A Cathedral in Outer Space – The Story of Vincent Ward’s Alien 3

[Corporal Hicks]

The following is a guest editorial written by Michael Foertsch, a German freelance journalist who has previously written for WIRED Germany, Motherboard Germany, Spiegel, GamePro, Gamona and ZEIT.de. This article was originally published in German.

In celebration of Alien 3's 27th anniversary, Michael's original article has been translated into English for publication on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy. Several years ago Michael had the chance to talk to Vincent Ward and wrote the following exploration of the early days of Alien 3 and Vincent Ward's aborted "wooden planet" concept.

Vincent Ward was standing in the middle of a German autobahn when the idea of a lifetime hit him. "I had just visited one of the medieval towns," the filmmaker and artist recalled. It had been many years since he was a backpacker wandering through Germany; something that had deeply impressed him, because the New Zealander had always been fascinated by the art, culture and history of Central Europe.

"It was some city that began with a 'W'," Ward continued, "I still had this medieval world going around in my head. Then I tried to cross this highway with my big backpack."  Stupid, naive and like a robot he walked on the asphalt strip.

He didn't even notice the cars. Only when he stood on the middle lane did he realize where he was. Cars and trucks were already shooting past him on both sides. He could neither go forward nor back. "I was stuck like a cow in a cage," he laughed. "Suddenly I wondered how it would feel to someone who was thrown from the 14th century into the 20th century."

It sounds and is like this: Vincent Ward is what you could call an eccentric in the very best sense. Growing up on a farm near Wellington in New Zealand, he spent most of his youth alone and, as he likes to say himself, "simply learned nothing decent."

It was probably for this very reason that he decided in the mid-1980s to simply shoot a film inspired by the bizarre experience on the German autobahn: The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time.

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[Corporal Hicks]

Thanks to Michael for sending this across. And thanks to SM for casting a third eye over this.

[426Buddy]

That was a cool read.

God... sheep aliens with human face butts? Wooden planet? Unfortunatly I cant blame fox for being worried but they shouldnt have greenlit the film in the first place if they werent going to commit.

[SM]

Most concept art never appears on screen.

We don't poo-poo Alien because Giger's chestburster looked a bit shit.

[426Buddy]

Yeah and like I said, Fox knew what they signed on for. They should have stuck to their guns.

[SM]

I would've loved to have seen Wards version but Fox should've voiced their concerns from the outset - but Giler and Hill aren't science fiction guys (unlike O'Bannon or Cameron), so the major flaws in the concept wouldn't be immediately apparent.  But more than that - you don't need to be a science fiction guy to ask 'why is there a wooden planet in space??'  Should've been the first question, so they could figure out a way to make it believable.

[windebieste]

Of all the irony then, when it turns out 'ALIEN 3' has the most accurate science present.

Say what you like about theories regarding artificial gravity, space travel, cryosleep, androids, space monsters, ...oh, and dofn't forget dropships that defy all known laws of physics (lol)... there's no tech or science behind any of these things depicted accurately in these movies.  It's basically all bullshit made up to simply paint a background to deliver a story.  That's why it's called Science Fiction. 

That one scene, however, towards the end of 'ALIEN 3' where the creature is destroyed by rapid cooling when the sprinklers are switched one, that's real.  It's called thermal shock.  You don't need to speculate or provide in Universe justification.

It's ironic that such a ludicrous concept as a wooden planet was the original setting for the film and in the end, the movie delivers one of the most realistic depictions of scientific principals in action throughout the entire 40 years of ALIEN.   

-Windebieste.

[Monster Man]

Ward's script would work a lot better in animation imo. Imagine Disney busting out their grade-a animators to actually create this world Ward envisioned in all it's eccentricities. And just to add even more to it, the look and feel of this movie would reminisce their work in the 90's with darker colors, bits of film grain and all that.

A pipe-dream for sure. But I would love to see Disney create something this unexpected using animation we've all been familiar with since their inception.

[The1PerfectOrganism]

Sounds great, but won't happen.

[Baron Von Marlon]

I think I would've loved this.
Too bad... Another one for the pile of potentially great movies that could have been.

Yeah and like I said, Fox knew what they signed on for. They should have stuck to their guns.

This.
But it's always about the money. So instead of doing something more unusual, that would be a hit or miss, they stick to average and cliché stuff because it's a safer bet.
I wish studios said "f**k it." once in while and spend a big budget on a crazy idea instead of something like let's say The Mummy with Tom Cruise.

[The Old One]

The concept still exists, I'd be surprised if like the U.P.P it doesn't return in some form.

[Corporal Hicks]

The concept still exists, I'd be surprised if like the U.P.P it doesn't return in some form.

It's in the upcoming RPG!

I'm hopeful they'll tackle this one in comic form like they did Gibson's.

[The Old One]

Agreed, and don't rush it.

[Monster Man]

The concept still exists, I'd be surprised if like the U.P.P it doesn't return in some form.

It's in the upcoming RPG!

I'm hopeful they'll tackle this one in comic form like they did Gibson's.

On that note you can just throw your players in Ward's crazy wooden planet.

Xeno-Sheep with faces on their ass and all that.

[SM]

It's an RPG - you can do whatever you like.  And it would be glorious.