Engineering Prometheus – From Jon Spaihts to Damon Lindelof

[oduodu]

Don't think Scott had total control here; the decision to hire Lindelof was not his but via "higher ups", the title Prometheus was Tom Rothman's idea, and Seagers told Haag that Ridley wasn't happy with where Prometheus went...

Was that from the Podcast with Wayne? I'll have to listen again.

Scott just confuses me from time to time.  He was into 5 drafts with Spaihts where there was still huggers and xenos. And then says the beast is cooked. There is only so much snarling you can do . Perhaps he enjoys contradicting himself.

I just wish he would do like Cameron did with avatar and plan the series and finish the scripts for all those movies in advance while learning form Prometheus. If there Is a movie after this it probably go back closer to Prometheus.

[SM]

Maybe he's just open to changing his mind.

[BishopShouldGo]

Ridley's always been paradoxical like that. "I make movies for myself and no one else." yet he admits to being a very studio friendly director.

[SM]

He probably wants to continue making movies.

[SiL]

Scott's the kind of director who talks about ideas when they're still inklings, and by the time they've actually been fleshed out and developed they've turned into something very different. Any writer or creative person on the planet can relate.

[SM]

Yep.  Problem with putting things 'on the record' - particularly in the age in what we live where old quotes can be easily accessed - is that once the thing that was once mused about is made reality, people start crying that 'Ridley lied!' or 'The studio made him change it'.

[Ingwar]

It was a successful film just not a really good one.

If it wasn't successful, Covenant probably wouldn't have even been made.

And if it was successful Covenant wouldn't have been made either. They would have made Prometheus sequel with Elizabeth Shaw rather than Alien prequel with Daniels. Why do you think they got rid of Rapace? Because Prometheus was successful?

[SM]

Ain't hyperbole grand?

[Samhain13]

It was a successful film just not a really good one.

If it wasn't successful, Covenant probably wouldn't have even been made.

And if it was successful Covenant wouldn't have been made either. They would have made Prometheus sequel with Elizabeth Shaw rather than Alien prequel with Daniels. Why do you think they got rid of Rapace? Because Prometheus was successful?

Wasnt Ridley who decided to get rid of Shaw? At first he said there wouldnt be aliens, now its full of aliens.
Hard to say whats going in his mind. Maybe he just changed his mind out of nowhere about what he wanted the movie to be like.

[BishopShouldGo]

I think The Martian influenced the change in direction for Prometheus 2/Alien: Covenant. The Martian was essentially Robinson Crusoe in space, which is what he said Prometheus 2 would be, but then The Martian slid across his desk. He got "his" Robinson Crusoe out of his system, so he had to dramatically change the story of this movie.

[Corporal Hicks]

My understanding is the studio were pushing for more of a return to Alien with Covenant. I'm hoping it's not going to be one of those misunderstood overcompensations like with AvPR and the gore.

Hopefully we'll get to see the bigger picture when the home releases come out.

Don't think Scott had total control here; the decision to hire Lindelof was not his but via "higher ups", the title Prometheus was Tom Rothman's idea, and Seagers told Haag that Ridley wasn't happy with where Prometheus went...

Was that from the Podcast with Wayne? I'll have to listen again.

Pretty sure it was. It certainly sounded like Scott listened to some of the criticisms levied towards Prometheus. In regards to the Rothman thing, he certainly claims it was -

To be fair, it sounded like it was a bit of a collective decision. I don't think Lindelof was given any specific direction about what they wanted to do with Spaihts' script when it was sent to him, but his opinions aligned with what TPTB were thinking at the time.

[BishopShouldGo]

Yeah, Damon was the only one who "got it", as Fox had sent "Alien: Zero" out to many writers.

Funnily enough, the deacon ending is only there BECAUSE of Lindelof. He considers it the movie's "punchline" and would be pissed as a fan himself if he didn't see an alien burst out of a body.

[HuDaFuK]

I thought that tacked-on scene was just about the biggest insult of the movie.

It served no purpose, it was there just because.

[OpenMaw]

Yeah. The Deacon is... Odd. Now, had it shown up and been the final threat for Shaw and David? Maybe have them do something clever with the engineer tech to defeat it?

[HuDaFuK]

That was in fact it's purpose in Spaihts' original script.

They cut the entire final confrontation, but left the birth in there just so they could have something pop out of someone's chest. Why even bother if it's not going to do anything? It's pointless pandering.