#HicksLives! aka Prometheus 2 and the Pending Hold

ALIENS 2 ON HOLD FOR PROMETHEUS 2, I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, 

NOBODY WANTS MORE PROMETHEUS BULLSH@T! #HICKSLIVES! 

- My initial feelings on the news that prompted this article.

It's been nearly a year since Neill Blomkamp teased the internets with fan made artwork that entailed the continued adventures of older alien fighting couple Ripley and Hicks. Soon, it was made official that Blomkamp was working with Fox on a potential new film that would somehow follow James Cameron's original 1986 classic as well as take into account lackluster chapters Alien 3 and Resurrection which saw Ripley and Hicks perish. In the meantime, Ridley Scott was still talking up a sequel nobody really wanted to 2012's Prometheus, he would be producing Blomkamp's Aliens 2 and that would somehow interconnect the two stories even though they take place decades apart. Right around the release of Ridley Scott's Fox flick The Martian earlier this month, Blomkamp released an image of an updated pulse rifle, the weapon of choice of the Colonial Marines in Aliens. After suffering the successful if unloved Prometheus, Scott struck out with low budget The Counselor and delivered an expensive dud with Exodus: Gods and Kings. With The Martian garnering critical acclaim and boffo box office, it was announced that the Prometheus follow up would be titled Alien: Paradise Lost and start shooting in early 2016.

Last night Blomkamp stated that his Aliens movie was now on hold for Paradise Lost, effectively killing all of the momentum that has been built up. It was an immediate punch in the movie lover gut to me as I've always liked Aliens much more than Alien. Just throw in the trash with the rest of my dreams and the under review sequel to Pacific Rim...The prospect of an Aliens sequel set 30 years later with older and gruffer versions of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley and Michael Biehn's Hicks is personally much more exciting than more rehash/retread/reboot that Paradise will be. The story just lends itself to a broader world with aliens and technology while utilizing some thrilling and atmospheric action grit. It's funny that Fox didn't want Prometheus to be a direct Alien film and it shows in its half reboot/half prequel execution which yielded a handsome and enjoyable enough film that drew the ire of many a viewer with it's Lost style, "let's ask 20 questions and answer 2" motif. After doing decent box office while eliciting poor word of mouth, the Prometheus sequel becomes a direct Alien film, exploring more ho-hum Space Jockey storylines with a younger, more mainstream cast. Business wise it makes sense, Scott has been working with Fox for some time producing and directing with their latest collaboration becoming a huge hit. Meanwhile Blomkamp is coming off the not successful Chappie and Sigorney Weaver or Michael Biehn are far from magazine cover fodder.

What's next? I think it's up to Blomkamp to make a kick ass picture that's a huge hit so Fox will be begging him to come back. Weaver will never lack for work while Biehn just had a kid and is financially stable from his long career and frequent convention appearances to be able to turn down roles. It's a two way street, if Prometheus 2 does well, Fox may want to focus on more chapters or if it tanks, they may get cold feet for the Alien universe in general. I hope the Aliens sequel happens but that cinematic dream has just come screeching to a halt for at least a couple of years...

#HicksLives! aka Michael Biehn and Alien 5?

Since images of a proposed Alien sequel started popping up on Neill Blomkamp's Instagram account on New Years Day, the internet has been rife with rumors on what was going on. Blomkamp is a known fan of the Ridley Scott and James Cameron films and had revealed he'd been working on an Alien movie in his spare time without Fox's awareness or permission. The young director had just worked with Alien star Sigourney Weaver on the yet to be released Chappie and had apparently run ideas past her. Weaver's interest was piqued and soon it was officially announced that Blomkamp would be making a new Alien film, possibly two, that would follow the events of 1986's Aliens.

Fans were semi-divided on the inclusion of alive in Aliens but dead in Alien 3 Corporal Hicks, played by one Michael Biehn. Blomkamp's artwork showed off an older and scarred Hicks so unless it's a dream, the events of Alien 3 would essentially be jettisoned. I honestly don't have a problem with that as Alien 3 was released 20 years ago and was not exactly a celebrated entry into the franchise. Take into account that Hicks doesn't die on screen in Aliens and I don't see many casual movie goers being too upset about it. Approaching the release of Chappie, Weaver was announced to be returning to the series that would aim to be a sequel to Aliens without totally ignoring 3 and 4th flick Resurrection. Ridley Scott's Prometheus that was an entertaining if overreaching pseudo prequel/reboot to Alien that no one is clamoring for a follow up to. Chappie failed to garner much in terms of box office gross or positive reviews but Alien 5 is still moving forward. Scott is producing and asked Blomkamp to make a simple story change to not affect Prometheus 2.

With Weaver back, what did that mean for Biehn? With Hick's image and character so prominently displayed, readers were questioning if he would return. At a convention in Florida, it's alleged that Biehn was aware of the new film and had been contacted. Cut to last week and news hit across the internet from Empire to Dark Horizons that Michael Biehn's private Instagram was announcing his involvement in Alien 5 and his return as Hicks. The only problem is that Biehn isn't on Instagram as confirmed by wife and producing partner Jennifer-Blanc Biehn via Facebook. While it sounds like Biehn is interested and talks are in progress, nothing is official unfortunately. But on a congratulatory note, it looks like Blanc gave birth to son Dashiell Biehn this past weekend and is in good spirits.

Until then #HicksLives (maybe) and #F@ckAlien3!

Fox (Anniversary) Friday: Aliens

To wrap up this Friday of Fox, it's time to celebrate the release of one of my favorite movies of all time, Aliens.  Hitting theaters on this day in 1986, James Cameron's war movie sequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 atmospheric slasher flick has been a constant in my life since that fateful Saturday night I saw it on cable as a child.  Just this year I've met Lance Henriksen and read his book, been on a plane with Michael Biehn, seen Bill Paxton at his first conventions, stood outside a restroom next to Ricco Ross, witnessed the cast reunite in another country, listened to stories from James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver and seen the movie twice on the big screen.  What's so fab about it?  I dunno, I've just always enjoyed the simmering pace that builds to exciting crescendos, the intricate yet large scale and lived in design, the cast of likeable and memorable characters, an amazing score, fantastic practical creature and model f/x, the terrific cast and just the feeling of being transported to a world not your own. 

It was also the film that introduced me to James Cameron, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen, who's work has always been among my favorite.  Cameron of course gave us classics The Terminator, The Abyss and True Lies before becoming the most successful director of all time with Titanic and then Avatar.  He's an inspirational fellow and reminds us to educate ourselves while seeking out new challenges to take on.  Starting with sensitive yet capable men of action roles in The Terminator as Kyle Reese and Corporal Hicks in Aliens, Michael Biehn has been one of my favorite actors for a long time.  His subsequent performances in Rampage, Navy Seals, Timebomb, K2, Tombstone, The Rock, Dead Men Can't Dance, The Art of War, Cherry Falls, Dragon Squad and Planet Terror show his abilities as an intense dramatic actor and under the radar action star whose inclusion always elevates a film's likeability factor.  Frequent co-star Bill Paxton nearly steals the show in Aliens as the squawking, high-strung yet hilarious Private Hudson and adds a goofy charm to just about anything he's in like Streets of Fire, Next of Kin, Predator 2, True Lies, Twister, Vertical Limit and the recent Edge of Tomorrow.  Gravelly voiced presence Lance Henriksen would also work with Cameron several times and class up joints like Stone Cold, Tales From the Crypt, Hard Target, No Escape, The Quick and the Dead, Alien VS Predator and Abominable later on while also just being a pretty cool dude.  After seeing their natural chemistry and skills at playing interesting, cool, fun and plain kick ass characters in 3-4 James Cameron films each, you just wish they'd keep on going appearing together in more films.  Maybe in Avatar 2 or 22...

Made for $18 million, James Cameron and producer Gale Ann Hurd set out to utilize the world that Scott's film had created but move in a different direction tonally to create a war film/roller coaster ride experience.  After battling a stubborn English crew seemingly more interested in tea time and group lottery pools, Cameron and company completed the film after 10 months.  Aliens opened up #1 on July 18th, 1986 with a $10 million dollar gross and retained the top position for 4 weeks on it's way to $85 million dollars, making it Fox's biggest hit of the year.  Since then, Cameron has only made one film outside the studio, 1991's biggest hit, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Aliens' performance was good enough for 7th on the years top grossers list behind the likes of Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, The Karate Kid II, Star Trek IV and Back to School.  Other notable titles released in the same year includes Transformers: The Movie, Highlander, Big Trouble In Little China, Heartbreak Ridge and The Golden Child.  The legacy of Aliens has lived on through 3 so-so sequels, 2 films with the creatures facing off with fellow Fox franchise Predator along with comic books, novels, video games and toys galore.

Ask Me a (Hero Complex) Question: Alien(s) w/ Sigourney Weaver

Closing night at the Hero Complex Film Festival was a double feature of seminal science fiction cinema:  1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens with star Sigourney Weaver appearing for Q&A.  Both looked beautiful up on the big screen even though the sound on Alien was a little washed out.  Ridley Scott and Fox's sideways answer to Star Wars is a tense, atmospheric horror flick while James Cameron's follow up is more of an action movie roller coaster.  Both employ outstanding casts playing memorable characters, impressive set design, pulse pounding music and their own style of thrills and chills. 

Alien is more or less truckers in space, blue collar rough necks who complain about their jobs and wages on The Nostromo, a cargo vessel coasting through deep space.  The crew is awoken from hyper sleep by a mysterious beacon and land on uncharted planet LV-426 where they find a crashed vessel that contains a long dead pilot but hundreds of still alive eggs filled with nasty creatures known as "face huggers".  They attach to a host, impregnate them with an embryo which then bursts out of their chest in the form of a terrifying baby alien.  Then it's basically slasher time as the crew try to find the alien before they're all killed off.  I can honestly say I've only seen Alien maybe one time all the way through and watching it on the big screen the first thing that struck me was the absolutely amazing use of miniatures and models for the space ships and exteriors.  How anyone would want to go from the craftsmanship, scope, attention to detail and believability of Star Wars and Alien to the fake looking, shiny cartoons of today's CGI is beyond me.  Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton's grumbling mechanics are funny and relatable while Weaver's Ripley starts off as semi cold and stand offish before having to fight for survival and plant the seed for the iconic heroine she would become in the sequel.

Whereas James Cameron received many technology related questions by individuals probably hoping for some enlightening morsel of what the future holds, between films Sigourney Weaver took the stage for a breezy, fun and informative Q&A with a surprising amount of gushing fanboy/girl love that focused mainly on the Alien franchise.  I wanted to ask about Galaxy Quest but didn't want to upset the mood.

- Alien was her first real movie coming from working in theater and had no clue how they were made or how to behave on a set.  Ridley Scott had to tell her to stop looking at the camera while Ian Holm was a gracious mentor and helped her through.
- Weaver just finished working with Ridley Scott again and he's still the same guy having fun on set, not giving a shit about rehearsals and a true visual artist.
- In theater, actors go out after performances for a few pints but in film, people go back to their daily lives, wives and boyfriends. 

- Runs into Tom Skerritt and reunited with Aliens cast at Calgary Expo.
- Describes her relationship with James Cameron as a "pair of old shoes", she admires him greatly and even though he can do everyone's job, still insecure about actors which gives them plenty of freedom, limitless takes and plenty of support.
- Hasn't thought of doing Alien 5 but going to Conventions for the first time shows her how passionate fans are and wishes to give them a proper send off.
- Would want James Cameron involved in a new chapter but a young, hungry, crazy guy should be at the helm as that's how Alien movies are made.
- Wasn't expecting a sequel to Alien but was told there was a great script by Cameron, she read it and was amazed at his take and furthering ideas introduced in first film.
- Alien was a beautiful set but actors couldn't touch anything and of course, nothing actually worked.
- Original space suits were flashier with pastels and Scott said she looked like Jackie Onasis in space.
- Scott had multiple outfits from NASA brought in to keep authenticity of space travel.
- F/X crew on Alien were brilliant but so low key, always playing pranks like giving her rum instead of water.  Was left dangling one day by accident towards end of production during lunch.

- Chest burster scene was only thing to survive Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett's original script which was whittled down and firmed up by David Giler and Walter Hill.
- On the page was OH MY GOAAAWWWRRR!  So cast knew something crazy was going to happen.  Arrived on set to crew members wearing ponchos to protect them from the fountains of blood that would be splattered.
- Has each of her original outfits from the Alien movies and had to break a fan's heart when he thought he had the real deal in his collection.
- Movie was featured on cover of Newsweek so she knew it was something special along with the critical and financial success.
- Working with producers on Gorillas in the Mist when Oscar nomination for Aliens was announced, instantly giving her more clout as she didn't think some of the preparation they suggested was necessary.
- Gives credit to the cast and crew of each film being responsible for it's enduring legacy with special mention of Bill Paxton and Carrie Henn for Aliens.
- Surprised they trusted her to fire blanks, a real flame thrower and "bazooka" during Aliens finale and not injure stuntmen or burn down the set.
- Parts of Ripley based on a real friend who works for lobbyist group for the environment, admires non-profit workers as they always get rejected and have no money but keep going.
- Originally wanted to be a journalist, to be in the middle of the action and give reader a taste of what's happening.

Then it was time to settle down and watch one of my favorite movies of all time, Aliens.  It was a little rough this time out as I'd just seen it on the big screen a couple months ago, it was getting late, it was my 3rd movie of the day and my big lunch seemed like a distant memory to my growling stomach.  Picking up 50 some years after Alien, Ripley has drifted through space and randomly run into a deep salvage crew and awoken from hyper sleep.  The Weyland-Yutani company doesn't believe her story as LV-426 has been colonized for decades but when contact with the station goes down, it's time to send in the Colonial Space Marines!  Ripley, the ragtag marines and "artificial person" Bishop head to the colony where they find the aftermath of a last stand and no survivors save for Newt, a young girl who has been living in the air duct system while the rest of her family and colonists have been taken prisoner by the aliens for impregnating.

From the start, Aliens goes for it, not in an "in your face" kind of way but the story starts chugging along, dealing with Ripley post traumatic stress from the first film's events to being thrown into a new nightmare where not even heavily armed, trained soldiers can protect her.  Like a great roller coaster the anticipation is killer and when we finally get to the top of the ride, the exciting plunge is harrowing in a scene where most of the Marines are wiped out while entering the hive.  On this viewing I realized how nuanced Cameron's writing of core characters Ripley and Corporal Hicks was as they both start off low key then rise to the occasion and threat in front of them.  That was especially on display with Michael Biehn's portrayal of Hicks who comes off quiet and bored in early scenes then snaps into action when his superior is killed in the attack.  Barking orders and keeping the Marines together, Biehn gets to take command while spouting out random favorite line delivery  "Drake, we are leaving!" and blasts an alien in the mouth with a shotgun.  Bill Paxton's hilariously stressed out Private Hudson squawks and complains for much of his screen time but somehow never gets annoying.  Lance Henriksen's turn as android Bishop is equal parts creepy and comforting while Jeanette Goldstein and Mark Rolston are tough-cool as lifers Vasquez and Drake. 

Upon repeat viewings The Terminator has taken firm lead as my favorite James Cameron film, with it's taunt pace, Arnold's unrelenting threat, love story between Reese and Sarah, solid performances from all involved, down and dirty action sequences and driving score.  With Aliens and Terminator 2, the core, primal emotions and relationships are still present but somewhat weighed down with additional spectacle and action.  It would be interesting to see him do a small scale, non-special f/x requiring drama someday.