Damon Lindelof Paradise Script

[SiL]

Because you don't have limitless time.

Spaihts does it better by having Watts and Holloway actually present their data. They have a pretty good reason for believing what they do. All we ever get from Shaw in the movie is her self-righteous horseshit based on some cave paintings and we're expected to just go with it.

[ShadowPred]

She doesn't need to justify the expedition to anyone but Weyland.  And she was successful.

Then, the character of Weyland, a man with the intellect and critical reasoning sufficient to build a corporate empire without parallel, is apparently just as stupid as everyone else on the team.

Obviously not, since Shaw was pretty much right as seen in the movie Prometheus.

Aren't you thinking backwards, here? The entire premise of the movie hinges on her being right (we walked into the theatre knowing this) but it doesn't make it any more believable considering how it was done. And Shaw being right at the end doesn't make Weyland's decision at the beginning any less of a stretch.

Her being right in the end is what makes me say that Weyland wasn't stupid for making the decision to mount the expedition.

[SiL]

"Bigfoot's out there. Gimme a million dollars to find him."
"How do you know he's there?"
"Grainy-ass footage and a footprint."
"How do you know it's real?"
"It's what I choose to believe."
"Well shit, I'm sold. Here's two million, I'll grab my coat."

[Valaquen]

Her being right in the end is what makes me say that Weyland wasn't stupid for making the decision to mount the expedition.

The decision, looking at the evidence on which it was based, was still rash, no matter the consequences. Like I said, I much preferred Spaihts' take on her evidence. It was more than a hunch, it was something that could be verifiable without ever leaving Earth's orbit. And he did verify it. And then all of that was gone and to plug it up we're simply told he was a "superstitious man," which makes him seem all the more foolish. The decision making process, no matter the results, will always be rash, and maybe stupid, because of the premises the decision was made on. Luckily for Peter, Shaw was right, so he didn't end up with egg on his face (just an egg-sized lump and bruise  )

[SM]

Because you don't have limitless time.

So do something to try and answer those questions you have in the time you have left.
Helps if you invented hypersleep.

I just figured it was a given that whatever they gave to Weyland was sufficient.  And Vickers was the opposing "I think you guys are full of shit" sceptical side to balance out Weyland's 'faith'.

[SiL]

Bugger what she gives someone off-screen, it's what she gives the audience that counts.

[ChrisPachi]

In Spaihts' draft Shaw and Holloway were scientists. In Lindelof's draft they were a couple of mods from answersingenesis.org.

[SM]

Bugger what she gives someone off-screen, it's what she gives the audience that counts.

I dunno.  They're about to land already.  It was settled to Weylands satisfaction - even if he took it on faith - years earlier.

I don't see an any problem with Shaw's stance whatsoever.  Weyland's gullibility may be more in question, but again we have Vickers to provide the opposing viewpoint.

There are problems in this flick, but I don't see this as one of them.

[Shasvre]

Forget about the heiroglyphs/carvings/cave paintings all depicting the same star map.  While those would certainly raise interesting questions...how exactly would these support a theory that space aliens were our creators.  Is that a reasonable conclusion to be drawn from such evidence?

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing while watching the movie. Sure, I can see how they would consider that proof of alien visitors, but where did the "aliens created us" idea come from? It would have been nice with a scene explaining some of that.

[T Dog]

And alas, another ridiculous plot hole.

I remember a cool part in Spaihts' screenplay where they are on the deck of the ship on the ocean and they are frantically moving around examining evidence and the audience is watching them as they conclude their finding of the star map. It would make for a a more interesting scene. Instead we got a douche bag in a badly lit room moving around shitty looking minority report holograms after doctor evil and his dog had just walked around the set, IN 3D MAAAAAAAN.

[Mustangjeff]

And alas, another ridiculous plot hole.

I remember a cool part in Spaihts' screenplay where they are on the deck of the ship on the ocean and they are frantically moving around examining evidence and the audience is watching them as they conclude their finding of the star map. It would make for a a more interesting scene. Instead we got a douche bag in a badly lit room moving around shitty looking minority report holograms after doctor evil and his dog had just walked around the set, IN 3D MAAAAAAAN.

I much prefer Spaihts' take on the evidence gathering and the conclusions drawn.  It's obviously a more detailed and comprehensive data set in which to mount an expedition.  But, the Lindelof version didn't cause me to really halt in my tracks and say WTF.  We only see one dig in the movie, but they've obviously done much more research since they have a bunch of different tablets to display. 

The "proof" part in Lendelofs' script is the part where they say that the stars displayed on the tablets match one location that can not be seen from earth.   In my mind this points to knowledge outside of human capabilities, and removes most of the possibility of random chance.

But after that point it quickly falls apart for me.

Shaws proclamation that they engineered us because it's what she chooses to believe was a WTF moment.  I can't think of a more pretentious statement.  I would have much prefered that they simply call it evidence for visitations from avanced beings, and then later in the movie discover we share a large portion of DNA either from direct manipulation or a common ancestor.

For me the ancient glyph tablets in Lindelofs script currently represent huge plot holes that need to be explained in a sequel.  Why are they pointing to LV-223 since the Engineers "liked" us at the time the tablets were created.  It's like telling your friends to go somewhere dangerous.  Also, why are some tablets dated hundreds of years after the outbreak on LV-223 (when they wanted us dead).  A good writer could turn these holes into some very interesting sublots, or they could just be ignored and not explained which would really piss me off

[Zenzucht]

IMO, the scene is good as it is. It conveys the important first act exposition nice and simple, in the cinematic fashion, along with setting up the characters.

The "on the nose" data presentation you guys wish does not add anything to the story.

Plus, both scripts that leaked are apparently work in progress, which haven't been rewritten.

[ChrisPachi]

The "proof" part in Lendelofs' script is the part where they say that the stars displayed on the tablets match one location that can not be seen from earth.

f**k.

[Mustangjeff]

The "proof" part in Lendelofs' script is the part where they say that the stars displayed on the tablets match one location that can not be seen from earth.

f**k.

Not sure what your F**King about.  If you don't agree with my opinion just say so.  The quotes around the word "proof" are meant to show that the word has a different meaning than the dictionary entry.  The proof is a guess on their part.

[Blacklabel]

It's allways useful to remember that Lindelof helped write Cowboys and Aliens.... the film where aliens come to earth to steal our "gold".

lol

Dude just cant write science fiction. Nor finish a story properly. Nor handle exposition. Ugh.

He really took a dump on Spaihts draft. :/