Ridley Scott Tagged Articles at Cinematical

With the economy hurting, what better time to start up a new film studio? DF Indie Studios officially announced itself to the world yesterday, though news broke first via our friends at indieWIRE the other night. The company "is uniting veteran producers with sales and distribution experts." DF Indie Studios says it will "fully finance as many as a dozen films per year, each at a budget of up to $10 million. Significantly, the movies will also have guaranteed U.S. theatrical distribution through the company."

Notable names such as veteran producer Ted Hope (Adventureland, In the Bedroom) and distribution ace Ira Deutchman are involved with the company, as well as Scott Free, the production company of Ridley Scott and his brother Tony Scott (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3). Company executives told indieWIRE that "the first five films will go into production this fall and hit the festival circuit next year." They also expressed the rather incredible hope that they will create between 10,000 and 15,000 (!!!) film jobs over the next five years. DF Indie Studios is still raising money for their venture, and is about halfway to their $100 million goal, according to the Associated Press.

What type of films will the company be backing? The press release mentions "commercially viable" twice and says they are partnering with "established producers with successful box office track records." Film journalist / critic Anthony Kaufman points to the Variety story, "which reported the company's aims are to make films such as 'the Saw franchise, Juno, Good Night, and Good Luck and Little Miss Sunshine.'"

We could argue for days if androids really dream of electric sheep or what those damn origami unicorns mean, but one thing we can know for sure is that copyright laws are more confusing than Mormon underwear. An excellent example of this is a new project from Ridley Scott's RSA Films' called Purefold.

Free Scott, a part of Ridley Scott Associates Films, is hooking up with indie studio Ag8 to develop Purefold, a web series that will grapple with the themes in Blade Runner without actually referencing that world in any direct fashion. The web shorts, will could eventually become a TV series, will evoke the grand themes of the sci-fi classic -- compassion, humanity, identity, a dystopian future -- without using anything from the book it was based on ... due to copyright issues.

So, do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, let's start with the bad news: Its official, the A L I E N reboot has gone beyond rumor and straight into reality. But the good news is that at least it won't be a remake. Just last week, Peter broke the story that Fox was looking to revive the franchise, but at the time, none of the principals involved (original creator Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, or rumored director, Carl Rinsch) had officially commented on the status of the project. Now, though, Collider brings us news that they got the chance to speak with Tony Scott during a press event for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and he confirmed that Rinsch has indeed been given the nod to direct a prequel to the 1979 sci-fi horror.

Once you get over the fact that a prequel is a particularly goofy idea, it probably wouldn't be that hard to come up with a plausible story. In the original film, the story of the derelict ship that the crew of the Nostromo encountered was never really explained. That element of the unknown was always an integral part of the original film's scare factor, but you have to admit, it wouldn't be all that difficult to fill in the blanks. Scott is looking to get the film into production by the end of the year, but there is still a small matter of a script and a cast before they can think about sticking to a tentative release date of summer, 2011.

After the jump: how do you make an A L I E N prequel? And does it automatically have to star Christina Bale?

In Hollywood, no one can hear you think. With a remake / reboot of Predator on its way, 20th Century Fox may now be setting its sights on Alien. (That "popping" sound you just heard emanates from the burst blood vessels of a million fans.) An anonymous source told Bloody Disgusting that Fox is developing a remake of Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. Another source says that the studio "is possibly working on an origins story, as opposed to a straight-up remake."

Considering how both the Alien and Predator franchises have been devalued, thanks to the low quality of AVP: Alien vs. Predator and AVP: Requiem, as well as Fox's recent, poor track record with action movies, my expectations are below zero. With Robert Rodriguez on board as producer and a July 2010 release date set, a new Predator is coming whether we want it or not. As a strictly business decision, it makes sense for Fox to keep remaking, rebooting, and making sequels to properties they own. As a huge fan of Alien, I just sigh. The picture, by the way, is from the Polish poster for the original.

For what it's worth, BD's tipster claims that Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, and Michael Costigan are on board for the next movie in the Alien series, and that Carl Rinsch has been hired to direct. (Here are four commercials he did for a car company.) Rinsch has worked for the Scotts since 2000. (Here's an article about how he originally got hired by the company.) Keep in mind that these rumors haven't been confirmed by the principals. Feel free to express your disgust and / or delight in the comments. In the meantime, enjoy once again the terrific original Alien trailer, as presented by our own Scott Weinberg.

It was only a matter of time before I pulled this one out, if only because Ridley Scott's A L I E N is my favorite film of all time and it has been for pretty much the whole of my life thus far. I could spend hours explaining why I love the film so much (as my close friends can no doubt attest), but a large portion of my favorite aspects are covered in this rather creepy trailer. Packed with pressured silences, bizarre sounds, flashing lights, and a mysteriously ferocious sense of menace, this trailer captures a lot of what makes the film work -- and there's no monster to be found anywhere in the clip, which I love.

Apparently the trailer did its job more than well enough. According to BOM, the film made just under $80 million in the summer of 1979. And I pity the man who decides it's time to remake this film. I will not be held responsible for my actions.

It's a strange coincidence, but just the other day I was having a conversation with a friend and we turned to each other and said: "Hey, whatever happened to Madeleine Stowe?" Well, she hasn't been making many appearances on the big screen lately, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been busy. Variety has announced that Stowe will be make her directorial debut for Hyde Park Entertainment with the period drama, Unbound Captives. The film stars Rachel Weisz, Hugh Jackman, and Robert Pattinson and centers on a woman, "whose husband is killed and her two children kidnapped by a Comanche war party in 1859."

Stowe wrote the script herself back in 1993 as a starring vehicle, but at the time no one was jumping at the chance to finance the film of an actress and first time screenwriter. But that doesn't mean that the studios didn't like what they saw, because according to Variety, "Fox offered Stowe $3 million, and later $5 million, for her script, with Ridley Scott poised to direct and Russell Crowe to star. She turned down what was among the highest sums offered a first-time scribe because there was no promise she would be anything more than screenwriter." Stowe was convinced that it was better to let the project die on the vine rather than have somebody else mess with her script -- and I have to hand it to her, I doubt I would have been as principled.

Maybe it's a strange question, but: Whatever happened to Nicole Kidman? Now I'm only partly kidding when I say that, because if you look at the woman who appears in this fancy new commercial for Schweppes, she bears no resemblance to the plucky redhead who wowed us in flicks like Flirting and Dead Calm. The 'Gossips' like to blame the current state of the Aussie actress on Botox or sometimes it's the 'curse of Tom Cruise', but really, I'd love to know when did Ms. Kidman turn into the porcelain faced robot we now see before us? Now before you get all offended, keep in my mind that I actually quite like Kidman as an actress, and despite Australia's failings as a film, at least Kidman was showing some signs of life; signs that have long disappeared in this glamorous soda ad.

The commercial was directed by Elizabeth's Shekar Kapur and produced by Ridley Scott, and Kidman has been transported to an Indian palace alongside Slumdog Millionaire's Rubina Ali and Bollywood star Argun Rampal. As for the commercial, well, I'll give Kapur some credit if he was taking a gentle shot at Kidman's 2004 Chanel ad (Kidman famously pocketed $12 million to star in that commercial), since the two are almost identical. But if he's not, then what you end up with is a bit of a mess with beautiful set design -- and I'm not even getting into the implications of the 'colonial exoticism' of Indian culture that drips from every frame.

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood has added so many people that we've actually fallen a bit behind in reporting them all. Shortly after Cate Blanchett came aboard as Maid Marian, the film added Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey, Alan Doyle as Alan-a-Dale, Scott Grimes as Will Scarlet, Kevin Durand as Little John, and Bronsen Webb as someone named Jimoen.

Deserving its own mention is my favorite casting (so far) -- Vanessa Redgrave as Eleanor of Aquitaine. I think she's possibly the only actress who can be as formidable in Eleanor's crown as Katharine Hepburn.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter says that William Hurt is joining up as William Marshall (or Marshal if you keep the historic spelling), a man described as "the greatest knight who ever lived" by his contemporary, Stephen Langton. He rose from obscurity to become a knight, who made his living in jousting tournaments a'la The Knight's Tale. He joined the court of Henry II and subsequently served the three following Plantagenets, including King Richard I, and his brother, King John. When he died, he was one of the most powerful men in Europe, and was known simply as "the Marshal."