Will Natalie Portman star in the Damon LIndelof-scripted 'Alien' prequel?
Big rumors surroud Rildey Scott's return to the 'Alien' franchise
The idea of Natalie Portman starring in an 'Alien' movie almost feels inevitable, doesn't it?
That's the question being breathlessly asked across the internet this morning, and it's certainly a provocative one.
Ridley Scott's been talking about making an "Alien" sequel or prequel for a while now, and finally settled into the prequel idea. Early work on the script was done by Jon Spaihts, a talented writer whose "Passengers" is one of my favorite unproduced works of the last few years. Recently, though, word broke that Damon Lindelof would be writing… something. Either a new draft or a new take or a new something.
Lindelof reportedly turned in the new draft to the studio over the weekend, and they're eager to get going. Since they're about to make a credile and possible run at the Oscar for Natalie Portman, it makes perfect sense that they would have her at the top of their list for possible stars for this film. I'm curious to see what Ridley Scott would get from Portman, and despite my misgivings about anyone making a prequel to pretty much anything at this point, Ridley Scott is where this all began, and him returning to play with this iconography again, especially if he plans to make it a real horror film and not an action movie, is actually exciting.
Noomi Rapace, star of the original "Millennium Trilogy" as Lisbeth Salander, is also on the short list, so there's no guarantee it will be Portman. She's got a totally different type of hype going these days, and Rapace has already committed to "Sherlock Holmes 2," while Portman just fell out of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," which was supposed to be her next film.
If this is going to be a summer 2012 release, then some big choices are going to have to be made soon, so chances are we'll hear some concrete decisions by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Portman can be seen in Darren Aronfsky's "Black Swan" when they open the film this December.
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October 13, 2010 at 9:23AM EST Reply to CommentThe question could also be put this way: do the producers need familiar faces to make Scott's jaw-droppingly extravagant budget demands more viable? The problem is this: the movie audiences want Scott to make -- a hard-R, hard sci-fi experience for grownups, showing things that other people can't show -- cannot recover the costs of the sprawling FX-heavy epic Scott seems to want to make.
The idea of Scott doing more sci-fi is certainly exciting, but in recent interviews, he seems to be proving the old saying that artists are rarely the best interpreters of their own work. Like you, I won't lose any sleep if the Space Jockeys of Alien are not explained in tedious detail. Film is a medium where some things are better left unsaid.
J G
October 13, 2010 at 11:55AM EST Reply to CommentPlease, please no. Natalie's fine in many circles, but as I.S. says, Alien is better without a familiar face.
Think of Sharito Copley's performance in District 9 and you realize what a relatively unknown actor can do for a role. They bring in no preconceptions and, especially in a horror movie, introduce an element of doubt. Will the "hero" survive? If it's Harrison Ford, of course he will. If it's Joe Shmoe, who knows? I LOVE that possibility.
I really, really hope that Ridley doesn't bow to the studio pressures, or even his own self-doubt, to cast a major actor in the film. The Alien itself has been around for decades. Ridley needs to find new ways to surprise us, but Natalie Portman isn't the one. (In fact, she gives me a similar vibe to Winona Ryder, and we know how THAT one turned out...)
October 13, 2010 at 3:53PM EST Reply to CommentPortman is a wonderful actor but I agree with others here. Alien made Weaver a star but if you think back to the original cast, it was comprised of mostly character actors. The movie even went against tradition and had one of the secondary characters (Ripley) survive to be the hero instead of the male lead. Here we are talking about the female lead for this prequel as if it's a foregone conclusion that she will be the central heroine. That's already predictable before the first frame has been shot. However, Ridley is the best option to bring this series back to form so perhaps it's best to trust in his talent.
Bob
October 23, 2010 at 4:16PM EST Reply to CommentI’m sorry for saying this,but Natalie Portman is a true “*****†just like her friend Julia Roberts,I have seen her 3 times in the last 7 years and in each of them she never give the chance to the fans to have a picture with her,she “only†give some “autographs†to “some fans†and only in “HER†movie premieres,â€Notâ€in other premieres,and when she is in the street or in the airport ,she always look down,just like her fellow “The Queen†Julia Roberts.This is really bad,can you imagine what would happen if she win the Oscar?,Not even Tom Cruise,Will Smith or Meryl Streep are like that;I have meet them many times over the years.I really hope that Natalie change that “Attitude†for all her true fans, and I post this comments, not to degrading or offense Natalie,I love Natalie,but she have to give a little more respect to the fans,specially to little kids.