Your thoughts on the Prometheus Alien

The acid blood, Second jaw, And elongated skull. Are all characteristics of the actual xenomorph "Alien" not the host. Therefore all those characteristics should be present aswell as the spiney tail and complete egg to adult lifecycle. Without these main alien characteristic it wouldn't make any sense and just wouldn't fit in the series.

Yes, it will be interesting to see what they do with the "Alien Life Cycle". They also state that the new "Aliens" will be quite larger than previous Xenos which we have already seen in the films. So, again it will be interresting to see how the overall "Alien" characteristics change.

If I remember correctly, each Alien presented in the 4 movies were 99.5% identical except for the way they moved,thought and problem solved. I would expect that the new Alien would the be similar with a personality and social skills of the Space Jockey. Hopefully the Space Jockey doesn't have a personality that of Ja Ja Binks. That would be a huge drag! I would like to see the new Alien more as they were presented in Alien and Aliens. More primal and animalistic.

Of course this is just my own personal opinion, but don’t think that the Alien (creature) has been portrayed well since 1979. The original “Alien” in Ridley Scott’s film was extremely unique in a way that almost escapes me. It had a strange quality about it that the subsequent filmmakers and productions have not been able to reproduce. I find it difficult to put into words, so maybe it’s just me. Maybe the creature of the first film affected me in a way that other folks just wouldn’t “get” or understand…or maybe they would. I’ll try to describe what I mean. To me, the original Alien or xenomorph had a kind of regal or royal air about it. It was beautiful and horrific at the same time. With very few, but carefully framed camera shots, it came off as completely confident in its actions. Its body or physique was so statuesque and graceful, like a cross between a tall, lean Zulu warrior and a black widow spider. I’m comparing all of this to all of this to the subsequent ALIEN franchise films. Even to the great “ALIENS”, which in my opinion is the next best after the original. The sequels seem content to depict the Xenomorphs as some kind of extra-terrestrial version of a velociraptor or something. There kind of messy, way to slimy, and seem kind of dumb. In the first film, Ash the android called the Alien a “Perfect Organism,” and I totally “buy it”…completely, within the context of the story. Even the queen alien in ALIENS was not as fearsome, scary, magnificent, sublime, majestic, and exquisite as the first. She was too large, clunky, uncoordinated, boney and antlike to be related to “Kane’s son.” Don’t get me wrong, I think ALIENS is a great movie. However, I find ALIEN to be a masterpiece. Don’t even get me started on that big, dopey, white thing at the end of Alien: Resurrection. Anyways, that full on H.R. Giger creation from the fist picture still haunts my dreams from time to time. You gotta love it. In space…no one can hear you scream, Neurion

Hey All, All of the current "normal" characteristics of the Alien that you see in this genre will probable be present. There will positvely be some new ones as well since it was mentioned that this movie takes us back to the "Alien homeworld". Now the question I have is what will those new characteristics be since we get to see them in their natural habitat and in hopefully a pure form unpolluted with human or space jockey DNA. This inturn leads me to more questions, where do they exist in that planet's "food chain" top, middle or bottom? Are there nastier creatures than the Aliens on the homeworld? Are there different alien clans or better word would probable be "hives" on the homeworld? The questions for me go on and on. Regards, Rick

Neurion nailed it on the head about portrayal of the alien in Alien. None of the other films quite got it. I'm hoping we see some of that original alien. I think the acid blood is one of the most basic traits of the beastie. As for everything else we just can't be sure. If we assume that the alien pulls genetic cues from the host species then I think the resulting adult could have wildly varying traits. Even the long skull and second jaws could be changed in shape based on the final form of the adult. The Dark Horse Aliens comics did touch on the final appearance of the adult and they appeared fairly radically different than the adult human host alien. Another thing to mention about the second jaw is that Giger (in an interview I read a while back) said that he wasn't happy with the second jaws and that for the Alien 3 xenomorph design he replaced the second jaws with a long flexible "tongue". So, depending on Giger's involvment we may see something we've never seen before.

You guys bring up some really good points. Let me pose this question grab your old Alien DVD throw it in and look at the Alien Egg Cave under the Space Jockey. Does that Cavern look atleast larger than the ship? Too me that Cavern look like it went on forever. I know they tried to portray the ship as being huge but it looked more like it crashed and opened up the cavern under ship thus under the space jockey's chair.

Also the eggs that are in the ship could be a different "type" of alien then the ones in Aliens. I don't remeber the types, from the video game days. I know they portayed them much like a Hive mind type creature, such as Ants, and Bees.

Interesting thought Rick. Yes, the matte painting they used for the view of the Egg Chamber was a bit out of scale (IMHO) based on the exterior shots of the alien ship. The original story featured an "egg silo" that the crew of the tug was to go into to find the eggs and a bunch of other information about the alien. It wasn't included in the film (obviously) but wonder if there is a connection to the original story in that scene.

I'm going to have to go back through my DVDs and read through some of the information about the film in it. Was it part of the original screen play and was it actually filmed or written?

I don't remember exact details about how far the egg silo story got. If I remember the egg silo was part of O'Bannon's original story, but I can't remember if it ever got written into the screenplay. Will do some research and try to find out.

Below is a link that talks about the egg silo storyline.
http://alienexplorations.blogspot.com/2009/03/dissecting-derelict-gigers-egg-silo-and.html

You know what?...This has bugged me ever since I was a 12 year old kid. Everybody would be talking about the eggs in the derelict ship…and I would be insisting that the eggs were not aboard the vessel…but under it. I was one of those “weird” kids who went Alien-crazy back in ’79. I collected every book or toy my parents allowed me to; posters, jigsaw puzzles, a photo-novel, The Book of ALIEN(the making of the film), and HR Giger’s Alien book. In 1979, Alien on video tape…was hard to come by. So, I satiated my addiction by reading the books and studying the photos as closely as a forensic scientist might study corpses. When Dallas, Kane, and Lambert make their final approach and entry into the derelict space craft, they are clearly shown entering very near the bottom or lower part of the craft. The three oval, vaginally shaped openings, through one of which the reconnaissance team enter the ship, appear to be near it’s underbelly. Therefore, unless Ridley Scott, HR Giger, Michael Seymour, Leslie Dilley, and Roger Christian had completely lost their minds and all sense of proportion, The alien egg silo and chamber were located in a cavern beneath the derelict spacecraft. I’ve heard all kinds arguments to the contrary. Like…what about the derelict or space jockey markings within the egg silo/chamber? For myself…I prefer not knowing. That’s probably what I loved the most about the original movie. There was so much that was in fact…”alien”; the transmission, Ash, the planetoid, the derelict, the jockey, the Alien itself, and all of it’s forms. I enjoy the mystery, and revel in the curiosity attached to all the “loose ends”. To quote some vernacular from those post-Star Wars days…ALIEN was Boss, Bitchin, Primo, Gnarly and Rad! I hope “PROMETHEUS” doesn’t explain everything away, like George Lucas destroyed “The Force” with on swift stroke…with microscopic bacteria called Midi-chlorians. What a bunch of uninspiring, scientific crap. I really like the bizarre, strange, and arcane nature of ALIEN. It also had a kind of raunchiness to it that I really like. If “STAR WARS” was like “The Beatles,” Then ALIEN was like the “Rolling Stones.” Gimmie Shelter Baby…. Neurion

Anyways, whether the Alien eggs were brought to the planetoid by the Space Jockey, or the eggs were indigenous to the place…is never made clear in the film. Even if in the sequel “ALIENS,” Ripley says that the derelict ship was not from there and not indigenous. The original movie never says were the “acid bleeders” are from. I for one, would prefer never to see the Alien’s or the Jockey’s home world. It would never live up to my imagination or expectation. I don’t mind “Prometheus” unlocking a few “doors” and exploring some new territory. I just think they should leave the bulk of the mystery intact, and keep their Hollywoody, money grubbing paws off the original concept and story. Don’t retroactively infect a bad-ass completed original work. < As far as the way the “acid bleeders” should look in the new Prometheus project…hmmmm. They may not even be in it. But if one or more are, I believe all will be served best by Scott & company adhering to what was done in the original film…at least regarding the Big Alien or Warrior alien creature’s design (I hate that “Warrior” term J. Cameron cooked up). The original Alien creature was so cool, plotting, and self-sufficient…not some little drone bitch who answered to a termite queen. This gut was building his own brood out of Brett and Dallas’s bodies. < Neurion’s unofficial guide to portraying the Alien well on the big screen: < DO forget everything that has been shot since 1979. DO restore the dome-ish, slick, dolphin-like, sheen to the elongated translucent scull. DO shoot in darkness, with quick shots, and strange or unfamiliar angles. DO take ideas and designs from the original suit design and casting selections. DO make the teeth appear metallic, and use proper gelatin consistency for drool. DO design it to look more humanoid. The more humanoid…the more scary! DO go back to the original mouth and mandibles (with translucent outer lips). i.e. The Exorcist + Night of the Living Dead +Anthropomorphism + Vampires + Demonic = SCARY < Godzilla + Jurassic Park + Any big dumb monster = NOT SCARY < DO NOT design it to be taller than 8 or 10 feet tall. (the larger, the less creepy) DO NOT give it an extra leg joint. DO NOT have smoke emitting from it’s mouth. DO NOT have it growl (Alien 3 & 4). Strange breathing, drooling, or screeching sounds only please. DO NOT design it to look like an insect, a reptile, a dinosaur, or an effed up, naked, hermaphroditical, mongoloid, “Pumpkinhead” ripoff (Alien 4). DO NOT dump jelly and slime all over the suit in order to camouflage bad creature costume design. < These rules apply whether the Alien emerges from a Human or a Space Jockey type extra-terrestrial chest cavity. Both humans and the Jockey race appear to share fairly similar physiology and bone structure thus far. With the exception of the Jockey’s tubular shape from the nasal area…down the sternum. In any case…I feel that the filmmakers should base most extra-terrestrial designs religiously and rigorously on the original film’s HR Giger designs. < Dallas: I don’t trust anybody! < Neurion

Damn Neurion...I seriously want to sit down over a cup of coffee or glass of warm milk or freakin bottle of JD and have a long talk! I am not alone! Finally!

Damn straight TatooedKoi, If you're reading this..."we are the resistance!" I'm good with the coffee, warm milk, and the JD, or we could just combine them and go with ultra strong Irish Coffee. I haven't had a good, drunk, Alien conversation in aeons. I think that FOX and Scott Free should hire the two of us on as Alien Expert Consutants. I don't trust that their not going to screw this thing up. You and I could be the only thing standing between classic ALIEN narrative...born of the post-Viet Nam era, and yet another botched addition to this tired and suffering franchise. "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail. Yet, hope remains...while the company it true," As a noble Elven queen once said. Perhaps Sir Ridley, St. Ripley, and FOX will read these posts, heed our cinematic prayers, and render a worthy gospel or new testament for the ALIEN Canon. On another note...I'm going to miss kookey ol' Dan O'Bannon...aren't you? ------Peace, Neurion P.S. Post it if you ever in Southern California. We'll have that drink and that talk!

Does anybody know how to change our profile pic or avatar on this website? I click on the avatar button in the profile settings section...and I get nothing...no way to browse or load or paste an image. This is not a WARNING...this time it is an SOS. Can anybody help????? Thanks, Neurion

Neurion,
Directly under the avatar name you copy and paste a link to a new avatar pic.


TK sorry guys I got tied up at work over the weekend I hate programming robots they don't like to listen very well.
Regards,
Rick

Thanks Rick!

@Neurion,

We will be implementing an upload feature for avatar images very soon. Sorry for the confusion. A few features are yet to come, please be patient as we polish up the site over the next few weeks. For further assistance, please check out our Website Feedback section of the forums.

@Rick and Neurion, Great ideas guys, you seem to know alot about the Alien. It will be interresting to see what they put together for the new Xenos in Prometheus. I doubt Ridley will go by Cameron's use of the "Warrior" Alien or "Drone", but revert back to what he created in the first film. More mysterious and more individuality.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully we can score an interview in the coming months and get some of these questions answered!

I think Neurion and TK are the resident "Alien" Experts. I hit the Genre a lot later with Aliens and Cameron in '85 at 9 and have been a die hard follower of the genre ever since. I still have the Alien Quadrology with the paper covers falling off and can proabably recite the Aliens script in my sleep. I really hope Ridley rolls the Alien back to the opaque head with the real human skull under it. That still gives me the heebiegeebies. I'm not taking away from the prowess, elegance and the carefully calculating alien in the original but 100+ drones in Aliens would still scare the crap out of anyone. At the same time I think they're too bulky and not as mobile/or graceful as the original. It sucks being torn.

You would be right young Padowan! *wink*

Hey Rick, I agree with you, the beasties in ALIENS were pretty scary. However, they did look and seem a little cock roach-ish to me. This is probably because of their sheer numbers, kind of like insects scattering when moving a kitchen appliance…Which also is sort of freaky. But I just don’t care for the way Cameron designed and illustrated his big Aliens. Some are ultra boney, while others are not. He changed their hands from six fingers and more human-looking (with the center two pair connected) to weird, three or four digit talons. My main point of contention is the scull, which would’ve been fine if they would have just finished the job by covering it with the translucent husk shape like in the original. I remember reading an article in the old special effects magazine called CINEFEX, where Cameron said they were planning to mimic the original design with the husk, but he preferred the way the under scull looked during the design process and just used that instead. I also read that the translucent skull casts were continually breaking during the design process. Any way you slice it, Cameron didn’t stick to the original, and in my opinion…superior visual design. That pissed me off! That freaky looking phallic head is the most unique feature on that HR Giger CREATURE. No wonder Cameron didn’t even bother to hire Giger for the show. He probably didn’t want to be artistically challenged by the Count Dracula looking Giger. I don’t mean to talk trash about one of my childhood heros, but I’ve heard that Cameron is a real megalomaniacal and pushy jerk on the set. GIVE US THE REAL ALIEN!!! ---Neurion

Hello all, good to see some really tantalising views up here on what direction 'Prometheus' will take concerning the creatures. I'll refrain from using the term 'Xenomorph' , as I hate it like some others here, but I may be in a minority. I say it may go the way of 'the egg before the chicken' in that I think Ridley Scott mentioned the back story emphasis may be on the eggs and the 'Facehuggers' themselves. We have to start from the birthing mechanism right? Look at some of Giger's early designs for the huggers - they're not as spidery, but boy are they more nightmarish! Like the Alien, the huggers have been done to death and too recognisable. I think much more Necronomicon-like cousins of these will bring a fresh terror and tip the scales back into more a adult and sexual Freudian horror than the last 'comicky' outings.

Amen Zeta, Instead of "Xenomorph," I prefer to refer to the Alien as "The Big Fellow" or "The Big Chap" as the ALIEN film crew did while making the film, more than 32 years ago. You know what? The film crew of the original "JAWS" movie referred to the large animatronic SPFX shark as "Bruce." I've always thought that funny.----So, you'd like to see some old-school Giger Facehuggers huh? I don't know...do ya think the world is ready for that?? I'm still trying to get those paintings outta my head. Those enormus slug-like things, equipped with tentacles, Testicles, and a huge scrotum sack. Not to mention the blowjobish nature of the tube being vividly shoved down the victims throat. Whew! But then again...it couldn't be any more shocking than a Lady GaGa Video. So I say MUSH ON! Good Call Zeta! --- I LOVE THIS SHITE!!! Finally...I'm able to chat with folks who know what the Frack I'm talkin' about when it comes to the AAAAAALIEN. Also...sorry about the length of my posts fellow "Nostromoites", I realize that they're longer than the "Big Fellows" cranium. But I'm just havin' so much fun. Almost as much fun as I had in the theatre when I was 12, watching Ripley change into her space shuttle suit. WOW!!! Well...come on, she wasn't Megan FOX...but I was 12. My dad was supposed to have taken me to see ROCKY II. Instead I wound watching a foul-mouthed "space girl" strip for a "Dick-headed" Monster. Man...my dad got his ass "chewed off" by mom when we got home. Sheee was pissed!Ahhh Good Times... Lucky Star OUT.

Hey Neurion, good to hear you're a kindred spirit there. Yes, indeed - this film - if it is doing so - should not shy away from Giger's extreme images. I mean, there has never, to my knowledge anyway, been an underground or mainstream film that has tackled the Necronomicon images full on. Look at 'Poltergeist 2' - that came close with the brilliant 'vomit creature' that crawled under the bed, but they made a mess of the 'Great Beast'. If the effects crew had taken some time out, then this would've been fantastic to look at. Same with Sil in 'Species' - a gorgeous, albeit jerky animatronic and cartoony CGI ruined what could've been a true Giger filmic spectacle. But now we may at long last see a mind-blowing depiction of how Biomechanoid phantasms should be depicted, hence the length (healthy I say) of time it's taking to make this film. I really think this is may be where the 'R' rating should come into play and not just for the sake of some splatter. I'm with you on the Ripley space-suit routine by the way Neurion - what with the protruding tongue and drool, that Alien MUST've been a male - or female what the hell, go for it sister, lol!!

I thought there was some interesting stuff designed for “Poltergeist II” as well. One of the problems was that Giger’s work clashed with imagery and atmosphere on the so called “Other Side.” The “Other Side” looked sort of like the Mutara Nebula from “The Wrath of Khan” or something. So Giger’s Great Beast and the human characters were just sort of floating around in this goofy Aurora Borealis looking place. It wasn’t scary, and had no continuity. That’s why ALIEN worked so well, there was a visual continuity to everything on the planetoid. The land, the sky, and everything in the derelict ship looked like it was right out of a Giger painting. The Alien forms themselves, looked very natural in that environment, and the humans looked fairly alien there. Once the crew brought the Alien aboard the Nostromo, “it” looked alien and out of place, and the humans looked comfortable in their surroundings again…except for one thing. From an extra-terrestrial perspective, it was the Alien’s privacy that was violated. Everything would’ve been fine except for those pesky little earthlings. Although, given it’s instincts, I’m sure Kane’s Facehugger was as relieved to sense his presence, as a hooker is pleased to spot a “John” with a hundred bucks stickin’ out of his pocket and a horny look on his face. I think when filmmakers are attempting to manifest Giger’s designs on film, they must create a proper visual setting, atmosphere, and mood that is conducive to conveying the strange qualities associated with the work. Thus far, Only Ridley Scott has done this successfully. Hopefully, he can do it again…without simply repeating himself. ~Neurion

Wow, there are some amazing thoughts and thesises being posted here! Great reads everyone, keep it up! It will be interesting to see how the facehugger and egg and overall Alien life cycle comes into play and how it is explained; if it is explained.

I think that will be the majority of this film, not so much an Alien stalking a bunch of helpless crew on a ship, but the exploration to discover its origin and in the process, they find themsleves in an unfortunate situation.

Now, I may be mistaken, but some may assume that the Alien "DNA" which is discovered, is that of the Alien itself. But what if it is that of the Space Jockey, and humans play a vital role in the possible creation of the Alien? It is a tad "out there" rto think so, but why not. It would be an interesting twist for sure.

What are your thoughts on the Alien's origin? Was it a military experiment for some Alien race? A tool made by the Space Jockeys? I'm curious to hear your takes on this.

Hey “Prometheus”, Get your liver eaten out lately? Just kiddin’, mine too…I guess I partied too much in the 90s...HAH! (I hope you got my mythological tomfoolery). Any ways…you know, I’m not sure if I’m happy with this whole genetic, DNA engineering, “building blocks of life”…Thing. I prefer the idea of the Alien…in all of it’s forms, as just a naturally evolving organism…like any other non-synthetic animals, bacteria, fungus or even mankind. I’ve always been fond of the idea that the first close encounter of the third kind with this organism was in the first ALIEN film with the crew of the Nostromo. Even though the Weyland-Yutani company did have a remote encounter of the second kind, prior to the Nostromo landing. I prefer the planetoid and involvement with the Alien being virgin territory for humans when Dallas and his “space cowboys” set down in the original flick. By retroactively writing Alien history, and injecting previous Alien experiences…the filmmakers are making the “Alien universe” smaller in a way that I don’t care for. Just like in ALIENS, when “Frost” cracks the joke about having sex with “Octurian poontang”…it diminishes the novelty and exclusive nature of human involvement with our favorite Alien nasties. It makes it seem like there’s human and extra-terrestrial interactions going on all over the galaxy. Of course that’s just my humble opinion. I like to imagine that the transmission/Warning was an aberration and a very rare or first time occurrence. ~Neurion

Well put, haha. I like your take on it, I agree. But I would assume the events on the Nostromo were not the first encounter with the "ALIEN" itself. I wouldn't be surprised if Weyland Yutani had a previous encounter before that incident. But I do agree that the Alien universe is being squeezed a little too much. The mixing with the Predator franchise has done a fine job of this, and really destroys all that "ALIEN" set out to create. But, thankfully Prometheus will stay clear of that franchise and hopefully bring back the muystery and essence that is ALIEN.

Hey guys, interesting subject you have here. I was 7 years old when my parents take me to watch that cult movie named "Alien" (in my country translated "8th Passenger"...lol ) back in 1979. I was totally petrified and hypnotized but I wached it to the end without a blink, in past months after that I had one single dream over and over, a scene when alien popup in airduct on Dallas...whau!!! As I grow older and with all other Alien based movies my fear transform to curiosity what is that creature and how it came to be...well, first thing that came to me is, as you pointed is that first movie suggests some crucial things. First of all, it looks like that creature is some sort of "genestealer", it use genes from it's host to adapt itself what explane to me it's humanoid form, that thought lead me to believe that creature's humanoid form is not it's original form. Maybe their quick adaptation to environment and potential host species is "perfection" that Ash indicated. Secund, the derilict ship is obviously used as egg transportation vessel because nothing else significant was found inside except pilot and cargo, the purpose is not clear, maybe for warfare or extinction of some nasty species, maybe they were engineered by "Space Jokeys" or maybe they were natural species once in their natural environment with high capacity for adaptation that was degenerated over time and constant exploatation in various diferent worlds...will see. I hope that Redley Scott will put some light on this subject and ingeniously complete this circle of mistery...I sincerely believe that this will not be another war movie with swarming aliens and hard core GI-s... :)