Neill Blomkamp's 'Alien 5' had Elysium Production Designer Lined up for Pre-Production

Started by RidgeTop, Jan 02, 2018, 10:49:35 AM

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Neill Blomkamp's 'Alien 5' had Elysium Production Designer Lined up for Pre-Production (Read 23,738 times)

RidgeTop

It seems as though ‘Alien 5’ was quite close to entering pre-production back in the fall of 2015 before ultimately being shelved for the studio to focus on Alien Covenant.

Coming to us from entertainment news website Omega Underground, production designer Philip Ivey, who had previously collaborated with Neill Blomkamp on both District 9 and Elysium was attached to begin work on Alien 5. Whatever criticisms there are of Elysium, the production design is typically not high on the list of them.

Matt Damon (The Martian) and Alice Braga (Predators) star in Elysium (2013).

Amazingly, Omega Underground is also claiming that Alien 5 was additionally planning to begin shooting that very same fall:

“In May 2015, we caught wind that Alien 5 was eyeing Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for production shoot that fall. Our own new information reaffirms this and adds that Johannesburg, South Africa was also being looked at. The latter was likely chosen to keep production costs down on the project as District 9 and Chappie were shot there.

Blomkamp has since made British Columbia his home base for his production company Oats Studios, where it has been grinding out some excellent short films over the last little while. Shane Black's The Predator would eventually shoot in Vancouver as well.”

They go into speculation that Ridley Scott likely had a direct hand in compromising the film to maintain control of the franchise, which seems possible given that Scott had denied the project was anything more than a 10 page idea, and yet all evidence including statements from Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron point to the contrary. This appears to be corroborated from an interview with Neill Blomkamp last year, in which he said:

“We put together essentially a script and all the artwork and that's what I went to 20th Century Fox with. They seemed really into it and Ridley came on as producer and then it just unraveled.”

Omega Underground is not specific about how they obtained this information, but it’s unsurprising that Neill would have brought on Philip Ivey for production design after having worked with him on multiple sci-fi films.

Director Neill Blomkamp and Production Designer Philip Ivey on the set of Elysium (2003).

While Scott is determined to continue his Alien prequels, saying “they’re crazy if they don't.” It’s looking increasingly clear that Fox is uncertain of how to proceed with the franchise, and will likely remain so until the acquisition of their properties by Disney is finalized.

Neill Blomkamp recently posted some additional concept art from the project, and while that may be nothing more than his lamenting of how things turned out, some have expressed that the timing with the Disney acquisition hardly seems coincidental.

Personally, I feel that given his collaboration with franchise heavyweights such as Syd Mead and StudioADI, and continuing to generate enthusiasm from fans this long after cancellation, Neill Blomkamp remains a logical choice to direct a series installment, regardless if the story is what was originally planned or something entirely new.

Thanks to Omega Underground and Whos Nick for the news.

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Ja

I really would like to know why did they choose Scott over Blomkamp

Corporal Hicks

He's more "obvious" choice. He's got more success under his belt than Blomkamp does.

Gash

Quote from: Ja on Jan 02, 2018, 11:31:40 AM
I really would like to know why did they choose Scott over Blomkamp

Pedigree.

Richman678

I still believe cancelling the Blomkamp film was the right choice.

There's only one franchise that i know of that is releasing films unrelated to an already in motion trilogy....and that's Star Wars (rogue one released during episode 7,8,9 process)

Covenant was already starting to film when the Blomkamp movie was starting. The entire idea of having multiple movies releasing under the same license is crazy town anyways. The studio probably weighed both directors...and went with Ridley Scott, because it's Ridley Scott!!!! I don't blame them, and it's the obvious choice.

Maybe if Elysium and Chappie were blockbusters they would have said sure why not....but they weren't. Blomkamp just got done making two high cost duds, and I'm sure Fox said the same thing.

This doesn't mean I liked Covenant mind you. In honesty i really didn't like it. In fact I'm confused how Scott could direct such a mess of a movie when he's also making great stuff like The Martian or All the Money in the World. I did like Prometheus though, and i wanted to watch that story unfold, but now i don't. They went and pulled an "Alien 3" On is by killing off our main protagonist.

Either way Fox still made the right call, but it didn't pan out. However, i don't think Disney is gonna be so willing to jump into bed with Blomkamp either....maybe they will though since there's so much hype for his concept art alone. Should be fun to watch!

Scorpio

I'm all for Blomkamp's Alien 5, even though I'm not a fan of the retcon idea I'll wait until I see the finished product.  It's just that I don't get people who want the prequels cancelled so it can get made.  Would ruin the series if that happened.  You would have all these unresolved plot threads. 

Perfect-Organism

Perfect-Organism

#6
I really hope this Alien 5 film with Ripley, Hicks, and Newt gets resurrected.  It feels like all the spirit has been drained from the series and this would reinvigorate it hopefully.

Vrastal

Vrastal

#7
Im not a fan of blomkamp. And haye the idea of his alien 5. Too much of the alien universe is connected to ripley.  While i love the charecter and weaver. Im sick and tired of her being shoehorned into things for the sake of hsving ripley attached to the product

And on top of that it would probably be a pass the torch on style movie like force awakens or last jedi. Youd see them teaching some new kids what to do so they could take over the franchise.  Id rrally rather see new charecters unrelated to the original films thought of.

And while i enjoyed covenant and prom im not a fan of the aliens being engineered. I really dont want to see some stupid oh it was just a dream thing. Or completely forgotten and ignorer thing

prometheusfire29

after the Return they got from listening to all the online Aliens loving fanboys ( which probably represent less than 25% of the fanbase and less than 2% of the general movie going public )
I seriously doubt they will EVER listen to you guys ...... ever ever again .

which I personally think is the best thing for the franchise .

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

Quote from: RidgeTop on Jan 02, 2018, 10:49:35 AM
"In May 2015, we caught wind that Alien 5 was eyeing Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for production shoot that fall. Our own new information reaffirms this and adds that Johannesburg, South Africa was also being looked at.

Found this old tweet from someone who claimed to know someone...

https://twitter.com/lemon_buzz/status/603576960766365696

https://twitter.com/lemon_buzz/status/606823920222760960

But not much else to support the 2015 Vancouver Fall shoot rumour. Most other tweets regarding that rumour originates from the Omega Underground guy.


Quote from: Richman678 on Jan 02, 2018, 12:54:05 PM
Covenant was already starting to film when the Blomkamp movie was starting.

Nope.

Quote from: Richman678 on Jan 02, 2018, 12:54:05 PM
The entire idea of having multiple movies releasing under the same license is crazy town anyways.

You mean like all those new Star Wars films?

Quote from: Richman678 on Jan 02, 2018, 12:54:05 PM
This doesn't mean I liked Covenant mind you. In honesty i really didn't like it. In fact I'm confused how Scott could direct such a mess of a movie when he's also making great stuff like The Martian or All the Money in the World.

Because Scott didn't develop the story/scripts for The Martian and All the Money in the World.

Kurai

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 02, 2018, 05:25:40 PM
Because Scott didn't develop the story/scripts for The Martian and All the Money in the World.

This. I still think that Scott can make an amazing Alien movie, he just needs a good writer who knows the mythology, is a fan of the series AND has a backbone strong enough to tell Scott when one of his ideas isn't that great or unique.

Anthony

It seems like Chappie and The Martian having reactions (both critically and financially) on the opposite ends of the spectrum gave Fox faith in Prometheus again, but they still wanted the Xenomorphs back.

So they likely gave Ridley an ultimatum: make the Xenomorphs prominent in the film and they'll go forward with it first, or don't and they'll go with Blomkamp's film despite Chappie not doing too well at the box office, and do Prometheus 2 later. This is just my speculation though.

As for Alien 5 coming back, who knows. I think OATS is gaining a lot of traction, and Blomkamp has already done three or four drafts on his adaptation of The Gone World, and he and the studio are likely waiting for the book now to come out in February before going into active pre-production. So I think that's gonna take up his time, but who knows. Maybe Alien 5 is getting life again.

bb-15

Quote from: Richman678 on Jan 02, 2018, 12:54:05 PM
I still believe cancelling the Blomkamp film was the right choice.

There's only one franchise that i know of that is releasing films unrelated to an already in motion trilogy....and that's Star Wars (rogue one released during episode 7,8,9 process)

Covenant was already starting to film when the Blomkamp movie was starting. The entire idea of having multiple movies releasing under the same license is crazy town anyways. The studio probably weighed both directors...and went with Ridley Scott, because it's Ridley Scott!!!! I don't blame them, and it's the obvious choice.

Maybe if Elysium and Chappie were blockbusters they would have said sure why not....but they weren't. Blomkamp just got done making two high cost duds, and I'm sure Fox said the same thing...

Either way Fox still made the right call, but it didn't pan out. However, i don't think Disney is gonna be so willing to jump into bed with Blomkamp either....maybe they will though since there's so much hype for his concept art alone. Should be fun to watch!

All of these points imo were factors in Fox making their decision.
* Money;
- Scott made "The Martian" which was a blockbuster and "Prometheus" made 3 times its production budget.
- "Elysium" and "Chappie" were weak performers at the box office.

* Scott wanted to extend the franchise (in a controversial way but still an extension) which opens things up for more Alien movies.
And as mentioned by others, Fox pressured Ridley to focus on the Xenomorph in "Covenant".
- Blomkamp wanted to retcon Alien which would;
1. Eliminate two movies from canon.
2. Put the focus of the franchise back on Weaver.
- Some at the studio remember how Sigourney Weaver took over script control after "Aliens" and how the franchise became the Weaver show.

* What will Disney do with a horror franchise? We'll see.

;)

Whos_Nick

There's no reason they had to cancel one over the other, both could've easily been made.

Corporal Hicks

Money would have likely been an issue too. I couldn't see Fox wanting to bankroll two at the same time, especially with no guarantees on returns and considering Covenant's lukewarm reception it might have been a good decision financially.

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