UPDATE (6/1/09): News was reported today revealing that Carl Rinsch’s Alien project won’t be a remake, but a prequel to Ridley Scott’s original film. Which is cool news, obviously, but it pretty much makes the following “new Ripley casting choices” obsolete. Fuck it, though—–gave me a reason to post those eye-massaging pics, right?
Yesterday brought forth an official announcement that a remake of Ridley Scott’s phenomenal classic Alien (1979) is being developed, news that initially pissed me off. Per usual whenever a new pointless take on a cherished genre film is discussed. If something is perfectly great the way it is, why tarnish the name with a too-stylized new spin? Look deeper into this news, however, and some anger gives way to slight optimism: Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Braveheart), along with his brother Tony Scott (director of True Romance, Domino, and next month’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) are two of the remake’s producers, so there’s at least a chance of the original’s essence and good name remaining intact.
Carl Erik Rinsch
The most intriguing element of this announcement, though, is the director they’ve tapped: commercials director and first-time feature filmmaker Carl Erick Rinsch. The good peeps over at /Film have compiled Risch’s best commercial spots, and the good news is that they’re all quite visually impressive. A strong portfolio that no doubt shows that the Scotts have good instincts. I’d much rather see a fresh talent give a remake a shot—-sadly, tackling remakes seems to be the only way for unestablished filmmakers to show and prove, and there’s nothing wrong with flowing some new blood into the game. I’m all for seeing what Rinsch can do with Alien. Of course, if the remake ends up being a pile of excrement, then I’ll swear Rinsch off into cinematic purgatory and chuckle at his name.
The next pertinent order of business: casting this generation’s “Ripley,” Sigourney Weaver’s iconic heroine of the Alien series. I have to top choices: first, the prestige call…..Charlize Theron. Why, you may ask? Because I haven’t been seeing enough of her lately, and Ridley Scott’s involvement justifies an A-list actress.
Second pick: a lesser-known but inspired selection….Evangeline Lilly. Aside from Lost and a blink-and-you’ll-overlook-it cameo in Kathryn Bigelow’s awesome new The Hurt Locker, Lilly has yet to cross over onto the AMC sites. Becoming the new Ripley feels like a fine way to kickstart the transition.
Let’s just hope they don’t skew this one to a younger demographic and hand the ranks over to, say, Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester. The Carl Erik Rinsch-fueled good will would dissipate in a millisecond.
Give Carl Erik Rinsch’s commercials posted at /Film a gander, by clicking on the link below. The first one, “Evolution of Technology,” proves that the guy has a nice command of special effects and creature designs.
