Re: Prometheus (2011)

[goflyblind]

The Bioscopist located Biltoo and acquired this translation:
Here's the line that David speaks to the Engineer, and the consultant's translation of it:

/ida hman?m a? kja nam?tuh zd?:taha/.../gh??vah-pjorn-?ttham sas da:t? kredah/

A serviceable translation into English is:

"This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life."

Code Select Expand

http://io9.com/5920183/what-exactly-did-david-say-to-[redacted]-in-prometheus

edit: stupid smf code not liking brackets in urls.

[D.B. Barnes]

This isn't directly regarding Prometheous, but whatever.

This is test footage for Alien with 6'10" Bolaji Badejo, the guy who played the xenomorph in some scenes. I think the music has something to do with it, but this some pretty creepy shit.

Here's Bolaji with the suit body:

[Relaxing Dragon]

Yeah, that dude certainly fit the part.

Further creepy trivia: after the movie, he basically disappeared. As in, no one quite knows what happened to him, and the producers of the film have been unable to track down him or his whereabouts in the past 30+ years. Some say he's dead, or that he returned to Africa, but there's no real consensus.

[eegah]

We saw this last night. It was really enjoyable and the 3D looked great, but it had lots of issues (which Red Letter Media cover really well). The main problem is a lack of character development. You just don't give a damn about anybody. There was also some really bizarre behavior by the characters, and a few cringe-worthy lines of dialogue (mostly delivered by Charlize Theron). But it was still fun, and I definitely recommend seeing it in 3D at the theater.

I definitely expect a riff of this. 

[mrbasehart]

Would it be wrong to make an African famine joke with that picture?

[Russell]

Hey i got it! The black oil was actually the skin of evil from Star Trek: TNG. The skin of evil said he was left there by a race of Titans who rid themselves of him! And it's the same black oil that infects people on the X-files.

[Kete]

I was thinking of X-files all through the movie.

Seriously, though...
I think that the black oil is like a medium for manipulating DNA.  Like a floppy disc that can upload whatever mutation you want.  I think that the oil at the beginning had earth's evolution loaded to it, while the oil in the vases had messed up genetic weapon loaded to it.

[Tyrant]

One of the more interesting theories out there is that the black oil is basically the xenomorphs' primordial ooze. It evolves at an astounding rate, adapts readily to using different organisms for reproduction and manipulates DNA. All trademarks of the higher life form later on.

[Darth Geek]

I think the most likely theory is that they just made it all up, and thought "eh, we'll figure it out in the sequel that may never happen".

Honestly, the only thing that is for sure is that it was IMMEDIATELY obvious that whatever the Engineers' plan was, it was not a good idea to continue to try to actually meet them. God damn were these characters stupid and impossibly naive not to immediately figure out whatever their creaters were, they had nasty plans for humans.

[Russell]

I think the most likely theory is that they just made it all up, and thought "eh, we'll figure it out in the sequel that may never happen".

Honestly, the only thing that is for sure is that it was IMMEDIATELY obvious that whatever the Engineers' plan was, it was not a good idea to continue to try to actually meet them. God damn were these characters stupid and impossibly naive not to immediately figure out whatever their creaters were, they had nasty plans for humans.

Prometheus didn't even come close to meeting their expectations so I seriously doubt there will ever be a sequel...

[Smith Dr John Smith]

To bad I really liked it.  I don't think anyone was any dumber then anyone in the first two alien movies.  I mean when they first got there they didn't know if the aliens were even alive and after that they were either trying to save members of their crew or being forced to stay.

[goflyblind]

spoilers herein, duh.

[SJP]

To bad I really liked it.  I don't think anyone was any dumber then anyone in the first two alien movies.  I mean when they first got there they didn't know if the aliens were even alive and after that they were either trying to save members of their crew or being forced to stay.

This is somewhat true.  When I was doing my iRiff for Alien, it really struck just how damn stupid John Hurt's character is in the movie. "Hey, look!  Something's moving in there!  I'd better stick my face next to it!"

I was recently at a First Aid training seminar, and the guy was saying how easy it is for your intelligence to drop when you're panicking.  He's heard of cases where normally smart people are told to "Call 9-11!" and respond by saying, "I don't see an 11 on the telephone!"  So remember, even the smartest of us can be pretty stupid under pressure or when we're obsessed with something.

I also subscribe heavily to the theory that, unlike Spoony's analysis that there would be ambassadors and military on-hand for a first contact mission, that the Prometheus endeavor was not sent with the best and brightest minds.  The whole trip seemed much like a 200-year-old Richard Branson put together a spaceship based on the ideas to two ideologues because he thought they might have something.  Just like today, the rest of the world would respond to this like, "Pffft!  Whatever, you crazy old kook!  Have fun with your spaceship and your 'aliens!'  Weirdo."  Thus, you probably wouldn't have top scientists eager to sign up...more like the hard-up and the cast-offs of the scientific world.

EDIT: Also, I'd like to see the reasons why a company would say a film that has broken the $100 million mark in the U.S. and has surpassed its budget by that same amount in worldwide sales would be considered not good enough for a sequel.  They said the same thing about the Narnia movies...apparently $300 million in profits isn't enough to consider another movie in the series.  I don't get it.

[Darth Geek]

Hey wait a second. I just remembered something. Back when Guillermo Del Toro's At The Mountains of Madness project sadly fell apart, he said that one of the reasons was that Prometheus had stolen his thunder in a few scenes. Which ones would those have been?!
The only thing to come to mind is when they wake up the Engineer and try to talk to it, only to have it just outright kill them. That seems like a Lovecraftian "humans are irrelevant to higher beings" type message. But was there anything else?

[Relaxing Dragon]

To bad I really liked it.  I don't think anyone was any dumber then anyone in the first two alien movies.  I mean when they first got there they didn't know if the aliens were even alive and after that they were either trying to save members of their crew or being forced to stay.

This is somewhat true.  When I was doing my iRiff for Alien, it really struck just how damn stupid John Hurt's character is in the movie. "Hey, look!  Something's moving in there!  I'd better stick my face next to it!"

Hey, at least Hurt was smart enough to keep his helmet on the whole time.