Ridley Scott confirms progress with Prometheus 2

[predxeno]

The ties were pretty loose anyhow at least for me.

That's one of the main reasons I wonder why Ridley even bothered - the connections don't actually contribute anything positive to 'Prometheus' *OR* 'Alien', in my opinion.
It almost felt like a... marketing gimmick, sorta.

My thoughts exactly, either that or he didn't want to fail the fan hype of an Alien Prequel.

[RobThom]

Prometheus definitely had some interesting ideas on that angle, but I just don't see why Ridley had to throw Alien into that mess; ...

Ehh...
I'm not sure how interesting or how many real ideas prom actually had,
but I'd have to agree that it should have at least stood or failed on its own merits without glomming onto Alien.

I would have preferred that by far.

a... marketing gimmick...

[predxeno]

Do you guys think Scott learned his lesson the first time and will put more Alien references into the rest of the Prometheus films?  I'm not saying I'll ever like them, but if we're stuck with them then we might as well make the best of it, more Alien references (actual connections would be better) would definitely help in my opinion.

[Rong]

The ties were pretty loose anyhow at least for me.

That's one of the main reasons I wonder why Ridley even bothered - the connections don't actually contribute anything positive to 'Prometheus' *OR* 'Alien', in my opinion.
It almost felt like a... marketing gimmick, sorta.

In the world of Prequels and sequels it was probably the best way to get money out of the studio.

The film was no were near as bad as the avp entries, better than resurrection, and on par with Alien 3 especially in terms of pure fan backlash anyhow.

Just like alien 3 it will be eventually appreciated on its own terms. its by no means a terrible movie, i have my issues with it. but alot of them are pretty superficial. 

[RobThom]

Do you guys think Scott learned his lesson the first time and will put more Alien references into the rest of the Prometheus films? 

Ridley was a commercial director.
He went through an auteur period during the auteur period of movies.

But after that died he went back to what he always was.

He'll put Alien references into it if they will sell,
which they will,
without any artistic concern.

Ridley didn't write Alien.
My theory is he didn't even know it was a good script without O'Bannon hounding him.

He was a gun for hire for that one.

[predxeno]

In the world of Prequels and sequels it was probably the best way to get money out of the studio.

The film was no were near as bad as the avp entries, better than resurrection, and on par with Alien 3 especially in terms of pure fan backlash anyhow.

Actually, I prefer the AVP films to Prometheus; as bad as people say they are, at least they had the decency to try to be what they were; films that depicted legendary creatures going at each other.  They didn't try to get false marketing hype, deliberately destroy continuity, or try sell a theme that did not belong to the Alien, Predator, or AVP universes.

[Xenomrph]

Do you guys think Scott learned his lesson the first time and will put more Alien references into the rest of the Prometheus films?  I'm not saying I'll ever like them, but if we're stuck with them then we might as well make the best of it, more Alien references (actual connections would be better) would definitely help in my opinion.

If anything I'm expecting him to put *less* references, and I'd almost prefer that. He's established the start of his story and got people "hooked", now he can do what he wants without saddling with Alien stuff.

As for comparing Prometheus to the AvP movies.... I absolutely think Prometheus is the better film from a technical filmmaking perspective, but I have more fun watching the AvP movies.

[RobThom]

If anything I'm expecting him to put *less* references, and I'd almost prefer that. He's established the start of his story and got people "hooked", now he can do what he wants without saddling with Alien stuff.

Your assuming he has any awareness of narrative.

Maybe you're right.

[Aspie]

...damn, Cvalda was right. This is leaning towards development Hell.

[Xenomrph]

Your assuming he has any awareness of narrative.

What do you mean?
What makes you think he doesn't? I'm genuinely curious.

[Rong]

...damn, Cvalda was right. This is leaning towards development Hell.

Stop saying that filthy name.

[predxeno]

As for comparing Prometheus to the AvP movies.... I absolutely think Prometheus is the better film from a technical filmmaking perspective, but I have more fun watching the AvP movies.

I can agree with that. 

If anything I'm expecting him to put *less* references, and I'd almost prefer that. He's established the start of his story and got people "hooked", now he can do what he wants without saddling with Alien stuff.

Your assuming he has any awareness of narrative.

Maybe you're right.

On the topic of Ridley Scott and his storytelling, this is my rendition of how Ridley Scott treated his franchise regarding film continuity:

Let's say hypothetically that the leader of a Religion A community (Ridley Scott) had a son (Alien) and wanted him to be raised Religion A.  He then decided that he wanted make an influence elsewhere (Blade Runner, etc.) and decided to leave his son with a babysitter who happened to be Religion B (Paul Anderson and the Strause Brothers).  The Religion B babysitter is a good person, even though people in the Religion A community (the fanbase) don't understand him so he tries to teach the Religion A leader's son things of Religion B heritage.  The leader aka Ridley Scott comes back and sees what the Religion B babysitter has done to his son (AVP films) and is furious, he ejects the babysitter from his house and then proceeds to try to teach his teenage son (now the Alien franchise) Religion A values again.  However, instead of sitting down and explaining to his son the merits and differences between Religion A and Religion B beliefs, he simply tells the boy, "Don't listen to a single word of that babysitter," then acts as if everything is normal once again.

What with all the talk of people's individual interpretations of what is or is not "canon", I get reminded of various religious debates over which beliefs should be followed in comparison to others.  In essence, Ridley Scott abandoned the Alien franchise when he chose not to make sequels to it; instead, he left it in what he believed to be very capable hands at Fox who then proceeded to give it to various directors who had their own unique visions for the series.  When Ridley Scott came back, he didn't even acknowledge the existence of the other movies (specifically the AVP movies) and went on as if they never existed. 

While I may be overhumanizing the Alien franchise by comparing it to a human being, I believe my point still stands; when you add a new entry into a well known series, you MUST abide by every entry into the story; you cannot pick and choose which additions you want to add in while ignoring the others.  In this example, instead of directly addressing the issue of continuity confusion (like a good parent would have done) and explaining (retconning) things into a single canon, the leader just looks the other way and pretends nothing has happened at all while building on his son's knowledge base; a flat out expression of DENIAL and blatant ignorance. 

To me, this is a very great offense to any movie producer; though the public may not like or even appreciate their efforts, every director strives to make the movie of his dreams (this carries MUCH additional weight if the movie is part of a very popular series).  However, by blatantly ignoring not one, but a multiple of these works without addressing any continuity issues (that could even have been resolved very simply in interviews, if not in the actual movie), Ridley Scott is effectively stating that he thinks he is ABOVE these other directors and that their works are effectively WORTHLESS.  It doesn't matter if those works were good or bad, it is a principle of professional courtesy that you at least acknowledge (if you can't show appreciation or respect) those who have worked so hard to try to make an addition to your famous legacy.  I don't care if he started the series, I wouldn't trust Ridley Scott to continue it because of this among other things.

[Rong]

Fox always owned the rights to the franchise not Ridley it's a very crude analogy, dat PX

[predxeno]

I'm not completely sure what you mean (I don't get at how that conflicts with what I just said), but the basic gist is this: Fox decides what's canon or not, NOT Ridley Scott.  Scott saw what he didn't like in the series and he flat out ignored it while creating a new story that creates continuity problems big enough to stand out but subtle enough to sneak past Fox's noses.

[SM]

He didn't leave it in Fox's hands.  It was always in Fox's hands via Brandywine.  It was effectively in Giler and Hill's hands creatively.  Riddles was a hired hand.

With Prometheus, he as director - a director with enough clout to not be bossed around by Fox - can pick and choose what he wants for the story and isn't beholden to other installments.  Especially tangential ones like AvP.  He referenced Aliens - while kinda creating some continuity errors there too, but what are you going to do?

You'd be a tad naive if you thought those problems 'snuck past Fox's nose'.  They've never cared as to what continuity problems come up with new material for 25 years - why start now?  Especially with a big expensive film and one of the key people involved in the franchises initial success back on board.