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[crazyrabbits]

This isn't even a new reading of that film's subtext. It was around back in 91/92.

I'm aware. Doesn't make it any less silly. I've also heard the "Ripley is Jesus" theory more than once.

The film fails at so many things that whether it not it even has subtext is the least of its problems.

So was Alien 3. Canon can change.

Yeah. If there's one thing modern franchises have taught us, it's that even the concept of "canon" can be thrown right out the window if TPTB decide on it or want to tell a different story (Superman, Halloween, Metroid, etc). Even the Alien EU is guilty of this - the continuation comics were rendered incompatible with 3 (same with some of the novels). Colonial Marines rewrites parts of 3's narrative to better fit in with their story...

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm aware. Doesn't make it any less silly.

I think the length/depth to which that rabbit was chased down the hole was a little excessive, but the general feel is absolutely there. In either cut, it's a film about accepting death, and coming to terms with your own mortality. That's the core of the film, thematically. I don't think that's silly at all. It's one of the only things that made it through the backstage clusterfuck relatively unscathed.

 

[A_Gorilla]

Interesting timing.

Why Newt And Hicks Had To Die In ALIEN 3 (Badass Digest)

 

[Loxley]

Who is Neil blomkamp and why should I be excited he's doing the next alien film?

A South African director and protégé of Peter Jackson. You should be excited because he directed District 9. You should be concerned because he directed Elysium.

 

[Daffy Duck]

A South African director and protégé of Peter Jackson. You should be excited because he directed District 9. You should be concerned because he directed Elysium.

I've not watched either of those.

 

[A_Gorilla]

I've not watched either of those.

Watch District 9 right now.

Watch Elysium if you want. I didn't think it was terrible but it certainly was forgettable with obvious symbolism crammed down your throat.

 

[Fallout-NL]

A South African director and protégé of Peter Jackson. You should be excited because he directed District 9. You should be concerned because he directed Elysium.

Haha.

I just hope he gets a good script. Should be nothing to worry about then.

 

[Toa TAK]

A South African director and protégé of Peter Jackson. You should be excited because he directed District 9. You should be concerned because he directed Elysium.

Perfect answer.

 

[duckroll]

I think the length/depth to which that rabbit was chased down the hole was a little excessive, but the general feel is absolutely there. In either cut, it's a film about accepting death, and coming to terms with your own mortality. That's the core of the film, thematically. I don't think that's silly at all. It's one of the only things that made it through the backstage clusterfuck relatively unscathed.

I wonder if that's the case because everyone working on the film started to feel that same atmosphere more or less. It was a doomed production. Fincher was too inexperienced at that time to really fight a studio on something like this. The shoot was hard because he's a tough director. It was way overbudget. The looming sense of finality certainly represents the fate of the movie itself well.

Haha.

I just hope he gets a good script. Should be nothing to worry about then.

Blomkamp is a director who likes to develop his own ideas and have a say in the story. So he'll almost certainly be involved in the development of the script. Just like... with his 3 other movies.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I wonder if that's the case because everyone working on the film started to feel that same atmosphere more or less. It was a doomed production... The looming sense of finality certainly represents the fate of the movie itself well.

It's as good a read as any. I like it, in fact.

 

[croten]

More Alien? sign me up

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I just hope he gets a good script. Should be nothing to worry about then.

He develops all his own screenplays, as Duckroll pointed out. Which is I think the main problem I have. It's one thing to be a fan or audience member and ignore media you don't like, to choose not to spend time with it or revisit it. That makes perfect sense. It's completely another to pretend like the act of making a movie is somehow going to actually change the fact a previous movie came out. It's starting from a position of masturbational futility.

If the key impetus behind telling the story you want to tell is your wish to "fix" something that can't be "fixed" short of actually inventing a time machine, if all you want to do is explain away a thing that actually cannot be explained out of existence, then you're starting from a really weak, dumb stance, and no matter how well you stroke off, at the end, you still will not have actually had sex. The act you're attempting to conssummate will never be consummated.

I like District 9. I like the world of ALIEN. I'd like to see Neil Blomkamp make a movie in that universe. I don't want him to put on a xenomorph suit and tug furiously while he sets fire to the Alien 3 VHS while pretending that it's some sort of valid storytelling achievement.

 

[rou021]

I like District 9. I like the world of ALIEN. I'd like to see Neil Blomkamp make a movie in that universe. I don't want him to put on a xenomorph suit and tug furiously while he sets fire to the Alien 3 VHS while pretending that it's some sort of valid storytelling achievement.

What if it doesn't erase Alien 3 from canon? Maybe it's Alien 5 that's the dream.

shyamalantwist.jpg

Seriously though, we really don't know the approach he's taking. The few pics we have are somewhat cryptic. For all we know the alien suit Ripley could also be from a dream she has in the story. Or it could be an infiltration suit like that Kenner ATAX figure. The same goes for the rest of the art. We don't know how everything fits in the story or what will even survive to the final cut.

Sure, it's a good possibility it'll be a multimillion dollar fan wank. You're probably right. It's also possible he primarily wants to explore what would happen if things went in a different direction. Hicks never got much character development to begin with. This could be an opportunity to give him more depth. Ripley's character was changed by her circumstances in Alien 3. If the circumstances were different, how would her character behave? I don't know if Neil is the right man to go down this road, but I do think there's at least something worth exploring in the concept. Pissing on his old Alien Resurrection LaserDisc might just be a byproduct.

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

Much as I like his original material, even Elysium but to a lesser degree, I think it will be great for him to be given an existing universe and characters and maybe a little less allegory.

 

[cacildo]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

No

And i hate Prometheus

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I don't know if Neil is the right man to go down this road, but I do think there's at least something worth exploring in the concept.

I don't. I think that concept is exhausted as hell. Ripley's not going to be any more interesting to visit 30 years later. I see Ripley wearing a belt made of C4 while Hicks gives half of a Blue Steel, and that seems a rather poor choice of springboard.

I'd like a Blomkamp movie set in the Alien universe. I just don't want him doing bad Cameron karaoke, especially since I feel a large part of the reason the series has been so aimless since 1986 is due to people thinking Cameron's take on the material (which is usually interpreted in the most superficial of ways, too) needs to be the basis for everything else that follows. The militaristic take on ALIEN is tired, and has only gotten moreso in the intervening decades.

 

[Dennis]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Nah.

 

[Moaradin]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Hmm....


Nah.

 

[CloudyTuba]

They need to retcon Aliens. Turning the alien from an ostensibly solitary, predatory hunter (like a tiger) into a space bug cheapened the entire thing.

I definitely don't want them to retcon Aliens because I think it is a good sequel. That doesn't mean you're wrong, though. I like Aliens much less than Alien.

I will say that it definitely cheapened the creature. You spend the entire first movie screaming in terror at ONE of them, then in the second movie they're popping like popcorn.
Surrounded by dozens of aliens and they can still find ways to escape.

It was a different kind of movie than the first one. At least there are fairly logical reasons why things went down the way they did, even if the emotional tone is not at all the same.

 

[Monocle]

This could be fantastic.

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Oh please.

 

[Malmorian]

Niiiiiiiice. I love that this franchise is going strong still despite some of it's flops. Can't get enough of that goddamned Alien lol.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

They need to retcon Aliens. Turning the alien from an ostensibly solitary, predatory hunter (like a tiger) into a space bug cheapened the entire thing.

I would like it if they brought back the idea of the alien turning people into eggs. Shame that was cut, that's the scariest thing about the alien. At least you're passed out while the facehugger is making sweet love to you, and the whole chestburster death is pretty quick. But being turned into an egg looked slow and painful. Fuck that shit.

 

[Leynos]

I would like it if they brought back the idea of the alien turning people into eggs. Shame that was cut, that's the scariest thing about the alien. At least you're passed out while the facehugger is making sweet love to you, and the whole chestburster death is pretty quick. But being turned into an egg looked slow and painful. Fuck that shit.

I agree with this. Slowly being turned into an egg, and being aware of it sounds just about like the worst thing. At least the other methods are fairly quick.

 

[A_Gorilla]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Prometheus was one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen, crap plot aside.

Elysium was just utterly forgettable in every sense of the word. The only thing I clearly remember is laughing at the bad guy's accent.

 

[Renekton]

Elysium was just utterly forgettable in every sense of the word.

If in every sense of the word, you won't even remember it existed.

 

[A_Gorilla]

If in every sense of the word, you won't even remember it existed.

<---------

 

[Renekton]

Blomkamp is a director who likes to develop his own ideas and have a say in the story. So he'll almost certainly be involved in the development of the script. Just like... with his 3 other movies.

I wonder if he will insert social commentary like immigration and classism in the film, e.g. D9 and Elysium.

 

[TheSadRanger]

Watch District 9 right now.

Watch Elysium if you want. I didn't think it was terrible but it certainly was forgettable with obvious symbolism crammed down your throat.

The short he did for Halo 3 still holds up pretty decent considering it's 8 years old as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9PQC2hbc3Y

The cg is a bit dated but I'd love to see what Neil and WETA could do with the colonial marines.

 

[Jarnet87]

I think Blomkamp is better off doing a film without Weaver, opens up more options on where to take the film. Will be interesting to see what he does if Weaver is in it.

 

[hokahey]

I will never understand the Elysium hate. I enjoyed it far more than District 9.

 

[Plywood]

Cool I guess.

 

[TimorousPanda]

I like the Alien films, but I really didn't enjoy District 9. On the other hand, I was able to sit through Prometheus and kinda liked it despite most people's opinions.

At any rate, I'm really excited.

 

[Solidsoul]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Elysium was a terrible movie, but i agree with you entirely.

Prometheus is on my list of the 5 worst movies I have ever seen, it sits cozy next to The Last Airbender.

 

[pants]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Nope.

 

[PsychBat!]

I watched Prometheus a few times, but only because I wanted to see and hear certain references I may have missed. And to see Michael Fassbender again.

I don't have any intention to rewatch Elysium after watching it once.

 

[A_Gorilla]

I watched Prometheus a few times, but only because I wanted to see and hear certain references I may have missed. And to see Michael Fassbender again.

I don't have any intention to rewatch Elysium after watching it once.

Thats pretty much me as well. Fassbender saved the story from being total shit. How he didn't at least get an Oscar nomination is beyond me.

 

[jett]

I wonder if he will insert social commentary like immigration and classism in the film, e.g. D9 and Elysium.

Of course. It will also feature Sharlto Copley yelling FOOKIN XENOS!

 

[Unbound By Death]

Elysium was far better than Prometheus

Not far better. But better.

 

[params7]

Elysium was one of the worst movies I saw in that year. I'm not too thrilled about this.

 

[MedIC86]

Im curious about this, but i'm hoping the feel of the movie will be different then his others. He records a lot of his stuff in SA right? because D9, Elysium and by the look of the trailer from chappie all kind of look the same.

Prometheus is on my list of the 5 worst movies I have ever seen, it sits cozy next to The Last Airbender.

I'm sorry to say but then you probarly didnt see a lot of movies yet...

 

[DieH@rd]

Who is Neil blomkamp and why should I be excited he's doing the next alien film?

Go watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BjWEn5yvmw

 

[Mr. Sam]

Prometheus is on my list of the 5 worst movies I have ever seen, it sits cozy next to The Last Airbender.

Prometheus is beautifully shot, which is more than you can say about most incoherent messes.

 

[Big_Al]

Watched Elysium recently and thought it was utter shit (not enough action to be a good action film and not a good story/script either) but my love for District 9 is too great, so I'm still excited for this.

 

[bone_and_sinew]

I'll approach this with an open mind. Whereas Paradise/Prometheus 2 I have to approach with a bottle of pills and liquor after the catastrophe that was the first one.

 

[Renekton]

Of course. It will also feature Sharlto Copley yelling FOOKIN XENOS!

I watched D9 in South Africa.

Basically the audience laughed everytime he opened his mouth, seems to be some kind of in-joke.

 

[Zakalwe]

Eylisium and Prometheus both stink.

District 9 is great.

Chappie looks promising.

Aliens is my favourite film.

I'm cautiously excited.

 

[Corleth the Fey]

I watched D9 in South Africa.

Basically the audience laughed everytime he opened his mouth, seems to be some kind of in-joke.

Isn't his characters name the same as the titular 'idiot' in South African culture?

 

[Fallout-NL]

Blomkamp is a director who likes to develop his own ideas and have a say in the story. So he'll almost certainly be involved in the development of the script. Just like... with his 3 other movies.

Right, I did not know that. Weird, you'd expect his films to be a little more even then, but it's not like two is a particularly large sample size...

He develops all his own screenplays, as Duckroll pointed out. Which is I think the main problem I have. It's one thing to be a fan or audience member and ignore media you don't like, to choose not to spend time with it or revisit it. That makes perfect sense. It's completely another to pretend like the act of making a movie is somehow going to actually change the fact a previous movie came out. It's starting from a position of masturbational futility.

If the key impetus behind telling the story you want to tell is your wish to "fix" something that can't be "fixed" short of actually inventing a time machine, if all you want to do is explain away a thing that actually cannot be explained out of existence, then you're starting from a really weak, dumb stance, and no matter how well you stroke off, at the end, you still will not have actually had sex. The act you're attempting to conssummate will never be consummated.

I like District 9. I like the world of ALIEN. I'd like to see Neil Blomkamp make a movie in that universe. I don't want him to put on a xenomorph suit and tug furiously while he sets fire to the Alien 3 VHS while pretending that it's some sort of valid storytelling achievement.

True. Though both Terminator and Alien are so far down the drain right now anyway that I'm willing to allow a bit more creative license. It might turn that trend around.

 

[jett]

I watched D9 in South Africa.

Basically the audience laughed everytime he opened his mouth, seems to be some kind of in-joke.

His accent is even more ridiculous in Elysium. I don't get it.

 

[andycapps]

I actually thought Copley was pretty great in D9. I mean, his character was fookin ridiculous, but he did a great job with that.

I don't really want them to re-do Alien or Aliens, I would like Blomkamp to do his own mixture and thing. Doesn't need to feel like a re-boot, and I hope it isn't politicized as much as his other stuff. There has always been a lot of symbolism and commentary in the Alien franchise anyway, but his stuff can be heavyhanded.