Latest news with #RidleyScott
News18
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Johnny Depp Joins Ridley Scott For Dark Graphic Novel Inspired By Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
Johnny Depp and Ridley Scott are collaborating on Hyde, a graphic novel inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Actor Johnny Depp is returning to the darker side of storytelling, this time through a creative collaboration with veteran director Ridley Scott. The duo is joining forces for Hyde, a new graphic novel inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's iconic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The project is being developed under Scott's production company and will debut as a graphic novel series this Halloween. Described as a modern reimagining of the classic gothic tale, Hyde explores the narrative from a sinister new perspective. The story begins after Mr. Hyde has already overtaken Dr. Jekyll, with Hyde now prowling the sewers of London. His malevolent reign is amplified by a mysterious serum that enables him to mutate others into monstrous reflections of himself. The visual identity of the titular character is modeled after Johnny Depp himself, who is also creatively involved in shaping both the storyline and the character's evolution. The series is created by Jesse Negron, CEO of the entertainment company Mechanical Cake. The property will be co-owned by Johnny Depp, Ridley Scott, and Mechanical Cake. 'To build within the world of Robert Louis Stevenson's masterful characters and to be welcomed into the vision of Ridley Scott… and inexplicably having the opportunity to explore, it's surprising to me. And hopefully surprising to him. It's insane and beautiful to receive that trust from Ridley. A master," said Depp, expressing his admiration for the legendary filmmaker. A preview of Hyde will be unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con, where a special panel will bring together Jesse Negron, visual designer Anthony Francisco, and other key figures from the comic and film industries. Discussions will focus on the cross-media ambitions of the project and the vision behind it. While the graphic novel series takes precedence for now, a film adaptation is already in early development, with Depp likely to play the lead role. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
12 Ways ‘Alien: Earth' Is Respectfully Reimagining the Franchise
Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley knows the tables are stacked against him. He knows the Alien franchise is a tough one to crack and that the idea of bringing it to televsion might elicit groans from certain fans. But Hawley is also really good at his job. He somehow turned Fargo into a TV show worthy of the incredible film. He made Legion one of the best comic book shows in recent memory. And he knows he'll never be able to remake or recapture the terror you felt watching the Ridley Scott original, or the exhilaration created by James Cameron's sequel. Instead, he's figured out a way to draw inspiration from those things, but also make it his own. The hope is that it'll create something that's 100% recognizable as Alien, but will also stand on its own as a way to totally flip the franchise on its head. Starting August 12, Alien: Earth tells a story set three years before the events of the first movie. However, while that was in space, this takes place—you guessed it—on Earth. There, a spaceship that was tasked with acquiring deadly aliens from across the galaxy is finally on its way home, when something goes wrong and it crashes. To explore the crash, a team of hybrids—synthetic beings with the consciousness of children—are sent in to explore. What they'll find is not just the iconic xenomorph, but several other species as well. A few weeks back, io9 was among a group of journalists who were able to watch the pilot episode of Alien: Earth (which was awesome) and speak with Hawley, as well as producer David Zucker, about all things Alien: Earth. Here are the highlights. Alien: Earth couldn't exist without the xenomorph, but Hawley knew he had to add new creatures to hopefully capture what makes Alien so special. 'One of the things you can never reproduce in an audience that has seen an Alien movie is the feeling you had the first time you saw the life cycle of this creature in that first film,' Hawley said. 'It's just unreproducible. You know that it's an egg, it's a face hugger, it's a chestburster, and all that. And so that's where the idea for other creatures came from. I want you to have that feeling because that feeling is integral to the Alien experience. But I can't do it with those creatures. So let's introduce new creatures where you don't know how they reproduce or what they eat. So that you can have that, 'I'm out' feeling multiple times a week.' Another intergral part of the Alien franchise is that, yes, the aliens are brutal killers. But the humans who are trying to capture them are often worse. That's why Alien: Earth will feature an equally important story centered on a technological race, personified by those hybrid characters. 'One of the interesting features of the movies, especially Jim Cameron's movie where he has that line from Sigourney [Weaver] to Paul Reiser where she says, 'I don't know which species is worse. At least they don't fuck each other over for a percentage.' Right? And so this idea about humanity and the terrible things that we do to each other, it really opened my mind as to the types of horror that would populate the show, not just body horror or creature horror, but also the moral horror of what people do. And the question is, if you take a girl and you put her into this synthetic body, is she going to choose human or other? And so it becomes about the push-pull between 'Well, why be human if this is what humans do to each other?' But there's such a beauty to the human experience, etc. So that's the tension, I feel like, that elevates it above just who lives and who dies.' Hawley's story is set in the world of Alien, with names and companies you'll recognize, but that wasn't the most important thing to him. 'I've said before but, if I have a skill at reinventing classic movies, it's understanding what the original made me feel and why, and then recreating those feelings in you by telling you a new story,' he said. That new story had to fit visually in the world of Alien. 'I was very adamant that technology-wise we embrace the retrofuturism of the franchise,' Hawley said. 'That is the visual definition for me. There are three classic sci-fi brands. There's Star Wars, Star Trek, and Alien. And none of them look like the other one. You would never confuse one for the other. And so if we want to make Alien, something's got to be dripping. Something's got to be rusty. You have to have those sorts of aesthetics to it. And then the challenge was, well, we're not even focused on the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and we're on Earth. And so how, from an aesthetic standpoint, do you make sure that it feels like Alien to the audience when, obviously, if we're not on a ship, it's just not going to look like that. So that was a long, long process.' Yes, there are other creatures. No, it won't be focused on the life cycle of the xenomorph. But the xenos are in there, crucial to the show, and in a way you've never seen them before. 'We never really see these creatures within an ecosystem, right?' Hawley said. 'They're always sort of an apex predator existing in a space with no other wildlife, really. And I was interested in that idea of, if you're going to bring these creatures to a terrestrial environment, how are they going to change it? And how are other creatures, bugs, any of it, going to interact with them? So some of that we address, some of that is still percolating for future stories.' 'I think just the idea of seeing these creatures in a landscape, an Earth landscape, is such a profoundly unsettling and kind of exhilarating thing when we get to that moment,' he added. 'It really felt like such a gift after, at that time, six movies, to be doing something new, right? To have that opportunity.' Hawley knows that it will be hard, if not impossible, to top the H.R. Giger design of the original Alien. But he also knows he has to make sure these new creatures can stand up against them. So lots of care has, and continues to be, taken in their designs. 'I will be adjusting the design until they tell me I absolutely can't do it anymore,' he said. 'Every element of it, from the skin texture to sound design, it all goes to the 'Get into your nightmares' part of it. And mostly my hope is that people who watch the show will never do anything comfortably again.' So, yes, this is a new story with new threads and perspectives, but it fits in with the original movies in some fun ways. That's especially driven by the fact this show isn't on a spaceship or an alien planet. It's on Earth, which is something the original films have almost wholly avoided. 'It's the first time we're coming to Earth,' Hawley said. 'I mean, there's a little on Earth in Prometheus, but with no sort of expansion on who rules the Earth, what are the politics, how does that work throughout the galaxy, etc. And so it was a gift to get a franchise this big with very little mythology to it.' 'So that I could say, 'All right, well, what do we know about the next hundred years?' Hawley continued. 'It's going to get hotter. It's going to get wetter. I'm not betting against capitalism so I think the corporations, that power is going to aggregate. And all we really know about Aliens is that there's this corporation called Weyland-Yutani. And for me, I just think that story, that Weyland-Yutani story, is really interesting, but I like the idea also of introducing that there's still a competition. And I also thought, in terms of the moment on Earth. I thought about the moment at the turn of the 20th century where you had Edison and Tesla and Westinghouse, and you weren't sure who was going to control electricity. So I thought if we had that kind of moment in which it's a contest between the sort of cybernetic enhancements and AI and transhumanism—and, like any technology race, you know, you don't remember who the competitor to Xerox was, right? And so that was exciting to me to explore that.' In addition to the opportunity of exploring what's happening on Earth, Hawley loved that the movies gave him a lot of open space to add to the story. 'If you remember the movie, they just get sent to this planet,' he said. 'I mean, clearly somebody knows about these creatures, right? They knew enough to send them there, but their knowledge of these creatures [is a mystery]. Now, of course, [the crew of the Nostromo] has been in cryosleep for, I don't know how many decades or years or whatever. So that's the interesting thing about the lack of mythology is these people who find those first eggs have been out of contact with Earth for who knows how long. And so there is a gray area that we could play in and try to create something with as big a scale as possible to justify the title while still making it credible for the rest of the canon.' 'I've had some conversations with [the filmmakers],' Hawley admitted. '[But], you know, this is not a Kevin Feige Marvel Universe moment. I'm not saying that that in success that that we shouldn't be coordinating or thinking big picture about that. The show [just] has to be a hit before you can really have those conversations.' Hawley doesn't know how far the show will go along but, he has thought about potential links between the show and films. 'I haven't literally calendared it out,' he said, 'But we know that Ripley ends up in an escape pod and is found 57 years later. So we really have no idea what they know on Earth about what happened on the Nostromo. And so is my challenge really figuring what happens in those three years or in the 60 years before she comes back? So those are all active questions that were that we're discussing.' 'Well, it's not up to me,' Hawley said. But, in his mind it's a recurring series that could go on for more seasons. 'We created it as a recurring series, and I have great plans and ambitions for it as such.' For this one, we'll turn it over to David Zucker, the chief creative officer for Scott Free, Ridley Scott's production company. 'In all candor, we were approached many times [about making Alien shows] and there was no interest on our behalf,' Zucker said. 'And frankly, I don't think one could even conceive of delivering something of this kind of equivalency of what one can do [as] feature TV in this sort of modern era. But I think the thing that that also didn't exist before John [Landgraf, chairman of FX] and Noah had this conversation is somebody who could have this kind of vision, this kind of originality. Ridley was really, I think, enthralled by being able to relaunch the franchise. And he's excited about the extension of it, but it really required somebody who could take the essence, as Noah's talked about, and find a way to take viewers in an entirely different experience. And that that was just something we had never encountered before and couldn't have have imagined that that opportunity would exist. So the planets align, as they say.' The planets will further align on August 12 when Alien: Earth debuts on FX. Check back for more soon. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Geek Tyrant
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
New ALIEN: EARTH Trailer Crash-Lands and Brings the Xenomoph Horror to Earth — GeekTyrant
A brand-new trailer for Alien: Earth has arrived, and this one takes us deeper into the heart of the chaos. Titled 'Greener World,' it focuses on the USCSS Maginot plummeting through the atmosphere, crashing into a sprawling dystopian city. The tone of this series feels different than what we've seen in the franchise before. This isn't the cold, desolate space terror we're used to. It's urban, rain-soaked, and teeming with life, evoking serious Blade Runner energy. The footage shifts to the surface, where synthetic Wendy (Sydney Chandler) leads a mission to uncover what really happened aboard the Maginot. It's clear this wasn't just a crash. There were secret experiments involving multiple alien species, and now Earth is facing the consequences. The trailer teases unsettling imagery, from a bloodied goat in a sterile lab to panicked crowds running from something we never fully see. It closes with a chilling glimpse of a lone Xenomorph lurking in the shadows of a cave, setting the tone for the horror to come. Unlike previous teasers drenched in horror and gore, this one broadens the scope. The series takes place two years before Ellen Ripley's first encounter in Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, following a tactical unit sent to investigate the Maginot after its catastrophic landing. This series explores the fascinating concept of a human mind being transferred into a Synthetic body. That character is Wendy, who's played by Sydney Chandler. This new footage hints that this new technology comes with consequences. The series is set in the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. In this Corporate Era, cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with artificial intelligence) exist alongside humans. But the game is changed when the wunderkind Founder and CEO of Prodigy Corporation unlocks a new technological advancement: hybrids (humanoid robots infused with human consciousness). When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, 'Wendy' and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. According to previously released details, the series will feature five different monsters, making this easily one of the most creature-heavy entries in the franchise's history. Created by Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth also stars Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, Alex Lawther as Hermit, and Babou Ceesay as Morrow, along with Essie Davis, Adrian Edmondson, David Rysdahl, Lily Newmark, and many more. The series premieres on FX and Hulu August 12 in the US and Disney+ in the UK on August 13.
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Scotsman
Work to start on new £8m Gaelic centre on Scotland's most visited island
The new centre is projected to bring an economic boost to the island by providing full-time jobs Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Work is to start on a new £8m Gaelic language and culture centre hoped to boost the local economy and preserve culture in a region on Scotland's most visited island. The new centre – Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) – will be built at Flodigarry on the north end of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It aims to protect and develop the Gaelic language, provide jobs and encourage young people to stay in the region. A drawing from plans for the new centre | Supplied The building will include a large function hall, classrooms for language, music and heritage education, a library and digital archive and a cafe and restaurant. The community trust behind the development said accommodation will be included onsite for the users of the centre but also to address a chronic shortage of beds in the island region. Trotternish is amongst the most deprived rural areas in Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services, according to the Trotternish Trust | Supplied While the area is internationally recognised for dinosaur footprints, with 160 million year old evidence of ornithopods, and its links to Hollywood after being a film location for blockbusters, including Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender and Ridley Scott's Prometheus, the Trotternish Trust said it is among the most deprived areas in rural Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to the centre's business plan, the development is due to employ 10 full-time staff and provide part-time jobs and seasonal work. Scenery on the Trotternish peninsula | Supplied The Trotternish Trust, behind the development, said it will also prioritise keeping young people in the area. Margaret Nicolson, chairwoman of Ionad Thròndairnis, said: 'Gaelic is still alive as a community language in this area. I can speak Gaelic to many people, every day, in the shops and in the community. 'There are people moving into the community and – although they don't speak it themselves – very often they will send their children to the Gaelic-medium schools, and so I can speak Gaelic to those children. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'This is still a Gaelic community, and the new centre will be a great boost for the language.' She added: 'The new Ionad Thròndairnis will provide a great economic boost. 'It will provide around ten new full-time jobs, which is very big in rural Skye, and further seasonal and part-time jobs. So maybe 15 people employed. And, as a community-run trust, money will stay in the community.' Preliminary work at the new site will start within the next few weeks with archaeology checks, drainage work and further planning at the site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Trust said the new centre will fit directly into Government policy which could see the area designated an Area of Linguistic Significance. Community Land Scotland, the lead organisation representing community landowners across Scotland, is supporting the new development. CLS's director of communities and operations Linsay Chalmers said: 'This is a great project born of a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the community. Supporting the rich Gaidhlig language and culture has always been a central part of our work with community groups. 'We all know the language adds significantly to the health of the communities where it is still used. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A place like Trotternish is one of the Gaidhlig heartlands and it is fantastic that the community has taken the initiative to support and strengthen the language and in turn strengthen the economic and social wellbeing of the north of Skye.'
Extra.ie
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Lights, Gaeilge, Action! - Irish filmmaker on his family legacy of shooting movies
A young filmmaker whose debut short premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh this week is extending an established family legacy of shooting as Gaeilge – and working with legendary Hollywood director Ridley Scott. Oíche Chultúir – a boy racer-themed action short that is set in Gaeltacht-area Connemara – was well received in Galway, almost 50 years after writer/director/star Oisín Fleming's grandfather broke the mould for Irish language cinema. Bob Quinn's 1978 film Poitín, set in the same part of the world, was the first full-length feature shot entirely in the Irish language. Quinn, now 89, ran an independent cinema from his home, later immortalised in the 2004 documentary Cinegael Paradiso, directed by his son Robert and also screened in Galway this week. A young filmmaker whose debut short premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh this week is extending an established family legacy of shooting as Gaeilge. Pic: Sean Dwyer Fleming said he hasn't given much thought to the evolution of life in rural Ireland between his grandfather's film about illicit alcohol production and his own Kneecap-soundtracked caper, which deals in harder substances. But the 26-year-old has 'definitely thought about' the similarities between the films. 'I suppose it's interesting how we both made a crime film with a car chase, and kind of similar cheeky dialogue,' he explained to Fleming, who comes from Bray in Co. Wicklow, has two 'very proud grandparents' in Bob and his wife Helen, who 'helped write Bosco', so filmmaking 'definitely runs deep' in the family. Fleming, who comes from Bray in Co. Wicklow, has two 'very proud grandparents' in Bob and his wife Helen, who 'helped write Bosco', so filmmaking 'definitely runs deep' in the family. Pic: RTÉ That is true even before considering he is the son of Vikings: Valhalla director Hannah Quinn and cinematographer Tim Fleming, whose credits include Gladiator, Once and the Netflix smash Fate: The Winx Saga (which was directed by Quinn). In fact, both his parents worked on Gladiator, where the infant Fleming first shared a set with legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott, though it turned out that it would not be the last time. Fleming was a trainee assistant director on the 2021 historical epic The Last Duel, starring 'absolute gent' Matt Damon. 'I definitely was inspired by how direct he was and how calm he was and how simple it was,' Fleming said of working with Scott. 'Just don't overcomplicate it. Direct and clean [instruction] is just always better. You don't want to confuse anybody.' The emerging filmmaker has learned from his parents, too, and doesn't play down the head start he got over less-connected peers. Pic: Supplied One day of the shoot 'really sticks out', he remembered. 'It's a massive scene, 150 extras in the middle of this medieval battle. And over the walkie-talkie, they're like, 'Right, stand by, rolling.' 'And then he goes, 'Okay, wait, wait, let it cook.' And he just waits for 30 seconds, just lets the tension build just to get more out of the performance – just little things like that. 'He'd also set up a shot and say over the walkie: 'I'm painting a Vermeer.' He's an amazing artist. He's always referencing shots or paintings that he wants to recreate. I just love that.' 'I won't lie; it makes my life a lot easier because [my parents are] so well-liked. And I've actually worked with a lot of these people in my career now, that I'd been on set with as a kid. So I'm so lucky. Pic: Supplied The emerging filmmaker has learned from his parents too, and doesn't play down the head start he got over less-connected peers. 'I won't lie; it makes my life a lot easier because [my parents are] so well-liked. And I've actually worked with a lot of these people in my career now, that I'd been on set with as a kid. So I'm so lucky. 'I don't take it for granted. I've had every opportunity to move up in the industry, and I never, ever complain. I just keep my head down and work on it. When I get the nepo baby accusations, I just take it on the chin.' Fleming said he abandoned plans to go to film school after hearing from enough graduates that they 'wish they'd just started working'. Pic: Sean Dwyer Some 60 credits into a career that began at 16, his parents would appear correct in telling him they have 'only brought me to the door'. 'If I'm not good enough, there's no way I'd make it to 60 credits, I suppose,' he added. Fleming said he abandoned plans to go to film school after hearing from enough graduates that they 'wish they'd just started working'. 'They wished that they just learned on the job, because there's only so much film school can teach you, I think. And then people come out of film school maybe and they get a shock to the system, because the industry can be pretty brutal.' Both his parents contributed to Oíche Chultúir, and have mentored their son on their own jobs. 'We work really well together. My mum was definitely tough on me when she trained me first as an assistant director for my first few jobs, but I suppose she did that for a reason, to kind of shape me up. But I'd really love to work with them more.' His brother Jacob and half-brother Eoin are also pursuing film careers, following their father into cinematography. It was not his pedigree or Gaeilgeoir background that inspired Fleming to make films in Irish, but the international success of Colm Bairéad's Oscar-nominated An Cailín Ciúin – first noticed by Fleming while working on The Gone with his mother in Australia. 'All the Aussies I was with wouldn't stop going on about this little Irish film called The Quiet Girl, and I thought, 'Wow, I'm on the other side of the world, and we don't seem to be celebrating our own Irish language films as much as other people do.' 'On the way home, I did the [funding pitch for Screen Ireland] with the Kneecap track [H.O.O.D] in mind, having not known there was going to be this massive Kneecap explosion.' The band were 'reasonable' in licensing the track for use in the film, while fellow Irish-language rapper Súil Amháin requested a donation to the charity ACALI' Palestine in place of a fee. Fleming said the feedback so far has confirmed his belief that the 'tone of the Irish just feels better than the English' in his film. 'I like the cadence when you write it, and I just like the cadence of my film. I'd love to play around with that more.'
