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The Xenomorph From ‘Alien’ Was Considered Too Sexual

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 07:24:11 +0000

Part of the reason Alien is considered a classic horror film is because the design of the Xenomorph creature is so fascinatingly hideous. Director Ridley Scott reached out to a macabre artist in order to get the famous design in the film. Initially, 20th Century Fox wasn’t comfortable with the look of the creature, but Scott worked to change their minds.

The Xenomorph design existed before ‘Alien’

Scott is known for acclaimed movies like Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Thelma & Louise. The film that put him on the map was Alien, a big-budget answer to low-budget 1970s slasher films like Halloween and Black Christmas. During a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott discussed how he came across H.R. Giger’s design of the Xenomorph that would later be used in Alien.

“The guy who brought him to my attention was [screenwriter] Dan O’Bannon,” said Scott. “Inside of a book called Necronomicon, there was the alien. I said,’ It’s designed. This is it.’

“[Producer] Gordon Carroll and I flew to Switzerland and we went in to meet Giger at his house in Zurich. And that’s where I met H. R. and found him to be a gentle man, sweet man, who showed me his work, which is extraordinary. And I just said, ‘Would you come and do this,’ and he said, ‘I don’t fly.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll bring you by train.’ He came by train from Switzerland, and stayed with me in Shepperton Village for nine months, and that’s how it happened. He wouldn’t get on a plane. I had to persuade him.”

H. R. Giger’s Xenomorph was considered rude and risque

Of course, the reception to Giger’s creature was not universally positive. “Fox at the time thought Giger was a bit obscene and a bit rude and a bit sexual,” Scott said “And I said, ‘This all sounds good to me,’ which nearly saw me off the case.” Scott prevailed and Giger’s reptilian nightmare appeared in the film.

Giger’s Xenomorph went on to appear in all of the other films in the Alien franchise. It became one of the most famous extraterrestrial designs in the entire history of cinema. Giger would have an impact on the science fiction genre outside of the Alien films. He also designed the monster Sil from Species. Like the Xenomorph, Sil has a sexualized, reptilian design that’s pretty grotesque. The movie is the unholy lovechild of Alien and Basic Instinct, which is to say that it’s great cinematic junk food if you are in the right mood.

Why H. R. Giger’s alien was so strange

During a 2009 interview with Time Out, Giger was asked why his art is so gooey. He admitted that he was obsessed with skulls and mummies as a child. During his early years, he got to see the remains of an Egyptian princess in Chur, Switzerland. Perhaps Giger’s interest in human remains explains why his creations are often humanoid, but not humanoid enough to feel normal or familiar.

Alien could have been a run-of-the-mill monster movie, but Giger’s genius made sure that it stayed in our nightmares forever.

The Original ‘Alien’ Was Meant to Be the Opposite of ‘Star Wars’

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:54:38 +0000

Star Wars paved the way for many subsequent science fiction films, including the original Alien. During an interview director Ridley Scott revealed he wanted Alien to be the “antithesis” of Star Wars. He also said that he had 2001: A Space Odyssey in mind when he directed Alien.

The original ‘Alien’ was the most beloved of the ‘Star Wars’ cash-ins

George Lucas’ Star Wars came out in 1977 and changed cinema forever. In 1978 and 1979, many film studios released Star Wars cash-ins. We got Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Disney’s The Black Hole, the sci-fi James Bond romp Moonraker, and the bold Japanese Star Wars rip-off Message from Space. The most beloved of the bunch is Alien. Part of the reason why fans remember Alien a lot more than Message from Space is that Alien told a story that wasn’t derived from Star Wars in any meaningful way.

During a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott said he saw Star Wars as “the romantic version of space, and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey being the reality of space.” Watching both movies changed Scott’s perspective on technology. “It was the first time in my life I learned that computers are smarter than people,” he said. Notably, the character of Ash from Alien explores the threat of android artificial intelligence.

Scott decided that his movie should be “the antithesis of Star Wars and be kind of dirty spaceships in space, used craft that were no longer spanking new and no longer futuristic, but felt like, as we ended up calling them, the ‘freighter in space.’ I wanted to go in that direction. So in a funny kind of way, I was already reacting more subliminally, I think, than design-wise against the way that Star Wars had been done.”

Ridley Scott said the script for ‘Alien’ has ‘virtually no characterization whatsoever’

Scott also revealed how his approach to design influenced his work on Alien. “I thought the script had an inordinately good engine,” he said. “I thought it was virtually no characterization whatsoever. It was, ‘And then and then and then.’ And then I got to a page where it says, ‘And then this thing comes out of the guy’s chest.’

“And I’m thinking, ‘This has put off four of the directors’ — because I was No. 5 on the list,” he added. “Obviously, clearly, the previous four went, ‘What?!? This is ridiculous,’ and just put it down. Because I’m a bit of a designer, I could see the film and I knew exactly what to do.”

Why the original ‘Star Wars’ was the much bigger hit at the box office

Star Wars became one of the biggest hits of all time. According to Box Office Mojo, the original film earned over $775 million worldwide. At a time when movies didn’t make billions, Star Wars‘ $775 million gross was jaw-dropping. Star Wars went on to inspire Hollywood to make more big-budget science fiction films and movies aimed at a broad, family audience.

Box Office Mojo reports that Alien grossed more than $108 million worldwide. That’s no small feat for a horror film. Horror doesn’t have the same broad appeal as space operas do, so it’s no surprise that Star Wars was the bigger hit.

Whether or not Alien was the opposite of Star Wars, both films became timeless classics.

How ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Inspired ‘Alien’

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 02:54:25 +0000

If you’ve seen two 1970s horror movies, they were probably The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Alien. Interestingly, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre inspired the director of Alien in a major way. In addition, the director said Alien was similar to The Exorcist.

The director of ‘Alien’ called ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ ‘horrendous’

Ridley Scott is the director of popular science fiction films like Blade Runner and The Martian. During a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “It was so outrageous in its idea and story—possession of a body by a massive insect that will lay eggs in you and create other insects. “It was remarkable. While Scott acknowledged that the portrayal of reproduction in Alien bore some similarities to the possession in The Exorcist, he still felt that Alien‘s premise was original.

Scott discussed his approach to directing Alien. “I don’t know, when you’re doing a film like [Alien], if you can have too much blood,” he said. “It is very difficult to really scare me. I watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was prepping for Alien one Saturday afternoon in the Fox studio in a small theater. It was horrendous, and it scared the s*** out of me.”

Why the ‘Alien’ director couldn’t eat after watching Leatherface

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre haunted Scott. “I think I started with a hamburger at lunchtime and never took a bite,” he said. “But that was into overdrive and overkill.

“There’s a lot of people eating people and there’s a lot of violence — it’s tantamount to blood, I think,” he added. “What’s the difference, frankly? But [Texas Chainsaw Massacre director] Tobe Hooper did a [great] job, and it was my challenge to say, ‘How do I get that scary?'”

In the eyes of many, Alien captured a lot of the sheer, raw terror of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, even if Alien is far more polished and tells a more conventional story. Interestingly, both films have food as a major theme. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is partly about cannibalism, while the Xenomorph in Alien is a fearsome, hungry predator.

‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ changed everything

While Alien will always be connected to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, only one reigned supreme financially. Box Office Mojo says The Texas Chainsaw Massacre earned over $30 million worldwide. It was huge for an independent horror movie, but it couldn’t hold a candle to a Hollywood blockbuster. Meanwhile, Box Office Mojo reports Alien grossed more than $108 million worldwide. Alien had the backing of a major studio, so it simply had more reach.

While Scott’s film made more money, Hooper’s sleeper hit was more influential in the long term. On top of inspiring Alien, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a massive influence on the development of the slasher subgenre. We wouldn’t have Halloween, Friday the 13th, or A Nightmare on Elm Street without it. It also pioneered a grungy horror aesthetic that informed the Saw franchise, Rob Zombie’s movies, and the various iterations of The Hills Have Eyes. Leather face and company also made cannibalism a common horror trope.

Alien and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are both classics but The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is more culturally significant.

Justin Baldoni’s ‘Favorite Experience’ Filming ‘It Ends With Us’ Has Nothing to Do With Blake Lively

Lauren Weiler — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 18:33:33 +0000

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are under the spotlight due to their alleged feud following the filming of It Ends With Us. The film, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, brought Baldoni, the director and actor, and Lively together on set. Unfortunately, rumors suggest Lively had an uncomfortable time filming with Baldoni. And when Baldoni was asked about his “favorite experience” from filming, it had nothing to do with Lively.

Justin Baldoni explained his favorite experience filming ‘It Ends With Us,’ and it didn’t include Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni directed and acted in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. Baldoni plays Ryle Kincaid, and his character falls in love with Blake Lively’s character, Lily Bloom. Unfortunately, their relationship turns abusive.

Baldoni and Lively have seemed to actively avoid each other when promoting the movie. They didn’t take photos together on the red carpet, and they haven’t attended press events together. Additional rumors suggest that Lively felt uncomfortable when Baldoni asked about her weight before performing a scene with her. Lively also allegedly felt that Baldoni lingered too long after a kissing scene.

Baldoni spoke to Harper’s Bazaar about his favorite experience with the cast and crew of It Ends With Us. While he spent ample time with Lively, he didn’t mention her in his answer.

“I think my favorite experience of the entire shoot happened after the shoot was over,” Baldoni said. “It was at our first test screening in Colorado. I asked Colleen [Hoover] to attend; it was her first time seeing the film, and she brought her mom and her husband. After the film ended, her mom came through the doors, tears still flowing, and gave me the biggest hug. She just held on to me, repeating ‘Thank you. Thank you so much.'”

Baldoni noted that he “promised” Hoover that he would “protect” the integrity of her story with the movie.

“I just wanted this film to feel emotionally accurate for Colleen and for her mom, who lived through a version of this story,” he said.

Blake Lively said filming the entire movie was ‘a challenge’

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ on Jan. 12, 2024, in Jersey City, New Jersey | Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Blake Lively hasn’t publicly spoken out against Justin Baldoni’s conduct during the filming of It Ends With Us. However, when asked about the most challenging aspects of filming, she noted that nothing was easy.

“Oh my God, all of them, this whole movie,” Lively told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about the most challenging scene she had to film. “Honestly, the work that I did on-screen was easier than the work that I did off-screen in this movie because of all that went into it. I love a challenge, though. And I’m just so proud of every bit of it. We went through a whole rollercoaster of the human experience. I’m very proud.”

During an interview with Access Hollywood, Lively praised working with her other co-star, Brandon Sklenar, as they had undeniable chemistry. However, she never referenced how she felt while working with Baldoni.

Justin Baldoni said he and the ‘Gossip Girl’ star didn’t have a chemistry read

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively aren’t promoting It Ends With Us together. However, the director/actor praised Lively during interviews. While speaking to Cosmopolitan UK, Baldoni said he “knew” Lively was perfect for the role as soon as they met.

During the same interview, Baldoni noted that he hoped his “chemistry” with Lively would be seen by the audience, as they didn’t have a chemistry read before filming.

“We didn’t have a chemistry read as Ryle and Lily,” he said. “The very first time we met, we had a three-hour meeting. By the end of that meeting, I just knew she was Lily. But, no, we didn’t have a chemistry read. We did have chemistry reads with Lily and Atlas, but we didn’t with Ryle and Lily. I’m grateful and hopeful that there’s chemistry on the screen.”

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Justin Baldoni Said He Had to ‘Leave the Set’ to ‘Shake Out’ the Tension While Filming ‘It Ends With Us’

Lauren Weiler — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 17:14:14 +0000

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are at the center of controversy surrounding the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s hit novel, It Ends With Us. Baldoni directed and co-starred in the film, and several insiders claim that he had difficulty working with Lively. Here’s what he said about the “tension” he experienced while filming that caused him to “leave the set.”

Justin Baldoni said filming ‘It Ends With Us’ was so tense that he had to periodically ‘leave the set’

After filming It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively might be at odds. The actors co-starred in the intense film that centers on themes of domestic violence. They didn’t promote the film together, nor did they take any photos together while on the red carpet. Some insiders alleged that Lively felt uncomfortable filming with Baldoni because she felt “fat-shamed” by him asking about her weight before lifting her into the air during a scene. Lively also allegedly didn’t like that Baldoni seemed to “linger” too long after a kissing scene.

Lively and Baldoni talked about the importance of including intimacy directors in the filming process. Baldoni told Harper’s Bazaar India that the intimacy directors made both actors feel “safe.” He then spoke about the “tension” he felt while filming certain scenes.

“When you shoot a film like this, as an actor, all this tension lives in your body,” Baldoni said. “There were times when I had to literally leave the set for a second before the next setup to shake it out or release it as best as I could. Having them on set and always in my eyeline was invaluable because, at any point, I could look to one of them for a thumbs up, or we’d work on another approach together. They were such an important and integral part of our process.”

During the same interview, Baldoni praised Lively. “Once Blake signed onto the film, she was involved in all areas of production,” he said. “She is an all-encompassing creative who makes everything she touches better.”

Blake Lively also spoke about the importance of having intimacy directors on set

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are seen on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ on Jan. 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey | Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni didn’t discuss the importance of intimacy directors together, but they addressed the subject separately. Lively told Digital Spy that having the coordinators is “critical.”

“I think it’s critical to have an intimacy coordinator,” she said. “You coordinate stunts, you coordinate dancing; it is choreography. So, it’s to be able to say, ‘This is what happens here, here and here in a stunt’, and, ‘This is what happens here and here in a dance’, but like, ‘Now, you guys put your bodies together, and your mouths, and whatever,’ and just action and cut. I think that being choreographed is critical for everyone’s safety.”

It’s unclear if the intimacy coordinators were present for Baldoni’s alleged “lingering” kiss that made Lively uncomfortable.

Justin Baldoni hired a PR crisis manager to help with the current fallout

Justin Baldoni is preparing to deal with potential fallout due to his alleged feud with Blake Lively. He hired PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan to help.

So, what’s the most significant issue between Baldoni and Lively? In addition to Lively’s alleged discomfort, sources claimed Baldoni and Lively had problems in the postproduction stage of It Ends With Us. Lively had Deadpool & Wolverine editor Shane Reid provide a cut of the film, which raised eyebrows due to her husband starring in the movie. It’s unclear if any of this cut made it to the final cut of It Ends With Us, as Reid did not receive credit.

Fans will have to see how Baldoni proceeds with the crisis manager.

Elements of this article were initially reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

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Why ‘Alien’ Director Ridley Scott Hated ‘Alien vs. Predator’

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 03:42:12 +0000

Ridley Scott’s Alien remains one of the most acclaimed horror movies of all time. The spinoff Alien vs. Predator, however, is not as beloved. Scott revealed he had issues with Alien vs. Predator and the Alien franchise as a whole.

Ridley Scott said the ‘Alien’ films were ‘dead in the water’

Scott forever changed science fiction and horror when he released the original Alien in 1979. Since then, he put out popular science fiction movies like Blade Runner and The Martian and films in other genres like Thelma & Louise and Gladiator. During a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott discussed the evolution of the Alien franchise.

“You get to the point when you say, ‘OK, it’s dead in the water,'” he said. “I think Alien vs. Predator was a daft idea. And I’m not sure it did very well or not, I don’t know. But it somehow brought down the beast.”

Why Ridley Scott felt the original film worked

Scott returned to the Alien prequel Prometheus on his own terms. “And I said to them, ‘Listen, you can resurrect this, but we have to go back to scratch and go to a prequel, if you like,'” he said. “So we go to Prometheus, which was not bad actually. But you know, there’s no alien in it, except the baby at the end that showed, itself, the possibility. I mean, it had the silhouette of an alien, right?”

Scott explained the reason why the creatures from the original Alien were so frightening. “The alien [origin concept] is uniquely attached to Mother Nature,” he opined. “It simply comes off a wood beetle that will lay eggs inside some unsuspecting insect.

“And in so doing, the form of the egg will become the host for this new creature,” he added. “That’s hideous. But that was what it was. And you can’t keep repeating that because the joke gets boring.” Well, that didn’t stop the production of many Alien films, novels, comic books, video games, rip-offs, and spoofs.

‘Alien vs. Predator’ was a blockbuster but it didn’t launch much of a franchise

Regardless of Scott’s comments, Alien vs. Predator was a financial hit. Of course it was! Crossover movies were rare back then, so a film that combined the popular Alien and Predator franchises was sure to strike a chord.

Box Office Mojo reports the movie earned over $80 million in the United States and over $97 million in other countries. Combined, Alien vs. Predator grossed more than $177 million. That’s a massive haul for a horror movie! The actual test of a film’s success in the modern era is whether or not it inspired a sequel. Alien vs. Predator spawned Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. However, the crossover franchise stopped there and fans aren’t clamoring for another entry. At best, Aliens vs. Predator is considered goofy fun, but nobody thinks it’s a good movie. It’s often brought up in the same breath as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, another crossover horror film that wasn’t very good.

The Alien franchise has yet another chance to recuperate with the new film Alien: Romulus. Maybe it’ll be the first quality film in the franchise since Aliens. Or maybe it’ll be another mediocre science fiction monster movie.

‘The Sixth Sense’ Overshadowed a Better Movie With the Same Twist

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 03:50:50 +0000

Sometimes, the wrong movies get all of the credit. The Sixth Sense has become famous for its shocking twist. It would have been a lot more shocking if a cult classic movie didn’t pull off the same twist decades earlier.

‘The Sixth Sense’ has the same twist as a classic horror movie

The 1990s were a terrible time for horror movies. For every good 1990s horror film like Scream or The Blair Witch Project, the decade churned out several duds like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Leprechaun, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In that context, The Sixth Sense looked a lot better than it actually was. The story is drawn out, humorless, and overly somber. The overall mood of The Sixth Sense is more depressing than scary.

The Sixth Sense might seem a little better if it was the first famous movie to pull off the same twist, where the hero is revealed to have died early in the movie. In fact, the 1962 cult classic did the same thing. While The Sixth Sense is a straightforward Hollywood movie, Carnival of Souls blurs the line between being a B-movie and an arthouse film. The odd texture of Carnival of Souls makes it essential viewing for anyone interested in old-school horror.

Does ‘The Sixth Sense’ hold up to modern audiences?

Carnival of Souls works well even when you know the twist. Does The Sixth Sense? It’s up for the younger generation to decide. The lyrics of a certain Lonely Island song whose name I will not mention spoiled the twist of the film for millions of listeners. Today, everyone knows that Bruce Willis died in The Sixth Sense the same way everyone knows the identity of Luke Skywalker’s father or Norman Bates’ mother.

Maybe younger people will like The Sixth Sense. Maybe they won’t. Chances are, they’ll think it’s a talky melodrama that isn’t paced like a modern movie.

Why M. Night Shyamalan wrote a twist into the movie

During a 2024 interview with GQ, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan discussed the origin of the twist from The Sixth Sense and it had nothing to do with Carnival of Souls. “Plot should come out of character, at least I think that,” he said. “A guy who is treating a boy who thinks he sees ghosts, what could happen from that? You know, how does he, how could this be surprising? Because the movie was very linear for me, and I was like ‘This isn’t, it doesn’t have this extra gear, this movie.’ When I was writing it, I was like, it’s good it just doesn’t have this extra gear.

“And I was like ‘Well what could happen, this guy is treating someone that believes they see ghosts, what could happen, what could happen?'” he added. “And then, you know, I sat up and I was like ‘Oh, you know, it’s a deeper version of the conversation about life after death. And I kept thinking ‘How can I go deeper into this subject,’ and it kind of evolved outward and flowered at that moment. And so it was a very organic moment of just writing.”

Regardless of what inspired Shyamalan, Carnival of Souls is far more haunting than The Sixth Sense.

10 Years Later, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Doesn’t Cut It

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 02:24:50 +0000

Marvel changed superhero movies when they put out the original Guardians of the Galaxy. That doesn’t mean the film was any good. In fact, Guardians of the Galaxy only became popular because it stood out from the pack in 2014. In 2024, it just feels like another superhero movie.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is an unimpressive movie that came out at the right time

During a 2007 interview with Total Film, Tim Burton unknowingly recapped the history of superhero films leading up to Guardians of the Galaxy. “I was lucky when I made Batman because, at the time, it felt like new territory,” he revealed. “We went back to the traditions of the comic and they were usually light and cartoony. It was exciting. Then, all of a sudden, every comic book hero is a tortured soul in a funny costume. [Laughs]

“I think the genre’s always having to reinvent itself and, obviously, comics are a kind of modern folk tale that can stand to be re-told and re-looked at in many different ways,” he added. “But I think the dark tortured comic-book hero… Well, I think it’s time for a new angle. Maybe it’s time to go back to the brightly colored cartoon.”

That’s exactly what happened when Marvel made Guardians of the Galaxy. The studio found a way to make superhero movies lighthearted and fun again. The film felt fresh in 2014 because of its tone and use of pop songs. However, with time, it’s become easier to see that the movie is mediocre overall. Nothing about the comedy, story, or characters is affecting, and using pop songs in movies hasn’t been revolutionary since Kenneth Anger worked it into his underground short films.

‘Deadpool’ learned a lot of tricks from that movie

While it’s a tad ridiculous to say this about any Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy seemed a little countercultural in 2014. That year was dominated by the moody, lowkey sounds of Lorde, Tove Lo, and Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.” Star-Lord and company blasting The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” was entirely out-of-step with the times and we loved the movie for it. All these years later, it’s clear that Guardians of the Galaxy went from a little rebel going against the system to becoming the system.

Now, we’ve gotten a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel and three Deadpool movies that each mimic the colorful, fun approach of Guardians of the Galaxy and shove pop songs down everyone’s throat. Star-Lord dancing around to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” in the opening credits of Guardians of the Galaxy felt new. Deadpool doing the same to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” in Deadpool & Wolverine feels just as prefabricated as NSYNC itself.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ isn’t relevant anymore

Some works of art are timelessly great. On the other hand, Guardians of the Galaxy was a movie that we all needed to see in 2014 that doesn’t seem as novel anymore. Perhaps it’ll seem better once Hollywood abandons the James Gunn approach to superheroes and starts going dark again. Or maybe Guardians of the Galaxy was just a middling movie that came out at the right time.

Regardless, I want to listen to “Come and Get Your Love Again.”

Tim Burton Once Said He’d Never Make a ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

Matthew Trzcinski — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 02:35:49 +0000

Some movie directors have a habit of saying things that come back to haunt them. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is finally getting a sequel and, surprisingly, that sequel was directed by the Ed Wood director himself. Interestingly, Burton didn’t like the idea of making a Beetlejuice sequel or remake back in the day. Here is what he’s said about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice more recently.

Tim Burton refused to make a sequel to ‘Beetlejuice’ or 1 of his other movies

During a 2007 interview with Total Film, Burton was asked how he felt about the possibility that one of his movies would get remade. “Yikes!” he said. “I don’t know about that.

“I mean, I’ve often resisted re-visiting,” he added. “Like in the case of [The Nightmare Before Christmas] and Beetlejuice, they asked me to do sequels and I just said ‘No.’ I wanted to keep the integrity of those particular things. Those movies were special to me.”

Tim Burton was fine with other filmmakers retooling Batman

Interestingly, a reporter asked Burton how he felt about Batman getting retooled after he left the franchise, and his attitude toward Batman was completely different. “I was lucky when I made Batman because, at the time, it felt like new territory,” he said. “We went back to the traditions of the comic and they were usually light and cartoony. It was exciting. Then, all of a sudden, every comic book hero is a tortured soul in a funny costume. [Laughs]

“I think the genre’s always having to reinvent itself and, obviously, comics are a kind of modern folk tale that can stand to be retold and relooked at in many different ways,” he added. “But I think the dark, tortured comic book. Well, I think it’s time for a new angle. Maybe it’s time to go back to the brightly colored cartoon.” Thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy and other Marvel films, superhero movies took a step away from the darkness of Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns.

The director said his ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel is going to be a personal statement

Burton has made different statements about Beetlejuice more recently. During a 2024 interview with Empire, he said that his flop remake of Walt Disney’s Dumbo made him lose interest in movies. However, he felt rejuvenated after making the Netflix series Wednesday. The writers of that series penned a screenplay for the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Burton liked it.

The Ed Wood director said he connected with the character of Lydia from the original film and wondered what she might be doing decades later. Burton said his Beetlejuice sequel was a personal statement from him that reflected how he changed since he had children.

Burton also said that he lost his way for a while. He may have been talking about his string of disappointing films, such as Dark Shadows, Big Eyes, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Could Beetlejuice Beetlejuice be his big comeback that pleases his old fans? Or will it be another wrongheaded attempt to capitalize on nostalgia, like his remake of Dumbo? Time will tell. If Burton is to be believed, he’s at least made Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a personal statement, and his best films, like Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands, feel personal.

Tim Burton Said Remaking ‘Planet of the Apes’ Was a ‘Perverse Challenge’

Matthew Trzcinski — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 03:24:52 +0000

Tim Burton has given us many classic movies, but his Planet of the Apes isn’t one of them. He explained why he took up the challenge of remaking the original film. Burton’s remake had a minimal effect on subsequent Planet of the Apes films.

Tim Burton said his ‘Planet of the Apes’ would look better with time

During a 2007 interview with Total Film, the Batman director was asked what he was trying to accomplish with his remake of Planet of the Apes. “Well, that was more of a perverse challenge,” he said. “I mean, Planet of the Apes was a classic movie and I thought, ‘Well, there’s the original, then they made five other movies and the TV series and lunchboxes.’

“So it’s not like it’s just the original and this,” he said. “That would have been a real mistake. I knew I was going to be in trouble for it, but you know, something about talking apes [Laughs]. It’s always a weird challenge! With this, the more time goes by, the better I’ll like it.”

A reporter asked Burton asked how he would feel if one of his films inspired a remake. “Yikes!” he replied. “I don’t know about that. I mean, I’ve often resisted re-visiting. Like in the case of [The Nightmare Before Christmas] and Beetlejuice, they asked me to do sequels and I just said no… I wanted to keep the integrity of those particular things. Those movies were special to me.”

The director looked at the original ‘Planet of the Apes’ differently than his movies

It’s interesting that Burton views his own movies as special creations that should be left alone. Meanwhile, he’s remade classic movies like Planet of the Apes, Walt Disney’s Dumbo, and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. However, he appears to have changed his position on sequels, as his follow-up to Beetlejuice will come out next month.

Burton’s Planet of the Apes ends with Mark Wahlberg finding himself in an alternate Washington, D.C., where the Lincoln Memorial is replaced with a statue of an anthropomorphic ape. Many viewers left the theater scratching their heads.

Tim Burton refused to explain the end of the remake

During a 2001 interview with the BBC, a reporter told Burton that the ending was nonsense. Burton was asked to explain it, but he refused, saying that he liked the movie’s ambiguity. Love or hate his Planet of the Apes, he took the correct approach to this interview. There’s no good reason for an artist to explain every facet of their creative process or spell out all the themes of their art for other people.

However, he gave fans a little bit of insight into his remake. Burton said the film was about the conflict between Darwinism and religion. He said the ending of the film encapsulated some of life’s unanswerable questions. What a simian Abraham Lincoln has to do with Christian creationism is beyond me.

Burton’s Planet of the Apes didn’t do much for him. While its story left plenty of room for a sequel (or 10), it never inspired a follow-up. Instead, the franchise got rebooted, and the newer Planet of the Apes films have nothing to do with Burton’s odd detour.

Burton took on a perverse challenge and he got a perverse result.