author of Alien Vault and Ridley Scott: A Retrospective, and James Cameron: A Retrospective.
We previously had the opportunity to be joined by Writer/Director Ian Nathan & Executive Producer Robin Block on the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast to discuss how Aliens Expanded stands out from the other documentaries about Aliens, the goals they have with Aliens Expanded, the legacy of Aliens and plenty more! You can check that out here if you haven’t already!
Alien vs. Predator Galaxy is honored to be partnered with the team producing Aliens Expanded and are excited to take this journey with CreatorVC in exploring the impact of Aliens! Aliens Expanded is currently expected to release digitally in June, with the physical release coming in August. A last-chance round of pre-orders has now opened, offering fandom one last chance to get involved in this ambitious production. Pre-orders will close on the 5th of May.
The basic pledge includes a digital copy of Aliens Expanded, as well as your name in the credit and a digital copy of the soundtrack. The next pledge includes the digital copies, as well as a physical Blu-ray, 2 posters, a sew-on patch, a commemorative booklet and a certificate. You can go one step further and the next pledge includes a t-shirt! Well, what are you waiting for, marines?! Assholes and elbows! Head on over to the Alien Expanded website and get backing!
Make sure you stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien and Predator news! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!
https://twitter.com/empiremagazine/status/1781359855497846998
I expect it from no-name clowns on the internet, but to hear it from project of this scale is truly something.
I don't disagree. If people are foolish enough to throw away their money on a second round of pledges, then that's on them. Not sure why anyone was excited for this documentary in the first place. It's not going to tell fans anything they don't know already. It's a waste of money at $50, it's a waste of money at $5, so... meh, I guess.
I can't quite muster the sympathy to feel bad for the saps paying silly amounts of money to have their name listed among thousands in the credits of a fan documentary; a name that only they will read, like Bart Simpson pausing the VHS of his Krusty show credit.
The correct term is True Fan (TM).
I'm not defending the pledge prices. Frankly, I think that the entire documentary is redundant, given the comprehensive pre-existing Blu-ray documentary. Surely the inclusion of plagiarist Alien Theory is a bigger reason to get your panties in a twist. I mean, really, who cares? The documentary has all the worth of one of the several cast and director convention Q&As available for free on YouTube (where the same old questions get asked and the same old anecdotes get told).
Do they make Alien-brand broccoli?
I got my retrospective hit from AvPG's own retrospective episode. Don't need to pay a hundred $ for that.
Which further confuses who the target is. There's limited interest from casual fans or general fans of cinema. Die-hard fans already know it.
Their marketing has never really made it clear what the actual selling proposition is here.
Is it just supposed to be a 38th anniversary retrospective kind of deal? Who the f**k knows.
Well, it was affordable when I bought it.
Only if you're a super fan who coughs up the bucks. Or just coughs up the bucks.
Is it for the super fans, who know it already? Casual fans, who might actually learn something but wouldn't be interested in $50 for a download?
From the little bits I've seen them post on social media lately solidified that too, I don't mind talking heads, but the moment I saw some of the other fan sites pop into the discussion in these videos, I felt an immediate cringe. They should have had Aaron and or Adam on. Most of those sites get their info from here anyways.
New ALIENS stuff is always exciting, but this just feels like a cash grab and vanity project. Especially with the funding being locked in almost 2 years ago. They could easily do a lower tiered version without the name in the credits thing, but they are giving a false sense of a digital scarcity, which is no different than an NFT to me.
According to the CEO, this preorder period is the only time you can get it (although he said the same thing 18 months ago for the initial funding). So unless he's a filthy liar preying on false FOMO, then no you won't be able to get it later at a discounted rate.
Yeah, I made that thread.
I'm sure I'll catch it on Shudder in a year or two.
English isn't my main language, I will try to rephrase that "2-3" anecdotes thing.
Theres a about 2-3 details shared in Aliens Expanded that are about the same level as "the speargun is still under the Narcissus door", if you look hard enough. I think that kind of stuff is really cool, especially if not shared previously.
Not an anecdote in the line of "this and that happened while making the scene", but there's a lot of that as well.
Theres a certain Reddit thread where people are going apeshit with negativism about this, but then its Reddit.
And if they'd framed it as that without the "think of it as proof of your devotion" horseshit, great! Instead they decided to throw in some cringey fan gatekeeping nonsense.
This type of thing should not be encouraged.
100 does seem pricey, but there is also the 50 edition (it's less in EUR and pound).
The general buzz is very positive, and the main criticism besides the prize seems to be "No Sig".
I saw the rough cut a few months ago, and it was a bit too much "talking heads", and a bit less "interactive scene analysis" than they initially promised. But I know they are still making changes, and overall it was good.
There were perhaps 2-3 very good anecdotes (scene trivia) that have not been mentioned anywhere else.
One the pledging period is over, they will no doubt sell digital copies of the documentary for a more standard rate. Y'all new to crowdfunding or something?
https://media.tenor.com/XYzVvb_-KCMAAAAM/you-you-de-niro.gif
True, but...
Even if it had a lenticular cover?
It's not a scam, because there's a real product on offer that definitely exists.
The pricing is, however, as masturbatory as the crowdfunding comms and advertising all seems to be though.
Which is scummy as f**k and should not be supported no matter how cheap they make it.
$50