Episode 241 Topics Include:
- Imaginary girlfriends
- Rian's latest Prometheus rant
- What we've been watching
- Scripts and special features
- Featured Review: Winter's Bone
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Episode Songs:
Madness - Muse
This Podcast May Include Some Explicit Language
...It Also Most Likely Contains Some Spoilers
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Rian, i think it's tough at this point to parse out who did what on Alien, or any film, other than the O'Bannon/Shusett script obviously being good with some great ideas, but i personally think you're selling short Ridley Scott's contribution. the script is good but Scott added so much flair, even if you just go by the sole choice of bringing Giger on board, that was a masterstroke. Giger is like at least 70% of that movie in my opinion. the plot itself is pretty standard, so much is in the actors/casting and the way it's shot and the way it 'moves,' you know? even the Ash subplot which like you said wasn't in the original script, Hill and Giler put it in i think, and i know O'Bannon didn't like that element but it's done amazingly and the rape scene is probably the scariest part of the movie. and yeah like O'Bannon has said it's kind of cliched idea, but Scott and the actors took it and nailed it. so what i'm saying is i think on that movie Scott brought a lot to it, he took the basic ideas, whether they were good or bad, and ran with them. and i'm saying this as somebody who likes Shusett and O'Bannon more than i like Ridley Scott.
ReplyDeletewith Prometheus, you can't forget Damon Lindelof! i think a lot of it was him, based on what i've read. Prometheus was felled by some kind of deadly combination of Lindelof and late-period 'doesn't make good movies anymore' Scott.
I'm not saying that Ridley Scott wasn't a major part of Alien. I'm just saying that he didn't come up with the premise and write the script. O'Bannon and Shusett did that (with the noted alterations of Producers Hill, Giler, and Carroll). In the case of Prometheus, every decision came down to Ridley Scott. HE wanted to explore the Space Jockeys. HE wanted the movie to be less about the Alien. HE was the one giving final approval to every aspect of the movie. Alien was a solid premise with a good (and final) script filled with a series of great ideas BEFORE Scott got involved. Then he came on board and knocked it out of the park. Prometheus was a blank slate that Scott filled from the outset instead of just putting the finishing touches on it.
DeleteThat's the point I was trying to make. Alien benefitted from Ridley Scott's involvement. Prometheus was smothered by Ridley Scott's questionable decisions from the very beginning to the very end of production. I don't discount Lindelof's involvement, but Scott is the one who brought him in and nursed his ideas along. There were other cooks in the kitchen, but all of their flavors were overpowered by Scott's spicy shit.
ahh, i see what you mean. i guess i'm more in the camp that Ridley Scott used to have good story ideas but now he doesn't for some reason, heh. like i believe it was Scott's idea to have the 4th act in Alien on board the shuttle, which isn't a huge plot point but still a masterstroke, and i'm sure he came up with some good stuff in Blade Runner too beyond what was in the script (which isn't that interesting to begin with). but yeah, Prometheus was a mess from the get-go.
ReplyDeletealthough i think its biggest problem aren't Scott's ideas of exploring the Space Jockeys or "the meaning of life," those aren't inherently bad, they could've been made exciting or interesting, but the biggest problem is that the movie is plain old boring and confusing. it's like Scott took his sometimes-approach of making everything really boring (Gladiator, Hannibal, Robin Hood, etc.) and applied it to Alien.
i had a realization when i was taking a dump just now, why am i even sort of defending Prometheus? exploring the Space Jockeys IS an inherently bad idea, there's no idea that could be invented that would ever be as interesting as the mystery.
ReplyDeletenevermind. you're right.
I love that you were think of Prometheus while taking a crap. Very fitting.
DeleteAhh...vindication.
Delete