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The Entertainment Industry and Missed Opportunities
2 years ago
Whatever the hell the entertainment industry is going though these days, I hope it ends soon.
But this little rant isn't about what we know what big entertainment corporations should or shouldn't be doing. There are plenty of Youtubers out there that have said what needs to be said regarding that issue.
This is a rant regarding established franchises, even before bigger companies bought them out. This is more of a lament, a rant, a sharing of ideas, speculations and a distant hope.
More and more these days I see what one would call missed opportunities. Some of these opportunities are possibilities one may or may not think about, but would think to theirself: "Hey, that could actually work. Let's expand on it!" Or there are possibilities which stare people right in the face, and they completely do not see it! Or they ignore it. Or someone pitches the idea and it gets shot down.
A good example of an idea staring you in the face: The Aliens films and the universe in which they reside.
When Prometheus (and later Alien: Covenant) came out many of us actually thought the film would have been a further exploration of what I like to call the 'Weyland-Yutaniverse', and not relate to the xenomorphs we've all come to know.
We saw Prometheus. We were disappointed, and part of the reason why is they EXPLAINED who the Space Jockeys were and the origin of the xenomorphs. Yeah. No. Part of what made Alien such a grand film was folks were left with mystery and speculation. That was FUN! (And no, I won't go into the 2-part comic that did explore the Space Jockeys.)
The other part of why some fans were upset was that they focused on the xenomorphs. Yeah. NO. We've already seen the xenomorphs. Give us something else! No. Really. The Weyland-Yutaniverse SHOULD go far beyond the confines of the aliens.
Here's what Prometheus could have been: a colony from the planet Thetas (yes, it's an actual colony mentioned in Alien) having some civil issues with the Company having a huge political overreach in their lives. Maybe it could have been a modern retelling of the British Empire having their reign over Ireland and imposing weird laws that completely put the citizens at a severe living disadvantage. But instead of Britain and Ireland, it could be Weyland-Yutani and Thetas respectively. This could be looked at as a relatively solid story idea based in history.
Another idea: In the movie Aliens, during a breakfast scene Private Frost jovially mentioned getting that 'Arcturian poontang'. The mention of 'Arcturian' would lead one to suppose there was a colonized world called Arcturus and the beings who dwelt there were colonists, or were creatures or human hybrids. The conversation went on: 'Yes, but the one you had was a male!' 'Doesn't matter when it's Arcturian!'
One could explore this. Were Arcturians a genetically modified group of humans? One doesn't know. If Arcturus was a colony subjected genetic modification, a story of corporate meddling into nefarious biological misdeeds affecting said colonists could have been written and produced. The idea is not really a mystery, but if a person is prone to think about dialogue and hints at a bigger world, the person is definitely going to speculate. World building.
Another idea: Seegson was a business competitor to Weyland-Yutani. Anyone who has thoroughly played Alien: Isolation would know Seegson was a company that started off manufacturing parts for FTL travel as well as their own brand of androids. Since both corporations are corrupt and hold their employees with little regard, they could have gotten down and dirty with some brutal corporate espionage, maybe using these poorly-manufactured androids as a way of dealing with troublesome folk. We could even send in the Colonial Marines to help mop up( but let's not use them TOO much). That could have been a film. No aliens. Just people and world building.
Also, I consider the game Alien: Isolation canon to the Weyland-Yutaniverse as much as the first two Alien films. I've never seen a game expand on a universe so well as this one. I did hear Ghostbusters game was fairly solid in that regard, though.
An example of a not-so-obvious idea: Anyone here ever see the film Interstellar? I was pretty obsessed with that movie when it came out in 2014. I even did some weird crossover art: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/17032943/
Interstellar had potential for world-building! It had a LOT of potential, and the fact I'm the only one I know of mentioning this shows no one else has thought of this, or I'm just weird like that.
The movie hinted at a lot of shit the world was going through at the time. The characters dropped quite a few verbal hints of what came before: "Just six billion people (we're almost up to 8 billion these days). Just try to imagine that." "Popcorn should not be eaten at a baseball game. I want a hot dog." "I still pay my taxes." The Dodgers were playing a half-empty small-town stadium, no okra anymore, just corn. You never saw ONE animal. Just people.
It made your mind start to wonder just what the hell happened, and how would you explain some of the so-called scientific inaccuracies in a movie that at least made an attempt to be scientifically accurate?
Here is where a three-season series could have come in; a spin-off from the Chris Nolan film. I think the title of the spin-off series would be something called 'Lazarus', because that was the name of the original mission that explored beyond the worm hole near Saturn.
Season one could have taken place before the events of Interstellar. It could have been a world war, or just a slow dissolution of the cities and population as the military was used to keep order. We'd see the Marine robots like TARS a bit more and how they were utilized during this time. The hiding of NASA as a government establishment could work as a story plot as well as the origins of the 'crop' virus.
Season two could take place during the events of Interstellar when Cooper and the crew were out in the other galaxy trying to establish 'Plan A and B' while Earth focuses solely on 'Plan A'. The focus would be on Earth and the attempts to salvage whatever plants, seeds, crops, animal DNA, sperm and eggs were left. Imagine a setting in the Antarctic where the scientists down there do what they can to create strains of crops in their greenhouses that could withstand the virus. Or at least use the South Pole as a sealed off area for emergency green housing and seed storage. Maybe there could be focus on the seed storage in Norway.
Season three could be focused on the events after Cooper and TARS returned from the other galaxy. A story plot could show how the colony near Saturn got established and whatever political strife occurred therein. An ideal plot could be focusing on the remnants of Earth and the people left there to stay to try to revive the planet to what it was before.
Now, the Lazarus series would be in opposition of the idea of not exploring the xenomorph aspect of the Weyland-Yutaniverse, and some might say this dismantles my original proposed idea of taking away the fun of the mystery by exploring it further.
One could be right, but one could look at it like this: Lazarus would be an example of exploring the mystery established in a film and it wouldn't necessarily ruin anything, because it's based on events that actually happened in that world's history, and these events were likely recorded.
Alien, on the other hand, is steeped in mystery. It's part of the charm of that universe in that exploring it too much would take away the fun, at least where the xenomorphs and the space jockeys are concerned.
It's speculative what-could-have-beens and throwing ideas out there that I wish could have seen the light of day.
What do y'all think? Be sure to like, comment and hit the subscribe button. ;)
But this little rant isn't about what we know what big entertainment corporations should or shouldn't be doing. There are plenty of Youtubers out there that have said what needs to be said regarding that issue.
This is a rant regarding established franchises, even before bigger companies bought them out. This is more of a lament, a rant, a sharing of ideas, speculations and a distant hope.
More and more these days I see what one would call missed opportunities. Some of these opportunities are possibilities one may or may not think about, but would think to theirself: "Hey, that could actually work. Let's expand on it!" Or there are possibilities which stare people right in the face, and they completely do not see it! Or they ignore it. Or someone pitches the idea and it gets shot down.
A good example of an idea staring you in the face: The Aliens films and the universe in which they reside.
When Prometheus (and later Alien: Covenant) came out many of us actually thought the film would have been a further exploration of what I like to call the 'Weyland-Yutaniverse', and not relate to the xenomorphs we've all come to know.
We saw Prometheus. We were disappointed, and part of the reason why is they EXPLAINED who the Space Jockeys were and the origin of the xenomorphs. Yeah. No. Part of what made Alien such a grand film was folks were left with mystery and speculation. That was FUN! (And no, I won't go into the 2-part comic that did explore the Space Jockeys.)
The other part of why some fans were upset was that they focused on the xenomorphs. Yeah. NO. We've already seen the xenomorphs. Give us something else! No. Really. The Weyland-Yutaniverse SHOULD go far beyond the confines of the aliens.
Here's what Prometheus could have been: a colony from the planet Thetas (yes, it's an actual colony mentioned in Alien) having some civil issues with the Company having a huge political overreach in their lives. Maybe it could have been a modern retelling of the British Empire having their reign over Ireland and imposing weird laws that completely put the citizens at a severe living disadvantage. But instead of Britain and Ireland, it could be Weyland-Yutani and Thetas respectively. This could be looked at as a relatively solid story idea based in history.
Another idea: In the movie Aliens, during a breakfast scene Private Frost jovially mentioned getting that 'Arcturian poontang'. The mention of 'Arcturian' would lead one to suppose there was a colonized world called Arcturus and the beings who dwelt there were colonists, or were creatures or human hybrids. The conversation went on: 'Yes, but the one you had was a male!' 'Doesn't matter when it's Arcturian!'
One could explore this. Were Arcturians a genetically modified group of humans? One doesn't know. If Arcturus was a colony subjected genetic modification, a story of corporate meddling into nefarious biological misdeeds affecting said colonists could have been written and produced. The idea is not really a mystery, but if a person is prone to think about dialogue and hints at a bigger world, the person is definitely going to speculate. World building.
Another idea: Seegson was a business competitor to Weyland-Yutani. Anyone who has thoroughly played Alien: Isolation would know Seegson was a company that started off manufacturing parts for FTL travel as well as their own brand of androids. Since both corporations are corrupt and hold their employees with little regard, they could have gotten down and dirty with some brutal corporate espionage, maybe using these poorly-manufactured androids as a way of dealing with troublesome folk. We could even send in the Colonial Marines to help mop up( but let's not use them TOO much). That could have been a film. No aliens. Just people and world building.
Also, I consider the game Alien: Isolation canon to the Weyland-Yutaniverse as much as the first two Alien films. I've never seen a game expand on a universe so well as this one. I did hear Ghostbusters game was fairly solid in that regard, though.
An example of a not-so-obvious idea: Anyone here ever see the film Interstellar? I was pretty obsessed with that movie when it came out in 2014. I even did some weird crossover art: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/17032943/
Interstellar had potential for world-building! It had a LOT of potential, and the fact I'm the only one I know of mentioning this shows no one else has thought of this, or I'm just weird like that.
The movie hinted at a lot of shit the world was going through at the time. The characters dropped quite a few verbal hints of what came before: "Just six billion people (we're almost up to 8 billion these days). Just try to imagine that." "Popcorn should not be eaten at a baseball game. I want a hot dog." "I still pay my taxes." The Dodgers were playing a half-empty small-town stadium, no okra anymore, just corn. You never saw ONE animal. Just people.
It made your mind start to wonder just what the hell happened, and how would you explain some of the so-called scientific inaccuracies in a movie that at least made an attempt to be scientifically accurate?
Here is where a three-season series could have come in; a spin-off from the Chris Nolan film. I think the title of the spin-off series would be something called 'Lazarus', because that was the name of the original mission that explored beyond the worm hole near Saturn.
Season one could have taken place before the events of Interstellar. It could have been a world war, or just a slow dissolution of the cities and population as the military was used to keep order. We'd see the Marine robots like TARS a bit more and how they were utilized during this time. The hiding of NASA as a government establishment could work as a story plot as well as the origins of the 'crop' virus.
Season two could take place during the events of Interstellar when Cooper and the crew were out in the other galaxy trying to establish 'Plan A and B' while Earth focuses solely on 'Plan A'. The focus would be on Earth and the attempts to salvage whatever plants, seeds, crops, animal DNA, sperm and eggs were left. Imagine a setting in the Antarctic where the scientists down there do what they can to create strains of crops in their greenhouses that could withstand the virus. Or at least use the South Pole as a sealed off area for emergency green housing and seed storage. Maybe there could be focus on the seed storage in Norway.
Season three could be focused on the events after Cooper and TARS returned from the other galaxy. A story plot could show how the colony near Saturn got established and whatever political strife occurred therein. An ideal plot could be focusing on the remnants of Earth and the people left there to stay to try to revive the planet to what it was before.
Now, the Lazarus series would be in opposition of the idea of not exploring the xenomorph aspect of the Weyland-Yutaniverse, and some might say this dismantles my original proposed idea of taking away the fun of the mystery by exploring it further.
One could be right, but one could look at it like this: Lazarus would be an example of exploring the mystery established in a film and it wouldn't necessarily ruin anything, because it's based on events that actually happened in that world's history, and these events were likely recorded.
Alien, on the other hand, is steeped in mystery. It's part of the charm of that universe in that exploring it too much would take away the fun, at least where the xenomorphs and the space jockeys are concerned.
It's speculative what-could-have-beens and throwing ideas out there that I wish could have seen the light of day.
What do y'all think? Be sure to like, comment and hit the subscribe button. ;)
I think anyone reading the polls would be able to discern trolling and legitimate suggestions. And hey, some trolls might give some good ideas.
There's also a ton of Star Wars and Star Trek novels that have been published that would have made fantastic origin stories/continuations.
JJ Abrams could have just adapted the story 'Enterprise', which was an origin story novel written by Vonda N. McIntyre. It would have avoided the silly 'alternate universe' idea for the so-called newer audiences. To me that was a cop-out. There is so much lore in Star Trek that coming up with a new timeline was completely unnecessary.
When the Imperial officer asking Han what his name was, it showed Han's face for a second, THEN the title screen 'Solo' showed. It was such a clever and creative edit.
Oh, right. Something else I forgot; it's been theorized that Blade Runner takes place in the same universe as Alien. Considering that these two films were made almost back-to-back by the same director, it would make sense, besides, tonally, they weren't too far off. Besides, some sounds and props used in Alien were also used in Blade Runner. Tyrell coulda been a competitor with Weyland-Yutani.
Prometheus did not explain the space jockeys or the xenomorphs. They had an entire movie where they did not explain one thing. In fact, things make *less* sense now. The entire movie was about things happening for no reason, or against reason. Tell me *one* thing about Prometheus that explained ANYTHING about what happened in the movie Alien.
Second:
I want the movie industry to get past the false concept of the 'safe bet'. We have had a horrendous series of disappointments because they avoided 'a risk' in favor of a 'safe bet', and how did it go? Sure, perhaps the *initial* movie going still made money because people were expecting it to be good, but reputations are being destroyed. Look at the long-term results: People don't trust movies. Numbers are way down, bitterness has set in, and money is being lost in large quantities. Yet still execs are clinging to this myth of the 'safe bet'.
Some will rise, some will fall but I think in the coming years things will be very different and the mainstream can either get on board or get left behind.
I've come up with ideas that share the universe, but I have to condense their synopses for fitting into this post:
Mystery Idea:
Open with a moon excavation that reveals an alien artifact. Cut to the protagonist detective in a W-Y city station who is working on a serial killing case. A brothel's john is suspected. A false lead on malfunctioning androids ends up uncovering a coup plot by the department for control of the station. Detective periodically hallucinates the station in unfamiliar appearance (Giger designs), but is able to "see" where the murderer had traveled. Confronting the murderer, detective sees a monster when police see just a human. The hallucinations are permanent for the detective, with more of these "monsters" behaving civil in plain sight. The brothel madame, another of these monsters, thanks the detective for removing the traitor. This is seen by a security camera feed in the executive office, as a nearby vault closes with the artifact inside.
Horror Idea:
W-Y has already re-engineered xenomorphs into remote-controlled infiltrators and shock troopers. A W-Y scientist combines this technology with his own miniature wormwhole technology, the xenomorph can be controlled when infiltrating destinations anywhere in the galaxy. The scientist has to use the technology to find out why W-Y sites are being raided and destroyed. After enough cat-and-mouse, the scientist finds the infiltrants to belong to his future self.
Western Idea:
W-Y is eroded after centuries, one of its colonies isolated and devolved into a wild west dark age. People search for lost facilities, including the elusive Administration Center. Lawmen are outnumbered by criminals, and armored mercenaries (AM) use old W-Y military hardware to pick either side of the law when convenient. Synths make up the other hostiles. An exoskeleton AM saves a lawman from outlaws by chance, and across various encounters, the two cooperate with finding the Admin Center. The center had barred access to humans, but the duo were the extreme outliers with the means to enter. The lawman is a final synth model, and the AM is a hybrid xenomorph soldier that used the exoskeleton as a disguise. The administrator grants custody of the facility, the last functioning center when all other W-Y sites are offline.
On very different movies, Amazon owns the rights to Cobra and Robocop. Weller and Stallone are still alive. If there's a time to cash-in on 80s action movie nostalgia, time is running out for this hypothetical buddy retired-cop duo. The "missed" opportunity is why it never happened sooner.