Prometheus (Post-release)
- Thread starter Vivek
- Start date
A lot of good Weyland stuff in there, and the whole of Shaw's arrival at his feet after escaping the medpod plays way better than the movie., as does the Fifield attack, which actually serves a purpose - Weyland's is saved by Shaw, and his arrogance is shaken. I quite liked his pathetic, 'But you invited us here!' to the Engineer.
I disagree. This was one of the most important cut scenes for me personally, as Millburn's reaction to the hamerpede was the single most unresolvable issue I had with the theatrical cut of the film.
While the cut scene didn't make his later action any less stupid on his part, it did setup his character a bit more and at least for me completely explained his later action. He is a biologist seeing the very first alien life ever. That is absolutely monumental. Finding the dead Engineers was big, but they were dead. This is LIFE. He totally geeks out over the worms which makes it a little more understandable when his excitement gets the better of him later on with the hammerpede.
Like I said, still a stupid move on his part, but this cut scene helped explain why a person like him might make that mistake.
Demetrios2177
Well-Known Member
Hi, everyone!
As of 9:42 a.m. Central European Time, the Lindelof script is still on the web:
http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/PARADISEfinal.pdf
As of 9:42 a.m. Central European Time, the Lindelof script is still on the web:
http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/PARADISEfinal.pdf
Solo4114
Master Member
Well, that proves it. They added these guys to be cannon fodder with predictable results. Contrast that with Alien where we get a lot of discussion from Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton's characters about their half-shares, fixing the ship, messing with Ripley, etc. These are actual characters, so when they die, it means something more than just "Oh no! They got...er...faceless crewman #3!" That's just lazy writing. I mean, ******, even the idiot teens on slasher flicks at least get NAMES, even if all they do is have sex and then get killed.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Anyone who saved the Spaights script who could e-mail it to me?
I think what we are finally seeing now is just how much the production of Prometheus had been effected by various factors. They just didn't get it sorted properly to start with and then altered too much, too late. And ended up with a bit of a mess storywise.
When you take into account that FOX cut the production budget by so much after the first Spaights draft and the rewrite seemed to generate a much more cost conscious effort much is explained.
I must now publicly apologize for Damon for the slagging I have been giving him. He deserved some of it but not all. Having seen and read both scripts now there is much in both that would have worked really well in the film ,yet were inexplicably left out in the final working draft. Rather than let the writers work together they seemed to have been prevented from doing so, which is a damn shame because there was potentially a far, far stronger film in there. Somebody should have really integrated the elements of the characters and ideas together better. There were real positives (and negatives) in them both that could have been tremendously beneficial to the story.
I also think its no coincidence that suddenly both scripts are up and out there for discussion at almost the same time. It absolves the writers of much of the guilt for the way the film plays out, whilst also allowing us the ability to critique it openly.
Ultimately it makes no odds now ,we have got what we have got and as I've said before arguably the sequels STILL have a huge potential that could be very satisfyingly exploited, if done properly and with some thought. I can see a number of very open ways to take the narrative and still remain very true to the spirit of the stories without resorting to the tired old formulas and if I can then many more experienced people should do so as well.
I really do believe now that that is why Prometheus end up like it did . Ideas such as the yacht scenes would have played in to the film brilliantly and were obviously done (hence the shooting time in Spain, why Guy Pearce HAD to play an older version of himself, the themes of immortality and immorality playing more strongly and satisfyingly through the script but not the film). Arguably they could be used again in the next as David can recall them perfectly in his memories.
Things like the sudden growth of the millipedes are explained because they followed the crew into the chamber and then were "infected" by the goo. They weren't there all the time as it looks on film. The engineer that is finally awoken looks tired and worn (after two thousand years of sleep I 'm not particularly surprised). The helmets remained on , Holloway isn't so much of a prat and its here I suspect one of the other problems during shooting comes to light. The actors were allowed far too much input to change the character of the script, theres none of that stupid frat-boy "baby" behavior in the writing , Holloway comes over as a much more academic and thoughtful individual. Too much of Logan Marshall me thinks, "Gee Ridley Baby they got to see my beautiful face on the screen without the helmet man."
And I think ALOT of Sir Ridley Scotts refusal to do a directors cut for FOX is all about what he was NOT allowed to do. Its clear he had a bigger vision, he was curtailed by the budget and rewriting and he has proved that if he had been left to do it as he wanted it would have probably been a much better film that would have made more money.
Hopefully everyone will have learned their lessons so the next will be better still. But beyond anything else they will need a shooting script that makes absolute sense otherwise the next film will collapse again under all the weight of expectations that have grown exponentially with all the questions that Prometheus failed to answer properly the first time.
When you take into account that FOX cut the production budget by so much after the first Spaights draft and the rewrite seemed to generate a much more cost conscious effort much is explained.
I must now publicly apologize for Damon for the slagging I have been giving him. He deserved some of it but not all. Having seen and read both scripts now there is much in both that would have worked really well in the film ,yet were inexplicably left out in the final working draft. Rather than let the writers work together they seemed to have been prevented from doing so, which is a damn shame because there was potentially a far, far stronger film in there. Somebody should have really integrated the elements of the characters and ideas together better. There were real positives (and negatives) in them both that could have been tremendously beneficial to the story.
I also think its no coincidence that suddenly both scripts are up and out there for discussion at almost the same time. It absolves the writers of much of the guilt for the way the film plays out, whilst also allowing us the ability to critique it openly.
Ultimately it makes no odds now ,we have got what we have got and as I've said before arguably the sequels STILL have a huge potential that could be very satisfyingly exploited, if done properly and with some thought. I can see a number of very open ways to take the narrative and still remain very true to the spirit of the stories without resorting to the tired old formulas and if I can then many more experienced people should do so as well.
I really do believe now that that is why Prometheus end up like it did . Ideas such as the yacht scenes would have played in to the film brilliantly and were obviously done (hence the shooting time in Spain, why Guy Pearce HAD to play an older version of himself, the themes of immortality and immorality playing more strongly and satisfyingly through the script but not the film). Arguably they could be used again in the next as David can recall them perfectly in his memories.
Things like the sudden growth of the millipedes are explained because they followed the crew into the chamber and then were "infected" by the goo. They weren't there all the time as it looks on film. The engineer that is finally awoken looks tired and worn (after two thousand years of sleep I 'm not particularly surprised). The helmets remained on , Holloway isn't so much of a prat and its here I suspect one of the other problems during shooting comes to light. The actors were allowed far too much input to change the character of the script, theres none of that stupid frat-boy "baby" behavior in the writing , Holloway comes over as a much more academic and thoughtful individual. Too much of Logan Marshall me thinks, "Gee Ridley Baby they got to see my beautiful face on the screen without the helmet man."
And I think ALOT of Sir Ridley Scotts refusal to do a directors cut for FOX is all about what he was NOT allowed to do. Its clear he had a bigger vision, he was curtailed by the budget and rewriting and he has proved that if he had been left to do it as he wanted it would have probably been a much better film that would have made more money.
Hopefully everyone will have learned their lessons so the next will be better still. But beyond anything else they will need a shooting script that makes absolute sense otherwise the next film will collapse again under all the weight of expectations that have grown exponentially with all the questions that Prometheus failed to answer properly the first time.
Kit Rae
Sr Member
Scott never refused to do a directors cut. He said back in April, before the film even came out, that what you will see in the theaters will be his 'directors cut'. The only time he ever deviated from that was when Collider asked him about a "longer cut" and he said 'maybe', but then finished by saying "I’m so happy with this engine, the way it is right now." He reiterated that after the film came out, saying there would be no longer cut, just deleted scenes and this: "It's very tight. It's what it should be."
His BR commentary, and the editors comments, also make it clear why he removed or reworked a lot of the deleted scenes that just did not work for him or the film. From everything he has said, he made exactly the film he wanted to make.
His BR commentary, and the editors comments, also make it clear why he removed or reworked a lot of the deleted scenes that just did not work for him or the film. From everything he has said, he made exactly the film he wanted to make.
Then I must have read every headline saying "Scott refuses to do A Directors Cut" wrongly then. ie Ridley Scott Refused to Do an Extended Cut for Prometheus Blu-ray; Jon Spaihts Reveals Details about His Original Script . That is the Collider interview. As I've said before its what you want to read into it. I would also note several of his films such as Alien, Bladerunner, and "Kingdom of Heaven" also received D cuts WELL after the event despite every indication being that he was pretty satisfied with the results at the time. And I would also point out that all of those films had suffered, to varying degrees, a very large amount of studio "redirection" to suit their vision of what the film should be, not Ridleys. What people say public,particularly directors looking to ensure a studio funds their next two films and what they may think think and do privately are all part and parcel of film industry politics.
The fact he "doesn't" want to do them now looks largely like a bargaining tool and a canny directing decision. If the sequels go in the direction he and the studios can agree he can retro edit the film. In terms of sales its a winning strategy, in terms of narrative continuity it helps make both the films better. There are some directors who've used this strategy a might too many times, but it makesan awful lot of money for the studios for very little effort.
The fact he "doesn't" want to do them now looks largely like a bargaining tool and a canny directing decision. If the sequels go in the direction he and the studios can agree he can retro edit the film. In terms of sales its a winning strategy, in terms of narrative continuity it helps make both the films better. There are some directors who've used this strategy a might too many times, but it makesan awful lot of money for the studios for very little effort.
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Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Thanks for the script, Art. :thumbsup
CutThumb - that headline says "extended cut", not "director's cut".
CutThumb - that headline says "extended cut", not "director's cut".
Kit Rae
Sr Member
Dozens of headlines said "Directors Cut", but that's just the dismal nature if internet copy-and-past news. Read the actual quotes of what Ridley said and the headlines make no sense. There were also websites long before that reporting Ridley WOULD be making longer cut too. One of the links was posted here, but you read the content of what Ridley actually said, and he never confirmed it.
Directors Cut is an abused marketing term these days, but there is a difference between a Directors Cut and an extended cut. A directors cut is exactly that - his preferred cut and what he wants you to see. The only film Ridley said he regrets cutting to much out of was Kingdom of Heaven. The release version was not his director's cut, so he put the long DC out on DVD. The original Blade Runner, and the first DVD marketed as his directors cut, were not his director's cuts. The American version of Legend was not his directors cut. The original Alien (according to what he claims now) was not his directors cut. In the intro to one of the longer cut releases, I think it's Gladiator, he says right on the disk that it is not his preferred version.
The release version of Prometheus was always to be his DC. The only question was, would there be a longer cut later, and he said there would not be one before the film even hit theaters.
Directors Cut is an abused marketing term these days, but there is a difference between a Directors Cut and an extended cut. A directors cut is exactly that - his preferred cut and what he wants you to see. The only film Ridley said he regrets cutting to much out of was Kingdom of Heaven. The release version was not his director's cut, so he put the long DC out on DVD. The original Blade Runner, and the first DVD marketed as his directors cut, were not his director's cuts. The American version of Legend was not his directors cut. The original Alien (according to what he claims now) was not his directors cut. In the intro to one of the longer cut releases, I think it's Gladiator, he says right on the disk that it is not his preferred version.
The release version of Prometheus was always to be his DC. The only question was, would there be a longer cut later, and he said there would not be one before the film even hit theaters.
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Solo4114
Master Member
On the Alien issue, the 2003 "Director's Cut" is actually more of an "extended cut" like you say. In the current blu-ray set, Scott says that the theatrical version is the director's cut and his preferred version. The extended version is merely his generally-hands-off supervised version of the film. I think the story goes that the studio was going to stick a bunch of stuff in, they asked him if he wanted a hand in it, and he said "Ok" more to make sure they didn't botch the job, rather than to claim it's his preferred version.
Kit Rae
Sr Member
And that was directly due to his unhappiness over the '92 BR 'Directors Cut', which he had little time to be involved with and did not consider his final cut.
Ridley has said the Alien Directors Cut was only called that for marketing reasons and I remember him saying he did not assemble that cut, but after seeing it, went in and recut it again for Fox the way he would have done it if those scenes were left in. He did not seem thrilled about it. I suspect he is tired all these different versions of his films and does not want this to be done with Prometheus, which he is happy with.
Ridley has said the Alien Directors Cut was only called that for marketing reasons and I remember him saying he did not assemble that cut, but after seeing it, went in and recut it again for Fox the way he would have done it if those scenes were left in. He did not seem thrilled about it. I suspect he is tired all these different versions of his films and does not want this to be done with Prometheus, which he is happy with.
Extended Cut doesn't work either since it's a whole minute shorter than the original cut. I'll just call it a Special Edition.
Jedi2016
Sr Member
I disagree. If it was truly a failure of product, we would have stopped talking about it long ago. Like what happens to pretty much every other movie out there.. it's a big deal for a month or so, and then no one cares. This one continues to be a big deal, long after release.
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