Source: MTV
by Alex Billington
While we're still waiting patiently to see a teaser, trailer, poster or any official footage from Ridley Scott's Prometheus, the buzz continues, this time thanks to an interview MTV (via SlashFilm) recently had with writer Damon Lindelof. 20th Century Fox recently released an updated plot synopsis, but details are still very vague on the pseudo-Alien prequel, which was originally said to take place in its own world with a new crew on a spaceship. Lindelof has been playing coy for a while, speaking only briefly about the project since getting attached, but reveals some interesting details about the secrets hidden in the sci-fi movie. Read on!
Here is what we do know: the cast includes Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Rafe Spall, Guy Pearce plus also Patrick Wilson, supposedly in some secret role. There's not much we know about the plot besides that it's about "a team of explorers [who] discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe." Along the way they encounter some alien creatures and, well, we'll have to see when this hits theaters next June 8th. But in the meantime, Lindelof gives us some juicy details to whet our appetite.
Up first, he talks about Michael Fassbender's character: "He plays a robot. One of the things that evokes the idea of Blade Runner is, 'What does the movie look like from the robot's point of view?' If you were to ask him, 'What do you think about all of this? What's going on? What do you think about these humans who are around you?,' wouldn't it be cool if we found a way for that robot to answer those questions. When you cast a guy like Fassbender, who's going to bring a lot more to it than [makes clichéd robot movements] — that was me doing the robot, I don't know if you could tell — it's not Anthony Daniels. All due respect. He's phenomenal."
Next, he chats about Charlize Theron's role: "Her character's name is Meredith Vickers and she's sort of a corporate entity. That's another one of the familiar things from the Alien movies — that there are corporate interests in play. I feel like Charlize brought a new spin on that old variation. It's a remix... I don't think she's slimy [like Paul Reiser's character in Aliens]. She's not the fast-talking, snake-oil face of the company. By the way, 'What company is she a face of?,' I think is a big part of the fun. As we were developing the script, she had some really cool ideas that made it not the suit you're used to."
Finally, he discusses the importance of and dynamic of the ensemble crew on the spaceship: "I think one of the really cool things about the first Alien, if you watch it cold, Ripley is kind in the background like one of the crew members, and you're like, 'Skerrit's [who played Captain Dallas] the hero of the movie,' and he's one of the first to go. And then you're like, 'It's [the engineer played by] Harry Dean Stanton.' And, no, he's gone… and suddenly Sigourney Weaver, in the last 40 minutes of the movie, is the only one left alive. I think the idea of building a really cool ensemble and again presenting the audience with like, 'Who's going to be left standing at the end of this movie? Maybe all of them. Probably not,' [that's] part of the fun of what we set out to do."
This sounds great so far, like there are some very deep sci-fi ideas being addressed, it's not just a simple glossy Hollywood space epic. I'm one of the lucky few who also got to see some early footage at Comic-Con, and combining all of that with these details, this movie is quickly becoming one of my most anticipated of next summer, and there's some huge movies coming out then. Lindelof also mentions that this is all Ridley's vision, despite writing it: "It was really about channeling that idea so that I was realizing his vision, as opposed to imposing my vision on it." He did bring us Alien and Blade Runner years ago. I love hearing these tidbits and this is a perfect extra tease to keep us intrigued and guessing until next summer arrives.
I've embedded the full video interview directly from MTV below for your viewing pleasure if you prefer to just watch Damon Lindelof talk about Prometheus.
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