Prometheus Scribe Remains Cryptic

Steve Barton   |  

Sep 28, 2011

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Flipboard
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share via Email

With everyone chomping at the bit to find out everything they can about Ridley Scott’s much talked about Prometheus, one thing has become clear – we’re not gonna know squat until the flick comes out.

MTV sat down with writer Damon Lindelof, who offered the usual mouthful of Greek salad. Here are some highlights:

Collaborating with Ridley
“Having done ‘Lost’ for six years, I felt this tremendous responsibility because I’m one of the visionaries behind the show, so there’s no safety net below you. When I got the call [from Ridley] I had this tremendous amount of relief and comfort that Ridley Scott is going to be the safety net. What ensued was a series of conversations where I was kind of interviewing Ridley to get a sense of the movie he wanted to make. Once I got a sense of that, then it was really about channeling that idea so that I was realizing his vision, as opposed to imposing my vision on it. That was my perspective. His perspective was more kind and generous in terms of ideas that I brought to the movie. But really everything I was coming up with was just a different spin on what he was saying to me.”

Fassbender’s Role
“He plays a robot. One of the things that evokes the idea of ‘Blade Runner’ is, ‘What does the movie look like from the robot’s point of view?’ If you were to ask him, ‘What do you think about all of this? What’s going on? What do you think about these humans who are around you?,’ wouldn’t it be cool if we found a way for that robot to answer those questions. When you cast a guy like Fassbender, who’s going to bring a lot more to it than [makes clichéd robot movements] — that was me doing the robot, I don’t know if you could tell — it’s not Anthony Daniels. All due respect. He’s phenomenal. But C-P3O…”

Theron’s Role
“Her character’s name is Meredith Vickers and she’s sort of a corporate entity. That’s another one of the familiar things from the ‘Alien’ movies — that there are corporate interests in play. I feel like Charlize brought a new spin on that old variation. It’s a remix …. I don’t think she’s slimy [like Paul Reiser’s character in ‘Aliens’]. She’s not the fast-talking, snake-oil face of the company. By the way, “What company is she a face of?,” I think is a big part of the fun. As we were developing the script, she had some really cool ideas that made it not the suit you’re used to.”

The Ensemble
“I think one of the really cool things about the first ‘Alien,’ if you watch it cold, Ripley is kind in the background like one of the crew members, and you’re like, ‘Skerrit’s [who played Captain Dallas] the hero of the movie,’ and he’s one of the first to go. And then you’re like, ‘It’s [the engineer played by] Harry Dean Stanton.’ And, no, he’s gone… and suddenly Sigourney Weaver, in the last 40 minutes of the movie, is the only one left alive. I think the idea of building a really cool ensemble and again presenting the audience with like, ‘Who’s going to be left standing at the end of this movie? Maybe all of them. Probably not,’ [that’s] part of the fun of what we set out to do.”

Prometheus stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Patrick Wilson, Logan Marshall-Green, Ben Foster, and Michael Fassbender.

Look for Prometheus in theaters on June 8th, 2012.

Synopsis
Ridley Scott, director of ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner,’ returns to the genre he helped define. With ‘Prometheus’ he creates a groundbreaking mythology in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Subscribe to our Newsletter