In this day and age, it has become increasingly difficult to keep the details of movies under wraps. There are few filmmakers who can keep the secrets and surprises of a blockbuster tentpole under lock and key, and even, their best intentions can be foiled. Christopher Nolan saw key details of "Inception" hit the web almost a year before the movie came out, and this past summer a detailed synopsis hit the net regarding Ridley Scott's "Prometheus." Fox were quick to pour cold water on the stories that surfaced, stating they were "way off," but it appears that the Greek myth is more than just a coincidental title.
In the synopsis that circled, the story centered on a crew traveling to the Zeta Riticuli star system to meet their makers after alien artifacts are discovered in Africa in 2058 that reveal Earth was terraformed to provide a home for humans. However, a crew member steals the “bio-source code” to Terraforming, a technology central to the origin of all Gods’ power, kicking off a chain of events pitting the humans against their alien creators. And even though the studio has said these details are not accurate, catching up with the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, Scott's hints about the movie do concern theft of a valuable tool.
He tells the blog that the film is a metaphor about a “higher being” who challenges the gods, and like the Greek myth, the gods don't want to give him the metaphorical fire. “Fire is our first form of technology,” Scott said, and as a result of taking the fire (or bio-source code perhaps), punishment comes “in perpetuity in a horrible fashion.” Whether or not that leaked synopsis was on the money or not we'll have to wait and see, but the central conceit of theft of a crucial form of technology seems to be the driving force behind the story.
In other details, Scott prefers to keep mum but he does confirm that Sigourney Weaver will not be making a cameo appearance (we weren't sure how that would've worked anyway) however, he does tease about just how "Prometheus" will tie into "Alien" — and it won't happen until the final moments of the movie. He says that the last eight minutes of "Prometheus" will turn into “a pretty good DNA of the ‘Alien’ one.”
There has been much chatter throughout the year about how closely (or not) "Prometheus" will hew to the "Alien" world we know and love. “Out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place,” Scott said earlier this year. “The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak.” So it seems unlike the slavish "The Thing" prequel, Scott's film will very much stand on its own, while providing an organic connection that the sci-fi movie that launched his career.
Still lots to uncover and discover, with a teaser trailer supposed to arrive sometime this fall (perhaps with all these sudden interviews, it's just around the corner?). "Prometheus" will orbit your multiplex next summer on June 8, 2012.
