Damon Lindelof to Rewrite Alien Prequel

[deezelboy]

According to Deadline, Damon Lindelof will rewrite the proposed Alien prequel project:

Damon Lindelof has taken his first big solo screenwriting job since concluding the ABC series Lost. I’m been told that he closed a deal to do rewrite work on 20th Century Fox’s Alien prequel, which the studio hopes Ridley Scott will direct as his next assignment.

In a development as vexing as a Lost plotline, studio insiders said that while Lindelof indeed met with Scott and the studio for that rewrite job, the exchange of ideas between them sparked a take that could well turn out to be a free-standing science fiction film. The studio will decide when Lindelof turns it in. Scott Free is producing and Lindelof's CAA reps closed his deal last night.

Lindeloff is currently writing with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Paramount’s Star Trek sequel, on which Lindelof is a producer. He also teamed with Kurtzman and Orci to write the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys and Aliens, which is shooting now with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.

That’s plenty of action, but I’m told that Lindelof jumped at this opportunity because Scott's 1979 space thriller Alien was such a seminal influence on him. Resuscitating the Alien franchise has been a big priority for Fox, which has a script by Jon Spaihts, who wrote the Gabriele Muccino-directed Keanu Reeves-starrer  Passengers for Morgan Creek, and whose drafts on the Alien film persuaded Scott to move from producing the film to directing it.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/is-losts-damon-lindelof-boarding-alien/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[deezelboy]

This may well mean that the prequel will not be Scott's next project...

[LargeLeader]

The LOST writer?

Oh great. This project may very well be fucked.

[deezelboy]

It's a great bonus for everybody who said they liked things to remain mysterious and unexplained, like Space Jockeys and the like.  Fuck all was explained in Lost, after all.

[LargeLeader]

That'll be because they ran out of ideas to throw in the mixer and couldn't come up with anything that would make sense.

Then again, I'm biased since I've never been a big fan of LOST (more like LOLWUT, amirite?). It started off alright, but it felt like it was crumbling under the weight of its own bullshit during the fourth season.

[deezelboy]

That'll be because they ran out of ideas to throw in the mixer and couldn't come up with anything that would make sense.

I don't think they ever ran out of good ideas - even the last series had enough to power six series of a more normal show.  Their problem was more that they didn't even try to attempt to link anything in to a coherent whole, but left it all as a series of mysteries.  Or, more cynically, left it as what it really was - stuff that would make you tune in next week.  If there's no show to tune in to next week, you don't have to bother with any resolution - job done. 

It's not so much that it was crumbling under the weight of its own bullshit, but that in the end the bullshit didn't matter and was entirely weightless.

It's like a devilishly fiendish murder mystery, with clues leading to clues leading to clues leading to everybody going down the pub for a karaoke night, and ending there.

[LargeLeader]

A bit like how Twin Peaks would've ended if David Lynch had his own way. He didn't even want to reveal the killer until he was forced by the network thanks to declining ratings.

[deezelboy]

Well, Lynch was right in that respect, as the series died a death once the killer was revealed.   

Although, to be honest, I was always more interested in the owls and the lodges (and One Eyed Jacks, to be brutally honest!) than Laura Palmer's killer.

[LargeLeader]

Those were the juicy bonuses. And it's true, the show did die on its arse once they revealed the killer.

Thing is, season 2 should've ended at that point. They could've dedicated a third season to the Black Lodge and it could've been great. Extending season 2 it to 22 episodes was a bloody foolish mistake made worse by the fact that Lynch and Frost left the show halfway through. I know they came back for the last three episodes, but the damage had already been done.

[Jon Sorensen]

Intriguing and exciting news.

If anyone can bring something genuinely new to the ALIEN series, it's those guys.

They made a wonderful job of the STAR TREK movie. Only the music did'nt live up to the opportunity.

Also CLOVERFIELD, which I personally loved, bravely utilised a lot of "indie" techniques and brought them more into the mainstream.

LOST and CLOVERFIELD both draw heavily on Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST and if they can stamp that brand of even Lovecraftian mystery should they tackle a new ALIEN, then that's just what the series needs. (There was a lot of Lovecraftian feel in Dan O'Bannon's first screenplay). If this does involve the LOST stable, it should be truly interesting. They may restore a sense of awe, mystery and wonder...not to say terror...in a new beginning.

[dude]

Polar bears on Acheron, amirite?

[Sebastian]

This all sounds good to me. /OT: I was thoroughly happy with how Lost ended. Not a 100% but I did feel the sensation of closure at the last scene.

[beckmen]

I was disappointed that there was so much left unexplained, and other things with unsatisfactory or vague explanations that were obviously cop-outs. However, when I think of the final scene I still have to hold back the tears. So, so bittersweet.

We'll see how Cowboys and Aliens turns out before I can give you an opinion on Damon's film-writing capabilities. And even so, he was a co-screenwriter.

[Hieronymus]

I liked Lost - even the ending.  As far as I'm concerned, this is good news.

As for what was explained and what wasn't, I would say we got enough explanation.  We learned that the Island

is the source of all life on Earth,

that Jacob

was one of a long line of defenders of the Island's lifegiving energy,

that the survivors

were brought in to replace Jacob,

and that the Smoke Monster

was Jacob's brother, whom Jacob had killed in a moment of human weakness.

  We also learned what the Sideways Timeline was all about, where the Others came from, and what happened to all the Dharma people.  The only thing I would have liked to know is what was up with those damn numbers.

Anyway, I would like the Alien prequel to explain some things, or at least give some hints; otherwise it will have been a waste of time.  On the other hand, some things should remain unexplained, or mostly unexplained, or else the series will lose its mystery.  Given the balance that was struck with Lost, I think Lindelof is an appropriate person to have on board.

My only concern is, does the Alien have enough mystery remaining to carry another film?  Is it still threatening enough after the juvenile crap of the last three outings?

[wmmvrrvrrmm]

I wish I had been inspired to watch Lost. I've seen a few episodes of it but I could never get hooked.