I was just curious if anyone knows why Fox decided in the end to pursue Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant and future 3rd Alien film rather than an all out epic Alien 5 written and directed by Neill Blomkamp?
All the polls on AVPG and elsewhere clearly indicated fans were wanting to see a Blomkamp Alien film, not another Ridley Scott Alien film. I think Scott had a very fair shot with Prometheus to make his comeback with the series and for a majority of people he didn't exactly deliver like he was suppose to. So why did Fox go ahead and greenlight a sequel and delay Blomkamp? (And don't tell me it was because of the box office only). I think Blomkamp would of blew fans and audiences off their feet with an final Sigourney/Ripley film assisting her in the xenomorph killing the legendary Michael Biehn who plays Hicks. Just the sound of Ripley and Hicks back together in a film sounds utterly amazing...so why forget about it and delay the hell out of it?
I feel like Alien 5 is a great film that everyone wants to see but theirs flat out dumb reasons for it being held back. Why can't Fox just delay Ridley's 3rd Alien movie to let Blomkamp and Sigourney film theirs?? I just don't understand the unfairness of it all.
Alien: Covenant was already in production long before Blomkamp pitched his idea for a new Alien film to Fox. In fact, Scott was scheduled to film it after Exodus: Gods and Kings. However Scott claims that the script wasn't quite ready yet and decided to delay it and film The Martian first.
Blomkamp only finished his first draft late in 2015. At that point Alien: Covenant was already virtually ready to shoot.
Eighth Passenger is correct.
Quote from: Chronicle on Jan 25, 2017, 09:20:51 PM
I feel like Alien 5 is a great film that everyone wants to see but theirs flat out dumb reasons for it being held back. Why can't Fox just delay Ridley's 3rd Alien movie to let Blomkamp and Sigourney film theirs?? I just don't understand the unfairness of it all.
I don't know why you feel this way, an unmade film can't be judged as great. Also the idea of Blomkamp's retcon has been very divisive in the fanbase, a lot of fans do and don't want to see this film happen.
Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 25, 2017, 09:31:53 PM
Alien: Covenant was already in production long before Blomkamp pitched his idea for a new Alien film to Fox. In fact, Scott was scheduled to film it after Exodus: Gods and Kings. However Scott claims that the script wasn't quite ready yet and decided to delay it and film The Martian first.
Blomkamp only finished his first draft late in 2015. At that point Alien: Covenant was already virtually ready to shoot.
Good point, but Ridley has already got his shot with Prometheus and now Alien Covenant. So if Fox is aware that Ridley has already been able to direct and release 2 Alien films, why not hand the torch over to Blomkamp to let him make his ONE Alien movie? Ridley keeps talking like he wants to make sequel after sequel. Blomkamp simply just wants to bring Ripley and the xenomorphs back on the big screen for one more big finale. He's not trying to hog the series but Ridley for some reason after all these years wants to hog the Alien storyline and its great don't get me wrong but dude...give someone else a chance for once. Its not like audiences and fans were so BLOWN by Prometheus that now we need all these sequels. Which kind of seems like Ridley percieves it that way. It was just a descent sci-fi film that made some good box office. Now lets move on to Blomkamp. Avoiding repetition when it comes to the Alien films its rather important and I think selecting a different and unique director each time actually helps the series and gives it a fresh of breath air.
I'm sorry but if Ridley were given the chance to direct Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection I think they would of been way less entertaining films. I think there's something to say about choosing a different director each time.
People haven't been terribly blown by Blomkamp since D9. Fox wants Scott making Alien movies, the end. Their call.
Quote from: 426Buddy on Jan 25, 2017, 09:42:51 PM...the idea of Blomkamp's retcon has been very divisive in the fanbase, a lot of fans do and don't want to see this film happen.
Indeed. Personally, I hope that particular fan wankery premise never sees the light of day. Having said that, I do kind of feel for Sigourney Weaver, as it would be nice for her to have one last shot at an
Alien film, seeming as she seems very keen on the idea. I can't feel
too bad for her though; as by all accounts, she's had a pretty excellent life thus far and is wealthy, renowned and loved the world over. Whereas, I'm living in a hovel and surviving off Tesco's own brand of economy baked beans and hated by the few whom know me. Actually, ball sacks to Sigourney Weaver!
Quote from: SiL on Jan 25, 2017, 10:26:31 PM
People haven't been terribly blown by Blomkamp since D9. Fox wants Scott making Alien movies, the end. Their call.
Your right in some respects SiL. A couple Alien movies...thats cool but why JUST Ridley SiL? I was hoping they'd invest interest in different directors as well. Ridley isn't just making Alien movies. He's made plenty of other films like Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Bladerunner etc. that he could focus on that made him quite popular as well. Why JUST Alien for him and nothing else?
Is it just the film industries status quo right now to keep the same director on board for awhile? I don't know.
He's a widely respected director, and his last film in this series did quite well. Unless you have someone like Cameron knocking, why change?
Prometheus and The Martian did really well.
Elysium and Chappie did alright.
Not hard to see why they'd pick one over the other.
Even the roundly caned Exodus Gods and Kings made $268m.
Quote from: SM on Jan 26, 2017, 12:17:45 AM
Even the roundly caned Exodus Gods and Kings made $268m.
Aye, it's not hard to see why Fox would choose Ridley Scott over Neill Blomkamp, financially speaking. However, speaking artistically, I feel it must be said that while
Exodus: Gods and Kings was not a good film by most people's measure (including mine); even when Ridley Scott is at his absolute worst; his films are never truly awful. I'm relatively happy that someone like Scott is in the proverbial driver's seat at the moment.
Having said that, one of the things which I adored about the series, prior to
Prometheus, was that each installment was helmed by a different director. This allowed a fresh approach and vision with each sequential film (even if it did mean the occasional blunder such as
Alien: Resurrection). Now, a Jonathan Glazer helmed Alien movie, with a soundtrack by Johnny Greenwood would be heaven on LV-426. Just putting that out there, in the vague hope that dreams may come true.
Elysium was ok, Chappie was Short Circuit but redone, nobody wants to see Sigourney Weaver again.
So yep there ya go.
I'm sure many people want to see Weaver and Biehn again.
I don't see getting too upset over this though, because we have literally no idea what the entirety of his pitch even was. We have no idea on the plot... Vague bits and pieces from the concept art. Hicks and Ripley are back, but much older. The Company has a/the derelict, which is looking really bad off and decomposed/hived? There was queen. Some guy melting inside of a hive?
But how any of this was to come together is any guess.
Prometheus did well at the box office but I'm more shocked Ridley wanted to do another Alien movie right after the mixed reviews of Prometheus. I thought after all the talk of sequels he would probably end up doing something else like directing Blade Runner, and maybe produce and let some other director take over any sequels to Prometheus. Anyhow I'm glad Fox went with Ridley, because he's getting old and we might not get another Alien film from him. This could be his last alien film, because when your Ridley's age your health can be fine one day but tomorrow you might drop down dead or have to retire due to health. Blomkamp is young and still has plenty of years ahead of him to give us his fanboy Alien(s) movie.
Quote from: SiL on Jan 25, 2017, 11:06:52 PM
Prometheus and The Martian did really well.
Elysium and Chappie did alright.
Not hard to see why they'd pick one over the other.
I just hope you are the one to direct the next AVP film SiL. :)
Quote from: Kimo on Jan 26, 2017, 11:52:01 AM
Blomkamp is young and still has plenty of years ahead of him to give us his fanboy Alien(s) movie.
Sigourney Weaver is 67 :-\
They don't do a Alien film with her in it within the next 3 years and she will probably won't be able to. She's getting old...I don't want Sigourney leavin us either too soon without another Alien film ???
Quote from: Chronicle on Jan 26, 2017, 01:10:48 PM
Quote from: SiL on Jan 25, 2017, 11:06:52 PM
Prometheus and The Martian did really well.
Elysium and Chappie did alright.
Not hard to see why they'd pick one over the other.
I just hope you are the one to direct the next AVP film SiL. :)
Quote from: Kimo on Jan 26, 2017, 11:52:01 AM
Blomkamp is young and still has plenty of years ahead of him to give us his fanboy Alien(s) movie.
Sigourney Weaver is 67 :-\
They don't do a Alien film with her in it within the next 3 years and she will probably won't be able to. She's getting old...I don't want Sigourney leavin us either too soon without another Alien film ???
If Fox greenlit Blomkamp Alien(s) film back when he was showing his promotion art off. Then I could see Weaver and Bean having mayjor roles in it. But it's been put on hold for god knows how long, and it's very unlikely it's going to happen anytime soon, now that Blomkamp has said so himself in his Tweet.
If Blomkamp is a real Fanboy he will wait for Fox to give him the go ahead and that might be years down the line. And Weaver might not even be around by then? I'm sure Blomkamp has an idea for an Alien film without Weaver. Because he's got to at one point thought that Weaver may not of been interested in doing another film.
Personally I think Blomkamp is a good visual director and he could probably do justice to an Aliens film. I just hope his future movies bring big money in for the studio's. Elysium I thought was great, but was shocked it never did that well at the box office. Chappie had too many problems and the film suffered at the box office. I just hope he continues to have the success that District 9 had so he can get his future Alien(s) film off the ground with or without Sigourney Weaver. I just hope he don't get left with a sour taste in his mouth for Fox not green lighting it, or making him wait.
Quote from: SM on Jan 26, 2017, 12:17:45 AM
Even the roundly caned Exodus Gods and Kings made $268m.
Against a production budget of $145 million. Which is why the planned sequel, "King David" got canned.
Quote from: Kimo on Jan 26, 2017, 02:23:03 PM
If Fox greenlit Blomkamp Alien(s) film back when he was showing his promotion art off. Then I could see Weaver and Bean having mayjor roles in it. But it's been put on hold for god knows how long, and it's very unlikely it's going to happen anytime soon, now that Blomkamp has said so himself in his Tweet.
Just a quick recap of Alien 5's troubled production history so far:
It was officially greenlit less than a month after "showing his promotion art off". After which Blomkamp spent approximately 9 months on pre-production during which time he produced the first draft of the script, had meetings with Scott, Weaver and Biehn, looked at studio space availability and produced a mock-up of a modified pulse rifle and quite likely a lot of other pre-production work and preparation.
Shortly after Blomkamp handed in the first draft of the script, Ridley Scott said that Alien 5 would be released in 2017.
Quote"We have Neill Blomkamp's Alien, which will be out in 2017. We just have the first [screenplay] draft in so far but it looks pretty good."
A couple of months later a rumour surfaced from a supposed studio insider who said that Blomkamp's film had been put on hold. Blomkamp initially denied this but he later retracted his earlier statement and said that "Alien 5 is kinda holding/ pending prometheus 2". Sigourney Weaver later said that the request to put Alien 5 on hold came from Ridley Scott.
Quote from: Kimo on Jan 26, 2017, 02:23:03 PM
I just hope he don't get left with a sour taste in his mouth for Fox not green lighting it, or making him wait.
Well, Fox offered him "The Gone World", an as yet unpublished Cyberpunk novel by Thomas Sweterlitsch as a sort of "consolation prize". Apparently it's f'king amazing, a real hot property and Blomkamp is really taken with it. To be honest, Alien 5 is probably quite far from his mind at this point. And it's also quite possible that he has simply lost interest in doing a Alien movie. He has always been a bit on the fence about doing any kind of franchise film.
QuoteWell, Fox offered him "The Gone World", an as yet unpublished Cyberpunk novel by Thomas Sweterlitsch as a sort of "consolation prize". Apparently it's f'king amazing, a real hot property and Blomkamp is really taken with it. To be honest, Alien 5 is probably quite far from his mind at this point. And it's also quite possible that he has simply lost interest in doing a Alien movie. He has always been a bit on the fence about doing any kind of franchise film.
So it was actually officially greenlit by Fox. Did not know that, I just thought it was in negotiations. Glad to hear fox offerd him "The Gone World" as a good will gesture.
However I don't think he's gunna lose interest that soon. I remember watching him on YouTube when he was doing interview rounds for Chappie. He was talking about how his Alien(s) idea came to plan. He basically said he has already made 3 films that were his own story's. but was stuck on were to go next. Then his partner or female work friend (can't remember witch) said it's simple... why don't you do your dream project that you have always wanted to do?.
And the light bulb went off in his head. That when he put his Aliens project on the table for the world to see including Fox. So it's obvious he has a love for Aliens and if I was a fanboy in his shoes, I would put it on the back burner till the day Fox Greenlight's it again.
Quote from: Kimo on Jan 26, 2017, 05:41:25 PM
So it was actually officially greenlit by Fox. Did not know that, I just thought it was in negotiations. Glad to hear fox offerd him "The Gone World" as a good will gesture.
Yep, the media/press checked with Fox after Blomkamp tweeted from his unverified account that Alien would be his next project. He wouldn't have embarked on all that writing and preparation work without a solid contract and official go-ahead first anyway. Especially not after the Halo fiasco. The Alien 5 pitch art and story treatment were likely done at his own expense and time though
QuoteHowever I don't think he's gunna lose interest that soon. I remember watching him on YouTube when he was doing interview rounds for Chappie. He was talking about how his Alien(s) idea came to plan. He basically said he has already made 3 films that were his own story's. but was stuck on were to go next. Then his partner or female work friend (can't remember witch) said it's simple why don't you do your dream project that you have always wanted to do?.
Yep, it was Terri Tatchell, his wife who finally convinced him to do Alien. They were having breakfast and Blomkamp was drinking coffee out of an Alien life cycle mug.
While he certainly sounded excited about the project in the video interviews, he still spoke about his reservations on doing an Alien film. It could be that his initial excitement had cooled down a bit in the interim.
QuoteAgainst a production budget of $145 million. Which is why the planned sequel, "King David" got canned.
The point is it still made decent coin in the face of horrible reviews and the bad press during production.
Ridley Scott sells tickets. You know, bums on seats, Love?
Quote from: SM on Jan 26, 2017, 08:30:54 PM
QuoteAgainst a production budget of $145 million. Which is why the planned sequel, "King David" got canned.
The point is it still made decent coin in the face of horrible reviews and the bad press during production.
They would have had to sell a lot of "shiny discs" to make "decent coin" then. Hollywood accounting aside, a film needs to make back at least three times it's production budget in order to be considered a financial success. Exodus barely broke even.
Yes, everybody knows this. $268m is still nothing to sniff at.
FOX is in control of everything related to this franchise. They can green light any project they feel will be a success. Or one with more potential than another.
I believe they felt that Prometheus would have been a much greater success had they included the Xeno in it so why not go with a sequel to it with the titular creatures promised to appear. Plus continue the story, etc.
Why is this even a question. Ridley Scott is considered a legend in the industry and the scope and quality of his output few directors can match.
Yeah, I still think I'm f**king dreaming. Ridley Scott is making another f**king Alien movie. This is the shit my dad told me about on his knee when I was a child. "One day, he'll come back" as he pointed to the DVD inside sleeve showing the jockey.
And to think he'll direct two more after Covenant...oh what a time to be alive. What a time for the thing you love to make you feel alive.
Quote from: SM on Jan 26, 2017, 09:10:53 PM
Yes, everybody knows this. $268m is still nothing to sniff at.
It is for the studio (whose reaction we're discussing, after all).
Not enough of a sniff for them to baulk at throwing over $100m at him to make The Martian.
Quote from: SM on Jan 25, 2017, 11:02:53 PM
He's a widely respected director, and his last film in this series did quite well. Unless you have someone like Cameron knocking, why change?
You mean like when Scott and Cameron were going to team up to do Alien 5 back in the early 2000's and 20th Century Fox turned them down to do AvP instead?
Sorry SM... I couldn't help myself there. I stand ready to receive your Holy Wrath. ;D
What the hell does that have to do with either of their talents? It's not their fault Fox was f**king nuts back then.
Damn those ads would've written themselves. "From the Directors of Alien, Aliens, Titanic and Gladiator". f**king easy $$$
Quote from: oberonqa on Jan 29, 2017, 03:05:38 PM
Quote from: SM on Jan 25, 2017, 11:02:53 PM
He's a widely respected director, and his last film in this series did quite well. Unless you have someone like Cameron knocking, why change?
You mean like when Scott and Cameron were going to team up to do Alien 5 back in the early 2000's and 20th Century Fox turned them down to do AvP instead?
Sorry SM... I couldn't help myself there. I stand ready to receive your Holy Wrath. ;D
Nah - fair point. I dunno what happened there...
Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jan 29, 2017, 05:49:38 PM
What the hell does that have to do with either of their talents? It's not their fault Fox was f**king nuts back then.
Damn those ads would've written themselves. "From the Directors of Alien, Aliens, Titanic and Gladiator". f**king easy $$$
Last Alien film didn't do too well, though. They don't want to risk major $$$ on a dying property. So they made lower budget films. Who was the best at the time delivering a good looking movie on a low budget? Paul Anderson, who had two big hits with Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat.
He'd also had two massive bombs with Event Horizon and Soldier.
Resident Evil was his previous movie and made bank on a small budget.
Yeah, I suspect that played a major part in him getting it.
Particularly the small budget. I don't think AvP's budget would've covered a Scott/Cameron film.
I was reminded of how cheap RE looked on telly last night...
Just let Ridley Scott direct the final Alien and be done with it.