Hollywood veteran director Ridley Scott recently shared insights on his equation with Fede Álvarez, who is set to follow up with a new installment to the Alien franchise that came from Scott in the first place. Alien: Romulus, the latest installment to the franchise is set to hit the theater and Scott who watched the first director’s cut of the movie has given his honest verdict.
Ridley Scott Reviews Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus Director’s Cut
A still from Alien: Romulus. Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Ridley Scott recently gave his verdict on Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus in public ahead of the release of the movie. The veteran director recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere of the movie sharing that he was the first person to watch the first director’s cut of the movie.
“I was hugely relieved that it was potentially a huge film,” Scott admitted. Rather than giving oral notes, Scott handed him his thoughts in writing after watching the movie. Álvarez’s response could almost not have been more direct and brutal, after reading the notes silently first, he let off steam by “kicking the wall” and “punching the door” before returning to respond, “they are good notes.”
“Directors tend to make it too long,” Scott said of the first draft of the movie that he watched. Scott congratulated Álvarez on eventually embracing the notes, and said that, despite Álvarez having ample material, he was willing to work with Scott on making the film’s focus sharper, “He had so much going on, he didn’t need so much.”
Fede Álvarez Made Alien: Romulus Special With One Major Decision
A still from Alien: Romulus. Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Most science-fiction movies are ever reliant on CGI and extensive use of VFX to create the world and objects they desire. However, Fede Álvarez took rather a traditional approach to the movie as the director believes that it is quite important to his own vision and style of filmmaking. “I think what’s important to me is what I think is important for the audience and I think the masses out there and the audience had loved these movies particularly they really prefer to see the Practical effects,” the director told THR at the premiere of the movie.
“They really want to see something that feels real that feels grounded and uh so we went above and beyond and really a hard way because it’s so difficult I got to explain to you how difficult it is to do it this way. Obviously easier to just shoot an empty space and get some CG creature later on, we didn’t do that we just went all the way to create creatures with the technology of today right with the with the philosophy of the old movies but with technology of today to create something that people don’t see on screen every day.”
Practical effects in movies have been a rare sight these days with the technologies evolving, many filmmakers tend to go with the easy way. Thanks to Álvarez, that’s one of the aspects that makes Alien: Romulus exciting.
Alien: Romulus is slated to hit the theaters on August 23, 2024.
