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.

'Cowboys and Aliens' writer alleges UFO cover-up

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Roberto Orci (right) with Alex Kurtzman

Roberto Orci - co-writer with Alex Kurtzman of Cowboys and Aliens, the first two Transformers movies and the TV series Fringe - stated his belief to the press yesterday that U.S. government secrecy surrounding the issue of extraterrestrial life is more than just science-fiction.

When asked by Hollywood news site The Wrap if aliens exist, Orci replied: “I think the evidence clearly indicates that the government's lying about what the hell’s going on.” The Wrap seems to think Orci was joking, however.

It is perhaps worth noting that Orci (along with his writing partner Alex Kurtzman) has worked closely with Super 8 director J.J. Abrams for over a decade on numerous national security-themed projects and in recent years has formed a hugely successful working relationship with self-proclaimed "UFOlogist" Steven Spielberg. Orci's Alias TV show was enthusiastically supported by the CIA and his alien-themed scripts for Transformers 1 and 2 were formed in collaboration with the Pentagon's Entertainment Liaison Office.

One would assume, then, that Orci at least will have given thoughtful consideration to the question of UFOs and government secrecy during the course of his career. Was his recent public statement on the issue a reflection of a genuine belief in a UFO cover-up? Or was it merely a neat but hollow soundbite for the red carpet press?

I'll be writing more about Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams here at Silver Screen Saucers in the coming weeks and months. Their thematic preoccupation and extensive professional interactions with the U.S. national security state are intriguing indeed...

UFO movie box-office update, plus 'Space Invaders'

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

The public's fascination with the idea of alien visitation continues to be evidenced this week as three alien/UFO movies occupy top-ten positions at the worldwide box-office.

Currently topping the charts, Transformers: Dark of the Moon has now taken a massive $557.3m. Meanwhile at #7, the Spielberg-produced Super 8 has pulled in $166.4m; and, at #9, the alien-themed comic book movie Green Lantern has managed a slightly less impressive haul of $143.0m. Naturally, these figures will continue to rise in the coming days and weeks. Indeed, due to staggered release schedules, Super 8 has yet to hit cinemas in at least 14 countries (including the UK, France, Spain, Mexico and Brazil), and Green Lantern has yet to arrive in at least 24 countries (including Italy, Germany and Japan).

In just a few weeks time, the box-office is set to be stormed by yet another UFO movie - Cowboys and Aliens.

In other news, Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is to oversee the Hollywood adaptation of the 1970s video game, Space Invaders, which required the player simply to use their tanks to defend against an advancing alien hoard. This sounds almost as imaginative as the forthcoming board game adaptation, Battleship.

Alien movie topples alien movie

The UFO movie Super 8 was toppled from the U.S. box-office top-spot this weekend by alien-themed comic book movie Green Lantern, which brought in $52.6 million in its first three days.

In normal circumstances this would be an impressive weekend box-office haul. In light of the movie's combined production and advertising budget, however - a staggering $250-300 million - Green Lantern has quite a way to go yet before making a profit. Negative reviews from critics surely aren't helping.

Poster-ama! Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Captain America, Super 8!

Got home from work and discovered a slew of cool movie posters all over the web. First up is the teaser poster for next year's highly anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises."

Hmm.... looks very cool. Batman is floating over Gotham with his cape while numerous helicopters surround him. The only thing that looks a bit off is the bat symbol embedded in the shattered window we're supposed to be gazing through. Did he leap through the window and leave a cartoonish outline of his body in it? We still have a full year before we gaze upon the awesomeness of this latest film in the new Dark Knight saga, but it doesn't hurt to start getting fans excited now, right?

Next up is a super-cool retro poster for Marvel's upcoming Captain America (in theaters on July 22nd):

WOW! That is too damned cool! I would love to have this poster framed and hanging in my movie room! Cap punching out Hitler is a great touch, giving a nod to cover of the very first issue of Captain America! Seeing stuff like this makes me feel all warm and gooey inside; it is nice to know that some film companies really know how to promote their movies!

Next we get a first glimpse at next year's The Avengers, fully assembled with Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and The Mighty Thor:

I'm still not sure how this will pan out with Mark Ruffalo taking over for Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk), but I can't help but be excited for this movie. This is an unprecedented feature film that will pull together characters from (at least) four different Marvel films. Here's hoping that it actually works!

Finally, here's a fun poster created for the short Horror film the kids in "Super 8" made, called "The Case." (Note: Do not leave after the end credits roll for "Super 8." Stick around and you'll be presented with the completed "kid made" horror short, "The Case.")

Wow.... as if I didn't love "Super 8" enough already...... This poster was created by Yehudi Mercado; you can see the creation of the poster, and check out his other drawings and animations over at his blog, SUPER MERCADO! 

UFO movie news round-up

The Spielberg-produced, J.J. Abrams-directed UFO movie Super 8 is sitting comfortably at the top of the U.S. box-office after a respectable (though not spectacular) weekend gross of $37 million. It will likely be toppled next weekend, though, by the release of yet another alien-themed movie - Green Lantern (in cinemas June 17).

Meanwhile, Spielberg's old friend and collaborator Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Contact) is in talks to shoot a $100 million, live-action, 3D movie based on Mattel's 1960s space-themed toy line, Major Matt Mason.

The toy line originally was hooked entirely around the wonders of Apollo-era spaceflight and lunar exploration, but later expanded to include a host of alien characters. Whether aliens will feature in the movie version remains to be seen. Life-long sci-fi fan and Zemeckis regular Tom Hanks has co-written the screenplay.

Finally, Space.com casts a critical eye over the science of Hollywood's UFO subgenre and asks: What Makes an Alien Encounter Movie Believable?

SUPER 8 Tops the box office. New content coming soon!

Poster art by Drew Struzan.

Hey all! Just a quick post here to keep you all in the know about what I'm up to and to share a little movie news while I'm at it. I'm currently working on two capsule reviews for "Super 8" and "Troll Hunter," and should have them up within another day or two. I caught both movies this past Friday, which made for a day of purely awesome cinema.

Speaking of "Super 8," it is currently numero uno at the box office, pulling in a pretty decent $38 million this weekend. This is good news for J.J. Abrams and company, seeing as how the film only cost $45 million to make. (From here on out, its all profit!) If the film continues to do well (which it probably won't because the fickle general public is going to send "The Green Lantern" to the top spot next week) it'll be a victory for everyone, and might send a message to Hollywood that we the people of these United States are willing to pay to see a GOOD movie!

That ISN'T a remake or comic book adaptation!

And that ISN'T in f*cking 3D! (Cue short rant.)

Damn you Hollywood, stop giving us gimmicks and soulless effects-filled tripe, and give us some damn stories with likeable characters that we can relate to! Is that too much to ask?!

"Super 8" is a fantastic movie; I highly recommend it! It relies on a great cast to move things along (greatest cast of child actors I have seen in a film since, well... the 1980's!), and is for the most part, family friendly. The soundtrack (and score) are great, the acting is fantastic, the effects are well done (though I really, REALLY wish they did some practical effects to bring the film's mysterious creature to life), and it manages to hearken back to a better time in cinematic history that I like to call the "Amblin Era." Go see it!

Check back soon for new reviews and more!

'Super 8': the reviews are in...

... and they're good! For a selection of top critics reviews of Super 8, head on over to Rotten Tomatoes.

For the story behind the above poster, see here.

Spielberg's UFO movies: from regular 8 to 'Super 8'



The proud director: Spielberg in 1964

By Robbie Graham

In anticipation of the June 10 release in America of the Spielberg-produced UFO movie Super 8 - which draws considerable inspiration from Spielberg's early work in the sci-fi and adventure genres - I thought it might be fitting to take a brief glance back to a time and place of considerable significance in the history of Hollywood's longstanding love affair with aliens; specifically, to 1964, when, at the Phoenix Little Theatre, in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, a 17-year-old Steven Spielberg premiered his first-ever UFO movie - the 8mm Firelight. 

The film cost Spielberg $500 to produce and, having managed to sell an impressive 500 tickets for the premiere at $1 each, it was his first commercial success (it made a profit of $1 dollar: "I think somebody probably paid two dollars," Spielberg later surmised).

Since Firelight, Spielberg has helped to push the idea of alien visitation into the heart of popular culture like no other filmmaker with movies such as (as director): Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET: The Extraterrestrial, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, (and as producer) Batteries Not Included, the Men in Black franchise and the Transformers franchise; and with TV series such as Taken.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982)

War of the Worlds (2005)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

   

This summer, audiences will receive a triple dose of Spielberg's aliens on both the big screen and small with movies Super 8 and Cowboys and Aliens and the TV series Falling Skies.

For a more in-depth look at Spielberg's historical fascination with the UFO phenomenon, as well as details of his intriguing political connections, check out Spielberg's Saucer Secrets.

And so here's to Spielberg's aliens - the good, the bad and the ugly - and to hoping that his extraterrestrial offerings this summer don't disappoint!

Copyright © 2011 Robbie Graham

'Super 8' alien "very special, scary and unique"

In a recent video interview for Empire magazine, Super 8 director J.J. Abrams described his movie's alien/monster as "very special, scary and unique." Producer Steven Spielberg was in agreement, stating that the creature design was "very, very original." Beyond that, no details were forthcoming of what is already the most talked about alien-beastie of the year. It's an interesting interview, though. Check it out over at Empire (this month's hard-copy magazine also has a lengthy feature on Super 8).

Super 8 is released in the U.S. 10 June.

It's also worth noting that Abrams' and Spielberg's descriptions of the Super 8 alien effectively rule-out any connection between their movie and the much-debated "live alien" footage currently doing the rounds on the Internet, the star of which is a generic and rather friendly-looking little "Grey" fellow.

More Spielbergian intrigue...

Two new clips of the Spielberg-produced, J.J. Abrams-directed UFO movie Super 8:

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=31009

Needless to say, they don't show much!

Just what the alien (or aliens) in this movie looks like is still anyone's guess. Care to guess, anyone?

Spielberg's 'Super 8': full trailer

The full trailer for what promises to be this Summer's biggest UFO movie - Super 8 - is now online. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by J.J. Abrams, the film appears to be heavily influenced by Spielberg's early works in this genre, particularly Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extraterrestrial. This time, however, the ET isn't quite so angelic. Intriguingly, the movie's plot is rumoured to feature Area 51. See the full trailer here.