“Fede Is A Surge Of Energy” – Ridley Scott & Fede Alvarez Talk Alien: Romulus in L.A Times Interview

The Los Angles Times has recently published a new feature on Fede Alvarez and the upcoming Alien: Romulus. While the interview re-iterates a number of points about Alien: Romulus that we’ve heard before, it’s also a fantastic look at Fede’s background as a film-maker. It’s not without some new details and pictures, though! Beware possible spoilers below.

The article details the specifics of what the crew of the USCSS Corbelan are hoping to find aboard the Renaissance space that will help them escape the life they were born into.

“Romulus,” in wide release Aug. 16, begins on a remote mining colony, from which Rain (Cailee Spaeny), a laborer, wishes to escape alongside her synthetic “sibling” Andy (David Jonsson), a robot meant to look after her in the absence of a parent. The pair joins a band of rogue young people who hijack their way into an abandoned spaceship with the cryogenic capabilities to get them to a safer planet without aging.

We’ve known since the Monsterpalooza panel that stop-motion master Phil Tippett had been recruited to work on Alien: Romulus. We now know doing what!

With the goal of tactility in mind, Alvarez was given license to fulfill other dream partnerships. For a scene in which a lab rat dies and then reanimates, Alvarez enlisted Tippett Studio, the outfit run by legendary effects master Phil Tippett, to make a model rodent move through stop-motion animation. For the spaceships, he hired seasoned effects artist Ian Hunter (“Interstellar”) to create them as miniatures, some of which were shot directly, others scanned and turned into CGI assets based on what had been built by hand.

Discussing his approach to film-making, Fede discussed how he approaches the process as a member of the audience, as a fan.

“For me, the impulse has always been to write what I want to see, without letting Hollywood, the fans or other pressures affect the path of the story. And make it as pure as possible.”

Alien: Romulus producer Sir Ridley Scott is also featured in the interview, where he talks about his strong belief in what Fede has done with the film and his desire to see the director/writer return for more Alien films.

“The danger of all franchises is they do die unless somebody suddenly decides to pick up the mat and run down the field with a ball,” Scott says. “Fede is a surge of energy, and I had to step back and let him do it.”

“I hope Fede’s got another one up his sleeve because I think this is going to do really well,” adds Scott, sincerely. “He’s got a streak of brilliance.”

Be sure to head on over to the Los Angles Times website to check out the full article! Thanks to hamilton_milo for the link.

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