Hollywood's top alien designer talks 'Prometheus', 'Super 8'

Silver Screen Saucers

Above: alien from Super 8 (2011)

Hollywood creature designer Neville Page chatted recently with horror movie news site Shock Till You Drop about his experience of working with some of the industry’s top directors on projects such as Avatar, Super 8 and the forthcoming Prometheus.

Page – who also designed the aliens for Star Trek and Green Lantern – says:

Above: aliens from Green Lantern (2011)

“I see myself as an arm, hired to realize other peoples' visions. Yes, they hire me because I have a particular take on things and aesthetic. Working with someone like James Cameron, Ridley Scott or J.J. Abrams, they have an agenda, they have a vision they need my help realizing. So, the reason I say I try to have my style come through is because it's not about me, it's about taking whatever is in their heads and trying to bring it to light. It ends up being infused with your aesthetic propensities. You can't help to have it be of you. It's my job to make sure the character in their production doesn't look similar to something else in another production.”

To read the rest of the interview, head on over to Shock Till You Drop.

Disney to open 'Avatar Land' theme park attraction

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

The world's most successful movie - James Cameron's Avatar (2009) - is to come to life in spectacular fashion at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. Disney CEO Bob Iger made the announcement yesterday, stating that construction of 'Avatar Land' - which will be comprised of "multi-dimensional physical worlds" - will begin in 2013.

James Cameron - also present for yesterday's announcement - said of his collaboration with Disney: "I quickly realized that their vision for this thing was far beyond what I'd imagined -- and I've got a pretty good imagination."

Disney plans to build not one, but several 'Avatar Lands' in its Animal Kingdom park - a plan that sits well with Cameron, who said that his movie was meant to "celebrate our interaction with nature and nature's wonder and diversity."

Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, told reporters yesterday that the "Avatar Lands" will be large and interactive. "Our lands are going to be complete," he said. "They will include attractions, entertainment, shops, food and beverage, et cetera. They're going to be highly developed and fully themed."

Cameron is currently working on two sequels to Avatar, scheduled for release in 2014 and 2015.

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'Green Lantern', 'Ben 10' and Cameron's 'Myth'

James Cameron (Aliens, The Abyss) is to re-team with his Avatar star Sam Worthington for Myth - a mega movie about which nothing is known other than "it’s big, it’s sci-fi, and it’s got lots of action." The movie is likely to be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers), while Cameron will assume the role of executive producer (he won't be directing, though).

In other news, producer Joel Silver (The Matrix), is to oversee a big screen adaptation of the kids' TV series Ben 10, which follows the adventures of Ben Tennyson, a boy who comes into possession of an other-worldly artefact that allows him to transform into ten different superpowered aliens.        

Last, but not least, alien-themed comic book movie Green Lantern (left) has failed to wow critics, though it may yet fare better with audiences in the coming days and weeks.