Some interesting information I found on the imdb message board ( beware it will contain spoilers)
Spoilers...!!!!'
There has been a lot of confusion and speculation amongst fans in regards to Prometheus because of studio misdirection, fan-fic scripts, marketing, endless forum discussions and the yet-to-be-determined MPAA rating. In this post, I'll attempt to clear up some of the confusion with some research that I've done over the last week.
QUESTION: Will Prometheus be rated PG-13 or R?
ANSWER: Prometheus will almost certainly be rated PG-13.
The R-rated version will probably be reserved for the blu-ray director's cut. Because of the original Alien et sequels, the studio knows that many Alien franchise fans will expect a R-rated product with plenty of gore, language, and adult situations. Fan expectations are one of several reasons that the studio has repeatedly emphasized that Prometheus was not an Alien prequel. While Scott originally wanted an R-rated version, Fox and Ridley agreed to film both an R and PG-13 version simultaneously.
In a July 21st post in the Alien Prequel News Blog, the following was reported:
Late last year it was rumored that Ridley Scott had threatened to leave the project because Fox wanted a 'family friendly' PG rated movie to milk for cash. Well, now it seems this dispute might still be ongoing.
Eric Vespe (aka. Quint) from Ain't It Cool News just tweeted:
"Prometheus is being shot for a PG-13 cut and an R-rated cut. Final decision will be made by Scott and Rothman after watching both."
http://www.alienprequelnews.com/2011_07_01_archive.html
A few days ago, the NASDAQ website wrote an article on the release of the Prometheus trailer. It was a very late report since the trailer had been released for over 3 weeks prior to the article. That's inconsequential since the NASDAQ news articles involve implications for NASDAQ listed stocks. For those of you who don't follow finance, News Corp (Fox's parent corporation) stock is listed/traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The final paragraph of the article was the reason the article was written:
Box office potential:
Much will depend on whether or not "Prometheus" gets an R-rating or not. While the original "Alien" did carry an R-rating, it's unusual for a major June release to be anything but PG or PG-13, so we'll have to wait and see whether Scott toned it down at all to reach a wider audience.
Either way, though, "Prometheus" is going to have plenty of buzz surrounding it in the months leading up to its release, as it has been one of the most talked about 2012 releases ever since it went into production.
Expect some big box office numbers for "Prometheus" either way, though a PG-13 rating could make it one of the biggest hits of the summer.
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/teaser...eusheavy-on-th e-horror-20120105-01217
In other words, if Prometheus receives a PG-13 rating, then Fox/New Corp stands to gain substantially more profit. When Scott and Rothman sit down together to decide which theatrical cut to release, it's going to be more than a simple artistic discussion about the merits of the editing. Fox has huge financial incentives to release the PG-13 rated cut. To sweeten the pot, Rothman can make a deal that Scott 'can't refuse' including future sequel production rights, profit percentages, and guarantees on financing additional Ridley Scott films. Frankly, I will love to be proven wrong when the MPAA rating is finally released.
QUESTION: Is Prometheus a prequel to Alien?
ANSWER: It really depends on your definition of 'prequel'. While Prometheus will be set in the same universe, there won't be any direct continuity to the first Alien movie. Yet Prometheus will have many of the same elements of the first movie (i.e. Weylan-Yutani, Space Jockey w/chair, android(s), and xenomorphs.
In early reports of the Prometheus production, Prometheus was billed as an prequel to Alien. While it is true that Spaihts had written the original screenplay as a DIRECT PREQUEL to Alien. Lindelof's rewrite transformed Prometheus into a standalone story taking place in the same universe of the original Alien. In an interview with Slash film, Lindelof said the following:
“It started as an Alien prequel. That is what everybody wanted it to be. Obviously, Ridley Scott has not made a science fiction movie in 25 years, since Blade Runner, so the idea that he’s returning to this genre is huge. But there is a real issue which is - what is the state of the Alien franchise at this point in our lives? There has been Alien Vs Predator and all these things, and it has been completely and totally diluted. I’ve always felt that really good prequels should be original movies. You can do movies which take place before Star Wars, but I don’t need to see the story of the Skywalker clan. Show me something else which I can’t guess the possible outcome of. There is no suspense in inevitability. So a true prequel should essentially precede the events of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters, have an entirely different theme, although it takes place in that same world. That was my fundamental feeling about what this movie wanted to be.”
http://www.slashfilm.com/damon-linde...scotts-prometh eus-connected-alien-films/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashfilm+%28%2FFilm%29
Damon accomplished this by going back to the very beginning and telling a completely different story. Why did Scott call in Lindelof to doctor the Spaihts script? The answer is that Scott originally envisioned a 2 part prequel with direct ties with Alien but directed by someone else. When Fox insisted that Ridley direct Prometheus, Ridley brought in Lindelof to make a standalone movie without a direct connection to Alien
In confirmation it's not a direct prequel, both Fox and Scott have already considered a sequel to Prometheus.
In July 24 article, Den of Geek reported that Ridley Scott made the following statement regarding Lindelof at the San Diego Comic-con:
This film, I’ve honestly had a better time with [it] in many years. Probably because I felt secure in having a terrific script from [Damon Lindelof]. That said, I want [Lindelof] to do the second one immediately. That’s the only reason I’m buttering [him] up.
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/9906...lready_plannin g_a_sequel_to_prometheus.html
A Nov. 17th article in the Hollywood Reporter stated the following:
His (Scotts) directing wishes could be altered by how well his sci-fi epic Prometheus, which stars Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace and opens June 8, 2012, performs at the box office. Insiders at Fox say the studio is already exploring sequel options.
If Prometheus was a direct prequel to Alien, then it would be difficult, if not impossible to talk about making a sequel before the release date. This also confirms that the engineer/SJ ship seen in the trailer was NOT the derelict ship in Alien. If the two ships were the same, then a Prometheus sequel would be pointless and redundant.
QUESTION: Will there be xenomorphs in Prometheus?
ANSWER: YES, there WILL BE XENOMORPHS in Prometheus but not the 'classic xenomorph' or any of those of the sequels.
In a Dec. 17th interview with filophilia, Scott made the following statement:
I mean, you could actually say, and there’s a quote I did, a pretty good quote: By the end of the third act you start to realize there’s a DNA of the very first alien, but none of the subsequent aliens. To tell you what that is is a pity, and I’m not going to tell you, because it’s actually pretty good, pretty organic to the process and to the original. But we go back, we don’t go forward.
When asked if we would see the 'CLASSIC XENOMORPH', Scott replied:
No. Absolutely not. They squeezed it dry. He [the xenomorph] did very well. [He laughs] He survived, he’s now in Disneyland in Orlando, and no way am I going back there. How did he end up in Disneyland?
http://www.reelz.com/movie-news/1263...ott-discusses- the-connection-between-prometheus-and-alien-trailer-preview-released/
Almost a year ago (Feb. 24), bleedingcoolnews reported some interesting details from an anonymous insider about Prometheus that concur with Scott's more recent quote:
Quite simply: it has the Alien aliens in it. The catch, though, is that you might not recognize them – at least, not at first. Remember how the alien took on canine qualities after gestating in a dog? You may even suppose that the first film’s alien was so recognizably humanoid because it had grown in a human. The same applies here: generation by generation, the creature mutates. As Prometheus begins, the xenomorph is not too recognizable. Sure, it has that alien DNA that Scott and Fassbender teasingly referred to, but it’s missing… well, it’s missing human DNA. Or dog DNA. All you have to do is imagine how it might look if it were to mix DNA with another alien species… and I think we’re starting to work it all out. Anyway. The only thing I’m completely sure of here is that Prometheus does indeed take place in the same universe as Alien, and in this universe there’s a big terraforming operation going on, somehow related to the classic Giger xenomorph.
http://www.slashfilm.com/damon-linde...scotts-prometh eus-connected-alien-films/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashfilm+%28%2FFilm%29
In an March 4th interview with the Daily Mall, actor Rafe Spalls (who plays the character Milburn) stated the following:
Ridley’s movie is about gods and monsters and, contrary to the director’s claim (a smokescreen) that it’s not an Alien prequel, I hear the complete opposite. I’m told a monster is being developed right now that is so terrifying it’s scaring the designers! Anyway, we shall see.
In a later Aug. 19th interview with the Guardian, Spalls said:
Doing Prometheus was what you imagine being an actor is like when you're five. In a spacesuit, on another planet, getting killed by an alien. It was a real treat, it felt like being a part of movie history.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/...-spall-one-day
Note: In October, the studio sent the Prometheus actors a letter outlining allowable disclosure of details in the film. After admittedly receiving the letter, Spalls has refused to disclose further details in subsequent interviews.
Back in April, website called Market Saw reported the following from an anonymous inside source:
Be aware, there is a campaign of disinformation that is going to be used about this upcoming movie, I do not know that if inadvertently I am being used, however, the manner in which the conversation came about, I seriously doubt it.
Ridley Scott's sci-fi movie, currently going by the name Prometheus, is going to be a very large and intense story, with a scope that is epic, the final act is where the movie switches gears and shifts into Aliens territory. Pinewood houses an exact replica of the H R Giger Space Jockey command post. You may notice in the original Alien that the Space Jockey had a puncture on its considerably large chest, where the xenomorph broke out through the flesh of the creature and broke through the biomechanical armor it wears. You may also notice how big the Space Jockey is in relation to its human counter parts in the film. So imagine how big the baby must be, which is yet to grow. Then imagine quite a few of these. If you can do that, you got a pretty good grasp on the final act. And do not be expecting the traditional look either, these are very different creatures that will keep the general architecture of the xenomorph, but will have a considerably different look, and do very perverse things.
http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2011/0...n-ridley-scott s-ultra.html
It's notable that the source accurately described the biomechanical armor of the engineer/space jockey later confirmed by still shots of the trailer. (see closeup in link below)
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9...pacejockey.jpg
As has been reported numerous times on IMDB, Alien Prequel News blog reported receiving an e-mail from source employed by Pinewood Studios. Of the reliability of the source, APN stated:
I've made a few checks on this source and the story and it all seems pretty trustworthy to me, so please take this news as you wish.
In the e-mail exchange with APN, the source reported the following:
Though security on the set is very tight with the good weather, dock doors have been open and cast and crew have been enjoying lunch outdoors. I can confirm seeing 3 aliens having lunch. Not the whole costume but blueish costumes and the UNMISTAKABLE HEADS hanging around their shoulders.
The alien heads were the same shape but no markings, only a plain bronze colour. As for the suits black boots and shoulder pads the rest was a Chelsea blue body suit could be for SFX, all the sets around the back of the bond stage have huge green chromokey maybe that's a clue. I have witnessed foam cut outs of unmistakable aliens all cut in half length ways so they could be in the floor walls etc and very much from the original film.
http://www.alienprequelnews.com/2011_04_01_archive.html
In July 2011, I09 reported what Ridley Scott stated during the showing the first unveiling of Prometheus film footage at the San Diego Comic-con:
'The cast find an establishment which is not what they expected it to be, it's a civilization but what we find in it is very uncivilized behavior.'
'There is a DNA of the original Alien, but that's as far as it goes, everything else is completely different. It's all about everything.'
'Of course, what i want to do is scare the living *beep* out of you.'
http://io9.com/5823610/first-footage...prometheus-mad e-our-space-helmets-explode
CONCLUSION: There will be the 'DNA of the original Alien' mixed with DNA of the engineer/SJ to form a new gigantic xenomorph hybrid. Let's all hope it's a hell of a lot more creative and scarier than the infamous predalien.
QUESTION: Will there be facehuggers & chestbursters in Prometheus? If so, how can Prometheus still receive a PG-13 rating?
ANSWER: It's my firm believe that we will see at least one facehugger and chestbuster in Prometheus. While the MPAA is relatively strict in regards to graphic violence (red blood) against humans, they aren't as uptight when it comes to similar violence against aliens or CGI characters. If we do see a chestburster, I suspect it will be bursting out of the suit of an engineer/space jockey.
While reviewing some old set photos 8 months ago, I came across the following images of entrances to various chambers:
Below is image of an entrance to one of the chambers from the Prometheus set.
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9541/set1q.jpg
Here's a image of another image, notice that the doors open/shut differently.
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7424/...ssetphoto2.jpg
This is a image from the Prometheus production when the humans discover a hole in the floor after entering one of the entrances. Suspect this hole leads to the ampule room.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/733...etheushole.jpg
Here's the interesting one. The next image is of an entrance with a stone carving of the facehugger and chestburster above the door.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/934...facehugger.jpg
Below is the facehugger/chestburster entrance lightened so you can better see the facehugger/chestburster carving.
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/934...facehugger.jpg
Below is the facehugger/chestburster outlined in red.
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6...uggeredrou.jpg
Below is a model of a facehugger.
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/334...ggerjumpsm.jpg
Using the model, I simulated the facehugger entrance using the previous legs from the facehugger and another model of a chestburster.
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/8717/simvb.jpg
A comparison between my simulated entrance with the Prometheus set entrance.
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/7...mparison2s.jpg
While the inclusion of a facehugger/chestburster does not guarantee appearances by either entity in the film, it does mean that both xenomorph stages of development preexisted Prometheus events by a considerable time. Since I expect to see a giantic engineer/xenomorph's in the last 8 or so minutes, it's presumable that the engineer(s) will get to enjoy the entire alien life cycle.
Notation: Several intelligent posters disagree with my interpretation of aforementioned stone carving/formation. Obviously, my photoshop attempt to mimic the 'sculpture' with a facehugger model was less than convincing. Is my facehugger/chestburster theory simply an over-imaginative interpretation of a Rorschach inkblot? Is the top of the entrance a natural rock formation, or an engineer carving? If the latter, is the carving decorative or depictive?
