Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Evil Dead Remake

Reunites originators Sam Raimi, RobTapert and Bruce Campbell
Sam Raimi

             Los Angeles, May 04, 2012 - Principal photography has begun on “Evil Dead,” in Auckland, New Zealand and will wrap in early July 2012. 

             Ghost House Pictures is producing the much anticipated remake of Sam Raimi's 1981 cult-hit horror film “The Evil Dead”; the film that effectively launched the careers of Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man” franchise); RobTapert (“30 Days of Night”) and Bruce Campbell who played the Ash character and was Co-Producer of the original, now brings them back to produce an “Evil Dead” for today's audience that's high on the horror, gore, plot twists and more from a screenplay written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues. Executive Producers are J.R. Young, Nathan Kahane, Joseph Drake and Peter Schlessel. 

             Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) and FilmDistrict have partnered with Ghost House Pictures on a worldwide deal - excluding U.K. and France - for Sony Pictures to distribute the remake of “Evil Dead.”

             In the film, five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

             A core cast of young, fresh talent includes Jane Levy (“Suburgatory”) as Mia; Shiloh Fernandez (“Deadgirl,” “Red Riding Hood”) as David; Lou Taylor Pucci (“Carriers”) as Eric; Jessica Lucas (“Cloverfield”) as Olivia and Elizabeth Blackmore (“Legend of the Seeker”) as Natalie. 

             “This cast of burgeoning talent share the same spirit we had when creating the original,” says Tapert. “The desire to deliver an unexpected and outrageously scary movie experience for the audience.”

             “Evil Dead” marks director Fede Alvarez' feature debut. Originally from Uruguay, Alvarez studied filmmaking and communications, later opening his own production and post production company. In 2005 he won a scholarship to complete a masters in screenwriting in Amsterdam. In November 2009, he posted his four-minute short “Panic Attack!,” which became an instant viral internet phenomenon prompting intense interest from Hollywood and Ghost House Pictures in particular.

             We found a brilliant artist in Fede Alvarez. As a director, he understands what makes a story work and how to put the pieces together,” says Raimi. “I'm really excited to see this story, that I care deeply about, retold by such a fine storyteller.”

             Opening across the Philippines in 2013, “Evil Dead” will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” MOVES UP PHIL. PLAYDATE TO JUNE 29!

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures has just announced that The Amazing Spider-Man will now open in the Philippines on Friday, June 29, 2012. That's a five-day margin ahead of the film's original release date in Manila, US and North America which was supposedly July 4.

             One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man.  Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. 

The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia.

             The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field).  Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today.  Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.  As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner.  As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

             Opening across the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theatres, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

FIRST-LOOK: TRAILER OF BEN AFFLECK'S “ARGO”

Take your first look at the trailer of Ben Affleck's new dramatic thriller “Argo”

             Based on true events, “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis—the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. 

             Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck (“The Town,” “Good Will Hunting”) directs and stars in the film, which is being produced by Academy Award® winner George Clooney (“Syriana”), Oscar® nominee Grant Heslov (“Good Night, and Good Luck.”) and Affleck.

             On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

             “Argo” also stars Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”), Bryan Cranston (TV’s “Breaking Bad”) and John Goodman (“You Don’t Know Jack”). The main cast also includes Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks, and Taylor Schilling.

             Affleck is directing the film from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a selection from Master in Disguise by Antonio Mendez. David Klawans, Chris Brigham, Graham King, Tim Headington, Chay Carter and Nina Wolarsky are serving as executive producers. 

             The behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar®-nominated director of photography Rodrigo Prieto (“Brokeback Mountain”), production designer Sharon Seymour (“The Town”); Oscar®-nominated editor William Goldenberg (“Seabiscuit,” “The Insider”); and Oscar®-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”). 

             Filming on “Argo” is being accomplished in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Istanbul.

             Slated for release in the Philippines in October 2012, “Argo” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

BIG REVEAL: NEW “DJANGO UNCHAINED” PHOTOS

Check out the newly released six production stills from Columbia Pictures' upcoming action thriller “Django Unchainted,” the latest masterwork from Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

             Due to open in the Philippines early next year, “Django Unchained” stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Kerry Washington.

             Set in the American South two years before the Civil War, the film revolves around Django (Foxx), a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. 
Leonardo DiCaprio

             Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. 

             Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival… 

             “Django Unchained” will be released in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

THE WANTED IN “ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT” SOUNDTRACK

Continental phenomenon male group The Wanted have joined forces with Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios to celebrate the return of one of the world’s most beloved franchises when “ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT” hits cinemas on July 12 in Phils. theaters. 
The Wanted

Following the success of their single “Glad You Came”, which was a number one hit in the UK & has sold over 2 million copies in the US alone, the UK pop sensation announce their brand new single ‘Chasing The Sun’ will be a featured track on this year’s most anticipated animated feature film. 

In “ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT,” Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid.  In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.
Ice Age : Continental Drift

From schools tours to arena tours, since they burst on to the pop scene just 2 years ago, The Wanted have rapidly become one of the world’s biggest and best pop bands.  They’ve sold over 4 million records, 1 million albums and have sold out venues all over the world including London’s O2 Arena.

“MEN IN BLACK 3” GROSSES P68.73-M, OPENS AT NO. 1 IN PHILS.

MANILA, May 28 – Alien-hunting black-suited secret agents have invaded the top of the box office.
Smith, Jones, Sonnenfield and Brolin

             Columbia Pictures' sci-fi action comedy “Men In Black 3” starring Will Smith opened at No. 1 in the Philippines, amassing a nationwide gross of an out-of-this-world P68.73-million for the five-day opening weekend May 23-27 frame. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Philippines.

             “Men In Black 3's” first weekend haul in the Philippines is the second best opening of 2012 for a foreign movie, behind only “Marvel’s The Avengers” and beating the bows of “Wrath of the Titans” (P62.5-million), “The Hunger Games” (P62.3- million) and “Battleship” (P46.3-million).

             In the U.S., the sequel which reunited Smith with co-star Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld, effectively wrestled away the box-office crown from “Marvel's The Avengers” which has dominated the North American tills for the past weeks. "Men in Black 3" debuted as the No. 1 movie over the Memorial Day holiday weekend with $55 million. Distributor Sony estimates that by the end of the four-day holiday weekend Monday, "Men in Black 3" will have pulled in $202 million worldwide.

             Back in the Philippines, “MIB 3” rolled out on 260 screens, with SM Mall of Asia getting the lion's share of sales with P3.95-M, followed closely by SM North EDSA (P3.86-M) and Trinoma (P3.55-M). 

             Other top performing cinemas are Power Plant (P2.64-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.41-M), SM Megamall (P2.40-M), Newport (P2.12-M), Glorietta 4 (P2.05-M), SM Cebu (P1.95-M) and Alabang Town Center (P1.93-M).

             Rounding out the Top 20 cinemas are Eastwood (P1.79-M), Greenhills (P1.429-M), Gateway (P1.42-M), Robinsons Ermita (P1.36-M), Shang Cineplex (P1.33-M), Robinsons Galleria (P1.11-M), SM Southmall (P1.08-M), Ayala Cebu (P1.05-M), SM Fairview (P1.03-M) and Festival Mall (P978,423).

             In “Men In Black 3,” Agents J (Smith) and K (Jones) are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

             Audiences who watch “Men in Black 3” in Digital 3D also get to screen an extended 6-minute sneak peek of Columbia Pictures’ next super-blockbuster “The Amazing Spider-Man” as an added attraction. 2D screenings of “MIB 3” will play a new trailer of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” opening in Philippine cinemas June 29. 

             “Men In Black 3” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Monday, May 28, 2012

BIG REVEAL: NEW “TOTAL RECALL” PHOTOS

Columbia Pictures has just unveiled a batch of new production stills from its upcoming action-thriller “Total Recall.” Directed by Len Wiseman (“Underworld”), the film stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho and Bill Nighy. 
Colin Farell

             “Total Recall” is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick.

             Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Farrell), even though he's got a beautiful wife (Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs.
             But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. 

             The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.

             Opening across the Philippines in August 2012, “Total Recall” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

LOGAN MARSHALL-GREEN SETS FOOT IN “PROMETHEUS”


Q&A by Joe Utichi

Logan Marshall-Green is known for recurring guest roles on “24” and “The O.C.” In theatre, he's the recipient of a Drama Desk Award for his performance in Neil LaBute's “The Distance From Here.”
Logan Marshall Green in Prometheus

 His feature film debut came in 2005 with “The Great Raid”, and he portrayed Paco in Julie Taymor's “Across the Universe” in 2007. He can also be seen in “Brooklyn’s Finest,” as Melvin Panton and 2010's “Devil,”, based on a story by M. Night Shyamalan.

On the set of Ridley Scott's PROMETHEUS, Marshall-Green discusses his character Holloway, working with one of sci-fi's greatest pioneers, and the themes of the film.

Q:           What can you tell us about your character?
A:            I play Charlie Holloway, who is a scientist and the love interest of Elizabeth Shaw, Noomi Rapace’s character. They are a team. If she’s the brains, he’s the legs.  I wouldn’t go so far to say muscle, but he’s the legs. He’s the one who leaps before he looks, and sometimes it hurts them as a team but a lot of the times it’s helped them.  He takes a lot of chances and so far so good. This mission is one of the chances. The beautiful part is Noomi and I are teamed, but we actually differ in our philosophies as to exactly what we want or what we believe. She’s the believer. I’m the scientist. I’m the skeptic.  I’m the atheist, if you will. But we complete each other, for lack of a better word. We make a whole in that sense. I think its what’s drawn the characters together romantically as well. It’s just this kind of respect, full respect but my skepticism matched with her beliefs, her faith.

Q:           How do you react to a call saying Ridley Scott is interested in talking to you about a sci-fi project?
A:            One word, “Sure.” And then, “Sign me up.”  It’s funny, the story for me is – without giving too much away – I auditioned for the scene that I had understood to be a science fiction scene.  So that was already exciting knowing it was the scene for a Ridley Scott movie.  He hasn’t done a science fiction in 30 years.  So I’m reading the scene, I’m doing the scene and I find out that they might want to offer me this role and I say to myself, “Well, I need to read the script.” Even though I know it wouldn't take much for me to sign up. So I’m reading the script, and I have to go back to the office to read it, it's a super secret script. I realise it's this great script. This character is really good. This is a science fiction and all of a sudden I get to – I won’t say what, but something happens – and I couldn’t believe it.  My jaw hit the floor.  At that point it was, where do you sign me up?  Where do I get in line?  Because I’m a fan boy. Ridley is really one of the reasons not only that I act but that I love cinema.  He defined modern science fiction.  It was a very easy choice.  If he says, “Jump,” I say, “How high?”

Q:           The story deals with some pretty big themes, which is quite rare of a blockbuster of this scale.
A:            Rare definitely for most cinema, but not so rare for Ridley.  I think Ridley, he’s a man who deals in detail and spirit and in big questions.  He’s not just going to make another ALIEN movie. He’s not going to make just another GLADIATOR movie.  He’s going to ask the bigger questions as well. It’s all in the detail with the man. It’s just astonishing to see the detail in the world. How truly realized his future is. It allows you just to sit in it and then get to know the characters.

Q:           The crew of the Prometheus all have their own reasons for being on the ship. How has the interaction been to play with the other actors?
A:            It’s been kind of beautiful.  Like you said, everybody is kind of there watching everyone else. But there are these really beautiful duos where you have Noomi’s character and my character who really hold on to each other because they are surrounded by people who don’t believe in them and want to destroy them. And then you have Rafe Spall's and Sean Harris’s characters and you have Charlize Theron's and Idris Elba's character.  All the pairs are kind of watching the rest.





Q:           How have you enjoyed working with Noomi?
A:            The experience with Noomi has just been a dream. I rate my experience with working with actors on their work ethic. Nobody has a better work ethic than Noomi. We got kind of thrown into it together. We had to really show our history of being romantically linked, professionally linked. I just couldn’t have asked for a better actress to dive in with and get physical and do little idiosyncratic things. I think she and I both had our eyes on the exact same prize, and hopefully it shows. Without giving anything away, the relationship is essential for the story.  Instead of showing the relationship, we try to attack it with idiosyncrasies that are innate in strong relationships.  Did she just feed him a frozen space raspberry?  Yes.

Q:           Does it raise your game when you're working with such talented co-stars?
A:            You want to play with the best.  Hopefully, you want to learn from the best and steal from the best, and do your best. Ridley is one of those guys who is an A guy. Ridley gets A people. B people get C people to make them feel like A people. Ridley surrounds you with a cast of A people, a crew of A people, designers of A people, and also he needs you to help him tell the story. The collaboration that’s happening in this massive motion picture, where we have the time to find these scenes and work the script so that it’s right and not just so that we make our day, I had never been a part of that before. It starts with Ridley and then it ends with us. I have never been part of the cast that is so cohesive; socially as well as professionally.

Q:           You talked about Ridley's attention to detail, is he a precise director?
A:            My big thing is I need a director I trust. The way I trust directors is when I'm that they know what they way. No one knows what they want more than Ridley. He has that beautiful attribute of being able to let some decision-making go to the actor. Again, allow the crew and the cast to help him tell the story. He knows what he needs in any given moment. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. He’s working not just on a different plane, he’s working on 15 different planes. While he’s talking to you, he’s storyboarding for the camera, he’s watching 10 screens. He’s an octopus.

Q:           Can we expect a lot of action from the film?
A:            Yeah.  It’s not going to bore you at all. It’s not going to trick an alien through 80 pages and then deliver the alien. It’s not going to do that. It’s going to trick a philosophy and a world. Once chaos happens, it happens. That’s kind of the beauty which has always been inherent in these kinds of movies. We’re doing something different. No one is going to be bored in this movie.

Q:           Have you been enjoying the chaos?
A:            Yes! So far we’ve never been hurt. It’s chaotic, there is no doubt about that. We’re not CGI-ing the storm later. You’re being blasted with storm and chaos and it’s wonderful. It’s just ideal to act in.

                PROMETHEUS 3D is released by 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

PROMETHEUS LANDING: HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO GET WHAT YOU CAME ALL THIS WAY FOR?

Video clip: Behind the scenes of Prometheus


Sunday, May 27, 2012

NEW “AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” FOOTAGE TO BE SHOWN WITH “MEN IN BLACK 3”

Columbia Pictures has just announced that a never-before-seen footage from The Amazing Spider-Man™ will be shown as an added attraction to Men In Black 3.

             One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™.  Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. 

             The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia.

             The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field).  Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today.  Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.  As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner.  As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

             Opening across the Philippines on June 29 in 3D and regular theatres, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

DISCOVERING “PROMETHEUS 3D” – SEEKERS LAND INHOSPITABLE TERRAIN

Ridley Scott’s sci-fi action movie “Prometheus 3D” brings explorers and scientists to an inhospitable, barren environment.  With a strange and vast alien structure, Scott assures the audience that it looks like nothing that has been seen before in science fiction.

“What if you could meet God but God turned out to be the Devil?” So asks PROMETHEUS Executive Producer Michael Ellenberg of the themes at the heart of Ridley Scott's first return to science fiction since his seminal work on “Alien” and “Blade Runner.”

At the core of Scott's story are the eternal questions of human existence: Who are we and where do we come from? As Michael Fassbender, who plays the android David in the movie, summarizes: “It's basically about trying to find out if there was intervention in the birth of civilisation on planet Earth by other beings, which we come to know as Engineers, and whether they had a master plan in mind for us.

For director Ridley Scott, the themes of PROMETHEUS are a reaction to an abundance of post-apocalyptic cinema. PROMETHEUS isn't necessarily about looking forward, at what we might become, but it's about looking back, at where we might have come from.

Shot in Iceland, “Prometheus” production designer Arthur Max reveals that Morocco was the first choice of location for the movie. “We were planning to shoot in Morocco,” shares Max. “But with all the geopolitical turmoil in North Africa, we weren't able to do so. So we had to rethink.” The change means a very different aesthetic to the look of the planet – Morocco's deserts have been replaced by the cold, icy rock of the Iceland location.

In addition to shooting on location in Iceland, the production took over the 007-Stage at Pinewood Studios, just outside London. At 374ft long, it is the largest soundstage in Europe and boasts more than 59,000 sq ft of usable space. For PROMETHEUS, it wasn't big enough by half.

The production started on the backlot behind the stage, constructing the Prometheus's cargo bay and a small replica of the planet surface. This spilled onto an extension built to house more of an alien pyramid mound interior set, before finally connecting, and filling, the main space inside 007-Stage.

In the end, the production added 150ft to the stage's length. “I knew, looking from end to end, it was never going to be big enough for this set,” says Scott. “I hate working with green screen. I like the actors to have their proscenium and see what they're doing; see the arena they're in. It’s partly that. To do that blue screen thing and say, 'the monster’s coming down the corridor!' It’s really boring.” 

“The scale meant we could do a nice, big exploration scene in there,” explains Max. “We've got a 250ft network of tunnelling in there, 150ft of chambers and 25ft high doors.”

For Michael Fassbender, Scott's attention to detail in the set design of the planet surface was second to none. “Have you gone into 007-Stage yet?” he exclaims with disbelief. “You have to see the space colon, as I call it!”



The practicality of the set makes his job easier as an actor, he explains. “What's great is Ridley will do something on a piece of fishing line if it works, and stick a bit of green screen up in the corner. He knows technology but what's great about him is he's very primal. Even the technology in the film, you're like, 'That's totally feasible.'”

Arthur Max says he and Ridley Scott have learnt, over many years of working together on films like GLADIATOR, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and BLACK HAWK DOWN, that sometimes it's better to achieve something practically than with CGI. “I think balance is the key in how much you build,” he says. “You have to get a convincing base, and when you speak to the visual effects department, they'll tell you that they want enough reference material to work from. It's especially tough on this, because almost every shot has a visual component and everything has to be constructed from scratch. You can't go to a backlot and you can't go to a prop house.“      

The centerpiece of the alien set at Pinewood was a 32ft tall monolithic head, which can be glimpsed in posters for the film. This was built practically by Arthur Max's team. “The idea there is that it's part of the culture of the Engineers,” says Max of the race of aliens at the heart of the story. “This race of interplanetary visitors who have given us upgrades – mentally and physically – over the millennium.”

Max summarizes the key challenge of envisioning the alien environment: “The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick.”

            “PROMETHEUS 3D” lands in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.