British director Ridley Scott returns to the thrilling, visceral and seminal vision of the universe he first conjured up in 1979’s Alien with Alien: Covenant . The 80-year-old director of classics such as Blade Runner (1982), Thelma and Louise (1994) and Gladiator (2000) talks about the beginnings of the iconic movie and where it is going.
Excerpts.
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Did you have the concept of Alien: Covenant already in mind while you were making Prometheus?
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I’ve got the whole concept that will lead us back to the original Alien. I was always surprised by why no one in the subsequent three sequels ever asked who would create this thing and why. Prometheus was resurrecting Alien off from ground zero. It touched on mortality and immortality, it touched on the creation of AI. This is the next phase.
Is it fair to say the new film is more reminiscent of Alien than Prometheus?
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Did you deliberately want Katherine Waterston’s Daniels to echo Ripley in Alien?
Yes, we wanted to follow the tradition of having a leading lady but it is no longer that new. I mean, I’ve done GI Jane, I’ve done Thelma and Louise. I’ve done quite a few. I never thought it was particularly remarkable that I had a leading lady in Sigourney (Weaver) in Alien. I thought, “Why not? Good idea. Let’s go.” The same with Katherine — it seemed to make sense to follow in the tradition. Particularly as this is a ship which carries people who you would call in the old days explorers or colonisers.
How does the crew of the Covenant as a whole compare to the Nostromo in Alien?
Well, in those days we were talking about the equivalent of a freighter that is going off to planets for their mining capabilities. They will come back with valuable ores; whatever is valuable at that particular point. The crew of the Nostromo were workers, in that respect. The crew of the Covenant are scientists, biologists, builders and electricians. What’s more, they have been chosen to fit in with one another.
Are you using practical effects to create the various stages of the Alien?
You need everything. I always try and shoot as much as I can. I had to on the original Alien. We had to physically build the Alien. The Alien had to be fitted on a guy as a rubber suit. It was never animatronic. There was no way of doing that kind of thing on that scale. I had a secret studio, I was the only one allowed in there, and every day I would go in there and sit and chat with the actor who was in the suit, Bolaji (Badejo), and work with him. Everything that you saw on the original Alien was physical. I filmed it and cut around the dodgy bits. Nevertheless it was hugely successful. So you look to maintain some of that. And the little ones were as bad as the big one. I think one of the most ghastly things was the egg and the face-hugger. The thing that came out of the chest was frankly a really crude, pistol-gripped little monster.
How do you balance that with computer effects?
It is all about planning. The best thing I did as a filmmaker was go to art school. You learned to draw professionally. I can draw and paint. In fact, I do that as a hobby now. It has helped me enormously because I have a natural aptitude for it. When I’m reading a script I am already seeing the film. Then I literally sit down and storyboard the film myself. It is better for me to have it on paper because I can then see what is needed.
How much of the look of the new film has been predetermined by the styles of
Alien and
Prometheus ?
Well, I try and keep everything different. Also we are going into a different universe, we’re on a new planet and we’re inside new architecture – the world of the Engineers. So it is quite different. It is a much more layered, complex story. That said, I know I’ve got to keep the audience frightened. That is the bottom line.
Is it harder to shock an audience now compared to 1979?
It’s much harder. To really disturb and scare wilfully as a form of entertainment is tricky, there are so many dark, cruel and weird films now. You have a responsibility as a director.
I used to watch the audience reactions to Alien and realised that you can go only so far with the violence. You’ve got to think about who you are showing this to. I try not to make it sick but scary.