Alien Planet

My second feature of 2011, ABSCHIEDE - Five Goodbyes, is Online

2011-11-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy and very stressful year, especially when I tried to finish ABSCHIEDE, an anthology movie whose first chapter I had created in 2008, right after PIXELSCHATTEN. But hey, two 85-minute features, one made for 100,000 Euros and one made for less than 3,000 Euros is not that bad, right?

Right now I'm taking some time off in California. Today I saw the first images of PROMETHEUS, and I believe that it visually is fulfilling my dream of going to that far distant space jockey world.

I was also thinking about taking the non-ALIEN bits of the ALIEN PLANET screenplay and inserting it into AION, a Sci-Fi love story that I want to be one of my next projects. It's 2001 meets Romeo & Juliet meets There Will Be Blood in some weird sense. I'd love to take the characters in Alien Planet and insert them into the crew of the spaceship AION, which is the background for an increndible love story. I always felt that the character pieces and the mood at the very beginning on the spaceship USS VASSUS were the most successful part of the screenplay. Will probably start writing a treatment soon.

Until then, please enjoy ABSCHIEDE - Five Goodbyes. Here's the teaser trailer.

And here's the full feature. For more info visit www.abschiede.com...

Pixelschatten is now online until May 29!

2011-05-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all as tired of Pirates of the Carribean as me and check out my film at http://www.pixelschatten.com!

Pixel (Ben Gageik) is a 22-year-old small-town blogger: Everyone can read about him and his friends online. His blog "Pixelschatten" used to be the hippest thing in town, but now the local fame has faded away. His friends go to college, have new friends and interests, and his girlfriend Suse (Zora Klostermann) is irritated by the private issues revealed on the blog. When Pixel realizes that everyone but him is moving on, he changes all their lives with just one post...

"Pixelschatten" is a unique cinematic experience, a quirky-melancholic, yet warm and funny portrait of the "generation Internet", mixing the first-person point of you aesthetics of "Enter The Void" with the zeitgeist of "The Social Network". But this time it's not about the greedy entrepreneurs behind a moneymaking machine, it's about the people that spend their everyday life online. It's about you. And the spoilers for your life.

Teaser

2011-04-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

A new Space Jockey from Tim Burden

2011-01-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

The Last Rewrite and other stuff

2010-10-21T02:51:00.000-07:00

I've been busy writing, shooting and editing this year, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that over 300 people have read ALIEN PLANET. Thank you to all of you, I would love to hear more opinions, especially with daily news about the Alien prequel coming out. I've also made the decision to have a last major rewrite at the end of the year. Why? Because I've come to the conclusion about what this story is about. Ripley in this screenplay is an almost mythological character entering the dark horizon of the underworld. Alien Planet is a story about the extension and ultimate ending of a single life. About the ultimate question: Why am I here? Ripley, gone through metamorphosis, is not attached to her ability to survive anymore. And because she already entered a world after her own (multiple) death, she can raise this question. This could be Heart of Darkness in space, at the end of the world. Indeed very epic, but more on an emotional level. And the story needs to get rid of all those things that are in there to please fans. Who knows? In the end it could become an original story, without the ballast of the franchise. Maybe Alien Planet could be the dark twin of Avatar?

In other news, I've been sitting in the post of my feature debut "Spoilers for My Life" for a few weeks. The film, which circles around a blogger named Pixel and is almost entirely told through the first person point of view will be hopefully finished until early January. I love the material (it will be around 80 to 90 mintues) that we're editing, it's funny and sometimes melancholic, and somehow we created a whole new filmic language that goes beyond experiments like "Lady in the Lake", "Enter the Void" or music videos like Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" or Cinnamon Chaser's "Luv Delux". It's gonna be a very fascinating film. There's a short German Making-of from the TV-show "Neues" online, for those who are curious:

250 downloads

2010-05-18T03:11:00.001-07:00

good to know that more people are reading it!

200 Downloads

2010-03-20T02:47:00.001-07:00

200 people have downloaded and read (?) ALIEN PLANET. Would be great to hear some comments!

Me Producing At the Rutger Hauer Film Factory

2010-01-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AZQMogVVNo

Wreckamovie - AION (GOODBYE 5: AION)

2010-01-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Wreckamovie - AION (GOODBYE 5: AION)

"Rasputin and Rosa are astronauts on the spaceship AION. Both are now very old, and still in love, but the fading oxygen brings them into a desperate situation.

I hope you like what we have achieved so far with the first four GOODBYES (http://www.wreckamovie.com/productions/5goodbyes). Now it is the time to finish it with a BANG, it's time for GOODBYE 5: AION. This time there will be much more room for interaction. This is why we have started a new project for AION.

In its heart, AION is a love story. It is also a Science-Fiction short film (20 minutes) in the tradition of cerebral adventures as 2001 - A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE FOUNTAIN or SOLARIS. I hope that we'll be able to prove that you can do a film like this with collaboration and a small budget. Also, AION will conclude 5GOODBYES as a 100 minute feature film in which all 5 parts will be edited together.

I want to invite everyone who is interested. We're currently looking for CONCEPT ARTISTS, PRODUCTION DESIGNERS and other CREATIVE FOLKS who can help us designing the spaceship and the props. Attached you will find the screenplay and a letter/list with all details."

150 Downloads

2010-01-07T02:45:00.001-08:00

Let's go for the 200!

Essay: 40 Things That Happened To The Movies of The 2000s

2010-01-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

Here are my extensive thoughts on the last decade:

Part 1
and
Part 2

Happy New Year's from Paris!

Another review from James Wright

2009-12-27T04:42:00.000-08:00

that you can find here:

"In a groundbreaking new script the bitch might be back as this week James Wright indulges in something a little bit alien."

I won!

2009-12-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who voted for my project in the Bodybits Competition. I'm glad to announce that I am one of the five winners (from 120 projects and 25 finalists) with the only fictional film (the other films will be documentaries). I will write and direct my first (fully financed) mid-length feature during the next year, which will be also on TV and hopefully on some Festivals in 2011. The next year will be awesome!

PIXELSCHATTEN Antwortenvideo from pheadx on Vimeo.

First Four GOODBYES now with subtitles!

2009-11-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

5xABSCHIED - 5GOODBYES are 5 digital no-budget short films. Each film is completly different, but shares a similar theme: saying goodbye. Together they form a circle of life, starting with a 9-year-old girl and ending with two 70-year-old astronauts. Four films are already finished, the fifth is in preproduction.
We wanted to follow the DIY-attitude that would prove that you could do small independent movies without a film school and without a budget. The films are in German with English Subtitles.

100 downloads

2009-11-07T02:13:00.000-08:00

In a world where Youtube videos get grazillion clicks, 100 downloads is not that much.
For me, it is.

Little White Lies mentions ALIEN PLANET

2009-10-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

You can see the article named BRING BACK THE BITCH by James Wright here.

"The script itself is decent enough, and with a little reworking an a few touches here and there it could be a very interesting option to see come to life and definitely better than the dross we’ve endured recently."

My latest films (in German)

2009-10-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Subtitled versions Coming Soon.
Become a Fan at Facebook!

ABSCHIED 1: SCHIMMER from pheadx on Vimeo.

ABSCHIED 2: HEIMKEHR from pheadx on Vimeo.

ABSCHIED 3: WÄNDE from pheadx on Vimeo.

ABSCHIED 4: TAUCHER from pheadx on Vimeo.

Please vote for my project PIXELSCHATTEN!

2009-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

On http://bodybits.zdf.de I present my filmtreatment PIXELSCHATTEN (Pixelshadows) at Das Kleine Fernsehspiel.

It's a coming of age tale about a group of midtwenties in a small town whose life is manipulated by their friend Pixel and his Online appearence in which he talks about everyone and their secrets. When his friends decide to stop him and delete all his accounts, Pixel suddenly disappears. Not sure what happened to their friend, the group starts a fake blog called Pixelschatten (Pixelshadows) with updates from Pixel's every-day-life and through that, they get into weird and funny situations. Slowly they realize that they miss the friend they are trying to imitate online and maybe also the friend they once knew. When Pixel mysteriously reappears, they have only a few days to find out what their friendship means to them....

You just have to click on the image at the top (Online-Ausschreibung/Interaktiv) and then a popup will appear. In the blue project section, you can search for PIXELSCHATTEN manually or through the search (Suche) function at the bottom of the page. In order to vote, you need to register, but it is pretty quick and easy. You just have to choose a nick and an email addy and you will get an email to confirm the account.

Please vote for the film! There are 120 uploaded projects. 20 get into the next round through the editorial, 5 through user-voting. The price for the 5 winners in the last round will be a FULLY FINANCEND AND DEVELOPED half-length feature! The competition is not the usual commercial BS, and getting an independent project like this fully financed is each filmaker's dream. I really appreciate your help! Please tell everyone.

- and finally, don't forget to become a fan of 5GOODBYES at Facebook!

Avatar Footage

2009-08-21T16:55:00.001-07:00

Saw the Avatar footage today. All I can say is that it seems to be the film that would make my vision of an final 3D-Alien-film not only possible, but totally logical.

Can't wait to see it.

Finally

2009-07-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

Today it was confirmed that Ridley Scott will direct an Alien Prequel scripted by Jon Spaihts. I glad that Mr. Scott is returning to the franchise that he started. To me personally, this meant that I should finally stop my work on ALIEN PLANET because these guys are hopefully gonna rock the franchise again.

I decided to make the screenplay available on the blog. Sure it's not perfect, I'm still learning, my basic English translation is flawed, especially in the dialogues, and the characters could be tighter and more fleshed out in the first act, but in the end it has a heart. And that is what most films lack. Feel free to read this as pure entertainment with a glass of wine, with Sigur Ros, Efterklang or Clint Mansell music in the background. A screenplay that you can imagine as a what-if, as a 3D film, and nothing more, something that takes you into another mood - to another planet. This is meant for daydreamers. Feel free to copy, paste and forward it!

For those that fear any legal response, the screenplay is registered at the WGA West under the mysterious ID 1161616. I don't know what the hell that means ;-)

I for my part would like to thank all those people that invested time into making Alien Planet a great experience. I wish Scott Free and Fox good luck. Let's colaborate, create and be productive.

Please share your opinion in the comments!

New Review on CC2K

2009-06-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

Big Ross from CC2K just published his Review of Alien Planet. It's really good to see a non-fanboy position and that Ross had some serious constructive criticism especially on the character development:

I think that while it could benefit from continued work on character development and such, this script is a valiant effort that brings the Alien franchise full circle.

To me, this means work especially on the first act which should be tighter and more precice concerning the various characters in the screenplay. Big Thanks to CC2K!

If they do the prequel, sequel, whatever,..

2009-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

...I'll post the ALIEN PLANET screenplay online.

COMING HOME Teaser

2009-06-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

HEIMKEHR TEASER from pheadx on Vimeo.

New short in the works

2009-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

We shot COMING HOME last weekend, only with available light... I had a great time and it was exciting to see the story come to life... here are some stills.

New Short comment from CC2K!

2009-05-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Big Ross from Cincity2000 (CC2K) was so nice to read ALIEN PLANET. He actually read it very quickly, in one or two days, which is always a nice thing. While to busy to write a review right now, he gave a short comment that you can find in the header:

"A valiant effort that brings the Alien franchise full circle."

A short note on The future of the Ds

2009-05-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a short essay I wrote on the potential future of 3Dmovies:

Old forum posts

2009-05-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just found these comments that are more than 2 years old :-) It was really nice to see them:

Corporal

Merits: -12
Offline

Gender:
Posts: 91

Re: Alien Planet

« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2007, 05:03:44 PM »

well since the strause brothers post here why dont you see if they can help out? i'm sure they could bring this to the attention of fox and even put in the good word for it.

and the begining storyboard sequence was great

bravo

also i read the review and it seems to me that this movie will have a children of men ish feel to it.

is that right o'malley?

just like children of men this movie will have a amazing battle sequence but its really not about that because its not that kind of film, its about the personal journey of the characters and i am filled with hope that this movie gets done

please, please, let this movie get made


« Last Edit: January 09, 2007, 05:12:44 PM by marrerom »	Logged

SiL

W-Y Special Forces

Commander

Merits: 133
Offline

Gender:
Posts: 3,269

Squizzm!

Re: Alien Planet

« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2007, 01:44:49 AM »

I managed to read the script (Reviewing it for another ... site ... sorry ), and yes, it is like Children of Men in that while it has some awesome battles, it's not about them (Although note I've not seen CoM). It's beautifully written, it's got some really good characters that you care about, it's got atmosphere just oozing off the pages.

If Fox and Weaver go ahead with Alien 5, I really hope they seriously consider this. They probably won't, which would be a crying shame, but it would be nice.


	Logged

You have to get out of here. Your vagina is haunted.

drake

Commander

Merits: 315
Offline

Gender:
Posts: 2,042

"Wishbone"

Re: Alien Planet

« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2007, 12:30:27 PM »

And it's dark.

Ooh it's dark.

Alien Prequel in the works?

2009-04-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

This is insane. I doubt that an Alien film could work without Ripley. Ridley Scott hasn't made a Sci-Fi-film for decades. They should get a fresh director like Gaspar Noe or Chris Cunningham....

Your feedback needed!

2009-02-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. At the moment I'm trying to get funding for my project 5Goodbyes. I just finished a first English translation of GOODBYE 5: AION. It's a philosophical science fiction love story, and I'd like to know your opinion and send it out for feedback. It's only 12 pages long and very unique.
Post your email addys here or send me a mail, and I will send it out to you.
You can also visit: http://www.indiegogo.com/5goodbyes for more info or to post feedback!

"What we’re interested in...

2008-12-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

...is taking the character of Ripley and seeing what other science fiction story we can tell about someone who has lived several lives.”

Well, it seems that Ripley and Ridley have brainstormed a bit about the future of the franchise. They want something new and they want to make a film about someone who had several lives.

The only thing that I don't understand is why they want to go all The Chronicles of Riddick. Maybe it's some late feeling of nostalgia for the character of Ripley, but let's be honest: Ripley was written as a B-movie character and it became so influential because the character was redefined with each sequel - and not because the character was written as a complex one. So if you want to tell a story about Ripley, you need to take the history and the baggage of the character and make something beautiful out of it.

I think Alien Planet is what they want. It's a character driven tale about someone who is sick of waking up in the same nightmare again and again and who then starts to take care of her own fate.

Oh, btw.. here's the new teaser for my latest short...

SCHIMMER TEASER from pheadx on Vimeo.

Help me win 30.000 $ for finishing my project!

2008-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The competition closed on Sunday. Unfortunately, we only made it to the 10th place, but thanks to everyone who took their time to vote for my project!

Our project 5xABSCHIED (5 GOODBYES) is one of the 24 finalists at the HOBNOX EVOLUTION CONTEST. The winner in the category FILM will win 30.000 $ to finish their project.

Part of the Jury that picked us and 11 other projects from the Top 100 (the other 12 were voted in by the users) are Lloyd Philipps, Producer on 12 Monkeys and Inglorious Basterds, and also the president of the German 20th Century Fox.

Please vote every day from today until December 14th! Just visit the project page http://www.hobnox.com/5XABSCHIED and click on the VOTE FOR ME button (which you can also download and add on your page). You get to another project page, where you just click on the blue VOTE FOR THIS PROJECT NOW Button! That’s it. You can vote every day, so each person is 14 potential votes.

If we win the price we could finish the last three films pretty easily.

Thanks for the votes and spread the message!

New Film in Post

2008-11-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

Remember WAENDE? SCHIMMER belongs to the same 5-short-anthology. Here are some stills.

The next short will be the second part of the anthology called HEIMKEHR. The screenplay got into the second round last year at the BSSC.

You want me to meet Ridley Scott?

2008-07-24T03:22:00.000-07:00

Then vote for WAENDE at the I'VE SEEN FILMS festival!

Waende (Walls) is a small spontaneous film I did last year with a few friends. It grew out of the idea that I could do a serious short without any money and only one crappy mini-dv camera. We spend 6 days shooting on weekends and basically had a great summer.

Guess what? The film is one 0f the 132 online shorts that were chosen out of 1500 entries. I'VE SEEN FILMS was initiated by Rutger Hauer, and if I manage to get into the best 2 out of 132, I would be able to go to the festival in Milan, where Ridley Scott is also a member of the jury.

More about the competition here:
http://www.icfilms.org/

You can register and vote for WAENDE HERE: http://video.tiscali.it/inshort/Icfilms/video/15791.html

PLEASE SPREAD THE MESSAGE AND VOTE!

and btw, I hope you like the film. I'm planning to do a 5-part anthology called 5GOODBYES with totally different shorts that would become one big experience. WAENDE will be the third part. The first part, SCHIMMER, we are planning to shoot next month.

Den of Geek mentions ALIEN PLANET

2008-07-24T03:01:00.000-07:00

...sort of. Check out this interesting essay about the hope of a final Alien Chapter.

Some Stuff That I Did

2008-07-22T05:15:00.001-07:00

New Short Comment

2008-06-06T04:09:00.000-07:00

I met Johny a few months ago, he told me that he's the absolute Cameron fan, so I told him a little embarrassed about AP. I sent him the script and he replied this:

I'm a big fan of James Cameron, and among all the Alien films, I loved his film the most. So when I was emailed this script (Alien Planet), at some level I knew I was always going to compare this one with Cameron's film. And after reading the script, I was not disappointed.

Alien Planet is pretty intense and lives up to the standards set by the first two films. If there is something missing in the script then it's the absolute lack of comic relief (between the intense stuff), which 'Aliens' I thought had so wonderfully achieved via a character named Hudson (game over man).

Having said that, Alien Planet has some spectacular action sequences (that may look super cool in 3-D) and there are some wonderful surprises that make this script pretty different and unique compared to the other alien-movies in the series. The script has a beautiful ending, one that leaves you wanting more and will leave you inspired. I was.

It's always nice when someone diggs this.

New Fan Comment

2008-01-20T14:36:00.001-08:00

A guy called Matthew contacted me and I sent him the script because he seemed very passionate about the saga. Like everyone who reads the script, I asked him to short-review script. Here are two comments from him:

"It's a pulse-pounding, nerve-jangling manuscript that does justice to the "Alien" legacy."

"The story sustains a remarkable tone of epic dread throughout and culminates in a satisfying ending. It's the sort of story I can picture upon the screen... And one I hope to see brought to life very soon."

I know it sounds as if I had written it myself, but I decided to post it, even if this comment is pretty short ;-).

Some Stuff I put together

2007-12-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

REEL from pheadx on Vimeo.

A lost review!

2007-10-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

I googled this project today and found a second Alien Planet review on AvPGalaxy (there was also another review that you can find here). It was published in February and reviews an older draft than the current. I knew about this review but thought it was never published. To my surprise, I discovered it online.

The review is mixed, and not that euphoric about certain decisions. Which is - I guess - a good thing, otherwise this blog would be only a tool of self-promotion. Some things (like the whole misunderstanding on the king), i have worked on. The language is going through an editing process. And I think many things have been improved.

Still, Alien Planet is not a script for people who are obsessed with the creature itself. It is indeed a character driven movie, and I think it's important that not every detail is explained. Or that the script tries to visualize the creature. It's a tight script and the conception of the Alien itself belongs to another step in production.

I've realized that in the last years movies have become over-explanatory and over-logical. Everything has to be explained or it is seen as a plot-hole. In many cases that is not true. Let's take LOST as an example. People want to get explanations WHY hurley won the lottery with the numbers, WHY everyone is related etc. There has not to be an explanation for everything. Plot has taken over, and what I'm missing are films that are trying other ways.

Why does ALIEN work? Because it is explained what the Alien is, does or how the Spacejockey came there? No. Because it told a story where the main characters used all the potential for their conflict? No. In my opinion it worked because they were trapped in a terrifying situation they couldn't even make sense of. Because they gave up to argue and tried to survive. I wanna see an ALIEN film that goes back to a much more naturalistic character and plot-development, and not an over-plottet roler-coaster ride that was ALIENS. I want people to make reasonable realistic decisions and not Ripley running back to try and save Newt.

The review has some fair points, so it is definitely worth a read!
A late Thank You to Corporal Hicks

Latest Review

2007-10-08T10:03:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, there is a short and positive review of this page and the script at Anderson Vision. The issues with the translation should soon be fixed. Enjoy it.

You can find the review here! Thanx to David Barrios.

Storyboardorama

2007-06-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the other full storyboard sequence (besides "Awakening") that Timothee created a few months ago. It's a bit spoilerish, that's why I haven't posted it yet. Still it doesnt tell you too much if you don't know what scene it is. Enjoy!

revisions and trailers

2007-05-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

I had some time today to read the script again. It's strange when you haven't looked at it for some time. The language seemed cheesy in the translation and sometimes the script was uneven, so I changed and added a few things. For those who have read it:

- I got rid of the character Captain Sanders, he was pretty useless. His only reason was to bring in some conflict for Frohlock and Kampsus. When I took him out, the relation ship between Kampsus became more conflicted and emotional, which is a good thing.

- I added a disturbing scene between Torres and Basson at the beginning in which we see what happened to Basson. Otherwise, his character would be pretty useless, too. It's just a few sentences, but it subtlely gives more meaning to Gilbert's and Torres' relationship.

- The whole tension between Ripley and her crewmates gets a bit more personal. Especially to Bernardt, and not in a nice way.

- Kyra's conflict is a bit more detailed, but only for those who pay attention.

- We don't really see the Aliens in detail anymore until the middle of the script.

- I hope the language is better and precise, this time. If anyone has some serious experience in editing, I could need some help on that.

- Wow, there is a romantic alien love scene, hehe. You'll know what I mean when you read it.

- And this scene leads to an extended scene that puts the crew under more pressure and has a nice money shot.

- There is another memory of Amy, and I hope it's clearer now that Ripley doesn't know which memories are her own.

- Gilbert has some more time to shout at Ripley, which gets pretty personal.

Basically, the script is still the same. The same people die, the order of events take place, but i hope it's tighter, more emotional and the language is better. I hope the characters are a bit richer now. Still, I haven't described the Alien in more detail (I even took some descriptions out), but it will be a king (and I don't care if there is no evidence for a king in the comic universe, I leave it to the visual department ;-).

In the next step I'll write a 1 1/2 or 2 minute storyboard trailer. It will be easier for everyone to concentrate on fewer shots and to know, in what way they will end up. I still have to contact everyone again, if you're a good storyboarder or concept artist, send me a mail!

future

2007-04-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

yo, I'm back. There has been a long time with nothing happening. So I want everybody who was or wants to be involved to get together and talk about the future of this project. You can do that in the comments, you can send me a mail, or we can start a facebook group or something like that.

The main question about the presentation film is what will it be like? When we started this project it was more about telling the main story in visuals. But now that we have some material I think the aim of the film should be to work as a presentation and a teaser. Maybe in a sort of documentary, making-of fashion. I would like to start with a short segment about the saga and what made the four parts special and then get into the Alien Planet film, tell the premise, how it works as a sequel and a finale, what makes it a new experience and what is the story and Ripley's journey. With a nice narrator leading through this film and some interviews. To sum up, we shouldn't try to imitate the film with visuals, but tease the audience and make them wanna see this sucker! I think this will be much more effective.

The other thing is, that we, once we have a film, or even earlier, have to start campaigning the whole project and the internet is still an undiscovered ground. anyone's interested in finding new ways of promoting this project?

What do you guys think?

short break

2007-03-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

I will be travelling (again) for a month, so there will be no updates for that period. The project is developing slowly (slower than some might think), but good stuff is coming out of it. Thanks a lot to everyone who is involved so far. It's strange, but it's 15 months since I wrote the script just as an exercise and 9 months after Tim and I started this out of boredom, and now there are more people working, there is an English version of the script, and a huge part of the fan community has at least heard of this blog. I wouldn't have believed that a year ago :-).

Sigourney Weaver said the following in one of her latest interviews: "I love the character, but I think the monster, once they did the other film (Alien vs. Predator), which I never saw, but that really maxes our monster out." I think she is somehow right. You don't have to see AvP to know that it's more an entertainment film than a horror film. The Alien is on the posters, in the trailers, it is not really scary anymore. It has become a evil film villain, an icon. People with some decent drawing skills (like us :-)) can recreate the creature on a sheet of paper, and that's a bad thing. One of the main criticisms on this script is that the Alien has a very naturalistic and not a real prominent role (in the sense that it could be the main character). Of course it should have a charismatic, evil yet intelligent and graceful presence, but I don't agree with those who say that the Alien is the real star of the saga. The humans are the main characters, the saga has become Ripley's journey. That's why I wrote this script, because I wanted to get the balance right again. I'm not interested in a movie about aliens, i'm interested to see a film about humans and their confrontation with them. So I think Weaver might be right about AvP (and I never got the whole concept of AvP), but she might be wrong if she thinks that there can't be a final part about Ripley's journey that brings back the terror and also horror, and doesnt iconize the monsters.

New Alien Planet Review on AvPGalaxy

2007-01-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

There is a new (positive) review on AvPGalaxy:

"This is what science fiction is all about and this type of imagery combined with 21st century graphical technology could create something really spectacular and give the audience something not seen since the original Alien film. The potential here is limitless."

Thanx to Darkness at AvPGalaxy and the author of the review, John Nicholson.

PS: I think there's a second review coming soon on AvPGalaxy, by CorporalHicks.

First Script Review

2007-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

The guys at PlanetAvP posted the first review of the English Alien Planet script. Despite some problems with the direction the film takes at the end (that it goes more back to the roots of being a haunted house film instead of having a massive battle finale), the review says that this is the best 'Alien' script in twenty years.
Thanx to David Shipley, and Sil for the support!

Two pages from Timothee's new storyboard-scene

2007-01-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Why the script is not online...

2007-01-12T01:18:00.000-08:00

I've read in many comments that people are confused why the script is not online, so I thought I might write a few lines about it. First of all, the script is still confidential and I won't post it online. I don't want everything to be spoiled, and if everyone can read it, who would still have the wonder of watching a great (concept art or real) movie? Why would we get anyone really interested if everyone has already read it? There are basically two ways to get the screenplay. First, if you're writing for any (online-) publication, and willing to do a review (no matter if positive or negative), you can read it and I will post the review here. The other way is to become part of this project. We're just a bunch of guys trying to do this concept art film, and if you have talent, join us! There are also exceptions, but I won't send ALIEN PLANET to total strangers. If I know someone and trust the person to a certain level, I'll send it out. But it's more an individual and intuitive decision, it's really about meeting people. The internet is a very anonymous place, so if you wanna get involved, let's get into contact or comment and discuss this project. Basically, let's talk. My email addy is in the profile.

Alien Planet Awakening

2006-12-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

Awakening
by pheadx

Some Sketches

2006-12-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

I did today:

Introducing

2006-11-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

a storyboard page from Shaun Millington:

Responses

2006-11-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

In the future I will post some responses to the screenplay. Note that I know these people, so it's no real "critic's opinion". I don't want to show how great the script is, but more a fan's perspective of what could be a final Alien film. The first one is from Martin Hunter aka orangekubrick. He's been following the project for a while without knowing any detail about the plot. When I sent him the screenplay last week, he wrote the following for this blog:

If they don't use Alien Planet for the next and final part of the Alien franchise, then they might as well not use anything and continue forking out for terrible sequels to the awful AVP spin off series. After an unexpected turn, the low-profile story takes a huge twist and from then onwards we don't have time to catch our breath until the final calming moments just before it is finally over.

In my own personal opinion, as a huge Alien fan, this is the right direction to take to save the franchise from what it is turning into. The moment I hit the turning point in the film I couldn’t take my eyes off the script until I had finished. The studio not using this script as the next sequel would be an unnecessary waste and an act of madness.

The story itself is horrific and cold, but in a good way. The Alien home world is a dark and nightmarish place and is parallel to the xenomorphs themselves in terms of how dangerous it is. If chosen, this script would force a complete pivot on the direction the Alien franchise was moving after Resurrection and AVP - steering it to safety and ending it in the glorious fashion it deserves after it was rudely brought back from the dead after Alien 3. If not then I'm sure the Alien fans, still hungry for a saviour, will tear Fox apart.

Martin Hunter

OFF TOPIC: Go Watch THE FOUNTAIN!

2006-11-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

Originally I wanted to write a response to the film, but when I found the THE FOUNTAIN REMIX COMPETITION (http://www.thefountainremixed.com) I thought this might be the perfect way to say thank you. I remixed the score around the bassline, only changed it very subtlely. I edited the music video like a german expressionist silent movie from th 20s. The film is about finality, and somehow it seems to say goodbye to the art of film in a very classic way, just before digital cinema and cgis take over. I remixed and edited the music video this morning in 3 hours. Couldn't upload it on the competition site yet, but I'll try it again later. I hope u like it.

Every Ending has a Beginning

2006-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

The first concept art from Timothee de Place.

Screenplay translated!

2006-10-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Finally, I had time to translate the German original version to a very raw English version in a few days - with some minor changes. Let the revolution begin.

Some More Concept Art

2006-08-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

by Tim Burden.

Teaser Poster, sort of...

2006-07-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

The First Review

2006-07-12T03:27:00.000-07:00

The guys at Alien Experience have written the first review of the Alien Planet Treatment.

Here's an excerpt:

"With a little reworking, I believe this could be the Alien sequel fans have long been hoping for. It takes a little bit of what everyone wants while progressing in an unexpected yet logical fashion – a rarity in a fan base demanding, quite naively, a plain rehash of Aliens. It revisits the themes and concepts laid down by Alien while including a few of its own. The plot never feels tired or derivative and its structure keeps the action surging, all the while managing to squeeze some thought into the characters and events."

You can read the whole review here. It contains some minor spoilers. A big Thank You to O'Malley and the Alien Experience Crew!

Express Yourself!

2006-07-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic by Tim Burden. It's from a scene from Alien Planet and it shows how different and interesting the different drawing styles can be. I hope this project is a great opportunity not only to visualize this movie, but to express yourself.

Some Questions and Answers

2006-06-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Has Alien Planet any connection to the graphic novels, fan fiction, computer game stories?
- Nope, never read one of those. Never watched a Predator movie. Never watched AvP.

Why do you do a storyboard/concept art film?
- We want to do a similar thing to what Peter Jackson did to convince the studio to produce the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He did a presentation reel, which was really helpful.

Do you really believe that FOX or ANYONE will watch it?
The thing is that you'll never know. The truth is that there is basically NO way to get anyone at FOX interested in doing a finale. If Scott and Cameron had no influence, we won't be able to get interest in the traditional way. I want people to see it as a project which only can work because of its insanity. If we work really hard and create something big together, then this will be rewarding. I want to meet people who actually wanna do something and be productive and creative and not just talk. It's a great opportunity to meet people all over the world and create an ALIEN film, which we can be proud of. Even if it's just in the preproduction status. If it will be made into a real feature or not... let's see...

Why not make a comic or a story out of it?
This project can only work as a film, as a comic or story it would be pretty useless. The film is a basic horror movie. It is not clever, it has no military adventure, it doesn't changes the whole saga with a twist and it has no great conspiracy. It is a SIMPLE movie like the first ALIEN and that's great. It's about a bunch of people caught in a horrible situation. It's about fear, human dilemma, survival instinct and really scary and frightening situations. There is a lot of Alien action and some surprising things in it, but the Aliens are only secondary. The human story is more important. The script is very simple. Read the original script of Alien (the revised version by Walter Hill) and you'll see what simple means. It is a visual script, and that's why it is important to visualise it. You can describe scary situations and you can create them. The script is basically a B-movie script which can be made into an A-movie through visualisation.

What do you think of the four ALIEN films?
- ALIEN: One of my favourite films ever. Giger's world. Incredible. Ridley Scott's direction. Very precise, brave and powerful. Jerry Goldsmith's score, even if it was cut into pieces. The chestburster scene. Classic. What I love is the suspense. That it is basically an old fashioned terror castle movie. And that it mixes darkness with wonder, eg. the adventure quality of the derelict ship sequence. The Alien is not only scary, it's also darkly fascinating.
- ALIENS: Love how Cameron explored the character Ripley. How he had the guts to make this a war movie. How fresh it must have been at that time it came out. Stan Winston and the Queen. Love the character Newt. The fact that you don't see the Aliens that often, but they are always kind of present. How epic the film is. How roller-coaster like it is. What I don't like: That it ages the fastest of all four films. Some things are really dated. That Ripley's dead daughter is more used as a tool to introduce Ripley's relationship to Newt than anything else. That it is never as scary as ALIEN and never wants to be. That all the other characters are very one-dimensional. That it set the basics for a genre (people shooting with guns on sci-fi monsters) I don't really like. That it today fits very much in what you might call a Hollywood film.
- ALIEN 3: Like Finchers style. Love most of the new edition. Especially the first hour and that that stupid chestburster in Ripley's last scene was cut out. Very brave step in the saga. A good thing that Newt and Hicks died. Weird but fascinating setting. Nice cultural undertones which kind of represent the paranoia of that time. The direction in which Ripley's character went. This is more a film about Ripley than the Alien. The closure. What I don't like: The puppet. That the film is always moody and gritty but never scary. What I hate: The POV of the Alien. Kills the whole suspense. The production history.
- ALIEN RESURRECTION: I think it's as good as ALIENS (although you have to give ALIENS credit for the time it was made). Why? I love how it deals with Ripley's rebirth. The whole DNA thing: incredible. How it takes the only step possible: it becomes a grotesque. It makes Ripley biologically but also story wise a part of them. That's an unbelievably huge and brave step in Ripley's characterisation, and rarely seen in a horror movie. The rebirth makes the whole saga much more epic. Love the dark, comic-like humor. Love the very French touch. And I like the new-born. It was never supposed to look frightengly scary like the original ALIEN, it was always supposed to look like shit (which is exactly how a mix between Ripley and the Queen would look). What I don't like: That Jeunet wanted to make an "American" movie, he could have made a "Jeunet movie". That it has too many similarities to Whedon's prior or later work (crew of the Betty = crew of Firefly/ Ripley's rebirth = Buffy's rebirth). That it is never scary. That the bunch of characters is like the military guys in ALIENS.

If you have more questions about the project, post a comment. I'll try to answer them.

Ripley

2006-06-10T03:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some excerpts from the character description of Ripley in the short treatment. I hope they give an insight without spoiling anything:

"At the beginning of the movie, Ripley is a mystery. The main question is: Why is she here? We find out that Ripley doesn’t warn anyone on that ship. She is on her own journey. She doesn’t care about saving anyone. She is on the planet to find answers. She is a stranger in this world and believes – quite naively – that she will find a new home or some place of salvation."
"We also see and hear some glimpses of Ripley’s past. We see a very emotional but silent moment with her daughter and we hear her talk about her memories as a child. These are just tiny glimpses, but they – similarly to young Bruce Wayne in BATMAN BEGINS – give us a final insight into the character. And these moments set a theme which leads through the movie: Ripley’s misery did not start when they found the derelict ship. No, it started when Ripley went on the Nostromo. It’s something which was introduced in ALIENS and in this film we realize that this is Ripley’s major struggle. How can you care for someone, when you left your only child? In this world, there is no way of starting a new life. Why should she care about people like Newt, if she is taken from Ripley like anyone else?"
"She acts more rational, she has her emotions under control. This is a theme which started in ALIEN RESURRECTION and this Ripley is quite the opposite of the action-hero from the first three films. This film is all about Ripleys journey back to her roots. Throughout the movie she is very unpredictable, dangerous but also very silent and fragile (she doesn’t have to be that great action heroine anymore, she can be darker, more twisted and also more emotional). She is on her own mission to find her own salvation on the Alien’s home planet but then she is in the position where she again has to save everyone. It’s her struggle. In the end it's all about becoming a human being again."

If Ridley Scott could storyboard ALIEN in just 4 weeks...

2006-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

... we can do ALIEN PLANET in less than 4! Here's just a sketch I did today in 1 hour. I'm not the best or the fastest drawer but I think that it shows that we can achieve something in a relatively short period!

More stuff from me on photobucket.

Meet the Crew of the Vassus!

2006-06-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey @ all. I've been very busy for the last weeks. As we all know the characters are the heart of a film, especially of a horror film. Here is a short overview of some of the main characters and an idea of how to draw them in the storyboards. The pics are of course only references. I chose actors who fit because of their previous roles and because of their look: Meet the crew of the Vassus!

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) We meet an older Ripley. She is a mystery for the other people on the Vassus. She is on her own journey. She doesn’t care about saving anyone. She is on the planet to find answers. Since her resurrection she is a new person. She is half Alien. She is a stranger in this world and believes that she will find a new home or some place of salvation.

Marson (reference: Nia Vardalos) A clumsy woman, 30 years old. Very grounded, down to earth woman who is a good opposite to Ripley’s quiet and irritating character, who is her roommate. She works on the Vassus because she doesn't want to live with her parents anymore.

Captain Frohlock and Captain Kampsus (reference: Laura Dern and Ben Harper) The two (of three) captains are a couple and have a 5-year-old son called Tyse. They are two very charismatic leaders and everybody trusts them.

Sanders (reference: Tony Leung Ka Fai) The third captain. He stands in the shadow of Frohlock and Kampsus, which leads to some tension. He just wants to get back home to his family. He does not know enough about the mission, which makes him suspicious.

Bernhardt (reference: Viggo Mortensen) Member of the scientific crew. In Ripley’s age. Potential hero. Good-Looking, smart and brave.

Bosnan and Kyra (reference: Nicole Kidman and Daveigh Chase) Mother & Daughter. Bosnan is your typical too-careful mother, looses her nerves easily. Kyra is very adult for a child, almost to rational.

Nigel (reference: Ed Harris) The military advisor on the Vassus. Very mysterious and a little bit dangerous. Does he know something about Ripley?

Gilbert (reference: Jamie Bell) Youngest scientific member on the Vassus. Former child prodigy. A little bit too cocky and adventureous. Has a thing for Torres.

Torres (reference: Jessica Schwarz) Very ambitious woman in her twenties. Very strong with leader quality. Likes Gilbert. Has a foreign accent. Thinks like everybody else that this is a routine mission.

Basson (reference: Jeremy Davies) Slightly retarded and boyish, he shocks the crew of the Vassus when he tells them scary stories from former missions and an organisation called Weyland Yutani, which no longer exists. Unintentionally, he starts a big controversy on the ship.

Call (Winona Ryder) Call is no longer a part of Ripley's journey. But we find out about her tragic fate and how it changed Ripley's life.

Amanda (reference: Dakota Fanning) You know who she is. And why she appears in flashbacks.

About the ALIEN PLANET project

2006-05-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

ALIEN PLANET is the final part of Ripley's story and it does not take the easy route. It's starts very silent with likeable characters, then comes a bang and then it goes back to the roots and becomes a sort of haunted house movie (like ALIEN). It has some violence and claustrophobia in it which is less like the monster/comic version of the ALIEN vs. PREDATOR world and more in films like THE DESCENT or IRREVERSIBLE. It's not only about the darkness, it's also about the wonder (imagine Giger's frightening beautiful world). It is as entertaining as ALIENS, as disturbing as ALIEN3, a little grotesque like the RESURRECTION, but most importantly, as terrifying as the original ALIEN. It's maybe the first real sequel to the first one and basically a solid horror movie. You'll like it, if you care about Ripley, if you like the scene in the derelict spaceship, if you like how violence is used not only in a scary but more in a disturbing way, if you didn't watch AvP and if you want to see original alien planet. It's the final logical and emotional conclusion, it will be the last part of Ripley's epic journey.

The aim is to visualise the whole 105 page screenplay in a period of 3 or 4 weeks with 10 or more people involved. I will direct and coordinate everything. Everyone will get their own segments of the script which they put into pictures. You'll get a kit with a breakdown of your parts and visual references. We will discuss everything on a personal level, from the visuals to the characters and the motivations. Although there will be different stylistic influences, there will be a continuous line or theme through my direction. We try to cut everything together as one movie. We want to create a world, a visualisation of that script and film through different creative influences. We want people to think that this should be made into the final film. Something really impressive.

Because we want to achieve this in relatively short time, this means a lot of hard but rewarding work. We need people who are really good at what they're doing and who have the inspiration, the passion and the insanity to create this dream project.

In the end, we hopefully will have a presentation film out of the storyboards and concept art for a final Alien film with your names in the credits. So if we don't achieve our megalomaniac aim to have an influence on the fate of the franchise, we still have something we can be proud of!

If you wanna be part of this project, please contact us or leave a comment!