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With Alien: The Adora Files due out any day soon and Predator: Dark Ages due to premier later this month, it looked like we were about to return to a period of drought for fan films. Then Sonnet Realm Films announced their upcoming Alien fan film, Alien Identity:

“ALIEN IDENTITY takes place 14 years after the events of Jim Cameron's 1986 blockbuster, Aliens. It continues the story of Newt, the little girl we all loved, but despised to see perish in vain. They decided to bring back Newt, played by Elle Viane Sonnet as a young woman with an undeniably haunting past and an uncertain future.

"I love the character Newt. Bringing her back has been something I've thought about for years, which is why this film takes place after Aliens, and dismisses the events of Alien 3 and Resurrection. It has been pretty much accepted as canon, that the last two films of the series are considered cryo-sleep nightmares, which we have no objection to," says Writer and Director Adam Sonnet.

Amongst the many extraordinary people coming on board the project, some of the talents include: Emmy Award-Winning Make-up Artist and Creature Designer, Brian Sipe, Terminator Genisys, X-Men First Class, and Star Trek: Into Darkness; Celebrity Creature Concept Artist & Consultant, Neville Page, Prometheus, Avatar, Star Trek, Oblivion, and Falling Skies; Saturn Award-Winning Writer/Director Marc Zicree as a writing consultant, Space Command: Redemption, Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II, Star Trek DS9, Sliders, and Babylon 5; and many more exciting names soon to be announced.”

The Alien fan film has been a project that the Sonnets wanted to do for around 2 years but production started in earnest around 2 months ago. Alien Identity is expected to start filming from the end of 2015 with an eventual release of late 2016. They will be starting their Kickstarter campaign around July time with announcements as to their cast in the coming months.

Alien Identity will be the second recent Alien fan film to return Rebecca Jordan, aka Newt, to us! Aliens: LV-426 was released at the end of May 2014 and portrayed an alternate sequel to James Cameron’s Aliens. We spoke to writer, director and producer Márcio Napoli in June of last year.

You can follow Alien Identity on Facebook to keep up to date with the Alien fan film and their latest developments.

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I have to say I'm quite excited for these new projects that have professional people attached. Star Trek has enjoyed that for a while and it's really nice that the Aliens fandom is getting that now too.

"It has been pretty much accepted as canon, that the last two films of the series are considered cryo-sleep nightmares."

Ummm...

I wouldn't take offence to it - I know how you dislike the idea. But I really don't mind people taking that road for fan films.

Oh no, I'm perfectly happy for them to do their thing. I enjoy stuff like this when it's done well. Just seemed like an odd thing to say, rather than, "This is our own spin on things."

I don't think it was intended to bother anyone. A lot of fans probably do feel that way.

It interested me until I read the word "kickstarter" and my excitement turned to disappointment.  :-\

Potentially, it could be good with those people attached but it's all ifs, buts and maybes when it comes to kickstarter. So the project may not even be completed.

It's the way forward now, crowd funding. If you convince people that you've got a great idea and can do it, then by all means have my money and do it. Personally I'm quite happy to help fund these kind of projects if I think they're worth my money.

They'll be posting proof of concept videos and vignettes along with the campaign.

What happened to the days of funding a project yourself for fun, for a hobby?

These kind of projects took a huge leap forward in terms of quality. Sets, professional actor, professional crew. That stuff costs and some people don't have access to good locations or groups of people that already happen to have costumes and props and etc. These things have gone beyond being hobby projects to semi-professional projects that just so happen to be done by fans.

It's not like you have to fund it all by yourself. If you like it, throw them some money. If you don't, move along. And I really don't mind. I've seen the quality of projects that are done like this.

I can't wait to see what the proof of concept videos look like.

Well personally I'm excited, and I agree, I never really considered the events in 3 and 4 to be in the Alien story line. Someone needs to fund the project, and from what I read, it's a feature film not 12 minutes.

I wonder if Fox would try and stop something like this because the project is getting funds through kickstarter.  I don't personally care but they are using concepts they didn't create and getting money for it.  I think a project as this would need to stay at a small hobby level to avoid being squashed by a movie studio.  I seem to remember a video game project that was stopped by Fox.

Quote from: saintssinphony on May 14, 2015, 11:21:57 PM
I wonder if Fox would try and stop something like this because the project is getting funds through kickstarter.  I don't personally care but they are using concepts they didn't create and getting money for it.  I think a project as this would need to stay at a small hobby level to avoid being squashed by a movie studio.  I seem to remember a video game project that was stopped by Fox.

Predator - Dark Ages was sucessfully funded via Kickstarter last year.

And I understand that the team behind this have a presence in Hollywood so I'm sure there'd be some political smoothing to be done.

Even though they're funded like this, they're not being funded for profit - only to cover costs.

Lots of Star Trek fan films raise money doing this, one just raised over $750,000. They just have to show where every dollar goes.  ::)

Yeah a fan film can raise donated funds to pay for the expenses of the project. I've seen hundreds of fan projects do this. How else does a fan film raise money but by donors. They just can't make a profit off the film itself. 

Quote from: HuDaFuK on May 14, 2015, 01:35:35 PM
"It has been pretty much accepted as canon, that the last two films of the series are considered cryo-sleep nightmares."

Ummm...

Indeed! They need to define who it is that pretty much accepts it as canon. Themselves?

Quote from: markweatherill on May 18, 2015, 01:06:45 PM

Quote from: HuDaFuK on May 14, 2015, 01:35:35 PM
"It has been pretty much accepted as canon, that the last two films of the series are considered cryo-sleep nightmares."

Ummm...

Indeed! They need to define who it is that pretty much accepts it as canon. Themselves?

They could have worded that better but it wouldn't be a stretch to say many fans dislike Newt and Hicks' death.

Predator - Dark Ages was barely successfully funded on Kickstarter, ultimately it funded a trailer ? not this 30 minutes film , 5,000 for trailer 10,000 short 8 minute film 20,000 30 minute film , through I'm sure it will be good , However the teaser trailer on kickstarter was very bad , looked very cheap and showed nothing , if something else was better put together i'm sure it could of passed the 20,000 mark. True that

The KS wasn't too successful no but they got some of the funding and managed their minimum. However, they have done a 30 minute long film. Check out their thread for Darkness' feedback. It's quite good apparently!

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Couple of new Identity posts:

"We have been getting a lot of curious people messaging us and asking, "what Alien are you going to be using?"
We are happy to say that our Tribute Feature Film, ALIEN IDENTITY, will be very H.R. Giger inspired."

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"Director/Writer Adam Sonnet is working with Gale Benning on Pre-Visual FX, set design, schematics, plus the look and feel of the film from textures to the semiotic standard of the Alien Universe. "

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New picture shared today:

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QuoteOur production designer wanted to share an update for the title sequence fragmentation and floor plans he sketched up that he's modeling after ALIEN. News on the featured star ship will be announced soon as well as other details.

New update:

QuoteMeet our SFX Makeup & Concept Designer: BRIAN SIPE
We've had the pleasure of working with Brian on multiple projects. He's a very talented makeup FX artist and we're glad he's on board our Alien Tribute. If you want to see Brian's work then go see Terminator Genisys which is scheduled to release July 1st. He did Arnold Schwarzenegger's makeup and the makeup for Kyle Reese and John Connor.
Brian is currently in Montreal working on X-Men: Apocalypse, doing Jennifer Lawrence's makeup as Mystique.

QuoteBrian is currently in Montreal working on X-Men: Apocalypse, doing Jennifer Lawrence's makeup as Mystique.

Lucky. Bastard.

:P

 :P Hehe. I know, right?

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Update from their Facebook page:

QuoteAt this time we are working really hard to put together the best fan film for you all. The script is getting tight and our team is being rounded out. We have some exciting news for all of you, and as a "THANK YOU" to all of our Newsletter follows, we will have a little gift for you. So sign-up while you can so you can have a little gift too! Deadline to sign-up for the Newsletter "Welcome Gift" is June 24th. www.ALIENIDENTITY.com

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QuoteRebecca knows she's not the only lifesign onboard.

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They released another update over the weekend - Neville Page is joining them as Creature Concept Consultant. He's done a lot of concept design over the recent years - including Prometheus.

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Another update -

QuoteFirst draft finished! So far 152 pages. ‪#‎Alien‬ ‪#‎Aliens‬ ‪#‎AlienIdentity‬ ‪#‎NewtLives‬

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How will it be paid for? Crowdfunding or independent?

Crowd-funding. More information about the campaign should be coming out soon.

Really exciting casting news!

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/2015/06/29/ricco-ross-and-carrie-henn-return-to-aliens-in-alien-identity/

QuoteBack in May we posted news of Alien Identity, an upcoming Alien fan film by Sonnet Realm Films. Since that announcement news has been trickling down from their Facebook page (including news that professionals such as Neville Page and Brian Spie would be involved with the film). They have just announced that Aliens actors Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn would be returning to star in Alien Identity:

"Sonnet Realm Films Announces Actors Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn to Return to the Aliens Universe in the Tribute FilmALIEN IDENTITY.

Sonnet Realm Films is excited to announce that Ricco Ross (Aliens) will be joining the cast of ALIEN IDENTITY as Richard Frost, the brother of Pvt. Robert Frost, and will also be coming on board as a producer for the film.

"When I heard of the story I thought, 'why hasn't someone thought of this sooner?' Great idea and it makes sense that the concept would come from a fan and not Hollywood Execs. Very happy to be a part of this exciting project and to get the cast on screen together again. Aliens fans, buckle up, you're in for a hell of a ride. Stay frosty." – Ricco Ross

As a surprise to the fan community, we're happy to announce Carrie Henn (Young Newt from Aliens) is confirmed to make an appearance in ALIEN IDENTITY as Anne Jorden, young Newt's mother in a flashback. This will be Henn's first film in nearly 30 years since Aliens (1986).

"I am looking forward to working on Aliens from a different perspective. I can't wait to hear what all the fans think!" – Carrie Henn

Elle Viane Sonnet stars as Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, 14 years after the events of Aliens.

"Ricco's and Carrie's contributions to this tribute film are very exciting for us all. They are both amazing people and we're thrilled to work with them. I am also really excited to play Newt, she's a strong character with a complicated past. There's a lot to explore there." – Elle Viane Sonnet"

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This is quite exciting because Carrie Henn quit acting following her role as Newt in Aliens and will make her return to the world of acting. Ricco Ross has been quite active since his time as Frost in Aliens and maintains an active presence on Facebook.

Alien Identity will be a crowd-funded project and will be launching their Kickstarter campaign over the coming months. You can follow them on Facebook to keep an eye on the project.

http://www.sonnetrealmfilms.com/apps/blog/show/43401628-aliens-actors-ricco-ross-and-carrie-henn-return-in-sonnet-realm-films-new-alien-tribute-film-alien-identity-

Sounds promising.  I look forward to seeing this.  It's especially cool to have Carrie Henn playing Newt's mother.

It's Henn returning to Aliens and acting that I really like about this announcement. :) that and Ross rocks too.

I can see Fox blocking the fan film already. I think they will not allow to use that characters with especially the same actors....do you think it can be legally done?

@Axe - It's down to Fox as far as the use of the license goes but I severely doubt that they'd ever block it. 

After all, they allowed 'Predator: Dark Ages' to be funded using 'Kickstarter' and as for the actors, it's not really Fox's prerogative to dictate what work an actor can or can't do.  I suppose that they could stop the film through a copyright claim out of resentment for Carrie Henn and Ricco Ross appearing in it.  Not that I see any reason whatsoever that they would hold a grudge for such a thing (no disrespect intended towards the two actors but their hardly Sigourney Weaver).  Besides, Fox were perfectly happy to allow a fan film featuring Trevor Steedman ('Aliens') to go ahead in the past ('Aliens: Epilogue').

As long as a fan funded film is not making a profit from sales, then I see absolutely no reason why Fox's legal department's feathers should be even slightly ruffled.  Based on their track record of passive neutrality towards such things in the past, I'd say; there's nothing to be concerned about.  ;)

It's been a long time since anything has been Foxed. AvP - Redemption actually reached out to Fox to make sure they were okay. As mentioned above, Predator: Dark Ages got through their Kickstarter without any bother (and from what I understand, they hadn't contacted the Dark Ages guys at all).

It's becoming more and more common practice for fan films to actually have involvement from some people in the film industry or people who worked on the original films (it's quite abundant in Star Trek fan films now) and to be crowd-funded. It's really increasing the quality of these projects.

And at the end of the day, it's a non-profit project, just for the love of the franchise.

Great to hear Ricco Ross is in this, always had a soft spot for Frost.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jun 30, 2015, 07:13:41 AM
It's been a long time since anything has been Foxed. AvP - Redemption actually reached out to Fox to make sure they were okay. As mentioned above, Predator: Dark Ages got through their Kickstarter without any bother (and from what I understand, they hadn't contacted the Dark Ages guys at all).

It's becoming more and more common practice for fan films to actually have involvement from some people in the film industry or people who worked on the original films (it's quite abundant in Star Trek fan films now) and to be crowd-funded. It's really increasing the quality of these projects.

And at the end of the day, it's a non-profit project, just for the love of the franchise.

As someone who's doing my own effort, I'm feeling increasingly secure about this aspect for today's generation of fan-films, yeah. The only part which worries me is whether mine might get taken down for the various pieces of music I'm going to have to use. 'Dark Ages' seemed to have its own composed soundtrack (and a great one, too), but lower-end projects without any real budget have to rely on existing scores.

It's just about the only aspect which might convince me to do a crowd-funding attempt. Original music probably goes a long way to getting around legal concerns, these days.

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New header on Facebook.

I know it's only half a face, but that doesn't look like Carrie to me. Is she playing a different character other than Newt?

Yeah - Carrie is playing her mother in a flashback. Newt is being played by Elle Sonnet.

It's all in the article on the front page.

Should probably give that more than a skim read :P

Generally helps.  :P ::)

A new cast member has been announced, Patrick Kilpatrick playing Capt. Allen Grisham: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453304/

I don't recognize him myself but he's been in quite a lot of stuff.

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Henchman in Under Siege 2 who gets a knife to the throat :)

Ricco Ross is ageing well!

He really does. I met him a few years back and he barely looks any different.

This is turning into a new proper alien movie with all the actors coming funny it is a fan movie and that is pretty cool.

Couple more things over the last few days:

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QuoteWriter/Director Adam Sonnet with Neville Page in his studio talking about art, films, and Alien Identity.

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QuoteWe're very happy to reveal the first piece of Alien Identity art created by Ron Boyd.

Boyd is a very talented artist and we're grateful he's a part of our team.

We're also pleased to announce that one of the Kickstarter rewards will be an original full colored prequel companion comic book to our upcoming film.

They don't know who the artist is going to be yet but I love the idea.

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Also the guys over at Perfect Organism did an interview with the Sonnet's.

https://soundcloud.com/perfectorganismpodcast/perfect-organism-episode-13#t=0:00

QuoteThis is a special episode. Jaime and Peter sit down and talk about ALIEN IDENTITY, a new tribute film that builds on the Alien saga lore. Adam Royce Sonnet, and Elle Sonnet, director and star graciously discuss their newest endeavor, and make a special announcement, exclusive only to Perfect Organism fans and listeners.
Sit back and enjoy. As always, thanks for your support.

I've only listened to the first half on my way to work so far.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jul 09, 2015, 08:29:45 AM(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/11401150_1628433107396261_1435035936203221424_n.jpg?oh=d9500eb1b7e22249de158b28da09ec88&oe=5615A372)

That's nice, but I don't know if the cartoony style is all that appropriate...

Good podcast got me really psyched about this. Jesus didn't realise that they were aiming to make it nearly two hours long. Wish them the best of luck in their production. Wonder when Hicks and co are gonna make another podcast, eagerly awaiting the new ear candy guys.

I'm looking forward to the campaign. Can't wait to see what goodies they have in store.

Sorry about ours - our last one didn't go so well. Lost half the episode audio and just haven't gotten around to re-doing it. Got 2 interviews/special guests lined up but waiting for dates to sort them.

I just got an email update from Sonnet, Identity got Foxed!!  >:(

Whoa, what does that mean?

Yeah, I just got the same email. I'm guessing it's because they hired Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn. A step too far. I don't particularly see why they can't do it without them.

Quote from: Darkness on Jul 15, 2015, 05:12:19 AM
Yeah, I just got the same email. I'm guessing it's because they hired Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn. A step too far. I don't particularly see why they can't do it without them.

It's not due to that. It'll be because the project harkens too close to what Blomkamp is doing. They only generally C&D fan projects when they're similar to something they've got in the works officially.

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QuoteThey were worried our storyline would confuse the fans for Alien 5

From their Facebook.

That sucks.

While I wasn't exactly waiting on bated breath for this, it's never nice to see guys who are clearly passionate about a project get shut down.

It's the best possible outcome, IMO, that they planned for this contingency. They have so much professional talent involved that they should be trying to make something independent. It's even possible to make some money for those involved that way.

Well.. that just sucks.. I was kind of looking forward to it.

Quote from: Xenomorphine on Jul 15, 2015, 12:18:01 PM
It's the best possible outcome, IMO, that they planned for this contingency. They have so much professional talent involved that they should be trying to make something independent. It's even possible to make some money for those involved that way.

Yeah, this fan film must have cost quite a few quid so far. So either they should have done like you said, create their own original IP or otherwise have gotten express written permission from Fox before proceeding too far.

QuoteThey were worried our storyline would confuse the fans for Alien 5

I actually thought this might cause confusion and was wondering if they were going to stall the project until after Alien 5's release or whether they were just going to plough ahead with their own story.

I don't see how it's similar to Blomkamp when we don't even know what the story will be in that. Do you think he will make the script available or give us an outline of what would have actually happened in the film?

All such a shame. Predator Dark Ages, if anything, had a positive effect on Predator, bringing the character back into people's minds. It's all free promotion for Fox.

Quote from: Darkness on Jul 15, 2015, 05:07:05 PM
I don't see how it's similar to Blomkamp when we don't even know what the story will be in that.

Fox would know Blomkamp's script and I assume they got hold of the Identity script (or a summary) as well.

Ignoring Alien 3 and Newt surviving is already a shared trait between the films.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 15, 2015, 05:16:22 PM
Ignoring Alien 3 and Newt surviving is already a shared trait between the films.

I imagine this is the big thing here. The retcon and survival of the Aliens characters.

Quote"They were worried our storyline would confuse the fans for Alien 5."

i hate PR excuses.
Just tell the truth.

Shame to hear this. Honestly they could have gotten away with making this fan film by working on it under the radar, making no announcement, complete it then release it online.

Much like that gritty Power Rangers fan film, the owners of Power Rangers Saban have constantly attempted to have it removed, but it still can be traced online for fans to see if they wish.

Wonder if Fox will file a cease and desists to the maker of Predator Dark Age and have that removed, he should be able to get away with it owing to it being a non profit fan film.

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Can I ask the other members here. Concerning the upcoming Neill Blomkamp Alien sequel. How do you think they'll approach the continuity. Will it follow after Alien Resurrection? "I highly doubt it will" or is it likely to discount the vents of Alien 3 following Alien and Aliens. Owing to Blomkamp's comment this is most likely route they're taking.

What approach its the more pleasing?

KEEP IT AS A STRAIGHT UP SEQUEL?
Following Alien Resurrection with Alien 5 but make up for the last movie being a let down by making this new one immensely satisfying and redeeming the series that we'll accept it. "Which a tall order and near to impossible to accomplish."

RETCON ALIEN 3 AND 4 ALTOGETHER?
Or Outright ignoring Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection in the approach of Superman Returns ignoring the vents of Superman 3 & 4.

INTRODUCE TIME TRAVEL? ;:/
Or introducing Time travel and altering timelines, going back to a certain event around the time of Aliens and change the circumstances altering history leading to a whole new timeline.

This would allow an opportunity to retcon Alien 3 and Alien restore the status quo of Aliens, keeping the dynamic of Ripley, Hicks and Newt, something many fans would be satisfied with. But at the same time it comes across as contrived fan wank, essentially a lazy writing cliche.

Although it worked in X-Men Days of Future Past, while not a perfect movie its one of the more well recevied X-Men movies of the series and was a solid blockbuster that also rectified events of the 3rd movie where several characters were killed off. But on the other hand it could turn out like Terminator Genisys and really irritate the fans who are so intrenched with the continuity they don't want to see it messed with.

Which or these options would be the most satisfying.

Assuming that the statement of the plots being too similar is indeed true, this leaves me very worried. I'm an Alien 3 supporter and while I don't mind a divergent and alternate continuity, I am worried how Blomkamp is going to approach it now.

I hope that Alien 3 isn't going to be given the Bobby Ewing or Roseanne treatment. That would be the LAST thing the franchise needs. If that happens, if the dream explanation is used in the official product, that would do more harm than good.

RakaiThwei

Its a no win situation. If it still connects to Alien 3 fans of Aliens aren't going to be interested due to the event of that film killing off their favourite characters. And if it only follows Aliens fans of Alien 3 are going to be disappointed that they coped out.

One other approach that could be taken is that we see fully grown up Newt, it centres on her facing off against the Xenomorphs, taking over the mantle of Ripley as it were.

However by the end of the 3rd act it turns out not to be the real Newt, she's a synthetic replica of her, programmed with implanted fabricated memories, believing herself to be human on aware of her true being. Ist a form of trial run experiment for Extermination of Xenomorphs, so in this twist its still ties to Alien 3 with Newt being dead.

Though an odd flip of expectations I'm really not keen on the idea of "The events of this film turn out to be a dream all along so it ties into the cannon of Alien 3"


It would also come across as a big waste of time for fans wanting Newt back, it'd be completely misleading. >:(

If they want to return to Hicks, Newt and Ripley I'd just rather than ignore Alien 3 and Resurrection than attempt to explain the films away.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jul 16, 2015, 07:00:46 AMIf they want to return to Hicks, Newt and Ripley I'd just rather than ignore Alien 3 and Resurrection than attempt to explain the films away.

Yeah, this. While I certainly don't want them to write off any of the existing films, if they insist on doing it I'd rather they just ignored them than come up with some convoluted workaround. Because every workaround I've heard suggested is just ridiculous.

I'm glad to hear this has been Foxed, if only because it's pushed them into doing something original they can have complete control of and call their own, which will be much better for their careers.

Quote from: XENOMORPHOSIS on Jul 16, 2015, 03:56:57 AM
Its a no win situation. If it still connects to Alien 3 fans of Aliens aren't going to be interested due to the event of that film killing off their favourite characters. And if it only follows Aliens fans of Alien 3 are going to be disappointed that they coped out.

Not really.

There's far more Aliens fans out there than Alien 3 fans. And while they are quite vocal, the hardcore Alien 3 fans are really only a very small minority.

Fox and Blomkamp will simply cater for the larger fanbase which will likely make it a financial win for them.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jul 16, 2015, 07:00:46 AM
If they want to return to Hicks, Newt and Ripley I'd just rather than ignore Alien 3 and Resurrection than attempt to explain the films away.

For once, we agree.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jul 16, 2015, 12:01:45 PM

Quote from: XENOMORPHOSIS on Jul 16, 2015, 03:56:57 AM
Its a no win situation. If it still connects to Alien 3 fans of Aliens aren't going to be interested due to the event of that film killing off their favourite characters. And if it only follows Aliens fans of Alien 3 are going to be disappointed that they coped out.

Not really.

There's far more Aliens fans out there than Alien 3 fans. And while they are quite vocal, the hardcore Alien 3 fans are really only a very small minority.

Fox and Blomkamp will simply cater for the larger fanbase which will likely make it a financial win for them.

Its no doubt it'll be financial win, but it won't be for the fans base, its bound to build an expectation that can't be meet.

These semi reboot/ retcon sequel have to be vastly superior to their failed predecessors to justify their creation and the never entirely succeed in pulling that off.

As as we've seen with  Terminator Genisys, it may claim to be a more true sequel but apparently critics and movie goers have not been that impressed and its no performed so well Domestically. Sure it may just recoup finances internationally, but it seems that if a fan base has been burned enough times they'll avoid it.

Terrible word of month, awful looking trailers and the big twist being spoiled well before hand probably didn't help it either.

I'm in no rush to go to see Genesys.

Man it is funny is getting so much attention and getting famous actors it is like this is alien 5.

Who's famous?

Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn.

That's too bad, even though the whole His & N00t / ignoring A3 & A:R basis of the story lowered the anticipation for this project considerably. I really don't get the fascination with Newt and even more so when it comes to Hicks.

Quote from: Darkness on Jul 15, 2015, 05:07:05 PM
I don't see how it's similar to Blomkamp when we don't even know what the story will be in that. Do you think he will make the script available or give us an outline of what would have actually happened in the film?

All such a shame. Predator Dark Ages, if anything, had a positive effect on Predator, bringing the character back into people's minds. It's all free promotion for Fox.

I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with the stories being the same. Fox thinking potential audiences would feel 'confused' by it, is just their typical view of fans. It's more likely to be because of the timing similarity, having a couple of actors who are officially linked with the series and taking the same road of trying to directly lead on from 'Aliens' (if recent speculation is to be believed).

I suspect those were the only elements Fox needed to start feeling justified in the 'would-confuse-the-public' stuff.

Quote from: Xenomorphine on Jul 16, 2015, 09:15:59 PM

Quote from: Darkness on Jul 15, 2015, 05:07:05 PM
I don't see how it's similar to Blomkamp when we don't even know what the story will be in that. Do you think he will make the script available or give us an outline of what would have actually happened in the film?

All such a shame. Predator Dark Ages, if anything, had a positive effect on Predator, bringing the character back into people's minds. It's all free promotion for Fox.

I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with the stories being the same. Fox thinking potential audiences would feel 'confused' by it, is just their typical view of fans. It's more likely to be because of the timing similarity, having a couple of actors who are officially linked with the series and taking the same road of trying to directly lead on from 'Aliens' (if recent speculation is to be believed).

I suspect those were the only elements Fox needed to start feeling justified in the 'would-confuse-the-public' stuff.

^^^I agree with this. For instance, we know Hicks is back, and FOX is likely intending to use that fact as a talking point for publicity, as the masses consume the information. We still don't know if Newt is back, so imagine you are searching for info on the new official Alien film, which will have a "with characters surviving after Aliens" dialogue surrounding it, and then you start to see this info regarding these actors from Aliens, showing up in this other UN-official Alien film, which also has a "with characters surviving after Aliens" dialogue surrounding it,.. It's just bad timing on their part.

As a filmmaker, I have a hard enough time trying to get excited about fan-films. A number of colleagues of mine are involved in the making of some of the bigger ones as of late. What I really don't get, is wanting to make fan-films that exist outside of the continuity...

I fully get the idea of making a fan film that exists as a side-quel or some other story you didn't get to see that doesn't tread on the continuity. It irks me, especially with the Alien franchise, because this series' continuity lends itself perfectly to new stories and unseen stories, so I can't understand from the storytelling side of filmmaking, why fans insist on returning to things that already happened, or didn't happen the way they liked, or some alternate version of something that they liked...

I'm not judging really, not at this point, but with the recent apparent omission of Alien 3, from the official continuity, and the fan films that keep focusing on these characters having not died,..  I guess I'm just trying to understand the motivation or how someone finds that motivating. I just don't understand why people are MORE excited to revisit and revise, than they are to create wholly new additions to the mythology - something fan films can absolutely do. Ive seen many people post fascinating new ideas... So while I'm specifically asking: Why do we remain so fixated on Newt and Hicks? To me it's more an issue of wondering why this is so motivating to fans in general. Wouldn't you rather make a fan film that could potentially be considered part of the franchise by fans?

With respect to those characters, I get that we never got to see them do more, and that seems unfair or something, but you know... what's done is done? As a storyteller, it seems more exciting to be liberated from the constrains of interupting continuity, than to keep retooling it.

Someone will no doubt tell me what we got after their deaths occurred was never as good... But honestly, that's not because those characters died, it was just because the soup wasn't made well. It wasn't that they moved on from them, it was just the specific decisions made, once they decided to. So that isn't an argument for bringing them back, instead of moving on. In fact, its why I don't mind deleting A:R, because that film also refused to move on, after killing off Ripley, even if I like some of the new content... They were in the perfect position to move on to something else and they didn't. Why?

Well, and I've been dancing around this point, but the reason why is because they feel like the "characters surviving who previously died" has built-in publicity. Do you see? Because it instantly gets people blogging and typing and hyping and guessing and so on, and that is why it happens.

As for ALIEN: IDENTITY, I would love to see those filmmakers ask Fox for permission to tell a separate ALIEN story with no connection to the continuity and still use the same talent. That's much more exciting to me as a fan.

something tells me fox is more worried about it being better than alien 5 instead of confusing fans for alien 5

Quote from: swarm87 on Jul 17, 2015, 11:09:45 PM
something tells me fox is more worried about it being better than alien 5 instead of confusing fans for alien 5

Why would they think that? It's doubtful actual footage has even begun to be shot yet.

since they announced their fan film first, shouldnt be them the ones getting instead credit for the ideas and such?
yeh, copyright laws suck

Alien 5 was announced first.

Top Secret
(Fake)
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Quote from: Vermillion on Jul 16, 2015, 06:08:18 PM
Who's famous?

Ricco Ross and Carrie Henn. as corporal Hicks said.

I'm kind of glad it was cancelled.

I'm sad it got cancelled. Would have been nice to see Alien enter the new age of fanfilms the same way everything else seems to.

---

In case some of you missed this, Alien Identity eventually morphed into Triborn with the same cast and crew: https://www.facebook.com/tribornmovie?fref=ts

Their Kickstarter campaign starts this week so if folk were interested, we might be seeing more details soon.

Kickstarter for Triborn is up: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/srfilms/triborn

They're hoping to raise $2million with a minimum of $150,000.

I've backed them.  :)

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Oct 11, 2015, 05:58:49 PM
I've backed them.  :)

How much

Just $75. I don't have too much to throw at these things.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Oct 12, 2015, 08:55:08 PM
Just $75. I don't have too much to throw at these things.

THATS A LOT IN MY EYES

Even a few quid helps these kinds of project out.

And the Kickstarter was cancelled. Little to no interest in it.

Yeah, I noticed that yesterday. I doubt they'd have got the funding even if they'd have gone ahead with Alien.

They haven't pulled it, just moved it to their own site. They said they just need preproduction costs and they'll get the rest via private funding.

I reckon it would have done better as Alien. Identity has nearly 3 times as many Likes on Facebook than their Triborn page. It probably would have struggled though. This community just seems very unwilling to support any of these fan projects which is a shame because we saw how well Dark Ages turned out.