Dec 8 2008Scott, Weaver working on Aliens Movie Sans Alien?
Sigourney Weaver has been doing some chatting with MTV, during which it was revealed she's talked with Ridley Scott about the two returning to the Alien franchise. If I had to name one thing that seemed odd about their conversation about another Alien, I'd say it's that they might be eliminating the whole alien thing:
"We’d have to go back to the drawing board on [the alien],” she said. “Ridley said that right away when we first talked about [a fifth film].”And finally, the quote that’s gotten me mighty curious, “What we’re interested in is taking the character of Ripley and seeing what other science fiction story we can tell about someone who has lived several lives.”
I didn’t really process what Weaver was saying at the time I suppose but it sounds to me like we might be less looking at “Alien 5″ and more of “Chronicles of Ripley.”
The participation of original Alien director Ridley Scott makes this better than most spin-off cash-in attempts, but let's not forget that Steven Spielberg was also involved in a questionable attempt at bringing back a action hero now in their 60s back to screens, and that didn't work out that well.
Personally, I'd rather have a spin-off starring that horrible, pale human/alien hybrid from Resurrection. That thing filled my mental inbox with nightmares that I'm still sorting through. You put that guy in a suburban neighborhood with a samurai sword and you've just created a six-movie franchise. I think it works for either horror or comedy.
Reader Comments
1. Uncle Eccoli - December 8, 2008 6:22 PM
Aliens: Conspicuously Absent
2. Mcfeely Smackup - December 8, 2008 7:00 PM
"but let's not forget that Steven Spielberg was also involved in a questionable attempt at bringing back a action hero now in their 60s back to screens, and that didn't work out that well."
Uh, yeah. Earning 3/4 of a billion dollars (to date) worldwide is clearly a misguided effort. Spielberg is obviously embarrassed about this mistake, and will undoubtably hide his face in shame under enormous piles of money. I imagine that will sooth his shame.
Seriously, what kind of retarded editorial moron thinks one of the top grossing movies of the year is a failure? Oh right, its a "movie site editor" who doesn't know the difference between "I didn't like it" and "failure".
3. metabug - December 8, 2008 7:43 PM
@Mcfeely Smackup
Chill out dude. Where did he even mention the word "failure"? Most people saw the movie agreed it didn't live up to the expectation, regardless of how much money it has made. 40 years down the line no one will remember it as a classic. It hardly reignited the franchise, people are not raving about a 5th installment. "Didn't work out that well" sounds just about right to me.
4. HG - December 8, 2008 7:49 PM
Hey, Mcfeely. Show me one person who liked that movie, and I'll show you somebody who either got dropped on his head, or never saw the originals.
5. Cory - December 9, 2008 8:37 AM
I grew up on the original Indy films and quite enjoyed the new one. It didn't at all ruin Indiana Jones forevar for me. I'd put it at third after Raiders and Last Crusade. Mutt was much less annoying than Short Round.
As for an Aliens without Ripley... Well, she really ought to have stayed dead after Alien-cubed. Not that Aliens have been ruined forevar by Resurrection or AVP. It's just that, really, Ripley isn't all that interesting.
6. Jess - December 9, 2008 10:38 AM
I think it would be great to see what they come up with for more of the Ripley story. She was always the best character in the movies anyway. Just keep Winona out of it this time. No offense- she just doesn't go well with the vibe of the franchise.
7. Rod - December 9, 2008 12:46 PM
As much as I hate to get into these arguments again, I have to agree with McFeely and Cory. According to metabug:
"Most people saw the movie agreed it didn't live up to the expectation"
And that's exactly the problem. You Lucas/Spielberg haters dig your own graves much better than I ever could. I'll say the same thing for Indy and I say for Star Wars prequels... Your expectations of the Indiana Jones series have been inflated over time, as nostalgia set in. There's no way anyone can meet those expectations. If you sit back and view the movies for their worth, you'll enjoy them a lot more.
8. late in the game - December 31, 2008 9:16 PM
I started this comment to say "I concur on the pale ass alien hybrid at the end of the last Aliens movie. But didn't he get sucked out of a tiny hole? Freaky. Still get chills remembering that" but I now feel the need to comment on the other idiotic comments here:
Indiana Jones Sucked BIG TIME. Not quite as bad as Indy 2 with Stupid Round and the horrible acting by whoever that chick was, but after a couple of decades to think of a new script, some gimmicks and a new biblical object of obsession (Indy 1 and 3 were the best, right?) I don't understand how nobody told El Spielbergo and George "I love denim" Lucas that Roswell / aliens was a stupid idea that didn't fit in with the franchise. But surviving a nuke-u-lar blast inside of a refrigerator - totally awesome. And the kid with the bad attitude and lots of gumption turning out to be Indy's kid - never saw that coming - totally new idea.
Seriously, when will somebody tell George Lucas to retire and never ever touch anything that has to do with movies again? I'd rather watch a collaboration between Michael Bay and Adam Sandler starring Anna Nicole Smith's reanimated corpse. In 3D, of course. With CGI singing puppies. And giant snakes, but not on planes.