Damon Lindelof Discusses PROMETHEUS Viral Marketing, Its ALIEN Influence And More

The co-writer of the highly anticipated sci-fi epic discusses turning an Alien prequel into Prometheus, as well as the viral marketing and themes of the Ridley Scott-directed movie.

By PaulRom - May 11, 2012 12:05 PM EST

Filed Under: Sci-Fi

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-writer Damon Lindelof discusses his work on Ridley Scott's highly anticipated science fiction film Prometheus. He talks about turning Jon Spaihts' original screenplay from an Alien prequel to what the film currently is. Lindelof also talks about the movie's relation to the Alien franchise, while also commenting on the praised viral marketing campaign and the themes of the film.

On Working On Jon Spaihts' Script, And Prometheus' Relationship To Alien:

"I wrote maybe a four or five paragraph email saying here are all the things I love about it, I think there are some incredible set pieces here, I love the fundamental idea behind the movie, I feel like it’s a cool think piece. BUT I think it’s relying a bit too heavily on the Alien stuff that we’ve seen now five or six times in different movies. Chest-bursting and face-hugging and xenomorphs and I just feel that your idea is so strong and the characters can be made so strong that we don’t need any of that stuff. We can present iterations of that stuff in different ways.

That isn’t to say that this isn’t a movie that should be set in that universe, but I look at it more like a story that is running parallel to the original Alien, so that if there was a sequel to this movie, it would not be Alien, it would be Prometheus 2. And then Prometheus 2 is parallel to Aliens. And here’s how we could do that."

On The Viral Marketing Campaign:

“We wanted to generate viral content that starred and featured the characters from the movie. Let’s see if we can talk Guy Pearce and Michael Fassbender into doing some stuff that would speak very directly to the prequel issue. So I pitched the idea of the TED talk, which everybody was responsive to and Ridley was able to convince Guy to do. And that TED talk really speaks to the prequel question because it’s Peter Weyland! And Weyland is a name that is very familiar in all of the Alien movies. And we’re going to tell audiences that he is a part of Prometheus. So here’s another way we are showing them, as opposed to telling them, what the relationship between the two movies is.”

On The Themes Of The Film:

“I don’t want to sound like the movie is a history lesson, but I do think that the primary take away from the myth of Prometheus is that the Gods were nervous about mankind. They were nervous about what they would be capable of if they had fire. Fire was a big piece of technology that they would build off of. And the story of any creation is eventually a child will try to destroy its parents. It’s a very paranoid world view, mythologically-speaking it pops up a lot. Especially for us Star Wars aficionados. So the essential story is: I don’t want to give my kid this toy because eventually he will develop it into a weapon that will kill me. So I will therefore withhold it from him. And what is the price I must exact on somebody who betrays me?”

For much more from Lindelof, click the link below.

Release Date: 6/8/12
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriters: Damon Lindelof, Jon Spaihts
Producers: Ridley Scott, David Giler, Walter Hill
Studios/Distributors: 20th Century Fox, Brandywine Productions

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13 Comments

OdinsBeard - 5/11/2012, 1:27 PM

gonna be sweet

plasticman - 5/11/2012, 1:54 PM

They visit Melmac? Too bad it wasn't a bunch of alien teenagers in turtle form that they find.

MiracleMe - 5/11/2012, 2:28 PM

Glad to hear that driver. But she sure looks like a ragged, shagged and fagged Noomi!

AsianVersionOfET - 5/11/2012, 4:19 PM

@TheRedHood, I wouldn't mind dotting her i's and crossing her t's either! AHHHHAHAHAHH!

DukeAcureds - 5/11/2012, 5:25 PM

From the horses mouth. Maybe now we'll stop getting comments like "Just show the Alien, already". This film is more than that.

BrowniesExplode - 5/12/2012, 1:06 PM

I hope this be better than alien

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