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Alien - The High School Play

Started by St_Eddie, April 28, 2019, 04:07:49 PM

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St_Eddie

If you've been following the entertainment news in recent times, then you may have read about the drama club students at New Jersey's North Bergen High School (the most underfunded school in New Jersey), who put on a production of Ridley Scott's classic Alien for their fellow students.  So impressed were the audience that news of the production traveled around the globe and even made waves in Tinseltown itself.  First Ripley herself, Sigourney Weaver responded to the news and then the film's director, Ridley Scott sent a letter to the students and pledged to fund $5000 to the school in order for them to put on a special encore performance.




You can call me a big old softie if you like but I was welling up throughout.  It's a testament to human endeavour and creativity.

Bazooka


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Are we sure that letter wasn't actually from Shia LaBeouf?

buzby

Just watched the play - it was great.

Quote from: St_Eddie on April 28, 2019, 04:07:49 PM
First Ripley herself, Sigourney Weaver responded to the news
Why did she mention what Cameron thought? He had nothing to do with Alien. Also calling Walter Hill one of the original screenwriters is a bit of smack in the mouth to O'Bannon, as he was originally denied a credit and  famously had to go take Hill and Giler to a WGA arbitration, the result of which was O'Bannon was awarded sole credit.for the screenplay.

St_Eddie

Quote from: buzby on April 28, 2019, 11:41:48 PM
Just watched the play - it was great.
Why did she mention what Cameron thought? He had nothing to do with Alien. Also calling Walter Hill one of the original screenwriters is a bit of smack in the mouth to O'Bannon, as he was originally denied a credit and  famously had to go take Hill and Giler to a WGA arbitration, the result of which was O'Bannon was awarded sole credit.for the screenplay.

Sigourney Weaver was forwarding compliments as given by people involved with the series, who she had spoken to about it.  Ergo James Cameron is relevant, even though he wasn't involved with the first film (I'd imagine that Weaver had been in contact with him, due to her involvement with the upcoming Avatar sequels).  Equally, she passed on Walter Hill's compliments but she couldn't very well forward Dan O'Bannon's thoughts, by virtue of him being dead.

Mister Six

Quote from: buzby on April 28, 2019, 11:41:48 PM
Just watched the play - it was great.
Why did she mention what Cameron thought? He had nothing to do with Alien. Also calling Walter Hill one of the original screenwriters is a bit of smack in the mouth to O'Bannon, as he was originally denied a credit and  famously had to go take Hill and Giler to a WGA arbitration, the result of which was O'Bannon was awarded sole credit.for the screenplay.
I
What a bitch, not reading up on the legal details of a film she made 40 years ago to ensure her message to some kids would be totally accurate.

EDIT: Also what St Eddie said.


Menu

"My hat comes off to all of you".

buzby

Quote from: Mister Six on April 28, 2019, 11:54:50 PM
What a bitch, not reading up on the legal details of a film she made 40 years ago to ensure her message to some kids would be totally accurate.
I'm pretty sure Weaver knows the details - even if she doesn't remember from 1979 she was on the commentary track recording for the 2003 directors cut where it came up (inevitably from O'Bannon). For years afterward the WGA decision Hill was grousing about losing his credit and saying he really wrote the screenplay (which was breaking the rules of his WGA membership), until eventually O'Bannon had enough and had to get the lawyers in to shut him up. It seems that since O'Bannon passed away he's gone back to trying to claim credit.

Shit Good Nose

Having read O'Bannon and Shusett's original script in the past, I think Hill and Giler are more than deserving of a writing credit.  The ideas are there in the original, but there's an awful lot of ropey dialogue, and very few of the sub-plots and character building that enrich the film.  They took the O'Bannon/Shusett script and brought it down to earth, so to speak - made it more grounded in the realism of that particular future.  Anyone familiar with the respective separate works of O'Bannon and Hill (at least Hill of that period) - to take the principals in both camps - will know that O'Bannon was more satirical and fantastical, whilst Hill was very dry, gritty and more realistic. 

That's not to deny O'Bannon and Shusett's contributions - the basic idea is all O'Bannon's and most of the set pieces are Shusett's - rather acknowledging that Hill and Giler did much more than just a cursory polish of some of the dialogue - they really fleshed out the story and characters over several drafts of the script.  One interesting way I've heard it put - and I forget where I read/heard it - is that the finished Hill/Giler script was 2001 with an alien, compared with O'Bannon/Shusett's Star Wars with an alien.

St_Eddie

#10
Quote from: Shit Good Nose on April 29, 2019, 07:22:16 PM
Having read O'Bannon and Shusett's original script in the past, I think Hill and Giler are more than deserving of a writing credit.  The ideas are there in the original, but there's an awful lot of ropey dialogue, and very few of the sub-plots and character building that enrich the film.  They took the O'Bannon/Shusett script and brought it down to earth, so to speak - made it more grounded in the realism of that particular future.  Anyone familiar with the respective separate works of O'Bannon and Hill (at least Hill of that period) - to take the principals in both camps - will know that O'Bannon was more satirical and fantastical, whilst Hill was very dry, gritty and more realistic. 

That's not to deny O'Bannon and Shusett's contributions - the basic idea is all O'Bannon's and most of the set pieces are Shusett's - rather acknowledging that Hill and Giler did much more than just a cursory polish of some of the dialogue - they really fleshed out the story and characters over several drafts of the script.  One interesting way I've heard it put - and I forget where I read/heard it - is that the finished Hill/Giler script was 2001 with an alien, compared with O'Bannon/Shusett's Star Wars with an alien.

That's a view which I share too.  I know that on the 'making of Alien' DVD/Blu-Ray documentary, O'Bannon claimed that the reason that the dialogue in his script was ropey is because he had intended to direct himself and work out the characters and dialogue with the actors, once it was cast but ehhhh...  Hill and Giler more than deserve their share of acclaim for Alien.  O'Bannon tended to downplay their contribution (understandable, considering how venomous their relationship was).

He also said that Hill and Giler arbitrarily changed the characters names in order to receive credit for the screenplay and did so under the pretense that it was because they hated O'Bannon's names ("How do you hate a name?!") but have you seen the names O'Bannon had intended to use?  They were either awful and trite sounding (Roby) or sci-fi waffle names (Melkonis).  Although to be fair to O'Bannon, he did acknowledge that Hill and Giler's addition of Ash being revealed as a robot was a great touch.

It's a shame that some of the creatives involved couldn't have put their egos aside and all acknowledged that Alien is the result of a team effort; the right people, in the right place, at the right time.  No one person is solely responsible for Alien.

Shit Good Nose

Part of the problem with the legacy of the creation of the film before shooting is that O'Bannon was always very outspoken whilst Hill kept his head down whilst getting on with his next project.  That outspokenness made O'Bannon quite an unreliable contextual commentator - there are interviews with him from different periods where he says the creation and inclusion of Ash was totally unnecessary and detracted from the root horror of the film, to a u-turn saying it was a brilliant addition.  I'm sure he also claimed that the embryonic alien motif was in his original (solo written) treatment, but, as has been confirmed over the years, the original treatment only covered the crew awaking from hypersleep to an SOS, and that the embryo idea was actually one of the main key pieces that Shusett brought to the table (although I forget now who came up with the idea of how the alien was "born").

Don't get me wrong, I love O'Bannon, but he wasn't shy of bullshitting and/or overstating his own importance whilst detracting that of others - doesn't he say on the Dark Star doc that he basically directed it rather than John Carpenter?

Hey, Punk!

This is very good, but that letter is a bit strange isn't it?

buzby

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on April 29, 2019, 07:22:16 PM
Having read O'Bannon and Shusett's original script in the past, I think Hill and Giler are more than deserving of a writing credit.  The ideas are there in the original, but there's an awful lot of ropey dialogue, and very few of the sub-plots and character building that enrich the film.  They took the O'Bannon/Shusett script and brought it down to earth, so to speak - made it more grounded in the realism of that particular future.  Anyone familiar with the respective separate works of O'Bannon and Hill (at least Hill of that period) - to take the principals in both camps - will know that O'Bannon was more satirical and fantastical, whilst Hill was very dry, gritty and more realistic. 

That's not to deny O'Bannon and Shusett's contributions - the basic idea is all O'Bannon's and most of the set pieces are Shusett's - rather acknowledging that Hill and Giler did much more than just a cursory polish of some of the dialogue - they really fleshed out the story and characters over several drafts of the script.  One interesting way I've heard it put - and I forget where I read/heard it - is that the finished Hill/Giler script was 2001 with an alien, compared with O'Bannon/Shusett's Star Wars with an alien.

Don't forget that in the final months of pre-production and into principal photography O'Bannon and Shusetf were asked to come back to do the final rewrites as Hill and Giler had failed to deliver due to Hill's involvement in The Warriors. It was O'Bannon and Shusett's post Hill/Giler summer/autumn 78 final draft and subsequent on-set revisions that ended up onscreen. O'Bannon was also instrumental in getting and keeping Giger on the film despite pressure from the  producers and Fox.

I agree that O'Bannon was self-aggrandizing and by all accounts a massive pain in the arse to work with but Brandywine's attempt at trying to do him and Shusett out of  screenwriting credits was out of order, the WGA agreed, and the penalty for that was to lose their writing credits  iLike Brett and Parker, all O'Bannon wanted was his share, and if Hill and Giler hadn't been so greedy both writing teams would have been credited.. Ironically Hill and Giler then faced a similar situation with Fox regarding their share of the profits as co-producers, and they had to resort to litgation to force them to pay up.

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on April 29, 2019, 08:00:44 PM
Part of the problem with the legacy of the creation of the film before shooting is that O'Bannon was always very outspoken whilst Hill kept his head down whilst getting on with his next project.
Hill's lack of comment about the film (at least until O'Bannon died) was the writ he was issued by O'Bannon's lawyer after the WGA ruling to stop him complaining about losing his screenwriting credit. One of the rules of being a WGA member is that if you lose an arbitration case and subsequent appeal you have to accept the judgement as final and not disparage any other WGA members involved. Hill did not follow this initially, and eventually had to persuaded to stop moaning to the press about O'Bannon by legal action. The dispute also no doubt aggravated O'Bannon's persecution complex and distrust of studios and producers.

St_Eddie



St_Eddie

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on April 30, 2019, 02:15:57 AM
It has a strange tone, it reads like a parody.

Huh.  Fair enough.  It reads as sincere and encouraging to me but if posting on a online forum has taught me anything, then it's that people often read my posts in a tone in which it was not typed, nor intended.  Kinda tricky to impart tone via the written word.

Hey, Punk!

Quote from: St_Eddie on April 30, 2019, 02:18:10 AM
Huh.  Fair enough.  It reads as sincere and encouraging to me but if posting on a online forum has taught me anything, then it's that people often read my posts in a tone in which it was not typed, nor intended.  Kinda tricky to impart tone via the written word.

Yes, very true. I sometimes wonder if a lot of social media based anxiety is derived from this very issue. I've had to not post many comments because I realised that they could come across as extremely curt or cruel without the necessary body language or tone of voice.

Menu

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on April 30, 2019, 12:45:02 AM
This is very good, but that letter is a bit strange isn't it?

I agree. It sounds like he may have dictated it and perhaps hoped his assistant would tidy it up.  "My hat comes off to all of you" made me laugh for a long time. Not so much a compliment, more a heavy breeze.  Nice gesture of his, mind.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: buzby on April 30, 2019, 01:21:09 AM
Don't forget that in the final months of pre-production and into principal photography O'Bannon and Shusetf were asked to come back to do the final rewrites as Hill and Giler had failed to deliver due to Hill's involvement in The Warriors. It was O'Bannon and Shusett's post Hill/Giler summer/autumn 78 final draft and subsequent on-set revisions that ended up onscreen. O'Bannon was also instrumental in getting and keeping Giger on the film despite pressure from the  producers and Fox.

I agree that O'Bannon was self-aggrandizing and by all accounts a massive pain in the arse to work with but Brandywine's attempt at trying to do him and Shusett out of  screenwriting credits was out of order, the WGA agreed, and the penalty for that was to lose their writing credits  iLike Brett and Parker, all O'Bannon wanted was his share, and if Hill and Giler hadn't been so greedy both writing teams would have been credited.. Ironically Hill and Giler then faced a similar situation with Fox regarding their share of the profits as co-producers, and they had to resort to litgation to force them to pay up.
Hill's lack of comment about the film (at least until O'Bannon died) was the writ he was issued by O'Bannon's lawyer after the WGA ruling to stop him complaining about losing his screenwriting credit. One of the rules of being a WGA member is that if you lose an arbitration case and subsequent appeal you have to accept the judgement as final and not disparage any other WGA members involved. Hill did not follow this initially, and eventually had to persuaded to stop moaning to the press about O'Bannon by legal action. The dispute also no doubt aggravated O'Bannon's persecution complex and distrust of studios and producers.

All of which just confirms what should have happened, and what O'Bannon suggested all along - that they all got a credit.

olliebean

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on April 30, 2019, 02:15:57 AM
It has a strange tone, it reads like a parody.

Reads like the sort of thing someone who used to be in advertising would write.

Shit Good Nose

Must admit I was thinking "that doesn't sound anything like Ridley Scott" and wondered if it was a fake, but it has been verified and that's definitely his signature.  I can only presume that he gave someone at Scott Free the task of writing a letter "saying something along the lines of this, this and this" and then just signed it.

St_Eddie

I'm usually the biggest cynic on this site but for once, I'm the one who's not seeing things that way.  I think that's a letter from Ridley Scott himself.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Pearly-Dewdrops Drops on April 29, 2019, 01:50:44 AM
Wow my high school sucked ass

We did To Kill A Mockingbird back in 1989 but did either Gregory Peck or Harper Lee come to see it? No, the dirty lazy spirit crushing bastards couldn't give a toss. And probably with good reason given how racist it was - https://youtu.be/9S3rBJcwYaI?t=1733

chveik

JUST DO IT

why haven't you made a decent film since 1982 then Ridley?

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: chveik on April 30, 2019, 08:09:51 PM
JUST DO IT

why haven't you made a decent film since 1982 then Ridley?

He has.  A few.

St_Eddie


bgmnts

Their next production should be the Gladiatoe sequel that never saw the light of day which sound amazing.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: bgmnts on May 01, 2019, 01:25:33 AM
Their next production should be the Gladiatoe sequel that never saw the light of day which sound amazing.

I've read the script - the toe wrestling finale was epic.