Ridley Scott’s Alien Prequels To Be 3D
Will the great director ruin his sci-fi legacy?
Ridley Scott has confirmed that his Alien prequel will not only be spread over two films, but will be converted into 3D.
At a recent Robin Hood press conference, Collider asked Scott how he was getting along with the prequel to his 1979 sci-fi classic. The director revealed that the team were on the fourth draft of the script, and uttered the dreaded words: "Of course, it'll be 3D."
He added that they won't be filming on the 3D cameras that James Cameron developed for Avatar, and pointed out the problems of conversion - you have to film as light as possible. You will remember that all the Alien films, including Cameron's superb sequel Aliens, were set in claustrophobic darkness. If there was ever an argument against this absurd notion that a fantastically-shot movie is just not enough anymore, then Scott's next comment is the nail in the coffin: "The problem is you'll have to grade it later. You'll have to grit your teeth and light it not the way you'd like it. And then later, you’re gonna have to regrade it. Repaint it. In fact, Avatar, when you think about it, is almost a completely animated movie." It makes you want to weep. Are we really at the stage now where the skills of cinematographers and expert lighting teams will become virtually redundant?
Scott even reminisces about filming pre-technology. "I had no digital technology at all. Even the ones that followed started to have tech. Like, digital rails and tracking. I had no computers at all. Alien was literally all physical. Even the spaceship, which would be about as big this table, you’d hang it from a wire and the camera would slowly push in underneath and you’d try and keep it steady as possible with a fan and a lot of dry ice blowing at it to give some sense of movement. That was it. It’s pretty good actually." ACTUALLY RIDLEY, IT WAS PERFECTION. Forgive the rant, but after a weekend at Fan Fest, listening to Alien special effects supervisor Brian Johnson talk about his creative Oscar-winning work, this is sad news.
If that wasn't bad enough, there are two prequels planned, but Scott is only concentrating on the first one right now. Head over to Collider for the full report.
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