James Cameron Weighs In On Prometheus
This article is more than 2 years old
With Ridley Scott having returned to the cinematic universe he helped create, and that James Cameron helped expand, it was just a matter of time until somebody asked Cameron what he thought of Prometheus. Someone did, and while Cameron could always be hiding behind politeness and diplomacy, he has some pretty nice things to say about it.
The big question was popped while Cameron was being interviewed by Moviefone. The Aliens director says he actually saw Prometheus twice: once to “just enjoy it,” and a second time to be more analytical about it. Of course, that more focused process found him noting things like lighting and CGI work. So what did he think as he left the first viewing of the film?
I enjoyed Prometheus; I thought it was great. I thought it was Ridley returning to science fiction with gusto, with great tactical performance, beautiful photography, great native 3D. There might have been a few things that I would have done differently, but that’s not the point, you could say that about any movie.
The subject of Prometheus also begged the question of whether the director would ever consider returning to the Prometheus/Aliens universe for another film. His response was none too surprising, but still thoughtful. “No,” he said. “No, I feel that I’m too far away from it right now, too much other work has been done — too thickly layered, a palimpsest of other talents from Fincher to everybody that’s come along since.”
All things considered, that’s probably for the best. Aliens is to this day one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The thought of another Aliens film from Cameron is exciting, but there’s no guarantee he could capture that particular lightning in a bottle again – witness Ridley and Prometheus.
Moreover, given the fact that Avatar‘s script wasn’t worthy to polish Aliens‘ carapace, I’m not sure the Aliens movie we’d get would be the Aliens movie we’d be hoping for. If Spielberg’s E.T. walkie talkies and George Lucas’ never-ending Star Wars tinkering have taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the most dangerous threat to a filmmaker’s work is his older self. I’m pretty sure none of us wants to see the Aliens equivalent of Greedo shooting first.
